I think it all comes down to the guitar period.I have a Clapton which I bought fot the tbx and 25d mid boost and a Beck because I favor a rosewood finger board and an lsr nut and the locking tuners.Now these could of been called any factory name and I would have bought them as I played them first and loved them.I am a big fan of Brian Setzer the guy is a phenominal player and we are close in age.So when I was in my early twenties I wanted a Gretch just like he had really bad.I walk into Sam Ash onday and there it was I almost bought it without even playing it,you know when your young you just got to have it.Well to my shock I could not play that thing for my life .Having always played Fenders it just felt so wrong in my hand and I have read interviews with Setzer where he says the same about other guitars.The one guitar I do love outside of fenders, I have 3 stoptails is the Peavey Wolfgang.The neck is slamming as a matter of fact the whole guitar is slamming,plus I have so many Fenders I was going to get a LESPAUL because Iwanted a guitar with humbuckers for certain occasions well I tested a wolf and that was it.I dont think any artist is more involved with his models than Eddie I mean he invented it ,it just does not have his name on it.I swear is there anything that cat cant do great.I have not checked out the Fender version but I sure as hell would not spend 3 grand on one.If you never played one snatch one of ebay you wont regret it,even though the price has soared on them I got one mint in 01 for 610 saw the same guitar in good condition the other day going for $1,400 but it still beats the 3 grand.I think Eddie is a bit greedy.But lets face it the artist series guitars we buy are not the same guitars the artist are playing.The next stop is custom shop artist which the Beck model got ragged on on harmony special but the non custom got raves go figure.And did you ever see a well known artist playing another artist series model,and those relics got to go I play my guitars hard and love when there finaly broken in but every ding hurts I mean your guitar does not have to look like it was blown up I dont see the beauty in those at all/rock on

I know what you mean, but to be fair, it should be said that both Prince and Pete Townsend play EC model Strats as their main guitars.
(Plus lotsa folk play Gibson sig models named after people like Johnny Smith, Barney Kessel, Chet Atkins and, of course, Les Paul)

_________________
" The spoken form is in fact a very restrained representation of what is possible in the musical language. "
- Robert Fripp

Does not Pete Townsend play a Clapton with the only difference being is where the 25 db gain control is placed? I thought that, but could easily be wrong, won't be the first time! Also not sure if he uses the older Clapton pickups or the VN's.

I was shopping for an American Standard last November, when I came across an Eric Johnson. I got the price down to about 1200 on the EJ, so it was an easy decision for me. The neck on the EJ I purchased is a pleasure to play. To be honest I had no idea about the EJ Strat until I picked one up at Guitar Center. The Am Std is about the same price, so like I said the decision was very easy for me.

I own a Mayer.... I happened to see it on the wall liked the way it looked it was on sale for a grand, found out it was a Mayer and decided to play it. I loved the neck and the pickups. To me, this is what a strat should sound & play like.

Name or no name... if it speaks to you, buy it. It's just a name and I don't care what anyone thinks anyway.
B

That's what I was trying to say also..... It's all about the way it plays....

I have been a huge Clapton fan since i was about 15 or 16(38 now), while most of my peers were listening to the stuff on the radio i was discovering the beano album and derek and the dominos."Have You Ever Loved A Woman" from Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs was the first time music made me cry, maybe its just me being all soft and mushy inside but i could feel the ferocity,pain and anguish he put into each phrase, I still look for that today, maybe i'm a snob musically but unless i feel a little bit of that it aint worth listening to, certainly not a place in my cd collection. I played a squier up until i found a clapton "blackie" strat on ebay, the guy who sold it didnt sound like a muso at all, but it did come with a letter of authenticity from warner music as he won it in a jb hifi competition here in Australia to celebrate the release of the BB King Eric Clapton collaberation "Riding With The King", Oh and it came with an extra scratch plate:




My Clapton Strat was the first ridgy didge Fender I had played, and it sure felt like a professional quality instrument, the weight, balance, action were great and the neck feels like i'm stroking the inside of some beautiful womans thigh...everytime!

Now I just want the passion i had for playing i had when i was 20, i think a big part of me died musically when SRV went down, man i loved that guys music...hope i get it back!

Regards

Bluesdog88

PS:Soz for waffling on, in the mood ya know.