One must be careful about these exposures. The photos of the guitar in the case are truer to the actual color than the series taken on the fabric. Lighting and lens setting are going to affect the outcome. It's a very quirky pigment. From the appearance of the latter series it appears that Jeff cleaned it up for the shoot. The lighting appears more subdued, and there are reflections off the finish shot from certain angles.

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"Another day in paradise!"

Yes, Pewter..... Sometimes age can cause the tint to change due to the aging of the clear coat. there will always be slight variation based on paint mix, air pressure when applied, etc. But, yes, basically the same color!

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Xhefri's Guitars
www.xhefriguitars.com

I have never heard of the Clapton Strat being available in EC Grey, only the Pewter. According to the Fender catalog, the Clapton Strat is only available in Olympic white, black, pewter, or Torino red. I own a 1989 Pewter Clapton Strat with 3 Gold Lace Sensor pickups, which I had picked up used at the local Guitar Center about 5 years ago. I was just browsing and noticed it hanging on the wall with a used tag on it. To my delight, it was in absolute mint condition and looked as though it was brand spanking new. It was tagged at $700 and I immediately bought it right on the spot. I'm certainly glad that I had stumbled upon it when I did, it surely would have been snagged up by somebody else instead.

It is certainly one of my favorite Strat's that I own. You should see if you can find a used Clapton Strat yourself that is in decent condition before going out and spending a small fortune on a new one.

I'm not sure if you realize it or not yourself, but a Clapton Strat is a very versatile instrument in deed. It is a hybrid between a Gibson Les Paul and a Fender Stratocaster. I believe that the reasoning behind this is that whenever Clapton was playing his Gibson Les Paul, he would wonder whether or not he'd be better off playing his Fender Stratocaster instead or the opposite way around.

Another thing that you have to keep in mind is that if you want to use the vintage synchronized tremolo on the Clapton Strat, you will have to first remove the wooden block that is wedged between the trem block and guitar cavity. Clapton does not use the tremolo on his own guitar, but instead prefers the sonic transfer of the blocked tremolo over that of a hardtail bridge. In my opinion, I believe that he's absolutely correct in his deduction myself.

One other thing that astounded me about my Clapton Strat when I had first purchased it, was that when I removed the wooden block and 2 of the trem springs from the back of it, the guitar remained in tune afterwards. Let me tell you, that shows the rock solidness and quality of build of this guitar. As I had said previously, I own several other American made Strats and whenever I remove only one of the 5 trem springs, the guitar instantly goes out of tune and requires retuning.

I'm not really sure if this is the case with the newer models of the Clapton Strats as well, since mine is an older 1989 model. But I would suspect that the build quality and components are the same.

Good luck with you quest for the holy of all Strats in my opinion.

[
Go to the Custom Shop catalog. EC Grey and Daphne Blue Limited Edition run started in UK last year, now offered in US until December. Get 'em while they are hot. Also note that Custom Shop finishes are Mercedes Blue, Midnight Blue and Black. The red, green, pewter, and white are only offered in the Artist Series guitars.

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"Another day in paradise!"

It's quite wrong, Doc.

The Custom Shop also offers the regular Artist series finishes for the Custom Clapton signature models, with the possibility to have a thinskin nitrocellulose lacquer as an extra.

Pictured here is a Thinskin Nitro EC Custom with a Candy Apple Green finish:



You can order one from Wildwood (http://www.wildwoodguitars.com).

EC was spotted on his current tour playing his pewter strat. Here's a few pics taken at Wembley.





He's also playing with another Strat Slinger...



Here is my '91 Clapton Strat in the middle.

Steve runs a sunburst Custom Classic Strat with a set of Kinmans and the Clapton preamp through a blackface Super Sonic amp.

BTW, this early 1990s "Blackie" with the Lace Sensors has been modded with a beautiful aged white pearloid pickguard!

i take no issue with your example, however, 'quite wrong I am not.' The Custom Shop website lists three catalog numbers for the Custom Shop Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster each specific for the finishes referred to by me aboveI also list a number for each of the llmited addition guitars.
Showcase Dealers like Willdwood are known to place specials order for guitars such as that depicted in your response. They are often Masterbuilt and not subject to catalog decriptions. My remarks remain correct within the limits of the catalog offerings for both the Artist Series and Custom Shop Signature Series guitars. It is also a fact that if the options requests run too far afield of 'stock' they will NOT put the Clapton signature on the guitar.

I have no doubt that ME will support my observations in this regard.

Doc

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"Another day in paradise!"

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"Another day in paradise!"