I'm envious actually, tree skiing, chutes, heli or snowcat skiing...

OOPs sorry !!! wrong forum.

You have checked out the Mike Eldred YOU-TUBE CS demo's I imagine ? those are quite helpful in getting an idea of which strat to decide upon.

You also might want to check out PHIL X. at FrettedAmericana.com
great player and amusing videos of all kinds of vintage and newer strats, but he really gives you a view into the versatility of each demoed instrument.

Well I pulled the trigger and ordered the 2010 custom shop Eric Clapton signature strat. It was more than I wanted to spend but I managed to get a 20% discount off of the $3800.00 price.

There is something about tone and look of this model that really appealed to me. I also reasoned that besides being a better constructed guitar that it would also hold it's value better than an American Deluxe.

I should get the guitar by Friday. I'll try to get pics up soon.

Good on Ya !!

Which shop did you finally decide on and why ?
I believe that we should post our reasons as to why we pick one shop over another when buying online.

I'm curious as to why the Clapton ? the Custom Deluxe's with the two 69 pups one reverse wound (humless feature when in position 2 and 4) and Texas special in the bridge would have been more versatile tone wise coming from an acoustic perspective.
That is tops on my evaluating a strat for myself, that clear and clean tone where the note rings outs and you can hear the overtones.

Personaly I think the Clapton is the most versatile guitar in Fender's range aside from the VG.
Between the volume, tone and mid controls, you can get just about anything to a reasonable degree.

Great necks too.

Did you get the tone control or TBX control one?

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No no and no

I bought from Sweetwater.com.

I decided to go with them because I have bought guitars from them in the past and they provide an excellent level of customer service. They also have a 55 point inspection, professional setup of the instrument before it is shipped, provide a 2 year extended warranty free of charge and are very price competitive. My sales representative is very responsive. He calls me upon delivery to check and see if everything arrived properly. He has sent me free replacement parts for small items that wore or weren't right on delivery. If I am not satisfied I can send the guitar back and get a full refund.

I ordered the Custom Shop Ltd Grey Eric Clapton Signature Strat for 2010. It has a Master Volume, Master Tone Control, and Master Active Mid Boost (0-25dB). It doesn't say anything about TBX but isn't the Active Mid Boost with active circuitry the same thing as TBX?

As to why I chose the Clapton Strat over the Custom Deluxe. Really my primary reason is because I wanted Noiseless pickups with versatile tone possibilities.

My practice room is loaded with electronics. I have multiple computers, printers, power supplies, a big screen TV, Satellite receiver, police scanner, electronic exercise equipment, and several amps. I was afraid that a true single coil would be nothing but 60 cycle hum in this environment.

I listened to many, many youtube videos with the best audio that I could find and the Clapton sounded excellent. In addition it is very versatile with the active circuitry Mid boost.

On top of that it just appealed to me more than the Custom Deluxe.

No their not the same thing. You'll have a volume, tone, mid control (in that order). Or a Vol, TBX, Mid control.


The tone control is the better option in my opinion.

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No no and no

Ok, well there you have it !!

That makes perfect sense, to go with a shop which you have a good past relation.

Awaiting pics..