hi guy's
anyone aware of Fender made Clapton strats with a Natural finish in 1996?
any help appreciated.

regards
JP

To the best of my knowledge no.

From what I've heard these "Clapton-inspired" Custom Shop Strats were "one-offs" built by the late John English in 1992.



They differ from the regular Claptons for their bridge which is an American 2-point tremolo unit.

They had the TBX electronics and Lace Sensor pickups which came standard on the Clapton signature models from the period - however the similarities end there. These Custom Shop creations featured a 1-piece AAAA highly flamed maple body and neck.

These guitars sported a very unique pickguard too! Also made from flamed maple with an oil-finish, it has been stained with chromium trioxide in the fashion of the Pennsylvania long rifles of the 18th century.

They were set-off nicely with gold-plated hardware and came with original case and COA.

Add a roller nut and locking tuning keys and you would have a Strat Plus (the hip-shot tremsetter didn't become standerd until a little later than the first '87 Strat Plus).

That is just a damn sexy guitar.

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Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. Therefore, trust the physician and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility.-Khalil Gibran

Not sure if EC ever played this guitar live.

The Gold Leaf Stratocaster of 1996 in its original form looked very similar to the John English 1992 Masterbuild one-off except the pickups were fitted with gold covers. Saw a photo of him (with the king of blues) cradling the guitar in his hands.





Eric was apparently not satisfied with the gold guard, knobs and pickup covers and replaced them with the same white plastic parts found on his personal stage guitars a couple of weeks later.

This guitar could be a Strat Plus Deluxe if a Blue/Silver/Red config and a gold-plated deluxe locking tremolo are added; the MDX boost circuit makes the Red lace sensor screaming like a banshee.

+1

I missed it by a few days.
It's a One-Off.

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