Just watched the Cream 2005 live at Royal Albert Hall DVD again this weekend and found myself marveling at how fantastic Clapton sounded with his signature Strat and a pair of Tweed Twins.

Just amazing.

I know there are those who might disagree, but Clapton had *all* the muscle (if not the raw volume) of his old Gibson/Marshall set-ups, but with greater definition and articulation when that was needed, too.

He simply sounded better, in my opinion.

I remember seeing the DVD years ago and coming to the realization that, while having a Les Paul or an SG might be nice -- I am not knocking those instruments -- it wasn't necessary.

Strats plugged into good tube amps can do literally anything. ANYTHING.

When those concerts were announced, I wondered what guitar a man now regarded as a Strat player would use? I was getting excited at the thought of Clapton with a LP or 335 or even a Firebird..

But as soon as you heard his tone on those shows, then it really and quickly became a non-issue. I guess with his signature mid range boost Strats, he always had it covered. Probably never occurred to him to use anything else.

I should have had more faith - truly the Strat is an instrument for all occasions. And if Eric - assuming he could wake up long enough - couldn't rock a Strat, then nobody could!

For me, the shows were about whether he (they actually) could still play the harder dynamic stuff. Silly me, of course he could.. Still vital when he wants to be..

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Fender Highway & Classic 60s Strats, Fender Toronado, Telecaster, Gretsch Projet, Charvel 3, PRS SE Soapbar II & Custom 24, Burns Batwing and many others!

The question really is....
What did Clapton's tech's rework on his instrument(s) by that I include amp and guitars as one instrument.

It is possible to get a great sound out of single coils, the amp has to be a good tube amp, not a cheap solid state practice amp, then you can hear what your guitar sounds like and dial in the pick ups by changing pots, caps and reconfiguring the wiring to allow various combinations.

There is not any need to go out and spend hundreds of dollars on pickups.
check this website out

http://www.guitarnuts.com/index.php

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

They actually did pull out the old Gibsons and Marshalls and it didn't sound quite right to them. They said it seemed like pure nostalgia...and said they didn't want to do this for the wrong reasons, so they pulled out thier current gear and went at it. These guys are fully aware of the level of respect that the band had and has even gained over the years. They were really worried that they would be seen as another oldies band just going through the motions for the money...of course they were anything but that, and as much as a EC fan I am, I really enjoyed seeing and hearing Ginger Baker playing drums again with those two...explosive!

I thought the sound of EC Strat and Twin sounded just fine, and it was nice to see him play with some guys who challenge him musically and can push him into that kind of creative level.

FWIW

T2

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What time is it? It's Fender Time.

I was a bit surprised by Eric's playing in the 2005 Cream reunion shows. I really enjoyed it. I'm a huge fan of his, but I'll be the first to admit that at times, he just seems to phone it in. Some things he's done in the '90's/2000's have been great. I loved the band he had with Trucks and Bramhall.

Anyway, about his sound with Cream.......Eric's use of a mid-boost in his signature Strats has been discussed alot on here and it gives him a very creamy (no pun intended) tone that Strats typically don't achieve.

I was really impressed by the show and felt that they sounded better than ever. Infact I felt thier modern versions of "Outside Woman Blues" and "Write Room" were better than the originals.

I own a 01 EC Strat and find it to be the most versitile guitar I own. I also own a Les Paul and it spends more time in the case than being played.

53Magnatone hit on something when he mentioned Eric's tech and what he might have done with the amps.....somewhere I have read that his tech will bias his amps pretty hot,you can bet that the guy gets that tone dialed in better than they come stock...if he doesn't I would be surprised....but I think when it comes to Eric's settings and mods,they make a big secret out of it,at least I've read that....I just like the way my amps sound.

In addition to all of that there is Eric's off-stage processing rig. I don't know what he's using right now, but this was the FX set-up he was running a few years ago (my photo taken at his gear auction last year):



Whatever his gear I have nothing but respect for Clapton's live sound. The last time I heard him was a few months ago at the Royal Albert Hall, a venue he has probably played more than any other human alive or dead. It is a very famous room and has a heap of vibe, but for amplified music it also has a frankly horrible acoustic. I've seen endless different people there and nobody sounds great on that painfully reverberant stage.

...Except Eric. Not only did he sound crystal clear but he used highly differentiated tones for different numbers and every ounce of that came over to the audience. I really can't remember an artist getting so many different sounds, it was fabulous. All done with one Strat and the amps on stage - so there had to be a lot of extra processing going on out of sight off-stage.

Also, I often hear the thing about Eric phoning in his performance, but every time I've seen him in recent years he has played like an angel - and I'm not particularly a diehard fan. I think that man's fingers are better now than they have ever been: it's always sheer pleasure in my experience.

I sometimes feel the set list is going through the motions, but the guitar playing itself sure as heck isn't, to my ears anyhow.

Whatever: just for the heck of it, here's the Cream Reunion Strat and amp, built for him by Fender specially for those shows, from the same Christie's gear auction:



Cheers - C

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I've seen EC it seems a dozen or more times. It may look like he phone's it in but seeing his concentration up close while playing made me realize the guy is not fooling around.

Love the RAH dvd btw.

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-T

"You can't spend what you ain't got, you can't lose what you ain't never had" ~ McKinley Morganfield