ERIC CLAPTON STYLE GUITAR LESSONS

Eric Clapton's early days in music saw him playing a double cutaway Kay guitar through a Selmer Futurama III amplifier in his first band, The Roosters. Later, during his time with the Yardbirds, Clapton switched to a Fender Telecaster guitar and played it through a Vox AC-30 amplifier.

 

During his time with John Mayall's Blues Breakers, Eric Clapton used a 1960 Les Paul Standard guitar in combination with a 45-watt model 1962 Marshall 2x12 combo amplifier (JTM 45). Although the amplifier was stock, the output tubes were swapped with KT66s which provide a more refined mid-range and clearer high-end than EL34s or 6L6s. Eric generally cranked the amp up to full volume, even during recording sessions. When the sound engineer complained about the high volume, Eric's response was "That's how I play."

 

During his time with Cream, Eric Clapton made some significant changes to his guitar rig. He switched to 100-watt Marshall heads and 4x12 cabinets, using two full stacks. He also incorporated a Vox wah-wah pedal and occasionally used a fuzz effect pedal. While in Cream, he primarily played Les Paul guitars, but sometime in 1967, he began using a 1964 Gibson Les Paul SG, which was famously painted by the artist collective known as "The Fool." This guitar has become iconic not only for its paint job but also for its association with Clapton.

Contrary to popular belief, the Fool Guitar is not a 1961 model, as it has six screws on the scratch plate, which did not come into use until three years later in 1964. During the spring of 1968, Clapton switched to a Gibson Firebird with a single pickup, which he then alternated with his now-famous Cherry Red Gibson ES-335 guitar for Cream's US tour through their farewell concert.

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Eric Clapton's gear changed again when he formed Blind Faith in 1969. For this band, he typically played a Gibson Firebird through either Fender Dual Showman or Marshall amps. However, at the band's debut performance in London's Hyde Park, he surprised fans by playing a Fender Telecaster with a Stratocaster neck.

Eric Clapton transitioned to playing primarily maple neck Fender Stratocasters, specifically his iconic guitar named "Brownie," while with Derek and the Dominos in 1970. However, he still occasionally played Gibson guitars during the Dominos' UK Tour. For studio recordings of the classic album "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs," Clapton mainly used a Fender Champ amp. On stage, he relied on Fender Dual Showmans or Marshall amps paired with Fender cabinets.

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In 1976, Eric Clapton's go-to guitar for slide playing was his beloved Cherry Red Gibson ES-335, which he had purchased in 1964 and played extensively during his Cream days. It was strung with Ernie Ball Super Slinky's .009 - .042 and he used an Isis medium slide. To achieve his signature sound, Eric utilized Modified Music Man amps (HD 130 Reverb) with the bias turned up all the way and special open-back cabinets. He also incorporated a Leslie cabinet with JBL components and a custom foot switch with fast/slow and on/off positions, allowing the guitar to go either through the amp, both the amp and Leslie, or just through the Leslie at varying speeds (as heard in the song "Badge"). Eric Clapton also incorporated a Crybaby wah-wah pedal at this time. While his Fender Stratocaster "Blackie" was his go-to guitar, the tobacco sunburst "Brownie" remained on standby.

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In the 1980s, Eric Clapton continued to favor his iconic Fender Stratocasters "Blackie" and "Brownie," although he had other guitars in his collection. As he prepared for his Behind the Sun Tour, his stage rig grew in complexity. He incorporated an effects board with a Jim Dunlop Crybaby re-issue, a Bradshaw foot controller, and a Roland 700 synthesizer bank. The entire rack was controlled by a pedal board that included an Ibanez Harmonics/Delay, a DBX 160 compressor, a Roland SDE-3000 delay, a Tri Stereo Chorus [Dyno-My-Piano], a Boss CE-1 chorus, and a Boss Heavy Metal pedal. During this time, Eric Clapton switched from using Music Man amps to Marshall 800 series heads (50 watts). 

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Erric Clapton retired his beloved Blackie in 1985, but by 1988, Fender had started producing his own line of Eric Clapton Signature Stratocasters that were based on Blackie. These guitars quickly became his go-to instruments for electric performances and he continued to play them exclusively on stage until the mid-90s

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During the recording of the 1994 album "From The Cradle," Eric Clapton utilized an extensive collection of approximately 50 guitars from his personal collection. These included a dot-neck Gibson ES-335 from the early 60s, his iconic Cherry Red ES-335, an Olympic white Eric Clapton Model Strat from the Fender Custom Shop, various Gibson L-5s, Byrdlands, and Super 400s. Clapton played straight through a Soldano SLO-100 and used several Martin acoustics, his Tony Zemaitis 12-string (also known as "Ivan the Terrible" with a heart-shaped motif), and several resonator guitars (dobros) in different tunings for acoustic tracks. Clapton relied on an old Fender Twin amp with no effects, and occasionally an old Fender Champ, as well as a Silverface Fender Deluxe and a Blonde Showman head. Many of these guitars accompanied Clapton on his 1994-1995 tour promoting the album. To raise funds for the Crossroads Centre Antigua, several guitars from this collection were auctioned off by Clapton in 1999 and 2004.During the 2001 Reptile Tour, Eric Clapton made some changes to his stage set-up. At the beginning of the tour, he used Fender Tweed Twin replicas built by Fender under John Suhr's supervision. However, he later switched to 3 x 10 Fender Vibro Kings with 2x12 extension cabinets built by the Fender Custom Shop. Along with this, he also utilized a Leslie speaker powered by a Marshall JCM800 Lead Series 1959 head.

 

During his 2004 World Tour, Eric Clapton decided to switch up his electric guitar set-up. He opted for Cornell Amplifiers with Tone Tubby Speakers featuring hemp cones inside the cabinets. These amps were custom-made by Dennis Cornell to Clapton's exact specifications and covered in "Fender tweed" that was specially treated to look old. The Eric Clapton Custom 80 (Single Channel) was designed to look like a Fender Twin, but had a bluer sound with a lot more middle. Clapton debuted the Custom 80 at the Party At The Palace concert in June 2002 and it was later sold by the manufacturer in both single-channel and twin-channel models

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For the 2004 World Tour, Eric Clapton's effects pedals were limited to a Boss Chorus CE-3 tri-stereo chorus, a Leslie pedal, a Jim Dunlop 535 Crybaby wah-wah pedal with six selectable settings, and a switch box for toggling between the amp and Leslie or using both at once. Clapton did not use an overdrive pedal and instead relied on the 25dB boost in his Fender Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster for overdrive. On stage, he used a Samson Synthetics wireless system and his Martin 000-28EC acoustic guitar went through an Avalon DI box.
 

n 2005, Clapton reunited with Cream for two concerts – one in London in May and another in New York in October. For these performances, he made some adjustments to his stage set-up. He had four black Fender Stratocasters at his disposal, two of which were set up for slide guitar. He also had a Fender Custom Shop Tweed Twin Amp (1957 Tweed Reissue), a Leslie Speaker, a Samson wireless pack, a Jimi Hendrix Wah Wah Pedal, and a box to switch between the amp and Leslie speaker or select both.

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Eric Clapton's stage set-up underwent some changes for the 2006/2007 World Tour. On stage, he had several instruments and equipment, including:

·       Eric Clapton Signature Fender Stratocasters, with some set up for slide playing

·       Martin Acoustics, including the Bellezza Nera model with Carlos Juan CP-1 Pickup

·       Fender Custom Shop Tweed Twin Amp (1957 Tweed Reissue)

·       Leslie Speaker

·       Vox Wah Wah Pedal

·       Boss TR-2 Tremolo Pedal

·       A box for switching between the amp and Leslie or selecting both.

·       During the 2007 tour, Eric Clapton introduced a new addition to his gear - a white Stratocaster with a gold anodized scratchplate, which he received as a gift from his wife and daughters for Christmas in 2006, as mentioned in his blog at the time.

 

·       For his June 2009 U.S. tour with Steve Winwood, Eric's stage setup included his signature Fender Stratocasters in black, as well as his Martin 000-28EC signature model acoustics. He also used a Fender Custom Shop Tweed Twin Amp (1957 Tweed Reissue), a Leslie Speaker, a Samson wireless pack, a Vox Wah Wah Pedal, and a box for switching between the amp and Leslie or using both.

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During his tour of Ireland and England in May 2009, Eric Clapton's on-stage equipment consisted of Eric Clapton Signature Model Fender Stratocasters in Daphne Blue, Ferrari Grigio Silvertone, and Black, a 6 String Martin Acoustics - EC signature model 000-28EC, a Gibson Byrdland, a Fender Custom Shop Tweed Twin Amp (1957 Tweed Reissue), a Leslie Speaker, a Samson wireless pack, a Vox Wah Wah Pedal, and a box to switch from the amp to the Leslie or to select both.

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During his Summer 2008 Tour in the U.S. and Europe, Eric Clapton utilized the following gear on stage:

·       Eric Clapton Signature Fender Stratocasters in Ferrari Grigio Silverstone

·       Eric Clapton Signature Fender Stratocaster in Black, specially set up for slide and open tuning

·       6 String Martin Acoustics - EC signature models

·       12 String Martin Acoustic with capo

·       Fender Custom Shop Tweed Twin Amp (1957 Tweed Reissue)

·       Leslie Speaker

·       Samson wireless pack

·       Vox Wah Wah Pedal

·       Box to switch from the amp to the Leslie or to select both.

During his Japan, New Zealand, and Australia tour in February and March 2009, Eric Clapton used the following gear on stage:

• Eric Clapton Signature Model Fender Stratocasters in Daphne Blue, Ferrari Grigio Silvertone, and Black (the black one was set up for slide with lace sensor pickups). The Daphne Blue and Ferrari Grigio Silvertone models had mid boost and vintage noiseless pickups, and the Daphne Blue Strats were his main guitars during the tour.

• 6 String Martin Acoustics - EC signature model 000-28EC

• 12 String Martin Acoustic - model unknown but body shape is 000

• Fender Custom Shop Tweed Twin Amp (1957 Tweed Reissue)

• Leslie Speaker

• Samson wireless pack

• Vox Wah Wah Pedal

• Box to switch from the amp to the Leslie or to select both

The Eric Clapton Signature Stratocasters were fitted with Fender Vintage Noiseless Pickups, and Clapton had the action set low.

For his 2014 Japan/Mid East tour, Clapton used the following gear on stage:

• Eric Clapton Signature Model Fender Stratocasters in Pewter

• 6 String Martin Acoustics - OM-ECHF Navy Blues

• Fender 57 Bandmaster

• Leslie Speaker

• BAE 1073 DMP DI-Box (for his Acoustics)

• Dunlop Cry Baby Classic GCB95 F

• Box to switch from the amp to the Leslie or to select both.