In 1987 Eric Clapton retired his famous Stratocaster, “Blackie”, and approached the Fender Custom Shop to craft a replacement designed to his specifications; in effect, he wanted a new pair of old shoes. Our artisans went to work, and the resulting instrument was the inaugural instrument in Fender’s Artist Series—the Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster. With the smooth feel and authentic sound of the original—along with a delicious new Journeyman Relic® finish—this special 30^th Anniversary edition represents one of the finest instruments to ever come from the artisans of the Dream Factory. 2018 is the only year you’ll have the chance to add this unique Black lacquer Journeyman Relic finish, along with the feel and authentic sound of Clapton’s original signature model to your guitar collection.

The Journeyman Relic finish makes the select two-piece alder body look and feel like it’s seen countless gigs and lets the wood breathe with natural resonance. True to Clapton’s own model, the stable one-piece quartersawn maple neck with an ultra-comfortable custom “Soft V” neck profile lets your hand nestle perfectly, giving you the perfect platform for unleashing electric inspiration. The blocked six-screw American Vintage synchronized tremolo bridge maintains rock-solid tuning no matter how hard or fast you play. The TBX tone control and Vintage Noiseless™ pickups offer hum-free vintage-style Strat tone, while the active mid boost gives your sound a +25dB kick in the pants for when you need to make your solo jump out in the mix.

Other features include a 9.5”-radius fingerboard with 22 vintage-size frets, 5-way switching, single-ply Parchment pickguard, vintage-style hardware, bone nut, wing string tree and Clapton’s signature on the headstock. Includes deluxe hardshell case, strap and Certificate of Authenticity.