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Hatsubai « One of the more famous strats »
Published on 04/25/11 at 15:22The Fender Eric Clapton signature strat has been around for quite awhile now. It's also been through various reiterations throughout the years. The one I'll be referring to was made around 2008, so it has most of the latest features at the time this review was written. The guitar is actually very similar to most of the regular models in the Fender production line in that it has an alder body, maple neck, SSS configuration and so on. Even the V neck isn't that unique anymore. The things that stand out on this guitar would be the TBX control and mid boost.
UTILIZATION
Fender did a pretty good job at packing a good amount of things in this guitar. For the longest time, it was one of the more versatile guitars Fender had in their lineup. The soft V neck is a very comfortable neck, and I actually think the current one might be a bit thinner than the older ones, but that's just going off of memory. The fretwork is generally good on these models, and the one I played had some decent fretwork, but be aware that you should probably play them.
SOUNDS
The noiseless pickups in this are very nice. They quack nicely, sound great on their own, the clean tone is fairly chimey, and the mid gain tones work nicely. High gain tones can get a little sloppy, but it depends on what you're going for. Personally, I think high gain single coil tones can be absolutely ripping in certain situations. The two biggest features this thing has are the TBX and mid boost feature. The TBX is basically a treble/bass cut with a center detent. You can control how fat or how bitey you want the pickups to be. The midboost is like a built-in clean boost inside the guitar which works great for solo lines.
OVERALL OPINION
I'm not a huge fan of signature gear, but the Clapton strats are pretty good guitars for the money, especially considering how they're a bit more versatile than your off the shelf strat. Like all Fenders, you should really play one before buying as fretwork can be a bit iffy depending on how the luthiers were feeling at the time.
UTILIZATION
Fender did a pretty good job at packing a good amount of things in this guitar. For the longest time, it was one of the more versatile guitars Fender had in their lineup. The soft V neck is a very comfortable neck, and I actually think the current one might be a bit thinner than the older ones, but that's just going off of memory. The fretwork is generally good on these models, and the one I played had some decent fretwork, but be aware that you should probably play them.
SOUNDS
The noiseless pickups in this are very nice. They quack nicely, sound great on their own, the clean tone is fairly chimey, and the mid gain tones work nicely. High gain tones can get a little sloppy, but it depends on what you're going for. Personally, I think high gain single coil tones can be absolutely ripping in certain situations. The two biggest features this thing has are the TBX and mid boost feature. The TBX is basically a treble/bass cut with a center detent. You can control how fat or how bitey you want the pickups to be. The midboost is like a built-in clean boost inside the guitar which works great for solo lines.
OVERALL OPINION
I'm not a huge fan of signature gear, but the Clapton strats are pretty good guitars for the money, especially considering how they're a bit more versatile than your off the shelf strat. Like all Fenders, you should really play one before buying as fretwork can be a bit iffy depending on how the luthiers were feeling at the time.