Fender Eric Clapton Signature Strat

frets help you to squeeze every ounce
of feel from the guitar, and you rarely
miss the extra fret of the other models.
The Rory fi ts like an old glove, and feels
like you’ve been playing it for 40 years.
SOUN D S: All three guitars were
resonant and open sounding when
played acoustically, but all have distinct
characteristics when plugged in.
The Clapton is livelier than an old
Strat, but less glassy than the Lace
Sensor-equipped model of yore. It
seemed most at home with the TBX
control at its centre detent position –
things got a little too scary with it
cranked right up, but nicely ‘woman’
tone-ish when backed off. Super clarity
is the order of the day on all the
expected Strat tones, but winding up
the mid boost control offered an
extraordinary level of extra gain, with
the mids fattening out well and the
amp’s front end getting a serious fright.
Our Marshall/Fender combination
responded instantly, giving back long,
liquid lines so typical of Clapton.
Beck’s guitar runs on the same juice,
but without the extra oomph of the
Clapton’s active circuit. It also doesn’t
have the TBX control, so sonically it’s
a straightforward Strat with woody
sounding Ceramic Noiseless pickups.
It adores being cranked through a high-
gain amp for those searing Beck tones,
but then back off the volume control for
sweetly expressive passages.
The Gallagher has the weakest
output of all three models, but this is
no bad thing. These are true vintage
sounding Strat pickups, but there’s a
twang here that’s often lost as a guitar
ages. Through our mildly driving
Marshall the guitar’s raison d’etre
became quickly apparent: to milk the
thing for all it’s worth, pulling – as Rory
did – every ounce of tone from every
winding. Rory was a treble pickup man
and this one is wiry and musical, but fl ip
to the middle or neck – or lodge the
three-way between settings – and each
sound is right in its expected ballpark.
Verdict
These guitars are made for true fans of
Eric, Jeff and Rory. In the case of the
Clapton and Beck models, their Custom
Shop heritage means they’re that much
closer to the instruments used by these
great players than those in the ‘regular’
Artist series. It also means they’re built
to more exacting standards and this
shows in their resonance, their
slickness as players, their general feel
of exclusivity – and their price.
Remember that you don’t need to play
blues or hi-tech instrumental rock to
own one: each is as versatile as any
normal Strat – the Clapton, with its
excellent boost circuit, even more so
than the Beck – and so can tackle any
musical style. They’re both among the
best Strats we’ve played.
Rory Gallagher is one of the most
sadly missed of all guitarists. He was
a charming and talented man and the
work that’s gone into his Tribute model
shows the love and respect that’s felt
for him by Fender. His Strat is a
fabulous player that sounds close to the
real thing. And even though some of
the ageing seemed a little obvious, this
is a guitar that will elicit gasps of
astonishment as you lift it from its case.
But, you’re asking, which one would
we choose? Well, as an artefact it would
clearly be the Rory Tribute. As a player
though, we’d take the Beck, but fi tted
with Clapton’s mid boost system – the
‘Jeff Clapton’ Signature Strat… now
there’s a thought!
Fender Jeff Beck Signature Strat
RATING
Fender Eric Clapton Signature Strat
RATING
Fender Rory Gallagher Signature Strat
RATING
RORY GALLAGHER
TRIBUTE STRAT
As Clapton except…
PRICE: £2,699
(inc hard case)
BODY: Alder with heavily
aged nitro-cellulose fi nish
FINGERBOARD:
Rosewood with white clay
dots (one mis-matched
plastic dot at 12th fret)
and 241mm (9.5-inch)
radius
FRETS: 21, medium-
heavy
HARDWARE: Vintage-
style vibrato, fi ve Sperzel
and one Gotoh tuner,
angled jack receptacle,
slot-head screws in
selector switch
STRING SPACING,
BRIDGE: 52mm
ELECTRICS: Three
Fender Custom ’60s
single-coil Strat pickups,
master volume and two
tone controls (neck,
middle), three-way
selector switch
WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.35/7
FINISHES: Highly worn
three-tone sunburst
RORY GALLAGHER STRAT TEST RESULTS
Build quality
Playability
Sound
Value for money
■ WE LIKED Attention to detail; great neck;
classic Strat sound
■ WE DISLIKED Ageing looks a little
obvious
Fender American HH
Hardtail Strat £849
Fender American Deluxe
Strat £999
Fender ‘Closet Classic’
1960 Strat £1,999
Want a Strat that does
something similar to
these Artist models but
without the signature?
Well, if you have no need
of a vibrato but, like Eric,
want more power and
mids, the twin-’buckered
American HH Hardtail
should do the trick.
Need some whammy
action and a bit of Beck-
like beef? The American
Deluxe was one of our
top guitars of 2004, with
its tuneful vibrato
system and versatile S-1
switching. If you’re more
of a traditionalist, then it
has to be the 1960
Closet Classic in three-
tone sunburst – a mildly
aged vintage-style Strat
that looks just like Rory’s
did when he bought it all
those years ago
The rivals
The Gallagher fi ts like an old glove, and feels
like you’ve been playing it for 40 years
FENDER ERIC CLAPTON, JEFF BECK & RORY GALLAGHER STRATS £1,799, £1,799 & £2,699
ELECTRICS
Some of the
Gallagher’s
ageing seems a
little too precise
Keeping it real: the
Gallagher comes
with fi ve Sperzels
and one Grover
114 JUNE 2005
GIT264.fender 114GIT264.fender 114 29/4/05 5:24:56 pm29/4/05 5:24:56 pm