Artist 117602843 Eric Clapton Stratocaster Electric Guitar (Pewter)

It’s perfect

*IMPORTANT* This guitar has a small spring in the hole where the tremolo goes. The hole is covered with a sticker. Be very careful when removing this or you will lose the spring - which is important. It's no where in the directions about it.I'll update this as time goes on, but for now my first impressions are that is a comfortable guitar that sounds incredible. It sounds like you think a strat should.I live in a rural area so I'm not running out to my local G.C., trying out a guitar, and then buying it on line to save on taxes. I was buying this based on the strength of reviews I found. My main concern is what the "soft v" neck was and how it would fit my "smaller" hands (I'm a 5'8" 163# male). I have a tele with a "modern C" neck and I find it tiring to play if I'm doing alot of barre chords. This neck is very comfortable, fast, and easy to play. If you had concerns it was going to big - it's not. If you have big hands you might reconsider. I like a maple neck. It seems fast to me. The action is low so it's easy to fret and bend.The body is the lighter weight alder. Comfortable to stand with for long sessions. The body is slightly heavier than the neck so it feels balanced. It comes with a fender strap. I bought the pewter (the exact same guitar Eric plays in the latest Crossroads Festival when he plays with Steve Winwood). I like the color as it's a subtle metallic flake pewter. No flaws in the paint, finish, or neck.Now let's talk electronics. The noiseless pickups are perfect - no hum. Classic strat sounding. The onboard electronics are what sold me on this model. Check out the video on the TBX to see how that works. I especially like the "trebley" tone which sounds chimey. The midboost is great, instead of a pedal, to bring out the mids and lows and add a crunchy texture to your sound. Good for solos.Is this guitar expensive? Yes! Is it worth it? So far, I think it is. Will I tire of it in a year? Maybe, we'll see.Stay tuned...UPDATE: The tremolo comes "blocked" with a piece of wood between the bridge and the body. Apparently this is what Eric does. No instructions come with this on how to set up the tremolo so I had to watch some videos on You Tube. The guides on Fender.com were not helpful as I didn't know the terminology. Not that setting it up is hard, but it does take a little time and tinkering around to get it just right. I set it up so I could push down on the arm, not floating.

This review is for the Fender artist series Eric Clapton “Blackie” model Stratocaster. I have 2 Other Stratocaster guitars, one American Standard and a Mexican Standard, and they are amazing guitars for the money, but the EC model is definitely an upgrade. The body contours are more accurate to a 57, the neck is amazingly comfortable, not thick, not thin. I wouldn’t have minded if it was a little thicker, but it is truly comfortable. The neck edges are rolled and the fret work is flawless. There are a lot of reviews on the Internet and YouTube reviewing this model and I suggest you read and watch them. They are very accurate. What I feel important to address are the vintage frets. There seems to be a concern that people may have to get used to them, or they might not find them comfortable. Most guitars today come with jumbo or medium jumbo fret wire. Let me just say these frets feel great under your finger tips. String bends are comfortable, chording is easy, and your fingers will glide over your fret board without speed bumps. I understand now why EC chose vintage style frets for his guitars. They feel great. If I have to list a disappointment, and this is truly nit picking, it would be that Fender doesn’t use stainless steel frets on this model. I don’t understand why they omit this. They are stronger and will last a lifetime, and would put off having to get the neck refretted over time. Come on Fender, this guitar after taxes is $1,700, stainless steel frets should be standard. None-the-less, I really love this guitar.

My Clapton Signature Strat, which I waited 5 1/2 months for (because it was backordered), came with some significant manufacturing defects. When I removed the tremolo cover to replace the battery for the first time, I found double-drilled holes (12 holes instead of 6, one of which was put right through the edge of the body), as well as a battery cavity full of white battery acid (despite the fact that the battery inside was not leaking, meaning, a leaky battery was swapped out BEFORE it shipped, and they didn't bother to clean it out?). Upon arrival, it also had an intermittent pick-up switch which shorted out (in the bridge pickup position) unless you jiggled it, though this issue seems to have worked itself out since. Unfortunately I didn't discover the worst of these defects (the 6 extra holes and battery acid) until I needed to replace the battery, so the online store I purchased it through (not Amazon) wants nothing to do with it. After bringing it to a Fender authorized service center, Fender has agreed to replace the body under warranty. But this part alone is going to take 90-120 days to arrive, and then my new $2,000 guitar will have to be completely disassembled and reassembled, all because Fender either failed to inspect it properly, or chose to try and sneak it through the channel despite the defects. Now I, the customer, has to deal with the consequences of THEIR quality issues. I would expect MUCH more from Fender, especially on a $2,000 guitar endorsed by Eric Clapton. Needless to say, I am extremely frustrated about this entire experience. If you buy this guitar, inspect it thoroughly (including under the tremolo cavity cover).Quality and service issues aside, this is an amazing guitar! It looks beautiful and sounds incredible. The TBX tone control sounds great. I do wish the battery was easier to get to, however. You shouldn't need to remove 6 screws just to replace the battery.