Eric Clapton
In his career of almost 60 years, Eric Clapton has been at the centre of some of the guitar’s most pivotal moments.
Inspired by blues legends such as Robert Johnson and BB King, his roots have always been at the core of what and how he plays, but the equipment he uses and the tones he creates have evolved throughout the years.
Image: Raph_PH
How To Get The Eric Clapton Tone
When talking about Eric Clapton’s guitar tone, it’s important to first establish which era you’re looking for.
Much of Clapton’s early work in John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and Cream was played on Gibson guitars and through Marshall amplifiers. His later solo work (most studio and live recordings from 1970 to present day) has been characterised by a Fender Stratocaster through a Fender amp.
Each sound is totally different, but could equally be referred to as the Clapton tone.
Solo Years (1970-Present)
It would probably be easier listing the guitars Eric Clapton hasn’t been documented playing in the past 50 years, but the one constant has been his Fender Stratocasters.
1956/57 Fender Stratocasters “Brownie” and “Blackie”
The ones that started it all, Brownie (a 1956 Sunburst used when performing with Blind Faith & Derek and the Dominoes) and Blackie (black, made from composite pieces of other Stratocasters) were true vintage Strats, often heard in the second (bridge and middle) and fourth (middle and neck) pickup positions, creating the distinctive “quack” sound that the Stratocaster is known for.
Eric famously made Blackie using components from several other Stratocasters, meaning it’s difficult to know the exact specs that went into it. By all accounts it seems the components used were all stock Stratocaster parts from the ‘50s and ‘60s so Blackie can be called a reasonably straightforward vintage-spec Stratocaster.
The “hard V” neck is likely to have come from a 1957 Stratocaster while the pickups could be late ‘50s, ‘60s or a combination of the two.
Specs
Model: Custom Fender Stratocaster “Blackie”
Pickups: 3x Fender Single Coil
Body: Alder Wood
Neck Shape: Hard V
Fingerboard Radius: 7.25 in
Frets: 21
Notes: Burn on headstock from Eric frequently tucking cigarettes into bass strings. Tremolo system ‘blocked’ with piece of wood. High ‘e’ tuning peg replaced with gold version at some point.
Affordable Alternatives
There’s plenty on the market to choose from if you’re after a vintage Stratocaster tone, or if you already have a Strat-type guitar you might want to swap your pickups for Fender or other brand ‘50s style pickups.
Squier Classic Vibe Stratocaster
The Squier Classic Vibe 50s Strat is a hugely popular alternative to the Mexican and American made Fender vintage Stratocasters. With one of these and the right amp and pedals you should be able to get close to the tone found on many of EC’s most recognisable songs.
Available From
Fender Vintera ‘50s Stratocaster
The Vintera series from Fender brings the sound and feel of vintage Fender instruments but without the price tag of an original or custom shop reissue.
With the Vintera ‘50s Stratocaster you’ll get the same ‘soft V’ neck shape as the Eric Clapton Stratocaster and ‘50s-styled pickups, everything you need to replicate the ‘Blackie’ sounds heard on Clapton’s early solo years.
Fender Eric Clapton Stratocaster
Released in 1998 and a firm staple of the Fender line-up ever since, the Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster has been Eric’s go-to guitar for most live performances and studio sessions, though the exact guitar he plays sometimes changes several times a year.
In 2001 the Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster’s Gold Lace Sensor pickups were replaced with the Noiseless Pickups still found on the model today, with a 25db mid-boost and (as of 2009) TBX tone control, tonally setting it apart from other vintage-spec Strats on the market.
To get closer to the sound of the Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster, Fender sell the mid-boost and TBX tone control kit separately and it can be retroactively added to most Strat-type guitars. This can involve modifying the cavities in your guitar to accommodate the extra space taken up by the circuit and the 9V battery, so should be treated as a permanent mod.
Alternatively, Cara makes a ClapTone pedal, which features the official Fender 25db midboost and TBX tone control, which means you can get the same effect, but from your pedal board rather than within your Strat.
Specs
Model: Eric Clapton Stratocaster
Pickups: 3x Fender Vintage Noiseless Single Coil Strat
Body: Alder Wood
Neck Shape: Soft V
Fingerboard Radius: 9.5 in
Frets: 22
Notes: Features 25db midboost & TBX tone control
Martin 000-28EC
Martin produced the 000-28EC to a similar spec to the Martin guitar played by EC during the recording of the 1992 MTV Unplugged performance. Though the exact model played on the night was a 1939 Martin 000-42, this modern interpretation has made numerous appearances during the acoustic sections of EC’s sets.
Though Eric appears to play a dark blue version of the guitar, only natural finish versions are available to the public.
Notable Appearances:
Specs
Model: Martin 000-28EC
Body: Sitka Spruce Braces & Top, Indian Rosewood Back & Sides
Neck Shape: Modified V
Frets: 14
Affordable alternatives
Sigma 000M-15
Sigma (sold as AMI Guitars in the US) was essentially to Martin what Epiphone is to Gibson and Squier is to Fender: a lower end, mass-market for those that don’t have thousands to spend on the real deal.
Sigma guitars didn’t have the best reputation until they changed hands about 15 years ago and now they make some of the best value guitars out there, including affordable Martin copies they were originally known for.
Available From
Martin 000-10E
The 000-10E is one of Martin’s more affordable guitars and while it doesn’t use the same exotic woods as Eric Clapton’s model, it is a 000 size, which is somewhere between a parlour guitar and a dreadnought.
That means the tone is unlikely to be identical to Eric’s guitar right out of the box, but it is likely to be a very close approximation.
Moving away from the Marshall amps that helped him get his name out there in the ‘60s, Eric has favoured Fender amps throughout most of his solo career. Initially using a Fender Twin Reverb to get the ‘springy’ sound as heard on tracks like Lay Down Sally and Wonderful Tonight, more recently he has used ‘57 Custom Twin Tweed amps from Fender.
In 2011 the Fender EC Twin Twinolux & Tremolux models were introduced. While these amps look largely similar to the Fender '57 Custom Twin they feature a tremolo circuit and an “EC” badge on the cover. They have since been discontinued, and it seems likely the '57 Custom Twin is once again his on-stage amp of choice.
Affordable alternatives
Many companies have worked hard at replicating the Fender tube amp tone at a fraction of the price, Fender themselves included. These days solid state amps and modelling technology has come so far that you can get incredibly close to a tube amp’s iconic tones without having to spend a lot of money.
Here are two that will help you get the Clapton tone:
Fender Mustang Amps
Fender’s own Mustang Amps (not to be confused with the Fender Mustang guitars) have been the go-to for players wanting classic Fender tones without paying for a tube amp for a number of years.
With each generation, the modelling technology has got better and closer to the tube amp sound, with the latest models continuing that trend.
Available From
Fender Blues Junior IV
The Fender Blues Junior isn’t the cheapest tube amp on the market, but it punches well-above its weight within its price range.
The Blues Junior isn’t just a great small amp, it’s a great amp full stop, and while some swear the modern solid state amps sound as good as the tube amps they’re trying to replicate, for many only a real tube amp will do.
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Unlike a lot of musicians out there, Eric doesn’t tend to rely on many pedals to achieve his tone. Throughout the years chorus and distortion pedals have come and gone, but for the most part distorted tones have come straight from the amp and the guitar. Because his signature Stratocaster includes a mid-boost, you might want to consider a mid-boosting pedal to get closer to the sound heard since the early ‘90s if you’re using a Strat that lacks the function.
The one type of pedal that you will always see featured on his pedal board is a wah-wah pedal. The type favoured by Clapton has changed a few times over the years, but for the most part it has been either a variation on the Dunlop Crybaby or a Vox.
Dunlop Crybaby
Eric has used a couple of Crybaby variants throughout the years, including the 535, GBC-95 Classic and reissues, so unless there’s a specific song you want to emulate there is no single most accurate choice.
Most recently he has been confirmed as using a GBC-95 Classic.
Cara Claptone
The Cara Claptone takes the midboost and TBX tone control found in the Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster and puts them together in a foot pedal, which means you can get the Clapton tone without having to make alterations to your Stratocaster’s body and electronics.
Available From
Electric Strings
Eric uses Ernie Ball Regular Slinky strings on his Strats. At some point between the 1970s and now, he switched from the lighter gauge Super Slinky strings to the .010 gauge regular set.
Acoustic Strings
On his acoustic guitars, Eric uses the Eric Clapton Signature Guitar Strings by Martin, first released in 2005 (formerly called Clapton’s Choice).
The strings are a 92/8 Phosphor Bronze mix.
Clapton favours the light gauge strings (.012), but they are also available in medium (.013) gauge for players that want a larger sound.
The Cream Years (1964-1968)
Eric found his distinctive tone when joining John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, courtesy of a Gibson Les Paul plugged into a Marshall amp with some added distortion.
The Les Paul was stolen in Cream’s early days, to be replaced by a Gibson SG and later an ES-335, all still played through a Marshall amp.
As the distortion grew heavier, the tone controls on the guitars were rolled down to create what Eric would call “the woman tone.”
1964 Gibson SG “The Fool”
After trying a number of Les Pauls to replace the stolen “Beano Burst” from his Bluesbreakers days, he found none were to his liking and instead he settled on a 1964 Gibson SG Standard.
This guitar takes its nickname from its psychedelic paintjob, carried out by the Dutch art collective The Fool.
Originally the guitar came fitted with the Deluxe Vibrola tremolo system, often found on early SG models, but this was later removed and the Kluson tuners would also be replaced with Grovers.
Specs
Model: 1964 Gibson SG
Pickups: 2x Gibson Patent Number Pickups
Body: Mahogany
Neck Shape: Medium C Shape
Fingerboard Radius: 12 in
Frets: 22
Notes: Kluson tuners replaced with Grovers. Originally fitted with Vibrola tremolo system, later removed.
Notable Appearances
Alternatives
The Fool was used with stock pickups and electronics, so a vintage-spec SG should fit the bill, although versions replicating earlier models may have the PAF (Patent Applied For) Humbuckers instead of the Patent Number pickups found on EC’s guitar.
Epiphone SG Standard 61
Gibson’s own more affordable subsidiary Epiphone may make the most cost-effective SG alternative on the market, with the introduction of the 2020 “Inspired by Gibson” range bringing the line-up closer to their Gibson counterparts than ever.
The Epiphone SG Standard 61 is available with or without the vibrola system, though Clapton rarely used his and later removed it.
Gibson SG Standard 61
If your budget doesn’t stretch to an original ‘64 SG but you want to get as close to the tone heard on the Cream albums as possible, Gibson have released a number of reissues of early SG models (most notably ‘61) throughout the years. Outside of an original, this is about as close to the guitar as you will find.
At present the Gibson SG Standard 61 is the closest model to the Fool on offer without venturing into more expensive Custom Shop territory.
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1964 Gibson ES-335
Born from his fascination of players like Freddie King and Chuck Berry, Eric Clapton purchased a cherry red 1964 Gibson ES-335.
Though the guitar only appeared briefly towards the end of Cream’s tenure it is also one of the most famously associated with the band and with Clapton himself, as the Gibson featured heavily in Cream’s televised Farewell concert at the Royal Albert Hall in 1968.
Most famously this is the guitar used to perform the band’s infamous cover of the Robert Johnson song Crossroads during the Farewell tour, which has named this guitar the nickname of “the Crossroads guitar” among certain groups. In spite of this, in the version heard on Wheels of Fire (arguably the more famous version of the track), Eric’s Fool SG was used and not his ES-335.
Eric would go on to use the same guitar fleetingly with Blind Faith (1969), on his solo album Journeyman (1989) and then more extensively during the Nothing But The Blues tour (1994).
Specs
Model: 1964 Gibson ES-335
Pickups: 2x Gibson Patent Number Pickups
Body: Mahogany
Neck Shape: Medium C Shape
Fingerboard Radius: 12 in
Frets: 22
Notes: Features a Hare Krishna postage stamp on the rear of the headstock.
Alternatives
1964 Gibson ES-335s still come up for sale, and as with other guitars if you want the closest match possible only the original will do. Though tonally there won’t be any difference if you want your ES-335 to look like the one played by Eric Clapton, be sure to find one with the block inlays on the fingerboard, with a bound neck.
Epiphone ES-335
For those on a tighter budget, Epiphone make an excellent 335 alternative, with comparable specs to the lower-end Gibson models.
Not too many other companies choose to make semi-hollow style guitars (comparatively, they’re harder to work with than solid bodies) but Tokai, Burny and Greco versions are also worth considering.
Gibson ES-335 DOT
At present, this is the most affordable ES-335 to bear the Gibson branding. This version comes in a satin finish and retails for about $500 less than versions with other finishes.
The guitar features calibrated T-type pickups, which while not vintage spec, are sure to give classic Gibson tones.
Available From
Crossroads/ Traditional/Figured ES-335
Gibson have released reissue models of early ‘60s 335s, including a Custom Shop Eric Clapton ES-335 which has been often used by John Mayer.
More recently the ES-335 Traditional and ES-335 Figured models have emulated the look and feel of vintage models at prices closer to that of a standard 335.
As with most of his later work, Eric took a spartan approach to guitar pedals during his time with Cream. Undoubtedly this would also have been influenced by the fact the market for guitar pedals was much smaller then than it is today, which means most of the Cream tone was as a result of the amplifiers and tone controls on the guitars.
The notable exception to this is a Vox wah-wah pedal, heard in a number of Cream’s songs, including White Room and The Tale of Brave Ulysses. It’s thought that the model used was a Vox V846, which would be right for the period.
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Image: Voxamps.com
The Vox V846 is still in production, now as the V846HW, with the HW designation meaning hand-wired, referencing the fact that unlike most mass market pedals, it doesn’t use a printed circuit board.