Fender Stratocaster Eric Clapton "Blackie" NOS Masterbuilt Todd Krause (2020)

Blackie - the black Stratocaster, Clapton's most used guitar in his career, originated when Eric bought six new Strats in 1970, one of which he gave to George Harrison, one to Steve Winwood and another to Pete Townshend. From the best parts of the other three (from the years 56 and 57) he had "Blackie" created, which he played from January 1973 to 1985 and used on legendary songs such as "Cocaine", "I Shot the Sheriff" and "Lay Down Sally". Here we have Todd Krause's special interpretation of that musical icon. This is the masterbuilder who has built a wide variety of instruments for Eric over the years and knows his exact preferences better than anyone else. An elegant, deep black NOS (New Old Stock) finish and the proven, low-noise Vintage Noiseless pickups are used here. These pickups deliver slightly more sustain due to the weaker magnetic field, but produce a slightly higher and more balanced output signal. A mid-range boost (0-25 dB) was also installed, which allows the Stratocaster's singlecoil sound to be boosted towards a humbucker sound giving the Strat incredible tonal versatility. In keeping with the original the tremolo is also blocked here and the "Clapton V-Shape" neck profile is used in conjunction with Vintage-style frets ensuring the very best playability. Even clean the guitar has an extremely open, sparkling, pearly and clear sound and with every change of the midboost control another soundscape of Clapton's decades-long musical journey can be visited, even up to the fat, uncompromising sounds from the times of Cream and Derek & the Dominos. The previous owner has upgraded the strap pins to strap locks, otherwise we can offer you this soundmighty player with a classic look and considerable fun factor in mint original condition.

• Including original case, certificate, strap
• Weight: 3530 grams