Editing Eric Clapton Stratocaster (section)

==Features==
Clapton asked Fender for a V-shaped neck similar to his [[C.F. Martin & Company|Martin]] acoustic guitar and what he called a "compressed" pickup sound, similar to that of a [[humbucker]], explaining everything else about the famous "[[woman tone]]" he had developed during his stint with [[Cream (band)|Cream]] in the late '60s, a playing technique almost synonymous with various Gibson models such as the [[ES-335]], [[Gibson Les Paul|Les Paul]] Standard, [[Gibson Explorer|Explorer]], [[Gibson Byrdland|Byrdland]], [[Gibson SG|SG]] and [[Gibson Firebird|Firebird]], all sporting a pair of [[humbucking pickup]]s. The first early prototypes made around 1986/87 featured a 21-fret neck, a 21&nbsp;dB mid-boost circuit, an active/passive toggle switch (which has been deleted on the final release) and Schaller locking strap buttons. The final product (released in 1988) is essentially a vintage 1957 reissue Stratocaster featuring a deeply contoured select alder body, a 1-piece soft "V"-shaped maple neck fitted with 22 vintage-style frets, flat 9,5" radius and BiFlex truss-rod system, a "blocked" original American Vintage synchronized tremolo, Gotoh/Kluson tuning machines, 1-ply white pickguard and three Fender Gold [[Lace Sensor]] [[Pick up (music technology)|pickup]]s powered by an active MDX mid-boost circuit with 25&nbsp;dB of gain and TBX tone controls, which helped augment the tone of the sound delivered, opening up a wider tonal range Clapton desired.

One of the unique features of this guitar was the inclusion of an original vintage synchronized tremolo bridge blocked off to tremolo arms by a small piece of wood wedged into the bridge cavity. This idea came about as Clapton liked the tone and tuning stability of hardtail Stratocasters and had no use for the whammy bar. In 1991 Clapton agreed to have his signature model with a rosewood fretboard as well to suit the needs of players disliking the feel of maple-neck models. Only 94 of these short-lived guitars were made and their production finally came into a halt.

The [[Lace Sensor]]s in the Clapton Signature Stratocaster were replaced with Fender [[Vintage Noiseless]] pickups in 2001 (although Clapton began using the new pickups on his personal guitars in March 2000 and was occasionally seen playing [[Lace Sensor]]-equipped Stratocasters until 2010). The Vintage Noiseless pickups were previously available as a standard equipment material on the [[Fender American Deluxe Series]] guitars produced before 2004.  The Custom Shop version (introduced in 2004) is available in Midnight Blue, Mercedes Blue, Black and Gold Leaf with gold-plated hardware (also available with a "Thinskin" nitrocellulose lacquer finish in Olympic White, Torino Red and Pewter, as well as a left-handed version). The Eric Clapton Custom Journeyman Relic Stratocaster, introduced in 2017, features a 2-piece select ash body, available in 2-Colour Sunburst and Aged White Blonde.

Since their introduction in 2004, all Custom Shop Clapton Stratocasters (Team Built and Master Built) used a standard tone control instead of a TBX tone circuit. The TBX feature has been re-introduced in 2009 on "Team Built" versions; only the "Master Built" models had a normal tone control.