A 1996 Fender Stratocaster Eric Clapton Signature Model

Details

A 1996 Fender Stratocaster Eric Clapton Signature Model
Serial No. CN404005, in custom midnight blue metallic finish, custom shop neckplate, maple neck with skunk-stripe routing, twenty-two fret fingerboard with dot inlays, three Fender Lace Sensor pickups, three rotary controls, selector switch, tremolo bridge/tailblock and white pickguard; and a black hardshell contour case with black plush lining and Lee Dickson's handwritten adhesive paper label Midnight Blue Met., Fender-Strat N404005

Mark Kendrick of Fender supplied this guitar to Eric Clapton in 1996.

According to Eric Clapton's guitar technician - Lee Dickson, Clapton had a "..short-lived love affair.." with this guitar. Clapton admits that he occasionally likes the colours of his Stratocasters to match his cars, he said however that he fancied owning a blue Strat long before he owned a blue Mercedes. He commissioned this custom colour which is actually a Mercedes paint.
Fender Strat/Midnight Blue

Lot Essay

Eric Clapton was photographed playing this guitar on stage at the Pavarotti and Friends open air concert, Modena, Italy, June 28, 1996. The concert, organized by Pavarotti, was held in aid of the charity War Child to benefit the children of Bosnia. Clapton and Pavarotti sang a duet Holy Mother, Clapton also played Third Degree and provided backing for Sheryl Crow and the popular Italian artist Zucchero. Elton John and John McLaughlin also performed on that occasion and the concert was televised in Italy in the style of Live Aid. Decca subsequently released the sound track which features a shot of Clapton playing this guitar on stage on the CD insert. (See illustration)

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