A 1956 Fender Stratocaster

Details

A 1956 Fender Stratocaster
Serial No. 13385, neck date 9-56 in pencil, body date 8-56, in sunburst finish, maple neck with skunk-stripe routing, twenty-one fret fingerboard with dot inlays, three pickups, three rotary controls, selector switch, tremolo bridge/tailblock and white pickguard; and a black rectangular hardshell case with black plush lining and Lee Dickson's handwritten tie-on label '56 S/B Srat 3385 and adhesive pencil label similarly inscribed
Eric Clapton said that he used this guitar for slide and recording throughout the 1970s. The guitar is set up with a high nut for this purpose. Clapton remarked that he used this guitar on various albums including Just One Night, Backless, Another Ticket and Slowhand.
Fender Strat 1956/Sunburst

Sale room notice

In the catalogue footnote we mention that this guitar was photographed backstage at Budokan, Tokyo, December, 1979 in the shot on p. 28 - this guitar is not however included in that photograph.

Lot Essay

This guitar was photographed backstage at Yoyogi Olympic Pool, Tokyo beside a selection of his stage guitars during Clapton's 1985 Japanese Tour - see illustration pp.112-113. It was also photographed backstage at Budokan, Tokyo, December, 1979 - see illustration p.128.

This Strat was apparently used tuned down by a tone, to play the song Forever Man during the 1985 Behind The Sun tour.

The stage-shot illustrated shows Clapton using this guitar during the Behind The Sun tour in New York on May 23 or 25, 1985.

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