Someone had written a post about the topic of whether Eric Clapton prefers a Gibson or a Fender. This is an interview where he discusses his blues guitar of choice.
Gibson vs. Fender
For many years, fans wondered what prompted Eric Clapton’s transition from Gibson Guitars to Fender Guitars. Many still maintain Clapton had his best tone / sound when playing a Gibson Les Paul through a Marshall Stack.
In The Yardbirds, Clapton sometimes played his Cherry Red Gibson ES-335 (although it was frequently on loan to bandmate Chris Dreja) and a Fender Telecaster. From mid-1965 he became exclusively a player of Gibson guitars, when he purchased a 1960 Cherry Sunburst Les Paul. He played Les Pauls almost exclusively until 1967, when he acquired a Gibson SG (The Fool Guitar). A year later, he began playing a Gibson Firebird and started using his Cherry Red ES-335 once again. Late in 1969, the transition to Fender Stratocasters began and it was complete by 1970.
In his introduction to the book The Stratocaster Chronicles, Clapton himself explained it:
I never did meet Leo Fender, but I wish I had. If I could go back and somehow talk to him about the Stratocaster, I’d say, “You’ve created something that can’t be bettered, really. How did you do that?” I know there were prototypes with the Telecaster and the Esquire, and some early experimental stages, but nevertheless, the fact that he got to this conclusion so quickly is remarkable, isn’t it? Leo Fender was so far in advance of anybody else, developing the Strat to the point where it just can’t be bettered, even now. My hat’s off to him.
One reason why I hadn’t played Strats earlier was that the necks always looked so narrow I thought, I won’t be able to bend any strings, no room, but in fact I was wrong. And any Strat that I’d seen up until that time had a rosewood fingerboard, and I had an aversion to rosewood fingerboards — don’t ask me why — even though some of my earlier guitars had them. I’d always preferred ebony. I liked that silky finish. Of course, when I got my hands on a maple-neck Strat
with the white fingerboard, I was surprised at how easy it was to play.
I had a lot of influences when I took up the Strat. First there was Buddy Holly, and Buddy Guy. Hank Marvin was the first well known person over here in England who was using one, but that wasn’t really my kind of music. Steve Winwood had so much credibility, and when he started playing one, I thought, oh, if he can do it, I can do it.
Picking up a Stratocaster makes me play a bit differently. I find that over the last few years I play more with my fingers because of the way my hand sits on the guitar. I don’t feel the need to use a pick quite so much as I would with any other guitar, where the bridge sits higher off the body. With the Strat the bridge is almost flush with the guitar, so my hand rests on the body, part of my heel rests on the bridge, and then my fingers rest on the scratchplate. It’s really easy to play either way, but I’ve found more and more that I’m using just my fingers.
It’s got those famous lead tones, but it’s so versatile you can use it in any kind of rhythmic sense as well — great big power chords, or that really light kind of Tamla/ Motown chord sound with very little volume. Unlike most other electric guitars, it sounds almost better when the guitar’s volume knob is on 2 or 3, really under-amplified and quiet.
Eric continued,
I keep coming back to the Stratocaster because it’s so practical. It doesn’t move very much, it’s stable, it stays in tune, and has a great sound. It’s fairly invincible, quite difficult to damage. I really like the old coil pickups, especially that middle and bridge combination. I used that for the solo in “Bell Bottom Blues,” which would be a classic example of that sound. But I’ve got those new Noiseless pickups now, and active circuitry, and I get so many different sounds coming out of the Stratocaster that it’s hard to compare it to any other guitar. My other guitars, I only visit them from time to time. I very rarely use anything else but the Strat.
My feelings about a perfect design is that it has to be functional, and with the Strat, its functionality really steers it. That’s what makes the design so beautiful. It’s superbly thought out. At first I thought it was odd to have only one volume control, but that’s only because I was used to a different set-up. All the things I love about it aesthetically are there for a real purpose, like the contoured back. If those things were based just on the way they looked, that would be fine, but everything on that guitar is there for a reason. Like the pegboard, with all the tuning pegs on the top. That’s such a logical thing to do when you think about how accessible it is.
I come back to the fact that I don’t think there’s anything on that guitar that doesn’t come from pure logic. I would challenge anybody to come up with a better design for a guitar. The Stratocaster is as good as it gets, isn’t it? – Eric Clapton
Well that pretty much settles it on what he prefers. Any thoughts? Leave your comments below.
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Eric is definitely a Strat fan. A friend of mine has a ’76 Strat with a Maple neck and fingerboard and I have played it several times. For me it was the easiest guitar to hold and play that I had ever picked up. That guitar just fits, and sound tremendous, but still like my LP better.
Strats are great, but I still think that Gibson ES-335 is one hell of a guitar for playing blues
I have to admit that I love the look and craftmanship of gibsons better. But all of my heroes play strats (buddy guy, clapton, srv, hendrix, gilmore) and to me nothing feels as good in my hands. So for me its a strat but I will allways be envious of a great looking les paul or ES 335.
Eric makes a great point about functionality.
I’m a Lefty so my selection is severely limited.
My father warned me to learn right handed…
“But Dad, it just doesn’t FEEL right.”
I had a gorgeous LP Standard that I loved. Long story short, I traded it for a Lefty Spanish guitar ‘cos I thought I was gonna be doing more solo guitar playing than with bands.
Things have changed again and a couple years later I’m saving to buy another high end electric guitar. I currently have a Yamaha Pacifica which is based on a Strat design. It’s true…it rarely goes out of tune and is very trustworthy. It’s stuck around for 15 years now while others have come and gone ( including the aforementioned Les Paul Standard, a Larivee that died after many years of service and some custom made disappointments). The Yammy has a humbucker in the bridge position.
I love the look and sound of Les Pauls. But I also sing…and they’re so darn heavy!
I’ve seen some nice looking Ibanez guitars online…but any time I’ve ever purchased a guitar without “taking it for a spin” it has ended in disappointment.
In my town there are usually several Strats and Les Pauls to at least try out in the store…
It’ll probably take a few more months to save up ( I’m allergic to my credit cards at the moment ) so it’ll be interesting to see how things turn out. Will I go for the Strat? I am a huge fan of EC’s guitar artistry. hmmm…
Bottom line? I love the functionality of a Strat. I just don’t like that dang 60 cycle hum noise. I don’t know what the noiseless pickups are like. Perhaps I’ll be able to find a Lefty with them or install them.
I love the look and sound of the Les Paul. But so fragile and heavy on the shoulders.
Any “feedback”?
Best to all in guitar and Life,
Dave
I sold a Epi LP to buy my current Strat with a humbucker in the bridge position. I like all guitars, each has a unique sound. But for me, the Strat is much easier to play. I must admit, I have GAS for a 335 style guitar, which may be in my future. But the Strat is hard to beat!
I agree with Chris. Eric is the man, Strats are amazing, and the ES-335 is a great Blues guitar!
Strats and LP are both great guitars. Had and played both, so why is it that I keep going back to my old and faithful Telecaster?
Like your website, great articles. Bookmarked and will be back to read more.I think that this blog is definitely one of the most interesting of my adventures in blogging.
I watched a channel 4 show years ago called Equinox. On there was a guy, Andy Summers of The Police i think, who simply said “Leo Fender got it right”. I don’t think anything else needs to be added to that. The contours of the body sit perfectly, the tone on mine has changed due to a nice set of Seymour Duncan SSL’s, a perfect blues or rock machine.
He may like the Strat, but his best tone came from a Les Paul. He even tries, but fails, to get that tone through the active electronics that he has on his strat.
……and then you have Mark Knopfler, a strat player who went to Gibson. I wonder what he’d say?
I’m a strat player BTW.
SB
Strats are the best guitars, ever, no doubt about it. Great post.
I am a huge clapton fan and have been since the sixties. I’m also a fan of guitars. I’d like to know if Eric ever played a Mosrite.
I started with an Epi Les Paul copy after learning on an acoustic. I however did not like the muddy or darker tone of the humbuckers. I guess I should say I like the articulation and clean of the single coils, so I stuck with the body I knew and got another LP copy with P90s but the noise was just increadible with them but I liked the tone. I later pieced together a Fender Strat about two years ago and have been a single coil guy since. I have since settled in with a Telecaster recently with a Twisted Tele neck pickup. That pickup has the tone of a strat neck pickup (which is my favrite tone on the strat). So with the Tele the simplicity of the three positions (well mine has a 4 way switch where position 4 is in series) suite me. But I get the great bluesy sound from the Twisted Tele neck pickup, funk in the middle position and twang in the bridge. Roll back the tone knob and volume a bit and you get some very nice Jazz tones. The Tele just does it for me. Leo got it right the first time.
Love his sound,But listen real close,He is always trying to get that gibson tone out of his fender.I think he likes the fender better for playing,But misses that humbucking gibson sound.i got both,lay a les paul and a fender side by side,Witch is prettyer?plug them into the same amp,play them,Now compar looks and sound…GIBSON!!!
I always wonder why Clapton switched; As for me, I am use to playing strats,but no other strat feels or sounds like that first el cheapo I had when I started. And I’ve always been curious about Les Pauls,I tried one awhile back at a music store,yes it was heavy and Loud but the clean pickup was really articulate,and it seemed that it was also fancy bending strings on that guitar. I now play a Shecter Tempest Custom, in my opinion it resembles more of Les Paul family guitars but has more of a strat feel. I love this guitar,it even has a coil tap so you can play a single coil at the neck position.I ownd a tele once and I liked that guitar too But I still kind of miss the deep clean tone of some of the Strats I gave away. I think deep clean tone belongs to the Stratecaster. DC
In my opinion, the Strat is an acquired taste. New, developing guitarists have difficulty understanding and employing the nuances of sound that the guitar can provide. It simply is harder to play a Strat really well. Gibsons and, generally, most humbucker pickup guitars are easier to make sound good and are more forgiving. You have to be fairly confident in your playing and have some chops to get the most out of a Strat. But at that point, it really is a wonderful instrument. And the fact that you can buy a quality Fender instrument at such comparatively reasonable prices is the icing on the cake. Gibsons are so very over-priced. And until recently, your big bucks for a Gibson didn’t always mean you got top quality for the money either. Now Gibson’s semi-automated production processes are much better at producing quality instruments time after time. But you still have to pay twice as much for a really quality Gibson than for a really quality Fender.
Every guitar player should own at least one Strat. You won’t get the same sound or playing experience from anything else. A truly unique guitar.
SO TRUE!!! Play the old stuff, the Fender just doesn’t cut it. Not biting enough.
If Strats are so great, why have so many players (Clapton, Gilmour et al) customised their guitars? None of them play off-the-peg instruments, they’ve all had pick-up upgrades for a start. And what about the trems? Never heard Clapton use a trem, so why not use a guitar with a stoptail? Wouldn’t that be more stable?
I’ve always loved the look of a Strat – it’s one of the most beautiful guitars ever made, and much prettier than most Gibsons – but I’m coming round to Gibsons more and more. It’s not just the richer, more powerful humbucker sounds but also the build quality. Fenders were designed to be built on a production line by migrant workers, Gibsons have the look and feel of a hand-made instrument. (Consider this: what do you see most of in a PRS, Fender or Gibson DNA?)
An interesting debate, and one I’m sure will go on and on. . !
I only own 3 electric guitars. Two of them are a Gibson Les Paul Junior Special and a Lone Star Telecaster. I’ve been playing the Gibson since 2003 and it’s a brick, but it’s a SOLID brick. The thing never, never, never goes out of tune even through extreme temperature changes. (I brought it from Florida to California during winter and stayed in the grand canyon.) That things was still tuned. It has a sixties neck and the p-100s sound great for blues, rock, and jazz.
The Lone Star I love as well, but I bought it with weird intonation problems that my guitar tech couldn’t fix. It doesn’t stay in tune as well, but it feels awesomely comfortable and has a great tone as well with the Texas specials and the Pearly Gates humbucker in the bridge.
I think they are both great guitars, but in my case the Gibson came out of the box in top performance. I think the trick with a Gibson is the stopbar and angle neck-nut that keeps everything in tune.
Strats are great guitars, especially if you’re going to be playing for an extended period of time. The light weight and easy neck access is a huge factor in why so many people love them. Personally, I prefer the sound of a Gibson Les Paul. The tone (in my opinion) is much richer than that of a Strat. Even the Fat Strat sound isn’t beefy enough for me. The Les Paul is much heavier, and may be a burden to play for 2 or 3 sets, but when you hear it, you know the tone is all Gibson. To solve the upper fret access issue, my favorite Les Paul is the Double Cutaway.
I have Strats, Pauls, Firebirds,Futura’s,335s,SGs Rushmore’s, Vs etc etc..I have played them all to blues and Rock….if your good… it does not matter what you play….if you have a blues bone in your soul, it will sound good regardless….more time picking the correct amplifier, speakers and pedals if you use them are what you should spend your time on, The front pick up on Strats especially vintage strats are unmistakable in sound and tone, however Firebirds and Pauls also in the middle PU position are unmistakable as well, I have a 75 Ibanez Moderne copy that trumps everything with its real PAF sound but my custom Rushmore with what i call distinct overtones….like I said if you can crank it out it really does not matter what guitar you play you should be able to make it sound good.
I have a PRS Custom 22 that will kill anything in my opinion. I traded a Strat for it; loved the sound but hated the feel! The 25.5″ scale was way too long. The 25″ PRS has a much more comfortable neck, and can get Strat or LP sounds. True, split buckers will never really be single coils, but it gets REALLY close.