I own 4 other Fender Strats, a G&L and a custom pearl inlaid Strat copy. This "Clapton" guitar is one "Fine Guitar" it is by far the easiest, smoothest, sweetest, gnarliest guitar I have ever played. Hands down. I rate all my others by this one. The neck is "wow", it's like butter. The electronics allow a extremely wide wide range of tones. Clean to overloaded. Don't hesitate if you want a fine guitar. BTW, I've been playing in bands for 31 years.

This guitar is butter in the hands. Far and away the silkiest neck I have ever played on. The guitar feels and plays great, but where it really shines is the sound.

The Eric Clapton Artist Series guitar has the most incredible tonal range of any instrument I have ever played or heard. The mid-boost control eliminates the need for any sustain or distortion from pedals, at least for blues and rock music. It can go from rhythm to lead with just a twist of the volume knob, and can handle country music with ease.

If you only ever buy one electric, make it this one.

The EC Strat instantly became my #1. This is by far the most resonant Strat I've played - acoustically it rings forever. The gadgets under the hood are cool, but the real magic is the perfect neck and balance. Mine weighs in at 7.45lbs, had a pro setup and a bone nut added. A pro guitar on every level. As for the buzzing reported, I have absolutely none. One thing I do know is you should set the pickups very low.

I'm the biggest Clapton fan you'll ever meet. I've been to as many shows as humanly possible, bought all the crap with this name on it... anyway the guitar will not make you play like clapton. It might get you close to his sound but its only going to take you so far. My biggest problem is if I'm going to pay this much for a guitar they should sheild the pickguard for me. Its not. I had this pop sound forever coming out of my amp when I put my hands on it. turned out to be static and your american series guitars are cheaper have this shielding so you don't get that pop noise. The highlight is the 25dB boost you won't be disappointed with it. The guitar other then that is just a regular strat in my opinion. Plays great sounds great just needs shielding on the pickguard.

First off I'd like to mention I have been playing for 40 years. (I'm 47) You could say I may know a few things about guitars in general. I have owned and played some high end custom shop Fenders and Gibson, PRS etc. Maybe mine is exceptional but this is without a doubt the finest guitar I have ever played. The line between "custom shop" and production is blurred- it's that good. I thought I would be put off by the vintage style frets but it allows for very low action with no buzz anywhere on the board and bending is effortless. The "V" neck profile plays great also - very comfortable. The noiseless pups with mid boost in addition to the TBX control allows you to cover a lot of sonic ground. This guitar will indeed do metal and very well in addtion to be being as chimey as any Strat should be. It's amazing that the vintage style tuners and trem set up which is essentially 50's technology was never really improved upon nor did it need to be other than to appease the perception that updates and variations from the original were the way to go as "newer" ideas had to be better. This thing never goes out of tune. Unplugged it is almost acoustic in sound -very loud. After all this time serching for MY perfect guitar I've found it in the EC Strat.