Eric Clapton’s Guitars and Gear

Eric’s guitar collection features some of the most iconic instruments in the history of Rock and Roll. His first guitar was a cheap Kay Jazz II model, but by 1964 Clapton already moved onto a red Fender Telecaster, which he used on the majority of the material that he recorded with the Yardbirds. In 1966, he acquired a 1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard, nicknamed “Beano-burst”, that would become one of the most iconic guitars of the period. A year later, he started using a Gibson SG Standard, nicknamed “The Fool”, decorated in psychedelic colors and designs.

In 1970, Eric had made a big shift, and moved away from Gibson guitars, towards Fender. His first majorly important guitar was a 1956 Fender Stratocaster, also known as “Brownie”. With this guitar, Eric would go on to record “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs”, before retiring it in 1975 – in favor of another Stratocaster, Blackie.

This second Stratocaster was assembled by Eric, using parts from four different 1950s Stratocasters that he bought from George Gruhn. He would use the Blackie until around a decade later, at which point Fender started producing replicas of the guitar, for Eric to use, and for the fans to purchase themselves.

As far as amplification, the two amps worth singling out are the Marshall Bluesbreaker Model 1962 and a Marshall JTM45/100. The Model 1962 was used to record “Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton” (a.k.a. The Beano Album) in early to mid-1966, while the JTM45/100 was Eric’s main amp during Cream/Blind Faith era.