Eric Clapton’s 1977 Juan Alvarez Classical Guitar
Most notably, Eric used this guitar for the recording of Tears in Heaven (1991). The guitar was also played during the MTV Unplugged concert in 1992, during which Clapton used it on the intro track, as well as on Tears in Heaver, Circus Left Town, and Lonely Stranger.
The guitar features a rosewood back and sides, cedar top, and cedar neck with ebony fingerboard. This is, of course, a hand-made instrument, made by one of the most respected classical guitar luthiers of the 20th century – Juan Alvarez. Since Alvarez’s death in 2001, the production was taken over by his son, Juan Miguel.
Eric’s 1977 Juan Alvarez on Auction
This guitar was one of the many sold through Eric’s Crossroads Guitar Auction organized in 2004. Based on the info shared by the auction house, Eric gave the guitar to the fashion designer Georgio Armani in 1996, writing “For Giorgio and everyone at ‘El Gadir’ – my love Eric C. 96” on top of the body.
Georgio was kind enough to donate the guitar for the cause, which was to aid the Crossroads Centre – a substance-abuse rehabilitation center located on the Caribbean island of Antigua. In the end, it fetched $253,900, making it one of the highest-priced guitars sold at the auction.
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Can you tell me which model of the 1977 Alvarez guitar Eric played? Thank you.
If I’m not wrong, the guitar doesn’t have a specific model name. The label inside only reads the constructor’s name, year, and the place where it was made. See this video, it’s the exact same model: https://youtu.be/AOLhrMSucmk?t=17
Thank you. The reason why I was wondering is that I just purchased a 1977 Alverez model 5006. It is in pristine shape and was hardly ever played. I’m just wondering if it’s a good guitar because I am just learning to play.
If you have an Alvarez 5006, that’s a Japanese-made guitar then, produced by a completely different manufacturer. They sell for around $250, based on this ad on Reverb. https://reverb.com/item/61461-alvarez-japan-5006-c-1972-natural-dark
These are very nice guitars if you’re just learning to play, but nothing too rare and special, unfortunately.
Great guitar my dad bought me one in Madrid in 1977. Beautiful sound