Eric Clapton, nicknamed "Slowhand", is a Grammy Award winning English guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. He is one of the most successful musicians of the 20th and 21st century, garnering an unprecedented three inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (The Yardbirds, Cream, and solo). Often viewed as one of the greatest guitarists of all time among critics and fans alike, Eric Clapton was ranked 4th in Rolling Stone’s list of  and #53 on their list of the The Immortals: 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Although Clapton's musical style has varied throughout his career, it has always remained rooted in the blues.

Clapton has had a lot of gear over the years and we will list some of the amazing gear that has helped shape the Clapton sound. Let's look at what gear and equipment has been seen in Eric Clapton's Gutiar Rig. 

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Click the gear images for more info and specs at Musician's Friend

Guitars
- Fender Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster (aka Blackie)

- Gibson Les Paul Standard Sunburst

- Gibson SG Standard

- Gibson ES-335

- Gibson Firebird

- Fender Telecaster blonde 1952

- Martin 000-28EC Eric Clapton signature model

Eric Clapton on his signature acoustic

Amps and Cabinets
- Vox AC-30

- Marshall 1962 2X12 45-watt combo (output tubes changed to KT66's)
- Marshall JCM800 Lead 1959 100-watt Marshall Heads

- Fender Twin (Tweed)

- Marshall Cabs

- Marshall 1960B  and 1960A  Cabinets / 4x12

- Marshall JTM-45 Head

- Soldano SLO-100 head
fier

-Cornell Custom 80 combo amplifier

Effects and More
Note: Eric Clapton does not use an overdrive pedal. He gets all of the overdrive from the 25dB boost in his guitar, a Fender Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster.

- Digitech Eric Clapton CrossRoads Signature pedal

- Boss Chorus CE-3

- Leslie pedal
- Jim Dunlop 535 Crybaby wah-wah pedal

- Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Wah Wah Pedal

- Vox Wah Wah Pedal

- Boss TR-2 Tremelo Pedal

- Glass Slide

- DBX 160 compressor

- Samson wireless pack
- Avalon DI box

Strings and picks
- Ernie Ball 10-46 gauge Regular Slinky strings (for electric)

- Martin MEC13 Clapton's Choice Bronze Acoustic Guitar strings 

- Ernie Ball Regular Slinky Acoustic Phosphor Bronze .012 - .054

- Ernie Ball heavy guitar picks

- Ernie Ball black Polypro strap

Comments

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fanfan  - Digitech   |2010-03-02 09:05:29 why would eric clapton use digital digitech pedals Reply 2   2

uberpro   |2010-03-02 09:33:01 He probably doesn't actually use the digitech in his normal rig. But he worked with Digitech to create that pedal, and obviously has one in his massive collection of guitar gear. Reply 2   0

thomas  - Strings   |2010-01-16 02:52:33 Eric Clapton has throughout his whole career used Ernie Ball Strings but he does not use 9-42 he actually has always used 10-46 regular slinkys. which i personally feel that string size just depends alot what you can bend. Reply 0   0

John Constantinides  - Mid-80s synthesizer rig (1984 "Hitch Hiking" and   |2009-08-19 11:07:39 1982 Roland G-505 Guitar Synth Controller (Candy Apple Red finish) S/N K824044 Roland GR-700 guitar synthesizer floor unit (grey) Roland PG-200 Roland GR-300 polyphonic synthesizer (blue) Eric said that he used the guitar synth during the "Edge Of Darkness" period circa 1985. This guitar has also been used on "Never Make You Cry" from the BEHIND THE SUN album of 1985, the "Pros & Cons of Hitch Hiking" tour of 1984 with Roger Waters and the "Behind The Sun" tour of 1985. Reply 1   0

Bluesderek  - EC String Gauges   |2009-08-11 10:56:41 In an early 90ies Guitar Player article, his guitar tech reports his string gauges 9-42 on electric (that was the soldano period as on the 24 Nights video/DVD) I am SURE he has moved up to 10s in the meantime to get the fat tone out of his tweed twin clones as an the Cream 2005 and Steve Winwood & EC DVDs Reply 0   0

Blue Thunder  - Clapton;s Amps   |2009-06-01 00:13:44 Eric Clapton uses amps made by Denis Cornell. The Cornell Custom 80 looks like a tweed fender but looks are deceiving. These 80 watt all tube amps can be seen at www.dc-developments.com go to products and then custom amps>eric's amp. Here is some info from the site "Tubby speakers enhancing its response thus resulting in the perfect Blues sound. If you are a Clapton fan, this amp can be seen and heard on several DVDs such as The Queen's Jubilee Concert, the Concert For George, John Mayall's 60th Birthday concert, to name a few. I am not affiliated with DC developments, I'm just a clapton fan who has had the pleasure to speak with Dennis and buy some of his equipment. Reply 5   0

Allen  - Amp used.   |2009-05-23 12:46:32 Amp used: Saw Clapton in 70/71? With Blind Faith, in Portland Oregon. He was using a Sun Coliseum. There must have been a distortion pedal of some kind. The Sun was a solid state, very clean amp. I don't think that overdriving it would have created the needed clipping/compression. Reply 0   0

Gerry Blue  - Strings   |2009-05-14 17:11:39 I though he used 10's, that's what Lee says, but if you look closely, especially in the 24 nights videos, string seem light, hard to tell though Reply 6   0

ROMANBLUES   |2008-09-26 14:55:58 Eric used(70's)MUSICMAN HD-130 amps(naturally a 130 watt"hybrid"amp,he used modded 200 watters),there are a couple pictures,endorsement adds and video clips around showing Eric with his MUSICMANS. Reply 7   1

John 6:66   |2008-04-11 17:25:10 Fender Dual Showman w/ Delaney and Bonnie, Fender Princeton and Champ at Criteria Studios, Miami. Confords in England. Gibson Explorers (on tour, seventies) Custom Dobro style guitar, Zemaitis and Guild acoustics. Reply 4   2

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