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Bohlinger does SlowMind Prig rundown. Helps spread disease. 3 day old issue date w/ week old favorable comments. A multitude of angry callouts of Bohlinger’s & Clapton’s reckless endangerment deleted.
He has written some of the best music I’ve ever heard in my life. I can’t imagine my life without some of the songs Clapton wrote. Thank you for all the great music through the years.
@@pippipster6767 or could it be we can read the credits on every album and know exactly who wrote which songs? What a dumbass thing to say, diD yOu KnOw ClApToN rEcOrDeD cOvErS??? Yes. Famously. He also wrote a ton of great songs, rearranged many of the covers, and improvised every solo he’s ever played. Nobody is confused about his creative input.
Eric has laid the foundation of his tone with almost nothing except his fingers and good quality strats and amps. 95% of the pedals and gear you can buy now wasn't even around when he first started out. The fact that he doesn't even use an overdrive pedal on stage is just awesome. just push the amp far enough to break up the signal to your liking and there's your master blues tone =P
Runs a tube amp at 7 which is typically well into power stage compression and distortion and boosted with the preamp in his Strats. Yeah no pedal needed there. Dirty little secret of the "amp only" guys, they choose the amp for the room, and blast it, then "look ma, I don't need no pedals"!
Those days have sailed. His former guitar tech tried to get him to use some Gibsons and a Marshall during the Cream reunion and he told him to get this F@@@ing stuff out of here!
@@r.m7921 On the DVD release there is extra footage and they explained they tried it, but they had all evolved from that sound in 1968. They made the conscience decision to rehearse with the equipment they use now because they in the their own words said we aren't those men anymore. Also those Marshall stacks are loud and the only reason they used those in the 60's was because the venues got bigger and modern sound reinforcement didn't exist yet. Clapton uses Fender Tweed amps, during Cream's reunion he used 40 watt twins. In this rig run down he uses Band masters. Clapton is using lower and lower powered amps as he's getting old it seems. But the Tweed Twin 40, and the Marshall Bluesbreaker JTM 45 are basically the same amp design. The Bluesbreakers used KT88 or KT66 output tubes, later Marshall used EL34 output tubes, Fender on the other hand used 6L6 ouput tubes. Each country used what the parts were that were readily available to them. Clapton said he preferred the Fender amps because they were more consistent. He could pick one up anywhere and it sounded the same as his, while the Marshall every amp sounded slightly different from the next.
How refreshing, just goes to show, you can have all the gizmos in the world but when it all comes down ya just need to know how to play… just gotta love Éric..
This man might have the best job on earth. Gets to hang out with Clapton all day, all guitars are stock, amps all set to 7 and no pedals. All he worries about is changing strings
Mr Clapton has the touch and talent that doesn’t need any special gear.. thanks for showing that one of the best in the world just has what almost everyone has access to. It’s about practice and learning theory and more practice.
@@ileutur6863 Unless you are in The Police tribute band.. who cares about phaser .. nice, but so outdated.. just a gimmick ;).. But hey ! I loved my Boss flanger in 1982 so much.. I can see your point
Im 43 and I’m a seasoned musician. Been a session bassist for a while now and used to be in a traveling and out of high school. My teenage son is now playing guitar and is constantly wanting the new pedal that’s coming out. I get it. I do. But I keep telling him, the mass majority of tone is found in your fingers! I strongly believe this. Sure some other things helps some. Kenny Vaughn is one of my favorite pickers and he mainly just uses a tele, amp and tuner lol. Eric Clapton has tone for days with his simple setup
@@niftylights3 I was thinking about doing that for myself. All Seymour Duncan pickups.( quarter pound strat neck pup, lipstick middle pup, 51' no caster tele bridge pup NOT slanted.) This is how I want to wire my guitar, I have a 7 way thing going RN. [Position 5 neck pickup, position 4 neck&Middle, position 3 middle&Bridge, position 2 neck&bridge wired as humbucker, position 1 Bridge. I feel like that would be a bit better wiring but idk.
@@joerobinson2538 for real, especially when you listen to him talk in other videos about how the #4 position (middle and bridge) was his sweet spot for all the Derek and the Dominoes stuff
I'm a big fan of Clapton since the 60,s . I'm 71 now. Still his biggest fan. Thanks for your rundown. Awesome. I got to get me a Clapton signature strat of any kind.John I'm your biggest fan now also. Thanks brother.
a legend says that Eric saw a big pedalboard of his supporting guitarrist on a tour and said "ok, thats beautiful. but if you play a wrong chord cause of that you are out" lol. Clapton is God
From the heart and soul then through the fingers, that's the way EC sounds. I've seen of late that nearly all of the highest esteemed players are using the guitars' own ability to adjust tone and volume, not much need for anything else to enhance their talent and technique. Amazing.
This was an awesome video..always wanted to know Claptons rundown I love how he uses next to nothing for gear and sounds absolutely amazing…Hendrix and Clapton are the 2 gods of guitar
I tried out the Clapton strat that came out around '87. It had one of the best active boosts I'd ever heard on a single coil setup. It was quiet and it worked.
One of the guys that worked on that circuit is Paul Gagon, who now works for G&L. Paul has taken some of Leo's unfinished pickup designs and "completed" them for use in some of G&L's new models.
Wish I knew more about musicianship than what esoteric electronics adds to a trac. Erics' attention to detail has made him my reference for audio exceptionalism. As a man, he has my eternal thanks for Antigua.
Man, I saw him the night of this show. The whole band sounded great and Eric is still on his game. We should all take a cue from the master... a well made instrument into a properly built amp is all you need!!
With Clapton these days it seems like it's more about comfort lol. he's an old guy now and just wants to strap on a strat and play without having to worry about shit.
@@Ironworthstriking His arthritis is starting to play up on him and he's said in interviews that he can't play like he used to. This would be his calling card for comfort on stage. having minimal gear on stage probably makes him feel more at ease about performing too.
Wow, this is SO refreshing!!! I really enjoyed seeing/ learning how simple Clapton’s set up is. Even his use of basically stock guitars. Just amazing. Not trying to throw anyone under the bus, but compare Eric’s stuff to The Edge’s rig rundown. If I remember correctly, he has a couple dozen guitars, tons of effects pedals and processors, at least ten amps. Crazy.
You are so right ...Im a U2 and edge fan...but really he like changes guitar every song and they all sound the same ...and i mean that as a compliment as Edge has a great signature sound... i reckon all he needs is a strat and an explorer.... .lol
No-one inspired me more than EC. On my new album I play a 1990 Blackie and and 2010 Blackie. The sound is so unique. Thank you Eric for the soundtrack of my life 🎸🎸🎸
That strap is worth at least two of the guitars I own! Clapton is arguably the best guitarist in the world today. Note I didn't say guitar player as he can play virtually any tune in any genre.
That IS impressive! I have tons of gear and am still always searching for a better sound. Here we have a guy who can carry a whole arena show with a strat, wah wah and an old amp (not even stereo. No chorus. No echo. No fuzz). That knocks me out!
Eric's best tone (and performance) IMHO were at the Dominos' Fillmore gigs. Brownie through the wah, Fuzz Face and cranked Fenders just had a vocal tone that really went so far above and beyond his typical recorded tones. When I was a kid, the Clapton sig was the guitar I wanted more than any other. All these years gone by, I still kinda want one, a first gen pewter with Lace Sensors.
A couple years ago, someone gave me an old strat that they had sitting in their garage. It had a battery in it, which I thought was unique for a strat. I thought it just had active pickups in it. They had no hum but the output was way higher than my other strat. It was a whole year before I finally opened it up and found the mid boost circuit in there, and it also had a dummy coil to cancel the hum. If you can get one of those Clapton guitars with the boost, you won’t be disappointed.
The SLO 100 Soldano era was Eric Clapton's finest hour tone-wise. Why would he abandon that historically unmatched incredible tone? The perfect marriage-the EC Strat and the SLO100! Soldano told me why: "all about the Fender endorsement money." Clapton's loss!
This was wild and little tidbit of info was cool! Be cool to see John Mayer do one of these again! I am sure he would have a ball talking about his gear.
Interesting that he’s just using a three-way switch on the Strat. He used the in-between sounds all the time on his first solo album and it sounded glorious. I miss that.
Bohlinger does SlowMind Prig rundown. Bohlinger helps Clapton spread disease. 3 day old issue date w/ week old favorable comments. A multitude of angry callouts of Bohlinger’s & Clapton’s reckless endangerment deleted.
Jimmy Vaughn is the same way, he just tours with a couple of his signature strats and two hand made to spec amps and 1 pedal off the rack. Those old school guys, are the best man they don’t need stuff they just play. He could grab and make anything sing. So he ditched the mid boost circuit eh? I think he said he left it on all the time anyway.
Same with; BB King, straight into a Twin…Buddy Guy, straight into a Bassman. Difference is they have their amps dimed & use their guitar vol where the sound man adjusts the PA. In the pubs I play, if I dimed a Twin, I’d be thrown out…today people think a Princeton is too loud. Hence the need for other solutions…reluctantly.
@@neilgaydon5430 I have played harmonica 47 years and was full time pro by age 20. FL, San Diego (late '70's), LA, OR, Austin+ tour. 80% of the time a 1957-1960 Tweed Bassman (I have owned about 10 now & replicas) with at most a delay pedal. Have at times played other amps, Super Reverb, Concerts, Tweed Deluxes, Princeton. Currently small amp is 1954 Gibson GA-6 but still- just a good vintage mic and cable to amp.
Keith Richards has the same approach. Minimal pedals and just uses the right guitar controls into the amp. He famously states "Give me any guitar and any amp and within 10 mins I'll make them sound like Keith Richards" :)
I have an early (1992-3) Custom Shop Blackie that I bought with a broken truss rod and sever screwed up Lace Sensor p/u system. I had an exact replica "Gilmour" "Black Strat" loaded pickguard made at Overdrive Custom Guitar Works, and a new "Birdseye/flame maple 7.25" neck made at Warmoth. The body looks like it was dragged across Texas behind a pickup, but it's my #1 and favorite guitar now!! The tone is awesome and irreplaceable!! Just thought someone may like that story. 8) JMHO... --gary
That's weird. The middle position on a Tele and a Gibson have a similar type of tone, but the middle position on a Stratocaster is just one pickup, and sounds nothing like the other two.
@@chrismcelrath9098 It's funny. I forgot all about that comment, from one year ago. We will have to respectfully disagree on that issue, though. I wonder what kind of Stratocaster you are using? For me, the middle position is my preferred choice, precisely because it isn't too trebly, or too bassy/rounded in tone. The neck p.u. by itself would have to be my least used option. The bridge is great for rock, when you want to cut through everything. However, being able to roll the treble off gives it far more versatility. I don't play in rock bands, but use the guitar in songwriting and recording, so our needs are probably totally different. I can certainly get a nice warm sound from the middle p.u. Perhaps it's just a case of personal taste.
What would be the Music world without the Phantastic Music Eric gave us ? From Cream /Yardbirds , to Blind Faith , Derek & The Dominos , His 70´s Solo Carreer ..He was so often RE-born as a Legend .. He is one of my ALL Time Favs !
I like a cool intricate rig as much as the next guy, but I also love the simplicity here. It’s like the anti-rig rundown. The tech seems almost embarrassed to reveal how easy his job is.
This is a good lesson for anyone who plays guitar. You don't need a truckload of gear to sound good. Just one good guitar and one great sounding amp. Learn how to use that gear and practice, practice, practice.
In a way, I'm not surprised Mr. Clapton only has three guitars on tour. In Cream, most of his US tours were with one main guitar (The Fool SG) and a backup.
In a 1976 Guitar Player issue interview it was said at the time Clapton hadn’t changed his strings since mid ‘74. His tech wanted to at least “buff” the strings for clapton but clap wouldn’t let him. So this GP interview is probably the source of the where John heard that clapton didn’t like his strings changed. A lot has changed since then and it appeared in the interviews with the band that guys just did what worked for them at that time and weren't as tech savvy as your average player now.
For the Strat colors, does everyone agree that those are (from left to right, while sitting in the rack): Midnight Blue, Almond Green, Mercedes Blue? Thanks so much to Premier Guitar and to Dan D. (+ EC)! for the rig rundown.
I like the fender vid On Erics blackie . The senior master guitar builder... Starts overlooking the other experts. When Eric built the guitar out of 5 junk shop guitars him self whilst on the road. At a time when they were cheap & unwanted .
My 89 fender EC is the perfect guitar for “sit in nights” Whatever amp is available I can go from crystal clean to heavy overdrive and shock all around me...
Clapton was *never* God. Good guitar playing was never a qualification for encouraging reckless endangerment of audience members & those they can infect.
I've seen Clapton in '99 '04 '05 '06 '08 '17 all at Madison Square Garden and I have to say I miss the Crash guitars he was using in the early 00's even though they were just his signature model... his playing was so aggressive and technical during those years
Very cool and interesting Rig Rundown. Love the simplicity. Newer Custom Shop Strat, cord, wah pedal, amp. Done. And only three Strats on tour. Joe Bonamassa should take note. You don't need millions of dollars of vintage guitars on tour with you of you have the talent.
So glad you mentioned the 12-string as apparently Dan is quite the builder. Lingering questions: Speakers in the Bandmasters? Marshall still pushing the Leslie? What Crybaby this year? Still Ernie Ball Heavy picks? Mic for the acoustic?
I loved the video! I love all the Rig Rundowns! I think Mr Dearnley has a dream job as guitar/amp tech for EC! Seems his job is a bit easier than say, Neil Young's tech. LOL. These strats Eric uses on stage are not the EC signature strats you can purchase. His signature models don't come in his preferred car colors. The Aston-Martin blue one in the video appears to have a quarter sawn neck as can be seen when he held it up close to the camera, signatures do not. Eric had Fender change the neck profile some years ago from the soft V to his favorite Martin shape. Eric also had the TBX pot changed to a master tone pot some years back. Can't say for sure about the pickup switch on the ones in the video but the Signature models are 5 way like all strats nowadays. Blackie and Brownie came with 3 position back in the day and Eric found that sweet spot between bridge and middle as did other guitarists which led to Fender making the 5 way switch. I wish Fender would update the signatures to be more like what he plays now instead of what he played 35 years ago.
I’m not sure that you can call lugging a Leslie around as a “minimal set up”. I’d happily throw out my pedal board f I had 2 Dumble built amps and a Leslie as my minimal set-up. That said another great rig rundown PG… thanks!
Gigging with a Leslie isn’t that crazy, I used to gig with a single-rotor Leslie 110 (similar to a Vibratone but in a wood cab) powered by whatever amp, sometimes just a Blues Jr as a head. It was smaller than my Bassman 4x10
I believe minimal was referring to signal chain not quality of gear. One amp on most of the time, then add in a Leslie isn't complicated. Most of the gear was backup.
Check out the George Alessandro Fender rebuilds he’s doing. He’s doing amazing handwired versions of all the fenders and they sound amazing. Derek Trucks is playing an Alessandro built vibrolux right now and it sounds so good!
John always sounds stoned as hell… but his enthusiasm is at “11” and is awesome. EC plays with even less pedals than I expected. Just goes to show how talent shines through any set up.
Bohlinger does SlowMind Prig Rundown. Bohlinger helps Clapton spread disease. 3 day old issue date w/ week old favorable comments. A multitude of angry callouts of Bohlinger’s & Clapton’s reckless endangerment deleted.
@@Bluzian74 Clapton’s personal-and very unusual--vaxx misfortunes are no reason to repeatedly trash the vaccine to healthier people better able to tolerate it. No reason to insist on totally avoiding venues that have vaccine mandates.
@@jktolford8272 But that's contradictory. What about the healthier people who don't want to be mandated? If the vax had any efficacy, nobody needs to worry about if others don't. Why does your willingness to submit and comply impede on my natural immune system and desire to see EC? Can't you see that it's fascism? I support EC. I don't support discrimination. IF you want to get 6 vaccinations, fine. If you want to wear 3 masks at once, go for it. But I chose NOT to. So no we're at an impasse. This is exactly what Nazi Germany was like in the 1930s. Only this time, it's the radical LEFT imposing outrageous rules and restrictions on everyday common folk who are healthy. It's abhorrently reprehensible. It's all gone TOO far now. Are you proud of being a fascist?
@@Bluzian74 False science, false political comparisons. Vaccines have efficacy, they are just not 100% effective. Any protection more than the statistical margin of error, usually 5%, has efficacy. Early vaccine studies predicted over 90% protection. Bottlenecks in supply & slow compliance allowed covid to mutate. When viruses multiply, they mutate to something that can spread more quickly, i.e. delta variant. Mutate to something against which existing vaccines are less effective, i.e. delta variant. Mutate to something against which existing vaccines are totally ineffective, not delta variant, *yet.* Mutate to something that is more severe or deadly, not delta variant, *yet.* Refusing to vaccinate & mask, insisting on large gatherings allows more mutation. Doing this to see EC is selfish & endangers all of us. Choosing amongst masking, masking, distancing & isolation is *nothing* like the horrors of Nazi Germany & saying so is abhorrently reprehensible. I'm proud to be rational, moral & not at all a fascist.
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wasn't a fan of this rig rundown sadly, it's not as good when you never get the artists to talk about the gear. it takes away from the video
Bohlinger does SlowMind Prig rundown. Helps spread disease. 3 day old issue date w/ week old favorable comments. A multitude of angry callouts of Bohlinger’s & Clapton’s reckless endangerment deleted.
Surprised you didn’t ask about the wood on the 000-42.
I see now, koa and alpine, very nice.
Love Clapton, this guy explains Clapton's gear like he's nervous someone's going to find out how easy his job is haha.
that's what i thought too :)
100% he is
cracks me up,stock guitar??? what??? lol. nooooooo,wheres that golden pickup that makes him sound so great,lol.
Right? And he pays me for this too. :D :D LOL!!!
Haha... true! :D
That Strat in Aston Martin green is beautiful
He has written some of the best music I’ve ever heard in my life. I can’t imagine my life without some of the songs Clapton wrote. Thank you for all the great music through the years.
Some of the songs you think he wrote other people wrote.
@@pippipster6767 or could it be we can read the credits on every album and know exactly who wrote which songs? What a dumbass thing to say, diD yOu KnOw ClApToN rEcOrDeD cOvErS??? Yes. Famously. He also wrote a ton of great songs, rearranged many of the covers, and improvised every solo he’s ever played. Nobody is confused about his creative input.
Eric has laid the foundation of his tone with almost nothing except his fingers and good quality strats and amps. 95% of the pedals and gear you can buy now wasn't even around when he first started out. The fact that he doesn't even use an overdrive pedal on stage is just awesome. just push the amp far enough to break up the signal to your liking and there's your master blues tone =P
Good luck playing a show that loud
Clapton has a 25db boost on his volume knob. I imagine that provides a good kick to the output.
No but he uses a "boost pedal" that's built in to the guitar.
@JC. Yes, that is built into the volume knob. He pushes it up/down to get that boost. Eric Johnson has one too.
Runs a tube amp at 7 which is typically well into power stage compression and distortion and boosted with the preamp in his Strats. Yeah no pedal needed there. Dirty little secret of the "amp only" guys, they choose the amp for the room, and blast it, then "look ma, I don't need no pedals"!
Only thing better than Clapton's guitar playing is his integrity and balls to call out bullshit for what it is. Forever a legend.
I love the simple setup, but would also love to see Clapton with an SG and a Marshall stack again.
Those days have sailed. His former guitar tech tried to get him to use some Gibsons and a Marshall during the Cream reunion and he told him to get this F@@@ing stuff out of here!
335 would be amazing
@@arnolddealiii4259 why though?
Amen
@@r.m7921 On the DVD release there is extra footage and they explained they tried it, but they had all evolved from that sound in 1968. They made the conscience decision to rehearse with the equipment they use now because they in the their own words said we aren't those men anymore. Also those Marshall stacks are loud and the only reason they used those in the 60's was because the venues got bigger and modern sound reinforcement didn't exist yet. Clapton uses Fender Tweed amps, during Cream's reunion he used 40 watt twins. In this rig run down he uses Band masters. Clapton is using lower and lower powered amps as he's getting old it seems. But the Tweed Twin 40, and the Marshall Bluesbreaker JTM 45 are basically the same amp design. The Bluesbreakers used KT88 or KT66 output tubes, later Marshall used EL34 output tubes, Fender on the other hand used 6L6 ouput tubes. Each country used what the parts were that were readily available to them. Clapton said he preferred the Fender amps because they were more consistent. He could pick one up anywhere and it sounded the same as his, while the Marshall every amp sounded slightly different from the next.
How refreshing, just goes to show, you can have all the gizmos in the world but when it all comes down ya just need to know how to play… just gotta love Éric..
Clapton doesn’t need monitors or a plug-in acoustic, or huge a pedal board. He is just an OG master.
When everyone in the band follows you...
clapton has 4 floor monitors but his sense of pitch is amazing and he's nailed it with limited or no monitoring before
This man might have the best job on earth. Gets to hang out with Clapton all day, all guitars are stock, amps all set to 7 and no pedals. All he worries about is changing strings
and Clapton doesn't even use a wireless anymore, he just plugs in with a cable. How simple can you get??!!
and he doesnt even like new strings either!
So you can, in fact, play a bar gig without a pedal board. Amazing.
Yup!
Yes. Like we always did back then.
You can but why would you want to?
You do not need any pedals.
Done it hundreds of times.
Mr Clapton has the touch and talent that doesn’t need any special gear.. thanks for showing that one of the best in the world just has what almost everyone has access to. It’s about practice and learning theory and more practice.
Produce a phaser sound with talent. I'm waiting
Well, except for the Fender amps built by Howard Dumble...
@@ileutur6863 Unless you are in The Police tribute band.. who cares about phaser .. nice, but so outdated.. just a gimmick ;).. But hey ! I loved my Boss flanger in 1982 so much.. I can see your point
This guitar tech is a grandmaster. It’s never as simple as it looks.
Im 43 and I’m a seasoned musician. Been a session bassist for a while now and used to be in a traveling and out of high school. My teenage son is now playing guitar and is constantly wanting the new pedal that’s coming out. I get it. I do. But I keep telling him, the mass majority of tone is found in your fingers! I strongly believe this. Sure some other things helps some. Kenny Vaughn is one of my favorite pickers and he mainly just uses a tele, amp and tuner lol. Eric Clapton has tone for days with his simple setup
That’s such a trip because so many of his old great sounds were in the in-between positions. That was really surprising to learn.
Who knows, consider that wiring of Eric's switch could internally still connect the intermediate positions, it could be the way to facilitate dialing
@@niftylights3 I was thinking about doing that for myself. All Seymour Duncan pickups.( quarter pound strat neck pup, lipstick middle pup, 51' no caster tele bridge pup NOT slanted.) This is how I want to wire my guitar, I have a 7 way thing going RN. [Position 5 neck pickup, position 4 neck&Middle, position 3 middle&Bridge, position 2 neck&bridge wired as humbucker, position 1 Bridge. I feel like that would be a bit better wiring but idk.
I’m dumbfounded why he wouldn’t want a 5 way just in case he wanted to have those other 2 sounds🤷🏻
@@joerobinson2538 for live I can totally see the ease of him just wanting a three way switch.
@@joerobinson2538 for real, especially when you listen to him talk in other videos about how the #4 position (middle and bridge) was his sweet spot for all the Derek and the Dominoes stuff
"simple" guitar setup, but MASSIVE TALENT! that what it is ... can't beat that
I'm a big fan of Clapton since the 60,s . I'm 71 now. Still his biggest fan. Thanks for your rundown. Awesome. I got to get me a Clapton signature strat of any kind.John I'm your biggest fan now also. Thanks brother.
Most boring rig rundown ever: One strat, a wah and an amp - and an acoustic - any kid can do that - And I absolutely LOVE it
Yeah that was awesome 😎 Less really is more 🤘🏼
I think it just says how much of a difference the player makes.
Nothing boring about a custom Dumble.
a legend says that Eric saw a big pedalboard of his supporting guitarrist on a tour and said "ok, thats beautiful. but if you play a wrong chord cause of that you are out" lol. Clapton is God
And to top it off, every amp setting set to the middle 😂
I sold Clapton a 1955 Fender Low Power Twin years back. He used to use it all the time... His rig has become very simplified amp wise over the years.
The simplicity speaks to the sounds he produces. Excellent video guys.
From the heart and soul then through the fingers, that's the way EC sounds. I've seen of late that nearly all of the highest esteemed players are using the guitars' own ability to adjust tone and volume, not much need for anything else to enhance their talent and technique. Amazing.
This was an awesome video..always wanted to know Claptons rundown
I love how he uses next to nothing for gear and sounds absolutely amazing…Hendrix and Clapton are the 2 gods of guitar
I tried out the Clapton strat that came out around '87. It had one of the best active boosts I'd ever heard on a single coil setup. It was quiet and it worked.
One of the guys that worked on that circuit is Paul Gagon, who now works for G&L. Paul has taken some of Leo's unfinished pickup designs and "completed" them for use in some of G&L's new models.
You can actually buy the mid-boost unit he uses as a kit and fit it to you own Strat. Just search Fender Clapton mid-boost kit.
@@stuarcari I did that with my sunburst Mexican Strat
@@stuarcari The Stratocaster Mid Boost Kit also works with full-sized humbucking pickups.
Wish I knew more about musicianship than what esoteric electronics adds to a trac. Erics' attention to detail has made him my reference for audio exceptionalism. As a man, he has my eternal thanks for Antigua.
Man, I saw him the night of this show. The whole band sounded great and Eric is still on his game. We should all take a cue from the master... a well made instrument into a properly built amp is all you need!!
In this case a $7k Tom Kruze CS Strat and a what, $30k Dumble amp?
12:18: "Massive talent, very little gear." The secret to greatness on guitar!
It's never about the gear, it's all about the raw talent
The fingers
With Clapton these days it seems like it's more about comfort lol. he's an old guy now and just wants to strap on a strat and play without having to worry about shit.
@@Ironworthstriking His arthritis is starting to play up on him and he's said in interviews that he can't play like he used to. This would be his calling card for comfort on stage. having minimal gear on stage probably makes him feel more at ease about performing too.
Wow, this is SO refreshing!!! I really enjoyed seeing/ learning how simple Clapton’s set up is. Even his use of basically stock guitars. Just amazing. Not trying to throw anyone under the bus, but compare Eric’s stuff to The Edge’s rig rundown. If I remember correctly, he has a couple dozen guitars, tons of effects pedals and processors, at least ten amps. Crazy.
The Edge had a different guitar for each song of the set (about 26), and each one them had an identical backup!! Nuts
You are so right ...Im a U2 and edge fan...but really he like changes guitar every song and they all sound the same ...and i mean that as a compliment as Edge has a great signature sound... i reckon all he needs is a strat and an explorer.... .lol
My guitar hero since I was a child in the 70s. Thankyou Mr Clapton for the inspiration and drive to be a better guitar player 🙏
No-one inspired me more than EC. On my new album I play a 1990 Blackie and and 2010 Blackie. The sound is so unique. Thank you Eric for the soundtrack of my life 🎸🎸🎸
That strap is worth at least two of the guitars I own!
Clapton is arguably the best guitarist in the world today. Note I didn't say guitar player as he can play virtually any tune in any genre.
That IS impressive! I have tons of gear and am still always searching for a better sound. Here we have a guy who can carry a whole arena show with a strat, wah wah and an old amp (not even stereo. No chorus. No echo. No fuzz). That knocks me out!
Many years waiting for this !!!! Totally aweeeesomee!!!
Can you even imagine the powerful, unbelievable history to be in that room?? WOW!
Eric's best tone (and performance) IMHO were at the Dominos' Fillmore gigs. Brownie through the wah, Fuzz Face and cranked Fenders just had a vocal tone that really went so far above and beyond his typical recorded tones. When I was a kid, the Clapton sig was the guitar I wanted more than any other. All these years gone by, I still kinda want one, a first gen pewter with Lace Sensors.
Ageed
just goes to show. Keep it simple and keep your guitar tone as Leo intended. A lot of guitarists could learn from this.
Worked for Buddy Holly.
Good giuitar, good amps and that is all he need. Legend
he always has great taste in colors for his custom guitars. Torino Red, Daphne Blue, Royal Navy Blue for his Acoustc
@@mragunathan1627 i agree with you, those color are so elegant on guitar yet no one ever think about it
I met Eric one on one 25 years ago and he was the nicest person no ego and even asked me about my equipment...a real interest...thanks guys
Didn’t know his Tweed’s were built by Dumble now, and the 3-position switch was also a surprise.
A couple years ago, someone gave me an old strat that they had sitting in their garage. It had a battery in it, which I thought was unique for a strat. I thought it just had active pickups in it. They had no hum but the output was way higher than my other strat. It was a whole year before I finally opened it up and found the mid boost circuit in there, and it also had a dummy coil to cancel the hum. If you can get one of those Clapton guitars with the boost, you won’t be disappointed.
I would love to have seen a rig rundown from his 90’s Soldano SLO (24 Nights) era - loved that tone!
that would be awesome.. check out Vertex youtube channel
He used to break strings back then, and finish his solos like nothing had happened! (Cf. Knebworth set).
And stratocaster with lace sensor pickups
The SLO 100 Soldano era was Eric Clapton's finest hour tone-wise. Why would he abandon that historically unmatched incredible tone? The perfect marriage-the EC Strat and the SLO100! Soldano told me why: "all about the Fender endorsement money." Clapton's loss!
Same!
I've watched this interview a number of times now...love the genuine honesty
I wait many many years to see this! finally is cracked up! and theres no tricks at all !!!!! amazing, best musician of rock ever
This was wild and little tidbit of info was cool!
Be cool to see John Mayer do one of these again! I am sure he would have a ball talking about his gear.
I think he's on tour next spring so hopefully we'll get a new one then
Interesting that he’s just using a three-way switch on the Strat. He used the in-between sounds all the time on his first solo album and it sounded glorious. I miss that.
Rig Rundown of a legend
VERY interesting and inspiring! It's great to see what he can do without a pile of pedals and effects. Thanks.
Thank you, Mr. Bollinger, for an excellent interview!
would've been better if it was slow hand in the interview and not a stupid techie
Bohlinger does SlowMind Prig rundown. Bohlinger helps Clapton spread disease. 3 day old issue date w/ week old favorable comments. A multitude of angry callouts of Bohlinger’s & Clapton’s reckless endangerment deleted.
A great player himself
Can we get a Paul McCartney rig rundown?
Jimmy Vaughn is the same way, he just tours with a couple of his signature strats and two hand made to spec amps and 1 pedal off the rack. Those old school guys, are the best man they don’t need stuff they just play. He could grab and make anything sing. So he ditched the mid boost circuit eh? I think he said he left it on all the time anyway.
Same with; BB King, straight into a Twin…Buddy Guy, straight into a Bassman. Difference is they have their amps dimed & use their guitar vol where the sound man adjusts the PA. In the pubs I play, if I dimed a Twin, I’d be thrown out…today people think a Princeton is too loud. Hence the need for other solutions…reluctantly.
@@neilgaydon5430 I have played harmonica 47 years and was full time pro by age 20. FL, San Diego (late '70's), LA, OR, Austin+ tour. 80% of the time a 1957-1960 Tweed Bassman (I have owned about 10 now & replicas) with at most a delay pedal. Have at times played other amps, Super Reverb, Concerts, Tweed Deluxes, Princeton. Currently small amp is 1954 Gibson GA-6 but still- just a good vintage mic and cable to amp.
Keith Richards has the same approach. Minimal pedals and just uses the right guitar controls into the amp. He famously states "Give me any guitar and any amp and within 10 mins I'll make them sound like Keith Richards" :)
Wow, all I’d ever personally need. Finest fender strat + finest Martin ac is a killer combo
Saw Clapton when he toured Australia last time, he had killer tone.
Those amps are great.
I think he uses tone tubbies red 12s. At first he hated them then changed his mind.
Fantastic video, and love that you can hear Eric 'warming up' in the background!! 🙂
Clapton is a living legend for sure.
Many of the greats played with minimal setups. The sound is in the fingers and amps.
So it is all in his HAND… awsome
I have an early (1992-3) Custom Shop Blackie that I bought with a broken truss rod and sever screwed up Lace Sensor p/u system. I had an exact replica "Gilmour" "Black Strat" loaded pickguard made at Overdrive Custom Guitar Works, and a new "Birdseye/flame maple 7.25" neck made at Warmoth. The body looks like it was dragged across Texas behind a pickup, but it's my #1 and favorite guitar now!! The tone is awesome and irreplaceable!! Just thought someone may like that story. 8) JMHO... --gary
Middle position is my favorite on all my Tele’s and Strat’s, even my Les Paul, it’s my go to as well.
Legend has it Seth Lover recommended middle position and use vol + tone knobs
Agree. It has that sweet tone of the neck combined with the bubbly throaty tone of the bridge.
That's weird. The middle position on a Tele and a Gibson have a similar type of tone, but the middle position on a Stratocaster is just one pickup, and sounds nothing like the other two.
@@chrismcelrath9098 It's funny. I forgot all about that comment, from one year ago.
We will have to respectfully disagree on that issue, though. I wonder what kind of Stratocaster you are using?
For me, the middle position is my preferred choice, precisely because it isn't too trebly, or too bassy/rounded in tone. The neck p.u. by itself would have to be my least used option.
The bridge is great for rock, when you want to cut through everything.
However, being able to roll the treble off gives it far more versatility.
I don't play in rock bands, but use the guitar in songwriting and recording, so our needs are probably totally different.
I can certainly get a nice warm sound from the middle p.u. Perhaps it's just a case of personal taste.
I come back to this video any time I find myself lusting for additional gear!
What would be the Music world without the Phantastic Music Eric gave us ?
From Cream /Yardbirds , to Blind Faith , Derek & The Dominos , His 70´s Solo Carreer ..He was so often RE-born as a Legend ..
He is one of my ALL Time Favs !
I like a cool intricate rig as much as the next guy, but I also love the simplicity here. It’s like the anti-rig rundown. The tech seems almost embarrassed to reveal how easy his job is.
This is a good lesson for anyone who plays guitar. You don't need a truckload of gear to sound good. Just one good guitar and one great sounding amp. Learn how to use that gear and practice, practice, practice.
In a way, I'm not surprised Mr. Clapton only has three guitars on tour. In Cream, most of his US tours were with one main guitar (The Fool SG) and a backup.
So... one strat, one martin, one bandmaster, a wah and a leslie. Everything else is just backup.
And everyone else spends $1000s on gear to sound like
him. LOL!!!!
In a 1976 Guitar Player issue interview it was said at the time Clapton hadn’t changed his strings since mid ‘74. His tech wanted to at least “buff” the strings for clapton but clap wouldn’t let him. So this GP interview is probably the source of the where John heard that clapton didn’t like his strings changed. A lot has changed since then and it appeared in the interviews with the band that guys just did what worked for them at that time and weren't as tech savvy as your average player now.
When you're on heroin you do strange things.
@@30smsuperstrat well he wasn’t on heroin anymore by that point. But your point stands lol.
For the Strat colors, does everyone agree that those are (from left to right, while sitting in the rack): Midnight Blue, Almond Green, Mercedes Blue?
Thanks so much to Premier Guitar and to Dan D. (+ EC)! for the rig rundown.
Aged White Blonde is the newest addition for 2023.
I like the fender vid
On Erics blackie .
The senior master guitar builder...
Starts overlooking the other experts.
When Eric built the guitar out of 5 junk shop guitars him self whilst on the road.
At a time when they were cheap & unwanted .
I watched this just after the Angus Young episode with his 98 Plexi heads and 1970's entire run of Green-backs ;)
Bohlinger, good to see you man!
My 89 fender EC is the perfect guitar for “sit in nights”
Whatever amp is available I can go from crystal clean to heavy overdrive and shock all around me...
I hope that Doyle's rig will be on the next episode.
Lol so you can learn how to sound terrible
@@mr.yellowstrat3352 that's a good one!
@@whoismichaelmoschos hahaha I'm kidding btw, Doyle is great. 🤘
Doyle cares more about looking like a penis than he does tone. And by that i mean veiny
17 octave fuzz pedals
Man! I Love these!
Great job John. And thank you Dan and Eric! Really enjoyed that. The Clapton strats Ive played are really nice.
“Is that Rosewood or maple?”
“It’s maple and rosewood.”
“Cool!”
😂😂😂
A great strat and a great acoustic is all Eric needs...
I thought he would ask about the frets on that strat
@@stephenlodise2762normal vintage frets I believe. He doesn’t get complicated with this stuff! ‘I’m a traditionalist…!’
Absolutely fascinating! Thanks for all your trouble to produce these wonderful programs.
An interview with God's disciple. What else but heavenly. Well done J!
Clapton was *never* God. Good guitar playing was never a qualification for encouraging reckless endangerment of audience members & those they can infect.
I love simple rigs like this
I like the older models with the lace sensor pick-ups.
I still buy Lace Sensors, they're fantastic.
I've seen Clapton in '99 '04 '05 '06 '08 '17 all at Madison Square Garden and I have to say I miss the Crash guitars he was using in the early 00's even though they were just his signature model... his playing was so aggressive and technical during those years
Massive talent, minimal gear…. Just what pedal companies want to hear🤣🎸
5:30
(Mic check) "Yeah... YEAH"
(John) "Yeah... sure."
Very cool and interesting Rig Rundown. Love the simplicity. Newer Custom Shop Strat, cord, wah pedal, amp. Done. And only three Strats on tour. Joe Bonamassa should take note. You don't need millions of dollars of vintage guitars on tour with you of you have the talent.
You gotta love EC's gear tech. His voice is quivering as if he's gonna be canceled out if he ever say more than what's he's supposed to.
Derrick trucks was basically the same sg straight into the amp… crazy!
That’s angus young
Derrick also is very picky about his slide tho and guitar strings 😂.
Easy and clean setup! Love it!!!
Please guys, Dead and COMPANY next🙏🏼🙏🏼 Jm, Oteil and Bob Weir, lots of great stuff to see there
So glad you mentioned the 12-string as apparently Dan is quite the builder. Lingering questions: Speakers in the Bandmasters? Marshall still pushing the Leslie? What Crybaby this year? Still Ernie Ball Heavy picks? Mic for the acoustic?
The article on the PG website answers a few of my questions - way to go!
the crybaby seems the dunlop regular one
@@elgranjuanileiva battery powered dunlop crybaby classic, but stock?
@@ChristopherHolmgren most likely but yes, I understand what you mean. A lot of unanswered questions.
I used to like going to Tom Petty shows and to some extent John Fogerty shows because it was like going to a vintage guitar show.
Very interesting it just shows that he doesn't use a lot of gimmicks and it's all in the fingers with feel a true master 🎸🎸🎶
What a nice guy. He can take care of my gear anytime.
Thank you. Been waiting for this one :D
I loved the video! I love all the Rig Rundowns! I think Mr Dearnley has a dream job as guitar/amp tech for EC! Seems his job is a bit easier than say, Neil Young's tech. LOL. These strats Eric uses on stage are not the EC signature strats you can purchase. His signature models don't come in his preferred car colors. The Aston-Martin blue one in the video appears to have a quarter sawn neck as can be seen when he held it up close to the camera, signatures do not. Eric had Fender change the neck profile some years ago from the soft V to his favorite Martin shape. Eric also had the TBX pot changed to a master tone pot some years back. Can't say for sure about the pickup switch on the ones in the video but the Signature models are 5 way like all strats nowadays. Blackie and Brownie came with 3 position back in the day and Eric found that sweet spot between bridge and middle as did other guitarists which led to Fender making the 5 way switch. I wish Fender would update the signatures to be more like what he plays now instead of what he played 35 years ago.
I’m not sure that you can call lugging a Leslie around as a “minimal set up”. I’d happily throw out my pedal board f I had 2 Dumble built amps and a Leslie as my minimal set-up. That said another great rig rundown PG… thanks!
Gigging with a Leslie isn’t that crazy, I used to gig with a single-rotor Leslie 110 (similar to a Vibratone but in a wood cab) powered by whatever amp, sometimes just a Blues Jr as a head. It was smaller than my Bassman 4x10
I believe minimal was referring to signal chain not quality of gear. One amp on most of the time, then add in a Leslie isn't complicated. Most of the gear was backup.
Oh, those two amps? They're just '57 tweed Bandmaster reissues. Oh, except they were built by Dumble.
Just one amp, built by Dumble with a Leslie and a strat, built by Todd Krause....yup, that would be enough for me too, without doubt.🥰
Check out the George Alessandro Fender rebuilds he’s doing. He’s doing amazing handwired versions of all the fenders and they sound amazing. Derek Trucks is playing an Alessandro built vibrolux right now and it sounds so good!
It would really suck if any thing was stolen on tour but I admire the minimalist attitude and the number 7 dial is really cool👍
what a treat, thanks john!
John always sounds stoned as hell… but his enthusiasm is at “11” and is awesome.
EC plays with even less pedals than I expected. Just goes to show how talent shines through any set up.
"Don't touch it, don't even look at it!"
He ain’t stoned
John! You rock brother! Always a pleasure watching your videos for P.G. Cheers.
Bohlinger does SlowMind Prig Rundown. Bohlinger helps Clapton spread disease. 3 day old issue date w/ week old favorable comments. A multitude of angry callouts of Bohlinger’s & Clapton’s reckless endangerment deleted.
@@jktolford8272 I'm not sure what you're talking about? What disease? Reckless endangerment? Huh?? Did you escape from Bellevue?
@@Bluzian74 Clapton’s personal-and very unusual--vaxx misfortunes are no reason to repeatedly trash the vaccine to healthier people better able to tolerate it. No reason to insist on totally avoiding venues that have vaccine mandates.
@@jktolford8272 But that's contradictory. What about the healthier people who don't want to be mandated? If the vax had any efficacy, nobody needs to worry about if others don't. Why does your willingness to submit and comply impede on my natural immune system and desire to see EC? Can't you see that it's fascism?
I support EC. I don't support discrimination. IF you want to get 6 vaccinations, fine. If you want to wear 3 masks at once, go for it. But I chose NOT to. So no we're at an impasse. This is exactly what Nazi Germany was like in the 1930s. Only this time, it's the radical LEFT imposing outrageous rules and restrictions on everyday common folk who are healthy. It's abhorrently reprehensible. It's all gone TOO far now. Are you proud of being a fascist?
@@Bluzian74 False science, false political comparisons. Vaccines have efficacy, they are just not 100% effective. Any protection more than the statistical margin of error, usually 5%, has efficacy. Early vaccine studies predicted over 90% protection. Bottlenecks in supply & slow compliance allowed covid to mutate. When viruses multiply, they mutate to something that can spread more quickly, i.e. delta variant. Mutate to something against which existing vaccines are less effective, i.e. delta variant. Mutate to something against which existing vaccines are totally ineffective, not delta variant, *yet.* Mutate to something that is more severe or deadly, not delta variant, *yet.* Refusing to vaccinate & mask, insisting on large gatherings allows more mutation. Doing this to see EC is selfish & endangers all of us. Choosing amongst masking, masking, distancing & isolation is *nothing* like the horrors of Nazi Germany & saying so is abhorrently reprehensible. I'm proud to be rational, moral & not at all a fascist.
Would be great to see Nathan and Doyle's gear too
Doyle was using a Two Rock Classic Reverb Signature on this tour.
th-cam.com/video/M_N1wAt3TMA/w-d-xo.html
Massive Talent, and very little gear! Best quote of the day... Something to think about....