Gruhn Guitars in Nashville is offering a collection of 29 guitars owned and used by Eric Clapton.
The collection, described as “wide-ranging,” includes both vintage and modern guitars, from a 1941 Martin 000-45 that Clapton purchased from Gruhn in 2005—offered for $150,000—to a two-tone sunburst finish 2014 Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster, shown below, that was one of his main guitars in 2014 and is available for $42,500.
Note: All photos are courtesy of Gruhn Guitars.
Among the pieces are two pre-WWII Martin acoustic guitars, Custom Shop/Masterbuilt Fender Stratocasters; recent-issue Gretsch, Roland, and Gibson electric solidbody and hollowbody guitars; archtops, including vintage and modern D’Angelico guitars; resonator, classical and flattop guitars; a fretless Music Man bass; and an Epiphone Les Paul autographed by Les Paul.
Each guitar is accompanied by a photo of Clapton with the guitar and a signed letter from him attesting ownership and use.
Gruhn staff with the Clapton Collection guitars. | PHOTO: Steve Cross Photography“Eric Clapton first visited my shop in 1970 when Derek & the Dominos performed on The Johnny Cash Show,” says George Gruhn, chairman and CEO of Gruhn Guitars. ”He assembled his famous ‘Blackie’ Stratocaster using components from the four Stratocasters he bought from me and parts he purchased from Sho-Bud Guitars around the corner from my shop the same day.
“Over the years, Eric and I have remained in touch, made a good number of instrument deals, and he has frequently visited Gruhn Guitars when he passes through Nashville. It is very meaningful to have a friend like Eric Clapton who shares my love of guitars and uses the instrument to such great effect. Everyone at Gruhn Guitars feels incredibly honored to represent him in offering a group of very fine instruments from his collection.”
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We’ve included a few of the instruments below. To see what’s available, visit Guitars.com. (All images courtesy of Gruhn Guitars.)
RG5088, c. 1929 National Style 3 Tricone
VG+++, owned and used by Eric Clapton since 2006 - accompanied by signed letter and photograph of Eric holding this instrument, played by Derek Trucks on the 2006/2007 tour for acoustic version of “Outside Woman Blues,” OHC.
EC2172, 2007 Gibson SG Standard
EXF, cherry red finish, owned and used by Eric Clapton since new—accompanied by signed letter and photograph of Eric holding this instrument, OHC.
ED2295, 1991 Gibson Firebird V
EXF, Cardinal red, owned and used by Eric Clapton since 2006—accompanied by signed letter and photograph of Eric holding this instrument, OHC.
EE1886, 2000 Epiphone Les Paul
EXF, black finish, original Bigsby, owned and used by Eric Clapton since 2006—accompanied by signed letter and photograph of Eric holding this instrument, pickguard signed by Les Paul, Gibson gig bag.
EH6771, 2009 Gibson Byrdland Custom
EXF, owned and used by Eric Clapton since new—accompanied by signed letter and photograph of Eric holding this instrument. This guitar was built using the neck dimensions from Eric's 1960 Gibson ES-335. Eric used this guitar on tour in 2013 to play “Further on up the Road,” OHC.
Christopher Scapelliti is editor-in-chief of Guitar Player magazine, the world’s longest-running guitar magazine, founded in 1967. In his extensive career, he has authored in-depth interviews with such guitarists as Pete Townshend, Slash, Billy Corgan, Jack White, Elvis Costello and Todd Rundgren, and audio professionals including Beatles engineers Geoff Emerick and Ken Scott. He is the co-author of Guitar Aficionado: The Collections: The Most Famous, Rare, and Valuable Guitars in the World, a founding editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine, and a former editor with Guitar World, Guitar for the Practicing Musician and Maximum Guitar. Apart from guitars, he maintains a collection of more than 30 vintage analog synthesizers.
