Watch Eric Clapton put the Strat-necked Fender Blind Faith Telecaster through its paces

Best of 2019: Among the highlights of Guitar Center’s 2019 Crossroads guitar collection, revealed yesterday, is the Fender Custom Shop Eric Clapton Blind Faith Telecaster by Todd Krause.

The limited-edition electric guitar, based on the model famously played by Clapton at Blind Faith’s Hyde Park concert, boasts a Tele Custom body and a Stratocaster neck, as well as several other unique appointments.

Now, in a new 10-minute video, Clapton, Fender Custom Shop VP of Product Development Mike Lewis and Senior Master Builder Todd Krause discuss the history of the original guitar and the development of the new replica, which required plenty of detective work to pinpoint and date the various parts and components.

“When I first saw this it was baffling to me,” Lewis says of Clapton’s Tele.

Adds Clapton about why he initially purchased the guitar, “My recollection is I bought this because it was the first Tele with purfling I’d ever seen,” he says.

Lewis and Krause go on to discuss various aspects of the Tele, including the history of its “Brownie” Stratocaster neck, using photos of the bridge (threaded saddles and perpendicular stamp) to date the body and employing ’63 Tele pickups to mimic the original’s tone.

“When players get this guitar I want them to have part of the same experience that Eric had playing it,” Krause says, adding, “but I also want them to be overwhelmed with the overall experience.”

For more information on the Fender Custom Shop Eric Clapton Blind Faith Telecaster by Todd Krause, or to purchase one for yourself, head to Guitar Center.