It’s safe to say that Eric Clapton is one of the most successful and respected guitarists of all time. His playing with the Yardbirds, John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, Cream, Blind Faith, Derek & The Dominos, Delaney & Bonnie, and as a solo artist has inspired countless players. He has won 18 GRAMMY® awards, received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, four Ivor Novello Awards from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors, including a Lifetime Achievement Award, and was awarded a CBE for services to music. He is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a solo artist and as a member of the Yardbirds and Cream. He has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He is the co-founder and a patron of the Crossroads Centre, a substance abuse rehabilitation facility on Antigua that has helped countless people overcome substance abuse.

During Cream’s first American tour, Eric purchased a three-pickup 1958 Les Paul Custom, serial number 8 6320, which he used on Disraeli Gears, multiple tours, including with Delaney & Bonnie, and on and off throughout the rest of the 1960s and 70s. In 1979, he gifted the guitar to fellow legendary guitarist Albert Lee, who continues to be inspired by it and uses it to this day. Now, Gibson Custom is proud to introduce the Eric Clapton 1958 Les Paul Custom, a loving tribute to Clapton's original Cream-era 1958 Les Paul Custom. This special limited run uses ultra-precise Murphy Lab aging techniques to aid in handcrafting a reproduction of this legendary guitar. Every detail has been thoughtfully crafted, from the exact playing wear to the sonic character. It features a hand-selected, ultra-lightweight, one-piece, all-mahogany body, a mahogany neck with an ebony fretboard with Custom mother-of-pearl block inlays and 22 historic medium jumbo frets, and a custom neck profile. The hardware is aged gold, including the Grover® tuners, ABR-1 bridge, Stop Bar tailpiece, and pickup covers. The three pickups are unpotted Custombuckers, with the middle pickup mounted with the screws oriented towards the neck, just as they are on the original guitar. The volume and tone controls use CTS® 500k audio taper potentiometers that are hand-wired to paper-in-oil capacitors, while the Murphy Lab aging simulates the exact aging and wear patterns that Eric and Albert created.

Only 150 of these exceptional guitars have been handcrafted by the expert luthiers of the Gibson Custom Shop and Murphy Lab in Nashville, Tennessee. The custom Duck Brothers-inspired case includes the guitar, along with a second pickguard, signed by both Eric Clapton and Albert Lee in a collectible wooden display case, a Certificate of Authenticity booklet with a photo by Chuck Stewart, a black leather Archive Series strap, and a Gibson Custom switch plate medallion. Here is your opportunity to own a piece of music history that is directly tied to two of the world’s foremost guitarists.

SPECIFICATIONS

BODY 

Body Style : Les Paul
Body Shape : Les Paul
Body Material : One Piece Ultra-Light Weight Mahogany
Binding : Multi-ply Top, Back, and Headstock, Single Ply Fretboard
Body Finish : Murphy Lab Aged Nitrocellulose Lacquer
Weight Relief : None

NECK 

Profile : Custom Neck Profile
Scale Length : 628.65 mm / 24.75 in
Fingerboard Material : Ebony
Fingerboard Radius : 304.8 mm / 12 in
Neck Material : Mahogany
Fret Count : 22
Frets : Historic Medium-Jumbo
Nut Material : Nylon
Nut Width : 42.86 mm / 1.687 in
End Of Board Width : 56.89 mm / 2.239 in
Inlays : 1950s Pattern Mother of Pearl Block
Joint : Long Tenon, Hide Glue Fit

HARDWARE

Finish : Custom Murphy Lab Aged Gold
Bridge : ABR-1; Screws Towards Neck
Tailpiece : Lightweight Aluminum Stop Bar
Tuning Machines : Grover Milk Bottle
Pickguard : Multi-ply Laminated Acrylic
Truss Rod : Authentic 1950s No-Tube
Truss Rod Cover : Authentic Stepped 2-Ply Les Paul Custom
Control Knobs : True Historic Black Top Hat (No Dial Pointer)
Switch Tip : Cream
Switch washer : True Historic Black
Jack Plate Cover : Multi-ply Laminated Acrylic
Control Covers : Black Royalite; "EC" Signature Switch Plate Medallion Installed (Custom Shop Medallion in the Case)
Strap Buttons : Black
Mounting Rings : M69 Cellulose Acetate Butyrate
Pickup Covers : Authentic Profile Gold-plated Nickel Silver; Murphy Lab Aged

ELECTRONICS

Neck Pickup : Custombucker (Unpotted)
Middle Pickup : Custombucker (Unpotted), Screw Side Towards Neck
Bridge Pickup : Custombucker (Unpotted)
Controls : 2 Volume, 2 Tone; CTS 500K Audio Taper Potentiometers, Paper in Oil Capacitors
Pickup Selector : 3-way Switchcraft
Output Jack : 1/4" Switchcraft

MISCELLANEOUS

Case : Custom Duck Brothers Case
Accessories : Certificate of Authenticity, Extra Pickguard Signed by Eric Clapton and Albert Lee, Custom Shop Switchplate Medallion in the Case