Getting the Clapton Tone.

soma1975 · September 2023

jeromegreenday said:

I think Clapton vax message was clear. He had all his jabs - he wasn't opposed to jabs but suffered bad side effects, almost to the point he thought he'd never play guitar again. All he wanted was more information to be publicly available on the side effects and when he spoke out about side effects and possibly the risk didn't outweigh the reward, he was ostracised. I consider that a verbatim of his stance.

Blaming Covid or the vaccine was utter rubbish though.

From a Washington Post Article in 2016, way before Covid.

'In an interview with Classic Rock Magazine, the 71-year-old musician revealed that he was diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy in 2013 and that playing guitar, which once came so easy to him, is now “hard work.”

In a 2014 interview with Uncut magazine, the rock guitarist had said he was “looking at retirement” and that touring had become “unbearable,” Rolling Stone reported. In that same interview, he hinted at his condition — when asked if he would stop playing guitar, he said, “Maybe. It might be that I can’t, if it hurts too much. I have odd ailments.” — but this weekend’s interview is the first time he’s named it.

According to the Mayo Clinic, peripheral neuropathy refers to damage in one’s peripheral nerves and often results in stabbing, burning or tingling pain in the arms and legs. For Clapton, the pain came in the form of “electric shocks.”

The symptoms often “appear suddenly, progress rapidly, and resolve slowly,” according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, which also noted that it can be debilitating but is seldom fatal.

“I’ve had quite a lot of pain over the last year,” Clapton told Classic Rock Magazine. “It started with lower back pain and turned into what they call peripheral neuropathy, which is where you feel like you have electric shocks going down your leg. And I’ve had to figure out how to deal with some other things from getting old.”

guitarjack66 · September 2023

Become a close friend of a Beatle,play on one or two of their records and become a multi millionaire. Easy really!

Gassage · September 2023

Strange....I never got the same reactions to Eric on The Gear Page.....

victorludorum · September 2023

This thread's already been split off once.

RocknRollDave · September 2023

p90fool said:

I don't think that a similar fat, overdriven sound is that elusive tbh, but that video is a lesson to people who don't see what the fuss is about with Eric Clapton.

You’ll have to teach me, then; I’ve watched the video and I still don’t get what the fuss is about.

Lewy · September 2023

Gassage said:

Strange....I never got the same reactions to Eric on The Gear Page.....

There's a whole page dedicated to him being on the gear?

Anyway, closer to topic - when it comes to guitar-slinging electric blues, he created the definitive document in "From The Cradle". Whatever anyone thinks about the man, or the state of his playing these days, if you know and love blues then it's undeniable. None of the blues rockers could do what he did on that album and none of the originators could have covered the breadth.

All of the tones on there are amazing. Is that the same sort of ere as the video posted by the OP? The trousers look similar....

p90fool · September 2023

RocknRollDave said:

p90fool said:

I don't think that a similar fat, overdriven sound is that elusive tbh, but that video is a lesson to people who don't see what the fuss is about with Eric Clapton.

You’ll have to teach me, then; I’ve watched the video and I still don’t get what the fuss is about.

Hey it's not obligatory, nobody has to like it or be affected in any way by it.

My point was simply that the last few percent of anyone's tone is them, not the gear, and I'm sure you'd have your own examples which others might not get.

I play girly pop/R&B covers mainly, but Paul Kossoff gives me goosebumps and I don't know why. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with anyone who doesn't feel the same.

Gassage · September 2023

RocknRollDave said:

p90fool said:

I don't think that a similar fat, overdriven sound is that elusive tbh, but that video is a lesson to people who don't see what the fuss is about with Eric Clapton.

You’ll have to teach me, then; I’ve watched the video and I still don’t get what the fuss is about.

I am honestly surprised.

To me that solo is a knockout- perfect phrasing, emotion, pace, note choice- it has it all.

soma1975 · September 2023

If we can separate the art from the artist I could happily do a top 10 songs/videos of what made/makes Eric Clapton special.

If people want to ignore history and what came before him and what came after that's up to them but his work, his licks and his playing style, plus his synthesising older blues licks through (then) modern equipment and tones formed such an intrinsic part of the blues rock vocabulary that you are probably playing his stuff even if you don't know you are.

If you hate blues/rock then fair enough please disregard.

But I'd recommend as a primer -

Most of the Beano Album
The Cream BBC Sessions version of Steppin' Out
Guitar Solo on While my Guitar gently Weeps
Guitar Solo on I Feel Free / White Room
Riff and tone of SWLABR
Have you ever loved a woman on Derek and the Dominoes
Edge of Darkness soundtrack
Iconic pink Armani suit making Mark Knopfler look like a sack of potatoes at Knebworth

1985 live version of Badge (Prince's Trust?)
Sinner's Prayer on From the Cradle.

Lewy · September 2023

soma1975 said:

If we can separate the art from the artist I could happily do a top 10 songs/videos of what made/makes Eric Clapton special.

If people want to ignore history and what came before him and what came after that's up to them but his work, his licks and his playing style, plus his synthesising older blues licks through (then) modern equipment and tones formed such an intrinsic part of the blues rock vocabulary that you are probably playing his stuff even if you don't know you are.

If you hate blues/rock then fair enough please disregard.

But I'd recommend as a primer -

Most of the Beano Album
The Cream BBC Sessions version of Steppin' Out
Guitar Solo on While my Guitar gently Weeps
Guitar Solo on I Feel Free / White Room
Riff and tone of SWLABR
Have you ever loved a woman on Derek and the Dominoes
Edge of Darkness soundtrack
Iconic pink Armani suit making Mark Knopfler look like a sack of potatoes at Knebworth

1985 live version of Badge (Prince's Trust?)
Sinner's Prayer on From the Cradle.

Very different tone to the one being espoused in this thread, but I also love his moody soundtrack stuff on Lethal Weapon and Rush too (although in the case of the latter, less fond of that song)

roberty · September 2023

Gassage said:

RocknRollDave said:

p90fool said:

I don't think that a similar fat, overdriven sound is that elusive tbh, but that video is a lesson to people who don't see what the fuss is about with Eric Clapton.

You’ll have to teach me, then; I’ve watched the video and I still don’t get what the fuss is about.

I am honestly surprised.

To me that solo is a knockout- perfect phrasing, emotion, pace, note choice- it has it all.

It's an objectively great guitar solo. But this is a guitar forum

ICBM · September 2023

Gassage said:

Strange....I never got the same reactions to Eric on The Gear Page.....

That’s because many years ago I was on an American forum (I think it was the PRS one pre-TGP) and I had to explain who Enoch Powell was and why he was controversial. They know very little about our politicians other than Thatcher and Blair, and some older ones Wilson.

soma1975 · September 2023

Yeah lethal weapon was him with Michael Kamen again like Edge of Darkness. Maybe Rush was too, not sure?

Philly_Q · September 2023

ICBM said:

Gassage said:

Strange....I never got the same reactions to Eric on The Gear Page.....

That’s because many years ago I was on an American forum (I think it was the PRS one pre-TGP) and I had to explain who Enoch Powell was and why he was controversial. They know very little about our politicians other than Thatcher and Blair, and some older ones Wilson.

Given the state of American politics today, they'd probably regard Enoch as a liberal.

MikeP · September 2023

Only Clapton strat tone I like is on the much maligned howling wolf sessions. Like buddy guy but more melodic and less pissing about.

soma1975 · September 2023

The Enoch stuff is fascinating I think, when we look back out of context and assume he was some outlandish fringe figure and forget just how popular he was at the time.

Many of his opinions were sadly quite mainstream and he could quite easily have been PM but that said, the reality is that Boris Johnson has probably said worse, and from a position of higher authority.

Clapton was fundamentally broken from childhood and damaged almost everything and everyone he came into contact with as a masochistic defence mechanism. His dalliance with overt racism at a time of extreme alcoholism and trying to kick heroin was one thing and he has certainly tried to distance himself from that period.

His Surrey Conservatism and NIMBY attitudes in general are distasteful to me personally but probably broadly representative of the majority of the country as a whole, which is why we have only ever had 6 Labour Prime Ministers.

None of which goes to explain how best to simulate a 25db mid boost circuit.

EDIT: Just re-read that and feel it is almost apologising for him which I totally never intended to do.

HAL9000 · September 2023

MikeP said:

Only Clapton strat tone I like is on the much maligned howling wolf sessions. Like buddy guy but more melodic and less pissing about.

It may well be much maligned but in my opinion it’s still a very listenable album with an interesting mix of artists and styles. Definitely well worth a listen.

Sassafras · September 2023

MikeP said:

Only Clapton strat tone I like is on the much maligned howling wolf sessions. Like buddy guy but more melodic and less pissing about.

Are they maligned?
I've got the London Sessions, it's some great tracks on there, especially the ones Jeff Carp plays on.

MikeP · September 2023

I love the London sessions but I hear them talked down as not as good/ real/ black/ raw as the best howling wolf records. Which I suppose is true really but its still great listening.

steven70 · September 2023

soma1975 said:

jeromegreenday said:

I think Clapton vax message was clear. He had all his jabs - he wasn't opposed to jabs but suffered bad side effects, almost to the point he thought he'd never play guitar again. All he wanted was more information to be publicly available on the side effects and when he spoke out about side effects and possibly the risk didn't outweigh the reward, he was ostracised. I consider that a verbatim of his stance.

Blaming Covid or the vaccine was utter rubbish though.

From a Washington Post Article in 2016, way before Covid.

'In an interview with Classic Rock Magazine, the 71-year-old musician revealed that he was diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy in 2013 and that playing guitar, which once came so easy to him, is now “hard work.”
In a 2014 interview with Uncut magazine, the rock guitarist had said he was “looking at retirement” and that touring had become “unbearable,” Rolling Stone reported. In that same interview, he hinted at his condition — when asked if he would stop playing guitar, he said, “Maybe. It might be that I can’t, if it hurts too much. I have odd ailments.” — but this weekend’s interview is the first time he’s named it.
According to the Mayo Clinic, peripheral neuropathy refers to damage in one’s peripheral nerves and often results in stabbing, burning or tingling pain in the arms and legs. For Clapton, the pain came in the form of “electric shocks.”
The symptoms often “appear suddenly, progress rapidly, and resolve slowly,” according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, which also noted that it can be debilitating but is seldom fatal.
“I’ve had quite a lot of pain over the last year,” Clapton told Classic Rock Magazine. “It started with lower back pain and turned into what they call peripheral neuropathy, which is where you feel like you have electric shocks going down your leg. And I’ve had to figure out how to deal with some other things from getting old.”

I put the interview in a separate thread here if anyone wants to hear what he actually said.

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/253342/eric-clapton-interview

Comments or opinions on that subject might be better placed there.

All the best.

RickLucas · September 2023

I like the tone on the Forever man solo. I think he was still using the old black Strat then, and I think a very short delay.

rze99 · September 2023

My experience is that you can never truly reproduce the kind of organic sustain that you get from great amp plus stage volume and being in the right position in front of the rig. That belongs to the lucky pros that can dictate their live environment.

That said. A combination of carefully curated attenuation of a great amp plus a compressor with a blend control will get you very close to the same effect.

steven70 · September 2023

Recently got the expanded Slowhand (not my favourite album) which includes a pretty good live concert.
Some nice tones - to my ears. Solo kicks in bit before 5 mins.

No idea what amps or pedals (if any) were being used here...don't think he had the mid boost back then?

Also, the band are superb...

ICBM · September 2023

steven70 said:

No idea what amps or pedals (if any) were being used here...don't think he had the mid boost back then?

Blackie, MusicMan amps and a Boss CE-1.

http://www.georgeterry.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=3&pid=83#top_display_media

(click on the pic to enlarge it)

steven70 · September 2023

ICBM said:

steven70 said:

No idea what amps or pedals (if any) were being used here...don't think he had the mid boost back then?

Blackie, MusicMan amps and a Boss CE-1.

http://www.georgeterry.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=3&pid=83#top_display_media

(click on the pic to enlarge it)

Wow...thanks.
Great pic too!

Loobs · September 2023

is that a klon at the front?

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