Eric Clapton's 1954 "Slowhand" Fender Stratocaster up for auction - bidding starts at $1 million

24 Nov 2020 by Jef | Approximate reading time: 2 Minutes

Eric Clapton's 1954 Fender Stratocaster "Slowhand" is up for auction starting at $1 million · Source: Gotta Have RockandRoll

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A 1954 sunburst Fender Stratocaster owned by Eric Clapton is heading off to auction. This hardtail Strat was used as a slide guitar and tuned to open G. With bidding starting at a cool $1 million, you can expect ”Slowhand”, as it is known, to be pretty expensive when it finally sells.

Eric Clapton’s 1954 Fender Stratocaster ”Slowhand”

Eric Clapton’s 1954 Fender Stratocaster, bearing the serial number 7431 and affectionately nicknamed “Slowhand“, is off to be auctioned. This hardtail Stratocaster has “T-G-54″ written under the neck-butt in pencil, which stands for Tadeo Gomez, the Fender employee who shaped the guitar’s neck back in the golden years of the company.

Eric Clapton’s Slowhand serial number 7431 · Source: Gotta Have RockandRoll

In itself, Slowhand is already a rare guitar, as non-tremolo Stratocasters weren’t exactly available in large numbers back in 1954. Now factor in the Eric Clapton association, and that it was played on tracks like Tulsa Time and Early In The Morning where it handled slide duties, and you end up with a highly celebrated piece of rock and roll/blues guitar history.

Eric Clapton’s 1954 Fender Stratocaster ”Slowhand” · Source: Gotta Have RockandRoll

Starting at $1 Million

The auction starts at $1 million, and I expect that it will go for a fair bit more, as it has perfect provenance and is well documented. Fans of Clapton, with the money, will want it for sure. The guitar has been upgraded with a 5-way switch (original ’54 Strats only had 3-way switches), as Clapton is well-known for favouring the in-between 2 and 4 positions.

Eric Clapton’s 1954 Fender Stratocaster ”Slowhand” is up for auction starting at $1 million · Source: Gotta Have RockandRoll

Slowhand rear with string through bidy hard tail

Slowhand rear with string through body hard tail · Source: Gotta Have RockandRoll

Case Candy

Case candy includes a signed letter of authenticity from Clapton’s guitar tech Lee Dickson, and his handwriting is on a sticky-tape label on the case that reads “54 S/Burst Fender Strat #7431“. The sale will also include a signed gold edition of the Slowhand album and a strap. So you have the full package here.

Eric Clapton playing Slowhand · Source: Gotta Have RockandRoll

Gotta Have Rock And Roll

The Slowhand ’54 Stratocaster auction is being held by Gotta Have Rock and Roll and opens on 25 November. The guitar is expected to fetch between $1.5 million and $2 million, but could well go for more. Will it break the record set by David Gilmour’s Black Strat? We’ll just have to wait and see.