Over the years Eternal has built tribute instruments inspired by some of the most iconic guitars ever played, but the one requested more than any other is Eric Clapton’s legendary “Blackie.”
During a U.S. tour in 1970, Clapton visited a Nashville guitar shop and purchased six used mid-1950s Strat-style guitars for only a few hundred dollars each. Three were given to friends — George Harrison, Pete Townshend and Steve Winwood — while the remaining instruments were used to assemble what would become Blackie. Working with Nashville luthier Ted Newman Jones, Clapton selected the best body, neck and pickups to create his ultimate guitar.
Blackie soon became Clapton’s constant companion. Throughout the 1970s and early ’80s it appeared on countless recordings and performances, including Slowhand and the famous Live Aid concert. After years of touring the guitar was eventually retired, and in 2004 the original Blackie was auctioned at Christie’s for close to one million dollars, with the proceeds donated to charity.
Construction & Feel
The Eternal Blackie Tribute recreates the classic early-to-mid ’50s combination of alder and maple, finished in heavily aged black nitrocellulose lacquer to capture the battle-worn character of the original guitar.
A resonant two-piece alder body is paired with a beautifully broken-in one-piece maple neck carved to a comfortable soft V profile. The neck is worn smooth with rounded edges and minimal finish on the back, giving the familiar feel of a guitar that has seen decades of stage use.
The vintage-correct 7.25" radius fingerboard is fitted with medium-jumbo frets, offering the ideal balance between vintage feel and modern playability. The original guitar was refretted several times during its working life, so slightly larger frets improve bending while maintaining period character.
Hardware & Setup
Hardware follows traditional vintage specifications using Gotoh vintage-style components, including split-post tuners and a steel-block vibrato bridge with bent steel saddles for the clarity and attack associated with classic S-Type guitars.
Clapton rarely used the vibrato system itself, preferring to tighten the bridge firmly against the body. To replicate this setup the bridge is fitted with five springs tightened fully into the body, ensuring excellent stability and sustain.
Some accounts mention a wooden block inserted between the vibrato block and body on the original guitar, though photographic evidence is limited. Since the tightened spring configuration already immobilises the bridge effectively, this detail has been omitted.
Electronics
The wiring follows a traditional layout using CTS 250k brass-shaft potentiometers, a CRL five-way selector, Switchcraft output jack, and a reproduction “Phone Book” paper-in-oil capacitor.
The bridge pickup is connected to the second tone control — a common modification that offers greater tonal flexibility. Additional copper shielding on the rear of the pickguard and a small aluminium plate help reduce noise while maintaining vintage construction.
The Pickup Mystery
One of the most intriguing aspects of Blackie is its pickups.
Clapton and his longtime technician Lee Dickson have always been vague about their origin. The accepted story suggests they came from the mid-’50s donor guitars used to assemble the instrument.
However, photographs of the guitar appear to show grey fibreboard flatwork, typically associated with mid-1960s production, when Fender switched from black to grey fibreboard to make the dark purple plain enamel coil wire easier to see during winding.
If correct, this suggests the famous tones of Blackie may have come not from heavy-formvar ’50s pickups but from mid-to-late ’60s plain-enamel pickups, which tend to be slightly brighter and more powerful. The timeline certainly fits — and Clapton’s friend Jimi Hendrix was already producing remarkable sounds from those pickups during the same era.
Another interesting detail is that the original pickups appear to use black and white plastic lead wires rather than traditional cloth wiring, possibly indicating later repairs or replacement components during the guitar’s long touring life.
Timeless “Blackjack” Pickups
Without direct access to the original instrument, the goal was to recreate the tone rather than the mythology.
After extensive experimentation Eternal developed a bespoke pickup set designed to capture the sweet, singing voice heard on many classic Clapton recordings. Several prototypes later the result became the Eternal Timeless “Blackjack” pickup set, now available separately within the Timeless range.
These pickups deliver:
• expressive midrange
• articulate low end
• singing lead tones that bloom beautifully through a driven amplifier
They perfectly complement the lively alder and maple construction of the instrument.
Specifications
Model
Eternal “Blackie Tribute” S-Type
Body
Two-piece alder
Neck
One-piece maple
Neck Profile
Soft V
Neck Dimensions
22.3mm at 1st fret
24.4mm at 12th fret
Fingerboard Radius
7.25"
Frets
21 × 6130
Nut Width
41.8mm
Finish
Aged black nitrocellulose body
Worn tinted nitro neck
Plastics
One-ply aged white pickguard
Aged pickup covers and knobs
Bridge
Aged Gotoh vintage-style vibrato
Steel block with bent steel saddles
Tuners
Aged Gotoh split-post vintage repro
Pickups
Eternal hand-wound Timeless “Blackjack” single-coil set
Electronics
• CTS 250k brass-collar potentiometers
• CRL five-way selector switch
• Reproduction “Phone Book” paper-in-oil capacitor
• Cloth-covered wiring
• Switchcraft output jack
• Copper shielding with aluminium plate
Nut
Hand-cut bone
Strings
Ernie Ball Slinky 10–46
Weight
7.8 lbs
Case
Vintage-style hard case included
The Eternal Blackie Tribute captures the spirit, tone and battle-worn character of one of rock’s most legendary instruments — a guitar built to sing, roar and inspire, just as the original did for decades on stage and in the studio.
Each Eternal instrument is built as an individual piece, shaped by the wood, the ageing process and the hands that create it.
Trademark Notice
Fender®, Stratocaster®, Telecaster®, Precision Bass® and Jazz Bass® are registered trademarks of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. These names are used solely to describe compatibility or historical reference. Eternal Guitars is not affiliated with or endorsed by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.
