Fender -- The Return of the BLACKIE(R)!Eric Clapton playing Fender's new BLACKIE(R) replica. (Photo: Luca Zagami/(C)2006 FMIC)

  
    
  
  
    
      One of the world’s most influential electric 
      guitars, the Fender Stratocaster® 
      guitar once owned by Eric Clapton and affectionately known as BLACKIE®, 
      will be recreated and made available to the public this November from 
      Fender’s renowned Custom Shop. Guitar Center, 
      Inc. (NASDAQ: GTRC), the world’s largest 
      musical instrument retailer, is now the owner of the original guitar 
      after paying $959,500 at a 2004 Christie’s 
      auction that benefited the Crossroads Centre, Antigua—a 
      charity founded by Clapton and which remains close to his heart. Guitar 
      Center has commissioned the Fender Custom Shop to reproduce this truly 
      iconic piece of rock ‘n’ 
      roll history, and it is the exclusive United States distributor of the 
      instrument.
    
    
      BLACKIE®, a 
      mid-1950s Fender Stratocaster guitar pieced together by Clapton himself 
      from numerous individual guitars, was Clapton’s 
      main instrument throughout the 1970s and ’80s. 
      Clapton’s albums 461 Ocean Boulevard, Slowhand, 
      No Reason To Cry, and Just One Night, among others, were 
      all recorded with BLACKIE®. 
      And in addition to memorable solo tours, Clapton and BLACKIE® 
      shared the stage with the likes of Pete Townshend, the Rolling Stones, 
      Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters and The Band.
    
    
      This historic addition to the Custom Shop Tribute Series will replicate 
      BLACKIE® down to the 
      smallest of details—from the worn-to-the-wood 
      body, to the neck re-shaped by Eric’s hand as 
      he played a thousand heartfelt solos, to the unmistakable cigarette 
      burns on the headstock.
    
    
      “Everyone in the Guitar Center organization 
      wants to share the world’s most iconic guitar 
      with collectors and fans,” said Guitar Center’s 
      Keith Brawley, Vice President of Merchandising, Guitars and Amplifiers. “By 
      working with Eric Clapton and Fender, we are able to offer some of our 
      best customers the thrill we felt when we spent nearly a million dollars!”
    
    
      Said Mike Eldred, Director of Sales and Marketing for Fender’s 
      Custom Shop, “This is a dream come true, to 
      work so closely with this magical piece of rock history. To hold BLACKIE® 
      and to think about all it has been through and how much fantastic music 
      has come out of it, it’s really an 
      indescribable feeling. The Tribute Series BLACKIE® 
      guitar is instantly collectible and we’re 
      thrilled that it’s now available to Eric’s 
      fans.”
    
    
      All of the 185 guitars offered for sale in the United States will be 
      available exclusively through Guitar Center. Guitar Center stores 
      throughout America will introduce the guitar on “Black 
      Friday”—November 
      24, 2006. The manufacturer’s suggested retail 
      price is $24,000, with a portion of the proceeds to go to the Crossroads 
      Centre, Antigua. For more information about this guitar, visit http://www.fender.com/blackie, 
      or http://www.guitarcenter.com/clapton. 
      For more information about the Crossroads Centre, Antigua, please 
      visit http://crossroadsantigua.org.
    
  
One of the world's most influential electric guitars, the Fender
Stratocaster(R) guitar once owned by Eric Clapton and affectionately
known as BLACKIE(R), will be recreated and made available to the
public this November from Fender's renowned Custom Shop. Guitar
Center, Inc. (NASDAQ: GTRC), the world's largest musical instrument
retailer, is now the owner of the original guitar after paying
$959,500 at a 2004 Christie's auction that benefited the Crossroads
Centre, Antigua--a charity founded by Clapton and which remains close
to his heart. Guitar Center has commissioned the Fender Custom Shop to
reproduce this truly iconic piece of rock 'n' roll history, and it is
the exclusive United States distributor of the instrument.

   BLACKIE(R), a mid-1950s Fender Stratocaster guitar pieced together
by Clapton himself from numerous individual guitars, was Clapton's
main instrument throughout the 1970s and '80s. Clapton's albums 461
Ocean Boulevard, Slowhand, No Reason To Cry, and Just One Night, among
others, were all recorded with BLACKIE(R). And in addition to
memorable solo tours, Clapton and BLACKIE(R) shared the stage with the
likes of Pete Townshend, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters
and The Band.

   This historic addition to the Custom Shop Tribute Series will
replicate BLACKIE(R) down to the smallest of details--from the
worn-to-the-wood body, to the neck re-shaped by Eric's hand as he
played a thousand heartfelt solos, to the unmistakable cigarette burns
on the headstock.

   "Everyone in the Guitar Center organization wants to share the
world's most iconic guitar with collectors and fans," said Guitar
Center's Keith Brawley, Vice President of Merchandising, Guitars and
Amplifiers. "By working with Eric Clapton and Fender, we are able to
offer some of our best customers the thrill we felt when we spent
nearly a million dollars!"

   Said Mike Eldred, Director of Sales and Marketing for Fender's
Custom Shop, "This is a dream come true, to work so closely with this
magical piece of rock history. To hold BLACKIE(R) and to think about
all it has been through and how much fantastic music has come out of
it, it's really an indescribable feeling. The Tribute Series
BLACKIE(R) guitar is instantly collectible and we're thrilled that
it's now available to Eric's fans."

   All of the 185 guitars offered for sale in the United States will
be available exclusively through Guitar Center. Guitar Center stores
throughout America will introduce the guitar on "Black
Friday"--November 24, 2006. The manufacturer's suggested retail price
is $24,000, with a portion of the proceeds to go to the Crossroads
Centre, Antigua. For more information about this guitar, visit
http://www.fender.com/blackie, or http://www.guitarcenter.com/clapton.
For more information about the Crossroads Centre, Antigua, please
visit http://crossroadsantigua.org.