Originally Posted by: dvenetianToo bad Clapton wore out "Blackie", even though he had it re-fretted it and worn those out too. Must have to play the hell out a Strat to wear it down to retirement. Oh well, he got close to a million bucks for it!!!!!!!!!!

Stevie Ray Vaughan wore his Number One down so much that when it was first made.... a standard '62 strat.... it was made with a 7 1/2 fretboard radius.... by the time of Stevie's untimely death it had been refretted, shaven, and played so much that fretboard radius was closer to a 9 1/2 inch radius... that's why the SRV sig Strats come with a 9" radius instead o fhte standard 7" that was offered on the '62... As for the neck profile... The '62 came with a soft V neck which was a meaty profile with a slight V to it... Stevie wore his down so much that it eventually rounded off the V from the first fret to about the 9th.... That's why the neck profile on his Sig strat is a C to soft V hybrid as well...

Clapton wore his blackies neck profile into a lobsided V neck... where the apex of the V was closer to the top of the neck profile... I think warmoth offers this as a neck profile option on their custom necks... I played one and they're pretty comfortable to play... a lot more comfortable than a standard V... which are probably the most uncomfortable necks to play ever.

Yeah, Blackie was pretty beaten.... I don't think it was so much that he wanted to retire it... I think all the proceeds from the auction wen to his charity foundation... He donates a lot of money to drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities.