Epiphone has some very good news for fans of Eric Clapton; there is a new signature guitar on its way, and it is a replica of the 1964 ES-335TDC that he played during the latter days of Cream, most notably the 1968 farewell shows at the Royal Albert Hall.
There is a catch. Clapton’s Epiphone guitar is not out until the summer of 2027, but anyone who is heading to next week’s Crossroads Guitar Festival 2026 in Austin, Texas, will be able to check it out in person, and they’ll be able to enter a prize draw to win one.
Gibson has announced that it will have a presence at Clapton’s long-running festival, with more than 30 guitars – Gibson and Epiphone – on display at its booth, where you can try them out. You can also sit on the Westeros-inspired Gibson Guitar Throne and get your photo taken. And what the heck – Guitar Center is an official retail partner, you could take home a new electric guitar while you’re there.
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There will also be a clutch of Gibson and Epiphone signature artists on the bill. Clapton, of course, will be playing both nights, and you’ll also find Sierra Hull, Marcus King, Keb’ Mo’, and Gary Clark Jr onstage, plus young up-and-comers Billy Gibbons and Joe Bonamassa. The bill is stacked. The Tedeschi Trucks Band, Buddy Guy, Julian Lage, Taj Mahal, and Tommy Emmanuel will be performing, too.
Epiphone has released no more details of the Eric Clapton 1964 ES-335 TDC but looking at the picture from the Gibson Gazette above, the signature hardshell guitar case offers a few clues as to what’s in store. This is another collaboration between the Gibson Custom Shop and Epiphone, so expect some top-class pro-quality specs, such as Gibson USA pickups. Maybe we will see something similar to the Epiphone 1962 Inspired By Gibson Custom 1962 ES-335, which has a pair of Gibson Custombuckers.
But looking at the preview pic, we can also see that this release replicates some of the idiosyncrasies in the Clapton’s 335. He famously swapped out the factory tuners for a set of gold Grover Rotomatics, and with the chrome ABR-1 bridge that makes for a mismatched look.
The Gibson Custom Shop has already made a replica of Clapton’s 64 ES-335. Launched in 2005, we’ve seen this listed for crazy money, which we might expect given that Gibson only made 175 of them, and indeed the original sold at auction via Christie’s for $847,500 in June 2004.
Clapton bought the ES-335 in ’64, and used it throughout his career with the Yardbirds, John Mayall, Cream and Blind Faith.
As Christie’s notes in its lot description, Yardbirds fans might have thought it was Chris Dreja’s guitar – it was always him pictured with it in. the pictures. But it would come into its own over the years, with Clapton playing it until the mid ‘90s, and using it onstage when he’d play a Freddie King number.
If anyone is going to Crossroads Guitar Festival, do check it out, and report back ASAP. We want to know if it has the “Hare Krishna!” postage stamp on the back of the headstock.
For more details, head over to the Gibson Gazette. The Crossroads Guitar Festival 2026 takes place over the weekend of September 26 and 27, with proceeds supporting addiction recovery at the Crossroads Centre, Antigua.
In other Epiphone news, the Gibson-owned brand just refreshed the Joan Jett Olympic Special with an all-new Vintage Sunburst look.
