Gear

Guitar Center's 2026 Crossroads collection revives Clapton's Blind Faith Tele and a 70-piece Mayer Silver Sky

The charity run, timed to this year's Crossroads Guitar Festival, spans Clapton signature Martins, a Fender Custom Shop recreation of his 1969 Telecaster and a limited PRS Silver Sky finished for John Mayer.

Aug 26, 2026

Guitars from Guitar Center's 2026 Exclusive Crossroads Guitar Collection

Credit: Guitar Center (via source)

Guitar Center has pulled the wraps off its 2026 Exclusive Crossroads Guitar Collection, the latest entry in a partnership with Eric Clapton and the Crossroads organization that now stretches back more than two decades. As in past editions, the instruments are built by outside partners — this year Martin, Fender and Ernie Ball — and sold in small numbers, with proceeds going to Crossroads Centre Antigua, the addiction treatment facility Clapton founded in 1998.

The headline pieces lean on Clapton's own history. Martin's 000-13E Eric Clapton, starting around $1,899.99, uses a spruce top with ziricote fine veneer back and sides, a built-in soundhole tuner and the company's E1 pickup. Fender's Custom Shop contribution recreates the hybrid Telecaster Clapton played in Blind Faith alongside Steve Winwood and Ginger Baker in 1969, a guitar that has been copied before but rarely with this level of access.

John Mayer's involvement comes through a PRS John Mayer Silver Sky in an Incline Blue finish, with a rosewood fretboard and a 'Crossroads Sun' inlay at the 12th fret. That model is capped at 70 instruments and priced at $3,750, and PRS says the first example will be on stage with Mayer at the festival itself.

Why it matters

Crossroads drops are one of the few times fans can buy a faithful, sanctioned copy of guitars this closely tied to Clapton's career, and the money funds a working treatment center rather than a marketing line.

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