Korgscrew
Group: Super Admins
Posts: 3511
Joined: Dec. 1999 |
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Posted: Jan. 22 2008, 12:03 |
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Yes, it's definitely finished over sunburst - it's quite clearly visible in the areas where the red has been worn off. Whether that's a sign that Selmer refinished it is less certain - it wasn't uncommon for Fender to simply spray over finishes which hadn't passed quality control. However, the colour suggests that it may indeed be one of those which Selmer refinished. I remember Bruce Welch of The Shadows (who now owns Hank Marvin's Strat, which was unfortunately refinished in white while Cliff Richard owned it, but restored by Bruce back to what he believes is the original colour) talking about this - he claimed that Hank's Strat was never the bright orangey-red colour which is the Fender Fiesta Red, but rather a more pinkish-red colour. Hank's was, I've read, one of the guitars refinished by Selmer...
As far as I understand it, Fiesta Red was available, just not as common, but because of the popularity of The Shadows, it was a lot more easy to sell Fiesta Red Strats than sunburst ones...so they did the obvious thing and sprayed them red instead!
They do fade over time, though, which accounts for some of the variations in hue between different examples of what's supposedly the same colour. Still, Bruce Welch was quite adamant about the original colour of Hank's Strat, and the signs do point to Mike's having had a similar history. For reference, here's a nice picture of a '62 Strat which definitely has a factory Fiesta Red finish.
Whether the product of fading or of UK distributor refinishing, I do have to say I prefer the salmon pink colour to the original Fiesta Red, which I find a bit garish.
That L6-S...I have to say, though I thought there was something quite cool about that guitar after Tony Zemaitis customised it, I was never too much of a fan of the sound. It seemed rather too brittle for my liking, at least in Mike's hands. That said, if someone were to want to give it to me, I'd not say no...
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