Was my Fiesta Red JV Squier P Bass Originally Black?

[Donnyboy]

[attachment=74279:DSC00312.JPG]

Excuse my ignorance but as the bashes show ,under the red there's black - would this be some kind of undercoat (it's shiny though) or possibly intended as the original colour? On the back though the natural wood can be seen where it's dinged.

Any clues detectives?

[Ou7shined]

What does it matter? If you keep on bashing it about like that it'll be matchwood in no time.

Seriously though it does kinda look like it? Where did you buy it?

Does it look like plywood at all on the bashed bit on the side?

[Musky]

I'm just wondering if this might have originally been a sunburst rather than black, as the black only looks like it's on the edges (unless you know better of course ). Fender used to respray previously painted basses sometimes, and it's been speculated that this used to be the fate of sunbursts that didn't turn out as they should. Maybe the same happened to this.

Or maybe it was resprayed at a later date.

[Donnyboy]

I should have clarified that this isn't exactly a new kid on the block , it's an '83 '57 reissue & I'm the one & only owner. So in my defence it's not too bashed for it's age - honest

Under the red paint on the back it's blond wood & the black is on the side bit's - maybe the sunburst theory works.

Thanks chaps

[bassmachine2112]

the other thing is that you sometimes spray black undercoat under a gloss red topcoat to bring out the red,sounds daft but there you are I,ve done this myself spraying cars and bikes.I always spray black under a red.
Then again may be a sunburst gone wrong.

[stingrayPete1977]

My CAR Jazz is metallic blue in the nooks and crannys, It's not an undercoat for the red (it was also the other colour option for this version) so I presume it was pulled as a bad met blue and sent back through for a refin. I'm not sure why they went for the other colour option instead of blue again.

[cardinaljay]

I have the same bass and also noticed the same

[url="http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=10150241736527991&set=t.502501826&type=1&theater"]JV Squier[/url]

Rather interesting

[Davout]

[size=4][size=3]Years ago, way back in the early '60s, when the 'Shadows' became famous & thrilled the teenage generation, Fiesta Red Strats became the 'Got to have' guitars in the UK. Fender were not exporting to the UK originally, as there were Govt. trade restrictions at the time. The Selmer, & Jennings Musical Industries companies caught on to the demand & began to import Fender guitars in smallish numbers, but most of the guitars & basses Fender sent were Sunburst & Olympic White models. To satisfy the demand for Red, it is rumoured that they had many of these guitars re-sprayed in what turned out to be a very Pinkish shade of Red, about the colour of Blackpool candy rock. You can still see this shade on original vintage examples from the early sixties. Having said that, Fender Japan did not exist at the time, so these were USA made guitars. It is also very possible that Fender may have been over-spraying many guitars where a mistake had been made on a colour which was transparent, like Sunburst or Natural.

Tony.[/size][/size]

Edited August 26, 2011 by Davout

[Cygnus x-1]

Probably a dumb question but, I've never been sure if fiesta red is or was a colour option in it's own right or a darker other red that had faded with age. Maybe someone will tell me.

[Davout]

[quote name='Cygnus x-1' post='1353111' date='Aug 26 2011, 10:02 PM']Probably a dumb question but, I've never been sure if fiesta red is or was a colour option in it's own right or a darker other red that had faded with age. Maybe someone will tell me.[/quote]

Hi Cygnus,
Yes, Fiesta Red was one of the original colour options in the late '50s / early '60s. That was the colour of Hank Marvin's original Strat, that is reputed to be the first Strat ever imported into the UK. I actually saw them in music store windows in 1962, & that was the colour, brand new. There was also a colour called Dakota Red, but that was a much darker shade, more like a Fire Engine Red, & definitely Red without a hint of Pink.

Tony.

Edited August 28, 2011 by Davout

[Cygnus x-1]

cheers for that info Tony

[Donnyboy]

Interesting stuff- to me anyway!
Someone once told me that Fiesta Red was actually Salmon Pink( I think Fiesta Red sounds sexier ). I've still got the original green cardboard box for mine & it's got Fiesta Red written on it .
I've heard that with age the Red can turn a bit Pinky , but I haven't noticed with mine - it's still vibrant - although the neck has mellowed into a lovely honey'd colour - from memory( not reliable) it was almost white new

[EdwardHimself]

I can't tell from the picture whether it looks like a black primer or a topcoat but it does look like a very decent finish on top whoever did it.

Edited August 28, 2011 by EdwardHimself

[Spike Vincent]

Resprayed sunburst makes sense.Have you taken the scratchplate off? Look deep inside the pickup and control cavities.

[Donnyboy]

[quote name='Spike Vincent' post='1354611' date='Aug 28 2011, 06:20 PM']Resprayed sunburst makes sense.Have you taken the scratchplate off? Look deep inside the pickup and control cavities.[/quote]

Thanks for the tip - which I duly followed by wheeching off the sctratchplate . What I found was evidence of bare wood and red paint & nothing else.

[Davout]

[quote name='Donnyboy' post='1354572' date='Aug 28 2011, 05:53 PM']Interesting stuff- to me anyway!
Someone once told me that Fiesta Red was actually Salmon Pink( I think Fiesta Red sounds sexier ). I've still got the original green cardboard box for mine & it's got Fiesta Red written on it .
I've heard that with age the Red can turn a bit Pinky , but I haven't noticed with mine - it's still vibrant - although the neck has mellowed into a lovely honey'd colour - from memory( not reliable) it was almost white new[/quote]

Hi Donny,
Fiesta Red was always the official Fender name for this colour. Salmon Pink was other peoples' description of this famous colour when they were not familiar with the actual Fender name. Even Hank Marvin described his first Fender Strat as being 'Flamingo Pink' at the time he first acquired it, but he wouldn't have known the correct Fender term.
I guess it is possible for certain paint colours to fade when exposed to the air & bright sunlight over many years, & probably with the Nitro-celulose lacquer they used in the fifties/sixties, which thins & wears away easier than the Polyurethane varnishes they use these days. But who keeps their guitar/Bass out in the open air & bright sunlight. They are normally kept protected in a hardcase or gig-bag, & certainly indoors. The old style lacquers on the Maple necks have certainly faded to a honey colour over the years, & modern 'Vintage-style' instruments are deliberately varnished with tinted varnish to emulate that aged look.

Tony.

[Donnyboy]

[quote name='Davout' post='1356774' date='Aug 30 2011, 08:06 PM']Hi Donny,
Fiesta Red was always the official Fender name for this colour. Salmon Pink was other peoples' description of this famous colour when they were not familiar with the actual Fender name. Even Hank Marvin described his first Fender Strat as being 'Flamingo Pink' at the time he first acquired it, but he wouldn't have known the correct Fender term.
I guess it is possible for certain paint colours to fade when exposed to the air & bright sunlight over many years, & probably with the Nitro-celulose lacquer they used in the fifties/sixties, which thins & wears away easier than the Polyurethane varnishes they use these days. But who keeps their guitar/Bass out in the open air & bright sunlight. They are normally kept protected in a hardcase or gig-bag, & certainly indoors. The old style lacquers on the Maple necks have certainly faded to a honey colour over the years, & modern 'Vintage-style' instruments are deliberately varnished with tinted varnish to emulate that aged look.

Tony.[/quote]

Thanks Tony -very much appreciated- mine's hasn't been kept outdoors! But I can understand the Salmon Pink description, without some research how would you find out?
Cheers

[Spike Vincent]

[quote name='Donnyboy' post='1356233' date='Aug 30 2011, 01:18 PM']Thanks for the tip - which I duly followed by wheeching off the sctratchplate . What I found was evidence of bare wood and red paint & nothing else.[/quote]


Curiouser and curiouser.....My black Precision is black inside all the cavities.

[Spike Vincent]

Thinking about it,that does seem to back up the resprayed over sunburst in the factory idea.

[hillbilly deluxe]

IIRC the salmon pink was incorrectly applied fiesta red applied to new Fenders during the early sixties by Selmer,who were Fenders importers at the time,because of the popularity of Hank Marvins Strat,and that salmon pink was never a genuine Fender colour,at least at that time.This was sprayed over the standard colour instruments,more often than not sunbursts.
This of course has nothing to do with your bass,on that one who knows ?