Fender / Stratocaster / 1961 / Fiesta Red / Guitar
This is officially the coolest guitar we have in the store right now…
A 1961 slab board Fender Stratocaster in original, Fullerton applied, Fiesta Red which has seen a reasonable amount of action yet has survived the last 58 years with only a refret. Not a single solder joint has been disturbed and the original finish has naturally worn to the point where any Custom Shop or relic craftsman would look at it with severe envy. You will not get a CS relic looking like this however much you spend.
One of the many cool things about this guitar is as it has worn, it has exposed the multiple paint layers which are Fiesta Red over Dakota Red, over Desert Sand. This is a very common method to see on Fiesta Reds of the early 60’s and is a sure way of telling this is not a Selmer refin guitar.
One of the other USP’s or cool features of this one is the really highly figured, birds eye maple neck and headstock. Not sure if the photos do it justice really but it is probably one of the most figured we have had for a 1961 and when it was brand new, in its gleaming Fiesta Red, it must have looked quite something.
This guitar has been for some time in the ownership of a Mr Roy Scott who according to his info sheet is, or was a comedian and one man band type of performer who plied his trade in the working mans clubs of Northern and middle England, probably during the 70’s and included are publicity shots of Mr Scott with his pride and joy plus a bio from his booking agent and a Guitarist Magazine article from 1999 about this guitar.
All hardware is correct and we have no reason to suspect it has been changed as all wear and patina match perfectly. All electrics are undisturbed with original black bottom pickups that sound pretty damm amazing. The guitar plays really well too and I find being able to play fast and precise on this is no problem at all.
The refret is near perfect, there is plenty of life left on the frets and just a bit of rutting on the fingerboard. Based on photographic evidence, it looks like most of the wear on this guitar was early on in its life, at a time where flat wounds reigned supreme and bends past a semitone were virtually unheard of. This would explain the absence of the sort of rutting you would expect to see on a guitar with a finish wear like this.
Finish, as you can clearly see is quite worn but very nicely so and worn completely organically, there is no artificial anything with this patina. If you look closely you can see a few small touch up areas on the sides that look as if someone tried to make it better using nail varnish but I am sure if this offends you it can be removed.
Included is a period correct, brown Tolex case with the red lining, this has one of the latches broken.
Last three or four original Fiesta Strats flew out the door and they were a lot more expensive than this one is! We do not expect this to hang around for long either…
ATB Guitars, UK
Hello we’re ATB Guitars.
We are one of Europes leading sellers of vintage and rare guitars. We only sell vintage Gibson and Fender electric guitars from 1950 until 1975 and have an extensive inventory to browse in our bricks and mortar store in Cheltenham, UK or in our online web store.
Payment and p/x:
All prices are in UK GBP £ Sterling. Payment can be made by Paypal, bank transfer, cash, or money order cashiers cheque etc.
Should you not be absolutely delighted with your purchase you may return it to Cheltenham, at your own expense, within 7 days from the date of delivery for a full refund. The item must not have been altered or tampered with in any way, and it must arrive in the same condition as it left us.
Postage and shipping:
We ship within the UK by Royal Mail Recorded (small items under 2Kg), TNT or UPS and Worldwide by Royal Mail Airmail Signed For (small under 2Kg) Parcelforce, UPS or FedEx. All shipping prices include expert packing, cartons and packing materials but not insurance which is typically around 2% of items value. Currently approx shipping rates for a single guitar are as follows:
UK excluding Northern Ireland and Highlands £29
Most of mainland Europe £49
U.S.A. £129
Asia £149 - £190
Rest of World including S. America £149 - £275