Nice example. I've always been curious about the process in making the fauxburst. I'm assuming the burst is sprayed on as usual over the white basecoat. Are they actually painting the white basecoat with a brush or is the white basecoat sprayed on as well and brushstrokes added later with white or some sort of medium that leaves the brushstroke texture?
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SHOW YOUR DISTRESSED FINISHES!
- Thread starter JIO
- Start date
Nice example. I've always been curious about the process in making the fauxburst. I'm assuming the burst is sprayed on as usual over the white basecoat. Are they actually painting the white basecoat with a brush or is the white basecoat sprayed on as well and brushstrokes added later with white or some sort of medium that leaves the brushstroke texture?
Sprayed white basecoat and then brushed brown 'grain' then sprayed burst over that using a transparent yellow - much the same as the red (color added to clear).
- Jun 30, 2010
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- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
Faux bois - wow - never knew they did finishes like that in the '70s
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Late 60s as well. This is a 1970. I'm not sure how long it continued. This is just a particularly good example with the layers exposed.
- Jun 30, 2010
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I wonder how much that increased production time? Too bad they didn't used something else like Empress (Paulownia). G&L have been using it for years now as it's super light and grain is nice as well.
I'm sure the motive was economic. They didn't need to be so discriminating about quality of wood, didn't need as large pieces (I've seen stripped ones with up to 5 piece bodies), could have flaws, did not need to take the time to try to grain/color match laminations. Probably less time and skill to just spray everything white.
It looked like Fender was already headed in this direction even before the sale to CBS as the 'target bursts' started showing up late '64. Heavier instruments started becoming more common in '65.
Production went WAY up when CBS took over -
interesting quote from Karl Olmsted who ran the Race & Olmsted Tool and Die Shop in Fullerton and worked for Fender—and subsequently CBS—from the late ’40s through to the ’80s:
"I know that right after CBS took over, Forrest White’s production schedule was about 10,000 a month" (obviously all instruments, not just basses...)
They were backordered $15M on Mustangs alone (in 1965 $) at the time of the takeover!
Re: Empress (Paulownia), I'm just guessing that might have been too 'exotic' from local suppliers at the time (?). Or just cost more... They did experiment with other woods. There are rare pre-CBS examples of mahogany and korina/limba bodies - and pine very early - and "sassafras" still being debated (and, of course, the CBS era "wildwood" hollowbodies and rosewood Teles but those are specific). And there were the ones with padauk/bubinga fingerboards (usually neck stamps in summer of '65) while transitioning from Brazilian to Indian rosewood. There's also the one off '61 Jazz Bass that Freddie Tavares had with vulcanized fiber fingerboard.
I've heard about Leo using pine for the early Broadcasters. However, I was not aware he experimented with mahogany and korina/limba bodies at Fender. It does makes sense he would have experimented with mahogany at Fender as he did use it with the G&L basses. However, the korina/limba bodies are a bit surprising.
I only know of korina/limba on Strats - there are a fair number of those. - and a few Duosonics/Musicmasters (!!!) There were a number of Teles and at least one P bass in mahogany (all solid custom colors and all '62 - '63 so far as I know on the mahogany ones - John Slog had a Fiesta Red mahogany P bass that he sold to the bass player in LIVE and who was pictured with it on the cover of Bass Player Magazine).
Here's a '64 Fiesta/sand basecoat over limba Strat:
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- Jun 30, 2010
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I recall the editor in chief at BASSPLAYER magazine in the '90s had a mahogany P-bass. It would be a seller if Fender did a retro-vintage line of basses & guitars bodies made with mahogany.
Fender did some mahogany body basses in the 90's - the "lyte" ones that had heavier gold hardware, active preamp and P/J pickups with the bridge being a double coil IIRC. Also the Victor Bailey signature was a limba/mahogany lam body. Maybe some others that I don't remember as well...
The Fiesta Red one that Patrick Dahlheimer got from John Slog is the only pre-CBS one that I know of. Interestingly, I had a 3 tone burst '58 that he bought and there's a guy on Facebook who bought both of those basses (the Fiesta and the '58) through a New Jersey Guitar Center, of all places. Dahlheimer also bought a black with matching headstock factory refin '62 Jazz Bass that I got from Norm Harris. I don't know where that one is now. Maybe he still has it...
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- Jun 30, 2010
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It's all original, pickguard was original, particularly nice example, typical crack by the jack. It's a '62, which also tracks with it being a tort guard as they generally transitioned from tort to 'green' guards on custom color basses mid '62 (and matching headstocks on Jazz Basses in late '62).
Here's more recent pic stolen from the current owner:
Looking at how low the neck sits where it meets the guard, I have to suspect it's had some kind of 'ski jump' repair or similar.
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And the '58 I used to own. It was pretty much this beat even when I got it (without case) in '92 or '93. Raised 'A' pickup.
Thanks for sharing these. Both are fine looking basses. The tort guard is amazing with what looks like a soft orange and maroon (?) 
I saw LIVE about 30 years ago at the Shoreline Amphitheatre but It's been too long to remember what Patrick was playing.
I noticed on the 58 the fretboard wear above the 20th fret. Is that an area you like to play? Up until recently, I always wondered how anyone could create wear on the neck above the 20th fret. I always assumed any fretboard wear would be a result of the fretting hand, however, 2saddleslab and I were talking about this and he mentioned he has the same wear on his 55 and also plays on the neck. I like playing in that area as well when I'm not playing over the pickup. I never analyzed my playing but discovered I do drag my index and middle figures across that area when playing up on the neck.
I saw LIVE about 30 years ago at the Shoreline Amphitheatre but It's been too long to remember what Patrick was playing.I noticed on the 58 the fretboard wear above the 20th fret. Is that an area you like to play? Up until recently, I always wondered how anyone could create wear on the neck above the 20th fret. I always assumed any fretboard wear would be a result of the fretting hand, however, 2saddleslab and I were talking about this and he mentioned he has the same wear on his 55 and also plays on the neck. I like playing in that area as well when I'm not playing over the pickup. I never analyzed my playing but discovered I do drag my index and middle figures across that area when playing up on the neck.
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