Why is Fiesta Red so rare?

[Floridabwoy]

Seriously. I just want a Fiesta red Precision. Why does it only come on $1500 instruments... grrrr.

I thought about doing a refin, but I am afraid after all the work and $50 in S&S, primer, paint, nitro it would come out all wonky.

 

[EagleMoon]

Buy some paint from ReRanch and do it yourself. Total cost about $25.

 

[dave120]

Buy some paint from ReRanch and do it yourself. Total cost about $25.

+1, it's not that hard to do. Follow the instructions on their site and take your time, it should come out nice.

 

[Floridabwoy]

$25???? The Paint is $15, the nitro is $15, S&S is $10 and primer.

I have never refined a bass. Is it really not that bad? I am afraid.

Maybe I will buy an SX p for my first attempt.

 

[lpdeluxe]

The Classic '50s P comes in fiesta red.

Personally, I don't like it...I have the '50s in that color, and I just ordered an A V '57 in sunburst. I already have a buyer for the MIM, happy to say.

 

[Floridabwoy]

mmmm..... stop teasing. Just needs a tort pickguard.

 

[Meddle]

Wasn't it a colour that was only made in small numbers (supposedly) because of a mix problem at the dupont paint in the late 1950s/early '60s?

 

[snyderz]

Seriously? If less of an item is made, it is rarer than those that were made in greater numbers.

 

[Kenny Allyn]

mmmm..... stop teasing. Just needs a tort pickguard.

OK ...

... Not exactly a P-Bass, but you get the idea

 

[TC2112]

OK ...

... Not exactly a P-Bass, but you get the idea

Oh my

that's a beauty. Man, I want a darkstarred bass

 

[Kenny Allyn]

Oh my

that's a beauty. Man, I want a darkstarred bass

They are great pickups ...

Here is the bass with Fred Hammon the guy who makes Dark Star pickups playing it

... Taken at the 2008 Summer NAMM in Nashville

 

[Floridabwoy]

that is a beaut!

 

[Kenny Allyn]

that is a beaut!

Thanks ...

You originally asked about Fiesta Red, it was a very un-stable color (as all reds are) and faded into many different shades, when I had Bud LeCompte build the bass we had to work out the color to give it that "vintage vibe" ... these are the pictures we used to do that.

A feast of fiestas

... Enjoy!

 

[TC2112]

Thanks ...

You originally asked about Fiesta Red, it was a very un-stable color (as all reds are) and faded into many different shades,

ReRanch has a color called ReRanch Coral -

"Coral is the color that never was. It was sometimes called Salmon. Either way the color never was in the Fender line. There are however "Coral" Strats. The best explanation for the color is that these Strats were originally painted Fiesta Red and over time they faded to the color we call Coral."

 

[lpdeluxe]

Wasn't it a colour that was only made in small numbers (supposedly) because of a mix problem at the dupont paint in the late 1950s/early '60s?

Reportedly it's the same as a 1956 Ford Thunderbird factory color. I remember those, and I didn't like it then, either.

Another tale is that George Fullerton went to a local paint dealer sometime in 1957 to mix up a red for Fender, and fiesta red was the result.

Actually, I think both stories are true: the original fiesta red was the one GF came up with, and the Ensenada fiesta red is the same as the TBird color...which is to say, the two colors are different from other. This would not be unheard of: compare a modern '51 Precision Reissue "butterscotch" with photos of the real deal, and there's very little resemblance.

As to the call for a tort pickguard: Puh-leeze!

 

[TomB]

My '61 P was originally red, but I'm not sure which red... it's quite bright in the neck pocket where we found the original color.

I had the color computer-matched when Lay's refinned it... (don't worry, it had been stripped and funky-resprayed multiple times when I got it).

The matched color is actually quite a bright red, but not "fire engine"... could it be Fiesta Red ???

If someone wants to PM me on how to post photos to TB, I'll photograph and post it.

Thanks!

 

[pasta4lnch]

warmoth?!

 

[waynobass]

I think most bassists don't like red, let alone the orangey Fiesta Red. That's why it's rare.

(I love red myself.)

 

[budman]

They are great pickups ...

Here is the bass with Fred Hammon the guy who makes Dark Star pickups playing it

... Taken at the 2008 Summer NAMM in Nashville

I used orange, red, and white toners to mix up that color. I just tried to get somewhere in the middle of all those photos Kenny sent me. A lot of people at the show commented about how familiar that color combination looked, so I figured I had gotten pretty close to that faded out red.

 

[EagleMoon]

I don't know why they really call it red when it's pink. Maybe pink isn't manly enough?