Black Strat back to a Fiesta Red Strat for Hank

[Ivan Pongracic Jr]

I apologize if this has already been covered somewhere else, but I was wondering when exactly Hank switched from his black '70s Strat to a '57 fiesta red Strat? I seem to remember a video from the Change of Address tour in '80 where he was still using the black one, so did it happen with the Hits Right Up Your Street period around '81? Thanks in advance.

[Didier]

I apologize if this has already been covered somewhere else, but I was wondering when exactly Hank switched from his black '70s Strat to a '57 fiesta red Strat? I seem to remember a video from the Change of Address tour in '80 where he was still using the black one, so did it happen with the Hits Right Up Your Street period around '81? Thanks in advance.

On december 5th 1980, Hank Marvin bought a 1958 fiesta red Strat with maple neck from Patrice Bastien in Paris for 14,000 FF (the guitar was later paid by Polydor). Hank still has this guitar, although he didn't use it for the Final and Reunited tours.
Patrice ran for 20 years a vintage guitar import business in Paris.
As far as I know, Hank gave the black one to his son Ben.

Didier

[Paul Childs]

Ben had it resprayed sunburst and had a different neck put on it and also changed the pickups etc. so the guitar was hardly recognisable.
He used it on Hanks solo tours in the 90s from the first tour.

[Ivan Pongracic Jr]

Thanks, Didier and Paul. I'm glad to see I had the timeline roughly right, though got the year of the guitar slightly wrong ('58 vs. '57). So, did Bruce repaint the 34346 to red at that same time, to match up with Hank? And anybody know why Hank decided to return back to a red Strat after 18 years away? And finally, is this '58 Strat the guitar he used for the rest of the '80s? When was that one decommissioned?

Thanks!

[Paul Childs]

Bruce still kept 34346 white for a while when Hank had his fiesta red one but he had it resprayed back to the original colour around 1983 when they did their 25 years tour.

[Gary Allen]

Thanks, Didier and Paul. I'm glad to see I had the timeline roughly right, though got the year of the guitar slightly wrong ('58 vs. '57). So, did Bruce repaint the 34346 to red at that same time, to match up with Hank? And anybody know why Hank decided to return back to a red Strat after 18 years away? And finally, is this '58 Strat the guitar he used for the rest of the '80s? When was that one decommissioned?

Thanks!

Hi Ivan,The story as I know it starts with Hank getting the Black strat because Dave Gilmour had one,(wiring mods/dimarzio FS1).Hank also tried a Fender Rangemaster p/up,With public demand for the old hits to be played, Hank wanted a more vintage sound so decided to get an old strat,He wasnt looking for fiesta red (sorry folks,,not another debate) but was over the moon when he saw the strat that Patrice had. Fender gave him a 57 reissue in the mid 80s although I dont think he used it on anything. (I heard he gave it away). Roger Giffin made a new neck for Hanks 58 strat in 1989 (as seen in the Liverpool Empire DVD).In 1990, Fender gave him a custom shop model and the 58 became the spare,The last I heard about it was that the original neck is back on it and that he used it for a few tracks on the Reunited CD......regards Gary ---------------anorak mode off---------------------

[iefje]

Thanks, Didier and Paul. I'm glad to see I had the timeline roughly right, though got the year of the guitar slightly wrong ('58 vs. '57). So, did Bruce repaint the 34346 to red at that same time, to match up with Hank? And anybody know why Hank decided to return back to a red Strat after 18 years away? And finally, is this '58 Strat the guitar he used for the rest of the '80s? When was that one decommissioned?

Thanks!

Maybe it also had something to do with the presentation on stage. Now, all three guitarists, Hank on lead, Bruce on rhythm and Alan Jones on bass had matching instruments. In colour that is.

[Didier]

Thanks, Didier and Paul. I'm glad to see I had the timeline roughly right, though got the year of the guitar slightly wrong ('58 vs. '57). So, did Bruce repaint the 34346 to red at that same time, to match up with Hank? And anybody know why Hank decided to return back to a red Strat after 18 years away? And finally, is this '58 Strat the guitar he used for the rest of the '80s? When was that one decommissioned?

Thanks!

Hi Ivan,The story as I know it starts with Hank getting the Black strat because Dave Gilmour had one,(wiring mods/dimarzio FS1).Hank also tried a Fender Rangemaster p/up,With public demand for the old hits to be played, Hank wanted a more vintage sound so decided to get an old strat,He wasnt looking for fiesta red (sorry folks,,not another debate) but was over the moon when he saw the strat that Patrice had. Fender gave him a 57 reissue in the mid 80s although I dont think he used it on anything. (I heard he gave it away). Roger Giffin made a new neck for Hanks 58 strat in 1989 (as seen in the Liverpool Empire DVD).In 1990, Fender gave him a custom shop model and the 58 became the spare,The last I heard about it was that the original neck is back on it and that he used it for a few tracks on the Reunited CD......regards Gary ---------------anorak mode off---------------------

As Patrice once told the story in details on our French forum, just before the Shadows were to play at the Magador theater in Paris on december 4th 1980, Patrice was called by a well known music jounalist who told him that Hank was looking to get a vintage Strat. Patrice had started his vintage guitar import business in early 1978 and was already known as the best possible supplier for vintage guitars in France.
Patrice went to the concert (he already had tickets) and met Hank backstage after the show. Patrice proposed Hank to come immediatly to his shop in Paris (near Place de la Nation) to see the guitars he had for sale, but Hank already had commitments and wasn't available. He asked Patrice to come to his hotel (Concorde-Lafayette, west of Paris) the next morning with the guitars. Neddless to say, Patrice didn't slept much as he lived east of Paris, and had to get up early in the morning to pick the guitars at his shop and cross all of Paris.
He brought three guitars : the 1958 fiesta red Strat with maple neck, a 1960 (or 1961) Strat with rosewood neck, and Patrice's own 1964 Strat (not to be sold, but to be signed by Hank). Hank immediatly selected the 1958 one. The guitar wasn't even plugged to an amp for tests. Hank then called Brian Goode to discuss the deal. The price was brought down from 15,000 FF to 14,000 FF. No papers were signed, they only shake hands with the promise that a cheque would come within one month, which it did...

This Strat was made in december 1958, three months before the famous 34346 which was built in march 1959.

Patrice met Hank at the gipsy music festival in Sannois in 2004, and Hank told him he still had the 1958 Strat, and used it from time to time for recording.

Didier

[JimN]

Hi Ivan,The story as I know it starts with Hank getting the Black strat because Dave Gilmour had one,(wiring mods/dimarzio FS1).Hank also tried a Fender Rangemaster p/up,With public demand for the old hits to be played, Hank wanted a more vintage sound so decided to get an old strat,He wasnt looking for fiesta red (sorry folks,,not another debate) but was over the moon when he saw the strat that Patrice had. Fender gave him a 57 reissue in the mid 80s although I dont think he used it on anything. (I heard he gave it away). Roger Giffin made a new neck for Hanks 58 strat in 1989 (as seen in the Liverpool Empire DVD).In 1990, Fender gave him a custom shop model and the 58 became the spare,The last I heard about it was that the original neck is back on it and that he used it for a few tracks on the Reunited CD......regards Gary ---------------anorak mode off---------------------

A wind-up, Gary - yes?

When Hank bought that guitar, it was finished in blonde (brand new). Not black and nowt to do with Gilmour. The black respray happened in late 1974 or early 1975.

"Rangemaster" is presumably the Fender Wide Range Humbucker which Hank at one time (c. 1975/1976) had fitted in the bridge position after the guitar had been resprayed black. The reversion to standard Fender s/c pickups (sometimes with a DiMarzio Fat Strat in the bridge position) came about in 1977, along with a change to a black scratchplate (the original was tortoiseshell).

JN

[fenderplucker]

Hi,

Hank did try the 58 Strat for a track or two on the Reunited CD but didn't actually record any tracks with it. Just like 34346 (and the Oasis reproductions) it had a rather bright/thin sound compared to his Custom Shop Strats, though he went in this direction when he had the CS54 pickups fitted to his Strats for the tour.

Paul.