1960 FENDER STRATOCASTER

Gary's iconic early custom colour Strat is a fascinating timepiece forever linked to that blazing Fender anniversary performance of Red House

- Words Jamie Dickson

Steve Clarke has one of the best – but most exacting – jobs in the vintage guitar world. The author of Famous Frets is Bonhams’ authenticator for guitar collections such as Gary Moore’s and also sympathetically prepares the guitars for auction. Having featured guitars for major auctions such as the much-publicised sale of Rory Gallagher’s Strat, his workbench is no stranger to high-profile instruments. But Gary Moore’s ‘Red Strat’ is surely up there with anything he’s examined before in terms of iconic electrics.

Looking at the guitar with the naked eye, a patch of forearm wear seems to show two distinct tones of red paint, one applied over the other. This has led some to theorise, over the years, that the relatively milky red that forms the visible majority of the guitar’s paint today was applied over a bolder red finish that lies beneath – plausibly, some have suggested, a Fiesta Red sprayed over the less commercially popular Dakota Red to factory-convert the guitar to a more saleable finish. Others have contended that the apparent milkier coat of red paint on top was applied later, possibly after importation to the UK. There have even been theories that underneath everything lies a Tobacco Sunburst finish.

Steve says, though, that however tempting any ‘sunburst’ theories may seem to some, they were not borne out by his close inspection of the Strat.