Two Blue Strats (LARGE image)

[Cogs]

[chuckocaster]

and???? are you trying to encite g.a.s. in others? i'd love to own those geetars.

[LightninBoy]

Beautiful. Was that taken from the latest Guitar Player?

[Cogs]

Guitar Player, August 1995.
Sorry the text is so blurry; If I had realized it would be unreadable I would have cropped the picture so it wouldn't be so huge. Here's a partial quote:
"...the colors in this double dose of blues power looks the way they did decades ago, & both finishes were pictured on Fender charts. The lighter Strat is a hardtail (non-tremolo) from late '59, which predates the first chart by more than a year. 'It's Daphne Blue' says owner Joe Menza. 'The original owner, from Roanoke, Texas, ordered "Baby blue", & this is what he got, a sky blue that's deeper than the washed-out Sonic Blue. It hasn't faded, but it's worn away in places, & you can see that it was applied over a Sunburst - a common practice. It's the only Daphne maple-neck Strat I've seen.'
The Lake Placid Blue Strat dates to '57 - four years before the first chart. Menza explains, 'The blue was shot over a Desert Sand finish, which was typical. In the '60s, LPB became more common, but this is the only one from the '50s I've seen, although I've heard of others. In the '50s, blonde & red were more common, maybe black, & then a handful of green metalflake, blue, & others. Lacquer is important; if it got a heavy top coat, the blue tends to turn green. Some Lake Placids look Sherwood Green.' "

[LightninBoy]

The Encore page was always one of my favorite parts of GP when I subscribed years ago. I've got a copy somewhere that has a sweet early '50s Tele featured. Lacquer sure does sweeten with age don't it...