It’s not often that prime-time network television captures an audience of working class, professional musicians. In 1968, players watched Elvis Presley and Scotty Moore swap their Gibson SJ-200 and a Super 400 during Elvis’ “Comeback Special.” More recently, it’s been done with grace in a fictional musical drama.

“Nashville” aired for four seasons on ABC, then, after the network opted to not take it on for a fifth, a fitting new host emerged in Country Music Television (CMT). The show is particularly popular in the city for which it is named and has earned high praise not only for exposing millions of Americans to the world of vintage guitars, but also for the way it realistically portrays the sights and sounds involved in creating music. Much of the credit for that goes to two men who share a passion for their work on the series.

Danny Rowe, the show’s propmaster for musical instruments, along with musician/music producer/music director/songwriter Colin Linden, strive to ensure that what viewers see closely matches what they hear in the show’s performances. Critical to that authenticity is the attention to detail poured into each episode.

“We’re truly righteous to the gear,” Rowe said. “Whatever they’re using in the studio to cut the tracks, I match to the camera; so if it’s P-90s in the neck position on a Les Paul goldtop, that’s what you’re seeing.”

Rowe hunts down the guitars.

“I rent instruments from Carter Vintage Guitars, Corner Music, and Gruhn Guitars. They know I’m looking for a specific guitar with particular pickups to use on-camera, and they take great pride knowing that somebody cares enough to get it right.”

Pulling it off is quite the process.

“For every song performed, Buddy (Miller, the show’s Executive Music Producer) has to submit three to the network. Then they’ll go back and record it, and that’s where they figure out sound and instrumentation. Then, engineers send me photos from the sessions. At that point, I know what I’ll be renting.”

And, for each character who plays, the crew tries to establish an instrument of choice as part of the story.

“We have to consider, ‘Is he old school, is he new school?’” Rowe said. “The hardest part is when I’m listening to the session before they’ve been able to send photos; but I know they have a million things on their plate, too.”

Just as crucial is a convincing performance.

“T-Bone (Burnett, the show’s former music producer) wanted me to work with the cast on-set so they could really learn to play the parts, and not fake it,” said Linden. “I supervise the shoots and not only notate for errors, but work with the cast and bands to play – exactly – the parts we did on the recording. We never want to dumb-down the music so the actors ‘get’ it – and they don’t want us to.

“For instance, if there’s a part that Sam Palladio’s character, Gunnar, is supposed to be playing, Sam will move heaven and earth to learn it.”

“The actors work their behinds off learning parts – alternate tunings, capos, whatever it takes,” Rowe adds. “It’s more than just some guy with his head buried in his lap playing this intricate voicing. We’ve had Brian Setzer, Doyle Bramhall II, Kenny Vaughan, and all kinds of heavyweights here to cut stuff.”

That quest for realism and accuracy even extends to the on-screen backing bands.

“Everybody who plays in a backing band on the show is a full-time professional musician,” Linden said. “A lot of them play with Carrie Underwood, Toby Keith, and other bands that are out regularly touring. Casting always confers with us to make sure the parts are right for the people and the people are right for the parts.”

For Linden, that means getting into the characters’ heads.

“Colin is absolutely phenomenal,” says Rowe. “When he’s in the studio recording an actor’s guitar part to teach them later, he takes the time to really understand how they play, then records it in that manner. He’s not in there playing as Colin Linden – he’s thinking ‘How would Avery Barkly play this? How would Deacon Claybourne play this.’ Then, during rehearsal, I’ll watch the actors pick up the guitar part with Colin helping; ‘Here it is from the mirror of how you play.’ That is mind-blowing to think of, on a TV show. It’s not just, ‘Hey, I banged out this great part.’ It’s ‘Hey, I banged out this great part that you probably would have played.’”

“The different worlds collide to a degree,” Linden says of the process. “There’s what Charles Esten would do versus what his character, Deacon, would do. And of course, storyline is key. In season two, Deacon was recovering after a car accident, and he could barely play. Callie Khouri (series creator) suggested that since his problem was his left hand, maybe he could get back into it by playing slide. So I started playing Deacon’s slide on the goldtop. Charles wanted to learn everything about it. He gets into the weeds so much. Really, though, they all dig in deeply, and that’s what I am trying to do with each of the characters.”

As developing musicians, the actors blend their own style to make the roles their own.

“When Layla Grant, who is played by Aubrey Peeples, started playing guitar on the show, I asked Aubrey how she’d be most comfortable,” Linden recalled. “She asked, ‘Would it be okay if I played without a pick?’ I said, ‘Of course’ and asked how she would strum through something and she said, ‘Well it’s kind of like I’m holding a pick – I put the two fingers together.’ So whenever I play her parts, that’s what I do; I play it in a style that she would, and then I teach her the parts. There have been a couple of times when she’s been given a solo, and she just rises to the occasion.”

Choosing guitars for a character is given the same consideration as casting for a role.

“We feel like an old guitar says something about the uniqueness of a character’s aesthetic, so we really try to keep that in mind every time we choose an instrument for someone,” Linden says. “Willie Nelson has Trigger, and when you think of Willie, you think of him playing that guitar. People are bound to play more than one instrument, but you also know that every guitar player has a ‘food group.’ Making those choices really helps say something about the nature of that character.”

The team also does an incredible job intertwining personalities with the script.

“In season three, Layla made the transformation from sort of a fluffy pop singer to a more-serious artist,” explains Linden. “Buddy thought she should be playing an archtop, and I’d recently found a ’35 Gibson L-5. It had a badly repaired crack, but the crack had some pathos to it – like the guitar had seen some pain. The character had gone through something pretty difficult and was coming out on the other side, so that became her character guitar. It really says something for a 20-year-old girl to be playing that guitar. Aubrey knew exactly what was cool about it, and why it was perfect for Layla.”

Prior to that, the songbird had been seen strumming another super-cool American timepiece.

“There’s a scene where Layla goes into a tent where someone is selling guitars and – without being directed to do so – she picked up is a ’62 Harmony Monterey,” said Linden. “She’s just drawn to archtops, and we pay a lot of attention to those details when choosing character guitars.”

And the selection rides hand-in-hand with the plot. “When creating the characters, musically, they started to figure out what’s in these guys’ wheelhouse,” Rowe said. “Gunnar (Sam Palladio) initially had an LG-2 that belonged to [singer/songwriter] Julie Miller, then we had a reissue that served as his clunker to bang around on and work stuff out. Once he started going to bigger arena stuff, he started using Colin’s ’67 Gibson Country Western.”

Of working on Gunnar’s parts, Linden recalled how Palladio became a better guitar player in the last couple of years. “I kind of know what he goes for and what he likes,” he said. “I play his parts on a guitar that his character would play, like the Country Western. He has borrowed that guitar for gigs because he’s really comfortable playing it; it has become part of his persona.”

Other key guitars include a ’64 Guild Starfire IV with mini-humbuckers Rowe puts with the band backing Scarlett and Gunnar.

“Gunnar also uses Buddy Miller’s older Danelectros, and we use some Kay reissues in his music room,” he said.

Throughout the series, characters identify with an array of unique axes.

“Avery [Jonathan Jackson] started with a ’60s Harmony Rocket, then once he made a little money, moved on to a 335,” Rowe noted. “He also plays a ’51 Gibson CF-100e with a Florentine cutaway; it’s an amazing, beautiful guitar.”

While many of the guitars are rented, others are pulled from Linden and Rowe’s personal collection.

“I had my eyes on a 1940 Gibson L-00 at Corner Music, but the bridge was pulling up, there were no pins in it, and it needed a re-fret,” Rowe said. “Still, it spoke to me; it had the ebony tuning keys and there was a rattlesnake rattle in it. So I bought it for myself as a front-porch guitar and took it for Gibson to go through. They called and said, ‘Your guitar is done, but Miranda Lambert wants to play it in her video for ‘Automatic.’” When I got it back, Callie needed a guitar for Deacon to give Rayna (Connie Britton) at the end of season two, for their daughter, Maddie (Lennon Stella); something with a story. I said, ‘I’ve got this L-00 and the story could be that Deacon had worked with this guitar and he wanted his daughter to have it.’

“From then on, Lennon played it in the show, and she loves that guitar. She’s so great at it, and when you’re seeing her play, Colin recorded her parts with that guitar.”

Deacon, one of the protagonists, is a Nashville go-to guitarslinger and session guy, and as such uses the widest range of guitars.

“He’s a performer – side man and session player – so he’s more-versatile,” explained Linden. “In his portrayal, Chip plays my ’56 Gibson LG-2 with a Baggs soundhole pickup for a lot of scenes, and a ’66 Martin D-18. As of late, he’s also playing my sunburst ’64 Gretsch Double Anniversary with a Bigsby. Those have become Deacon’s roots.”

Rowe expands on the character’s toolbox.

“Deacon has a ’55 J-200 with a pickup that I grabbed from Carter’s. When we filmed our second On The Record Live, Chip asked to borrow it and afterward said, ‘I don’t think this guitar is ever going back to Carters’,’ and he bought it. Prior to that, he was shown mostly with Buddy’s ’54 SJ-200, which Emmy Lou Harris had given him. For slide, he’s using a 2012 Goldtop, and we have a ’52 reissue Goldtop with the trapeze tailpiece. Then there’s Buddy’s Gretsch Black Penguin with a Bigsby and D’Armond pickups, and one I got from Fender with the original-style tailpiece.”

Early on, the Juliette Barnes character, played by Hayden Panettiere, gifted Deacon a rare Martin.

“That was a ’29 OM-28 – an incredible guitar that sounded unbelievable,” said Rowe. “We got it from Norman’s Rare Guitars. T-Bone flew with it from L.A. to Nashville and, after, it sold for $50,000.”

In the era of “product placement,” very often the appearance of product like musical instruments happens through endorsements, but Rowe explained that is not the case with “Nashville.”

“A lot of what we’re doing is Gibson and Fender because it works so well with the music – Gretsches, Teles, and Gibsons are just so tasty, and Buddy, T-Bone, and Colin are finding the voices for the songs. It’s such an Americana vibe.”

And when it comes to “Fender or Gibson,” well, it’s far more often about “old versus new.”

“We love old, sweaty guitars,” said Linden. “They have that mojo. We’re all out there – the whole music team – looking at old stuff. And the funny thing is, we tend not to buy anything for the show because we’re afraid it will end up in a warehouse somewhere.”

“There are a lot of great new instruments, too,” adds Linden. “I’ve used a couple of Eastwoods, including a Tuxedo. But if someone was to ask, ‘What’s the definitive guitar of the show,’ I’d say my ’51 Gibson CF-100e. It’s got a K&K pickup, so it really does have two outputs. There are several of them in the ‘Nashville’ TV family now; there’s something about them that feels like it’s ours.”

The organic methods of recording and performing are carried out beyond cinematic storytelling.

“T-Bone really values the sound of an acoustic guitar played acoustically,” says Linden. “When we did a promotional performance on ‘The View’ with Chip, Sam, Clare Bowen, and Jonathan, we didn’t use pickups; we just put mics in front of guitars. We even brought an RCA 44 for the upright. Whenever you see somebody on the show not plugged in, we want to say in our own subtle way, ‘These really cool guitar sounds were done with mics.’ Even people who aren’t musicians can kind of tell if something is a crock.”

“We don’t want to make a show with no strings on the guitar,” Rowe adds with a laugh. “There’s nothing worse than hearing a vibrato bend played when there’s no vibrato arm on the guitar. I talk to a lot of people who couldn’t care less which guitar that hunky guy is playing… but then there’s guys like us!”

Certainly, when the show’s list of fans includes names like Brad Paisley, Chris Martin, and Seymour Duncan… “We wouldn’t want to go on the cheap with anything, especially when people we respect are watching.”

Beyond keen-eyed musicians, though, Linden points to the bigger picture – and broader audience.

“We’re doing our best to represent this great music community in Nashville,” he said. “It’s so stylistically diverse and versatile, and we want to put it on proper display.”

Other not-easily-impressed people laud the efforts of Collin, Rowe, and others on the show staff. Instrument dealer George Gruhn is one.

“Executive Producer Steve Buchanan hired exceptional talent to see to it that the quality and authenticity of the music is top-rate,” he said. “The musicians are extraordinarily talented, and I think the show benefits tremendously from featured entertainers being not only actors, but people who do indeed sing and play; Charles Esten, Aubrey Peeples, and some of the backing players have done multiple guest spots onstage at the Grand Ole Opry, and they pursue musical careers beyond their role in the TV series.”

Walter Carter, whose shop, Carter Vintage, is another primary source for instruments, also appreciates the work of Rowe and Linden.

“Though some aspects of the show are Hollywood-ized, the instruments are true. When you hear a guitar on the soundtrack that sounds like a Gretsch with a DeArmond pickup or a vintage Gibson acoustic, that’s what you see onscreen,” he said. “When they showed a Gibson SJ the character claimed belonged to Hank Williams, it was period-correct.

“Behind the scenes, there’s a great appreciation for vintage guitars that started with T-Bone Burnett as music director and carried on through Buddy Miller and Colin Linden. Danny Rowe, of course, is the one who holds producers’ feet to the fire when it comes to ‘truth in instruments.’”

Arguably even more important than the on-screen singing and handling of instruments, though, Gruhn credits the show with spurring interest in Nashville, the city.

“The show has provided a huge boost to local and state tourism,” he said. “Ten years ago, it was common to see the Opry House filled only on the ground level and the balcony almost empty. Today, with summer shows Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, often with two on Saturday, the 5,000-seat auditorium is consistently filled.

“Not only does the show have good ratings, but its success has been a significant factor in Nashville’s currently booming economy, which has in turn resulted in massive new development in the downtown area and rising real-estate values throughout the community.”

This article originally appeared in VG December 2016 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Unlike its rival from the West Coast, Gibson did not readily embrace the concept of offering custom-color finishes. It wasn’t averse to custom work or colorful finishes, but saw them more as a consequence of its wider range of stringed instruments – acoustics, electrics, and associated clientele.

While competitors like Fender, Gretsch, Harmony, and Rickenbacker were happy to broaden their range of finishes with colorful shades, Gibson stuck to its (more-traditional) guns. The bold departure signalled by the gold finish of 1952 had no real follow-up until the inception of Cherry Red on the re-styled Les Paul Special and Junior in ’58. Factory records suggest that the color was originally used in ’57 as a one-off on an ES-295. Subsequently, Cherry Red was made available on many Gibson models, either as a standard finish or as an unlisted option before becoming the lead color on the new SG-style solidbodies and thinline electrics in 1961.

Leaving aside the decades-old use of black and white, Gibson’s earliest non-traditional finish was the blue it applied to the revamped Century lap steel of 1951. The most famous fancy finish applied by Gibson on a production model is the gold metallic on the Les Paul model of 1952, which originated on a late-’51 ES-175 presented to a disabled guitarist by Les Paul himself.

Despite its innovative design, the SG series failed to provide a decisive competitive edge, especially vis-à-vis the most popular Fender solidbodies. When the Firebird was launched in 1963, Gibson boss Ted McCarty felt compelled to endow the new models with 10 finish options, blatantly emulating Fender shades. A Gibson color like Golden Mist is strictly identical to Fender’s Shoreline Gold while Pelham Blue is Cadillac’s 1960 successor to the Lake Placid Blue used by Fender beginning in ’57.

Color charts issued by Gibson in 1963 and ’66 do not mention the paints’ reference numbers, but their automotive name is sufficient to trace their origins (see accompanying table). It’s no surprise that Gibson’s selection shows a bias similar to Fender’s, with nine of the 10 colors originating from GM, only one from Ford. Their main automotive source, however, was Oldsmobile, with five colors, rather than Fender’s favorite, Cadillac, with three. This gave Gibson similar shades, albeit with different names.

Colors like Pelham Blue and Cardinal Red became available on other Gibsons, either as a standard finish as on Melody Makers, or as an option as on the Trini Lopez Standard. However, a couple of Firebirds were done with shades other than the 10 in the chart. For instance, the late John Entwistle, bassist for The Who, had a Firebird VII finished in Bronze Mist, from the much-used 1959 Oldsmobile chart.

The Firebirds’ lack of success contributed to Gibson withdrawing custom finish options by ’69. As recalled by Ted McCarty in a 1979 interview (Ed. Note: that interview was part of the research conducted by author André Duchossoir for his 1994 book Gibson Electrics: The Classic Years), these were not popular with dealers. “Players liked [having color options] but the dealers didn’t because if a dealer had a green and a gold one, the fellows wanted the blue one and the red one. If he had a blue one and a red one, they wanted a green or a gold, or something else! They couldn’t sell what they had, so dealers would forget it. They wouldn’t even tell their customers about them!”

Some vintage enthusiasts think Sparkling Burgundy is also a custom color, and while the metallic shade resembles the Candy Apple Red found on Fender instruments, it was not, strictly speaking, an optional finish. Stanley Rendell, who served as president of Gibson in the early/mid ’70s, recounted the true origins of Sparkling Burgundy.

“[Gibson] had a problem making the 335 series,” he said in an unpublished interview from 1982 (Ed. Note: also conducted by Duchossoir). “Apparently, when they laminated the sandwich, they did not have great control of the moisture content in the wood and they got a lot of checking in the guitars. So they came up with a finish – Sparkling Burgundy – [which] was a disguise mechanism. They would fill the cracks and spray Sparkling Burgundy to cover the repair. It’s almost like what happened in the old days of piano industry, with ebony.”

This explains why, as of 1967, Sparkling Burgundy was listed as a regular finish, not a custom option, on the thinline models – ES-355, 345, 335, 330, and EB-2 (D). At the same time, it was offered standard on the Flying V reissue and Melody Maker in lieu of Fire Engine Red. More rarely, Sparkling Burgundy was applied to SG bodies; oddly enough, practically no Firebird or Thunderbird was done with it.

In ’67, Gibson introduced walnut as a regular finish on several models in order to diversify its traditional offering. Walnut would eventually supersede Cherry Red on SG-styled solidbodies and thinlines, while later also becoming the basic finish on the low-impedance Les Paul models launched in ’69.

At a time when the company was going through a fairly traumatic period following the departure of McCarty and vice president John Huis, it was probably with great relief that Rendell and the new Gibson management oversaw the (temporary) end of optional custom colors.

NOTES:

#1This color (DuPont 2697-L) first appeared in 1958 on Chevrolet cars under the name Snowcrest White. In ’59, it was given other names like Polaris White (Oldsmobile), Artic White (Buick), Cameo Ivory (Pontiac) and Dover White (Cadillac).
#2 Cardinal Red is a fairly common name in the world of automotive paints. It was first used by GM in 1955, albeit with a formula (DuPont 2411-H) distinct from the one used by Gibson beginning in ’59 on Oldsmobile cars (DuPont 2931-L). As was customary with GM, the same color was used across divisions under different names – Mandalay Red (Pontiac), Roman Red (Chevrolet), Seminole Red (Cadillac) and Tampico Red (Buick). Cardinal Red lasted only one year at Oldsmobile, but made a return in ’62 on Buick cars. This may be what prompted Gibson to use it as the equivalent of Fender’s Dakota Red.
#3 This color (DuPont 2721-H) was also used in ’59 by Ford Mercury under the name Canton Red, and on the Ford Mustang in ’67, as Aspen Red.
#4 Frost Blue first appeared at GM/Oldsmobile in 1955, with a formula (DuPont 2007) different from the ’59 paint used by Gibson (DuPont 2937-L). As was customary with GM, the latter was used in other divisions under different names – Castle Blue at Pontiac, and Wedgewood Blue at Buick. In ’59, a distinct Frost Blue shade with a metallic tinge (DuPont 2925-L) was concurrently used on the Chevrolet Corvette.
#5 As was customary with GM, this color (DuPont 4148-L) was used in other divisions under a different name – Alpine Green (Oldsmobile), Seacrest Green (Pontiac), and Seafoam Green (Chevrolet). It should not be confused with the darker Kerry Green used on Pontiac cars in ’56 (DuPont 2428).
#6 The Inverness Green name appeared in automotive paints in the 1930s. The ’59 paint used by Gibson (DuPont 2940-L) should not be confused with the other Inverness Green shades found on Cadillac cars in ’52 (DuPont 1331-H) or ’65 (DuPont 4679-L).
#7 This color (DuPont 2935-L) was used across divisions under different names – Fawn (Cadillac), Pearl Fawn (Buick) and Shoreline Gold (Pontiac). It should not be confused with the Gold Mist used in 1956 on Oldsmobile cars (DuPont 2439-L) or in ’58 on Buick cars (DuPont 2799-L).
#8 This color (DuPont 2934-L) was used in 1959 in other GM divisions under different names – Grecian Gray (Chevrolet), Silver Birch (Buick), Silver Metallic (Cadillac) and Silver Mist Gray (Pontiac). However, it differs from the Silver Mist used on Buick cars in ’58 (DuPont 2573-L) and ’60 (DuPont 4023-L).
#9 The 1962 Cadillac paint used by Gibson (DuPont 4304-L) should not be confused with Heather found on Oldsmobile cars in ’58 (DuPont 2793-L) and Cadillacs in ’60 (DuPont4044-L). Gibson Custom Colors/illustrations © AR Duchossoir, 2016.

Special thanks to Phil Laverne for helping with automotive paints.

This article originally appeared in VG March 2016 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

In the 1950s, America’s fascination with the automobile was running at a fever pitch. The booming economy of the country’s post-war years pushed the car from a purpose-built means of transportation to the center of family and social life. As a result, automakers started to offer their wares in ever-better dress.

Beyond plush interiors and dashboards with more dials, switches, and knobs, one of the key elements of the surge in the popularity of the automobile involved its paint. Competing furiously, makers offered a broad palette of potential colors to help Neighbor A differentiate his ride from that of Neighbor B.

Guitar makers, competing similarly and becoming ever more savvy, moved to capitalize on the cult of the car (and its many colors). What better way to make the electric guitar a similar object of desire, symbolizing the dawn of a new era of freedom, innovation, and rising affluence?

Regardless of the rationale or reasoning, custom colors are today an essential (and sometimes highly valued) feature of many vintage instruments, though their origins and specificity are not always adequately documented. In an attempt to clear the (lacquer-saturated) air on the topic, we offer a look at the custom-color finishes offered by Fender in the ’60s, including an aide for easy reference and a reminder of the debt guitar builders owe to the automotive industry.

From a guitarmaker’s standpoint, a “custom” finish does not necessarily mean a colorful finish, but rather a non-standard finish on a given model. For instance, in the ’50s, blond was standard on Fender’s Telecaster and Esquire, but it became a custom option on the Strat (on which the regular finish was sunburst). Any finish may or may not be custom, depending on the make/model. In 1952, the metallic gold of the Les Paul was standard at Gibson, but to get one on a Telecaster would have required a custom order.

Custom-color finishes appeared on Fender instruments well before the company’s first color chart was released in 1960. The mention “available in a DuPont Ducco color of the player’s choice at an additional 5% cost” first showed up in spec sheets for the Stratocaster and Precision Bass circa ’56, but customer requests for non-standard finishes actually go back to the early ’50s.

The custom colors used by Fender came from the automotive industry for three prime reasons: there were plenty of shades to choose from since colors were a strong selling argument to differentiate cars well before it became the case of guitars; automotive paints were well-suited to an industrial environment, easy to apply, and fast-drying; and finally, they were easy to procure.

It’s difficult to identify precisely which colors were used on Fender instruments before 1960, partly because of the sheer number of automotive paint shades available at the time, but also because of the effect of aging on these colors. It’s also impossible to determine whether a given color was specifically required by a player/customer or whether it was actually chosen by Fender to match a request for, say, a red or a green guitar. The up-and-coming company was keen to differentiate itself from peers and rivals by donning unusual finishes to guitars as evidenced by Eldon Shamblin’s gold ’54 Strat, Pee Wee Crayton’s red one, or the colorful Precision models exhibited in ’55. That said, Fender instruments with a genuine custom-color finish other than Blond remained a fairly rare occurrence in the ’50s.

In 1960 – the first year Fender published a color chart – it restricted the number of factory-available colors to 14 shades (plus Blond). The chart was amended in ’63, when Candy Apple Red replaced Shell Pink, and again in ’65, when six new metallic shades were included. The company took the trouble of specifying the actual paint code of each color as referenced by its preferred supplier, DuPont, though the same automotive paints were actually available from other suppliers such as PPG/Ditzler or ACME/Rogers. The summary table (see sidebar) was created after cross-checking the names and color codes listed by Fender. While consulting the table, consider:

1) The name of a color may apply to different shades and distinct paint formulas. For example, at least 14 different shades of Sherwood Green were used in the automotive industry between 1951 and ’67 – but only one was retained by Fender.

2) Conversely, a given color defined by a specific paint formula may be used under different names on different cars. For example, Fender’s Shoreline Gold – a 1959 Pontiac color – is exactly the same shade as Gibson’s Golden Mist, which is a ’59 Oldsmobile color.

3) Beware of similar color names that are, in fact, distinct. For example, Foam Green and Seafoam Green are not the same shade; Fender used only the former, contrary to popular belief. Likewise, Placid Blue and Lake Placid Blue are not the same color.

Leaving aside black, Fender’s 1960 color chart reflects a strong bias toward GM, with 10 colors out of 13, and in particular toward Cadillac, with five colors. In ’65, this bias was somewhat mitigated as four new metallic colors came from Ford, but Cadillac continued to reign supreme with six. Nobody can say if the selection of colors was based on previous customers’ choices or Fender insiders’ own preferences.

When the first chart was issued in 1960, only Olympic White and Shoreline Gold were still being offered on new cars. Automobile manufacturers frequently change names and colors, albeit without necessarily altering their shade significantly. For example, Cadillac’s 1957 Lake Placid Blue is not that different from Georgian Blue, which replaced it in ’59, or from Pelham Blue, which succeeded it in ’60. The cult-like status of some of these paints in today’s guitar realm is an interesting paradox given the planned obsolescence built into most industrial undertakings, including, of course, the car industry.

Whether for commercial and/or industrial reasons, Fender began to reduce its choice of colors in ’69, when six were abandoned including early classics like Fiesta Red, Dakota Red, and Foam Green. In ’72, four more were removed as natural-finish instruments became increasingly fashionable. It would take about a decade before the introduction of vintage reissues rekindled the fashion and propelled custom colors to unprecedented levels.

Special thanks to Phil Laverne for helping with automotive paints.

This article originally appeared in VG September 2015 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.