Pale Red Burst is the quiet one. Most '59 reissues arrive shouting about their flame; this is a burst that has had the red pulled right back, so the top reads as amber and honey with just enough red left at the edge to know it was there. On a plain-to-lightly-figured top it looks like a guitar that has been in a case for sixty years rather than one built to be photographed.
VOS rather than Murphy Lab, which means the finish and hardware are given a vintage patina without any wear being put into them. Nothing checked, nothing worn, just the shine taken off.
Solid mahogany with a maple top, mahogany neck, Indian rosewood board with cellulose trapezoid inlays, 24.75" scale. Unpotted Custombucker Alnico IIIs, CTS 500K audio taper pots and paper-in-oil capacitors, ABR-1 and stopbar, Kluson tuners.
SPECIFICATIONS
Serial: 96649
Body: Solid Mahogany with Maple top
Finish: VOS nitrocellulose lacquer, Pale Red Burst
Neck: Mahogany
Scale Length: 24.75"
Fingerboard: Indian Rosewood
Inlays: Cellulose trapezoid
Pickups: Custombucker Alnico III, unpotted
Controls: CTS 500K audio taper pots, paper-in-oil capacitors
Bridge: ABR-1
Tailpiece: Stopbar
Tuners: Kluson
Hardware Finish: Nickel, VOS