1962/63 Fender Stratocaster (Number One)
This was Stevie Ray Vaughan‘s lead guitar. He got it from Ray Henning’s Heart of Texas music store owner in 1973 and it quickly became his main companion.
Number one originally had a white pickguard that has been replaced with a black one that now adds the“SRV” logo and a tremolo bar for the right hand-now left-handed gold-plated.
The Changes
The guitar was built using a body Stratocaster from 1963 and a neck from 1962, although Stevie believed it to be a 1959 Stratocaster. The reason was that he once took off the pickups and realized that they were made in 1959, so he drew a conclusion. It was not until 1980 that Rene Martinez disassembled the entire guitar and saw the year 1963 stamped in the body and 1962 on the neck.
The Number One
Stevie ‘s number one is a sunburst model and the original neck has a thick D-shaped profile with a 41 mm (1-5 / 8 “) nut width. The fingerboard radius was originally 7.25″ but eventually dropped to 10”. This was a consequence of the countless refret jobs performed by Rene Martinez, who used mainly Dunlop 6100 fretwire. The headstock was equipped with Fender Schaller Elite Gold footpads.
The damaged handle
The neck eventually became irreparably damaged, so Rene realized he was going to put in a neck from the Stratocaster Stevie‘s 1962 redhead. Unfortunately, that neck was broken into pieces during a show in Holmdell, New Jersey, when some of the stage equipment fell on several of Stevie‘s guitars. After that, the number was fitted with a new neck Fender until Stevie‘s death, when the original neck was re-mounted after repair.
Number one is currently in the possession of Jimmie Vaughan, Stevie‘s brother, although it is rumored that she was buried with Stevie in Dallas, which is unlikely.
In 1992. Fender released a signature Stevie Ray Vaughan Stratocaster, based on the Number One.
1963 Fender Stratocaster “The Lenny”
This guitar first caught Stevie ‘s attention around 1979, when he went with a pair of friends at a pawnshop in Austin, Texas. Unfortunately, it cost $350 and he could not afford it at the time.
That did not stop his wife, Lenora, who talked to a couple of Stevie ‘s friends about cashing in $50 each so they could give it to him as a birthday present. The plan worked and they presented the guitar to Stevie on October 3, 1980 at Steamboat Springs – a nightclub where he often played.
The guitar was originally a 3-tone sunburst maple neck model with a rosewood fingerboard. It was finished by the previous owner with a dark natural color and had an artistic inlay behind the bridge.
Stevie decided to replace the neck with a mid-1950s style maple neck given to him by Billy Gibbons. He kept the tremolo lever, pickups, and frets in their original condition, but added his signature and initials on the neck plate and pickguard.
This guitar also has Mickey Mantle’s autograph on the back of the body, who signed it on April 10, 1985, when Vaughan was invited to play the national anthem at the Houston Astros’ season opener at the Houston Astrodome.
Stevie recorded many of his heartfelt love songs with this guitar, including “Riviera Paradise” and, of course, “Lenny.”
The guitar was auctioned off at the Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival on June 24, 2004 and was sold at the Guitar Center for $623,500. The Fender Custom Shop has produced a limited-edition run of Lenny replicas since Dec. 12, 2007, and they are sold by Guitar Center for $17,000.
1962 Fender Stratocaster “Red” Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie purchased this guitar at Charley’s Guitar Shop in 1983. It was originally a Stratocaster sunburst, but it was repainted custom red by Fender.
The guitar remained in stock condition until 1986, when Rene Martinez took the neck to replace the neck on Stevie ‘s number one and installed a left-handed 1964 rosewood neck. At the same time, Stevie added the sticker “SRV” on the pickguard.
Stevie often played this guitar live for “Love Struck Baby” and “Pride And Joy.”
1983 Custom Strat-style Guitar “Charley”
This guitar was made by Charley Wirz, owner of Charley’s Guitar Shop in Dallas, in 1984. It has a body style stratocaster white with rosewood neck, two controls (volume and tone) and Danelectro lipstick pickups.
On the back of the body is a hula girl sticker and the neck plate has the words “To Stevie Ray Vaughan, more in ’84” engraved on it.
Stevie played this guitar in “Life Without You” (which was Stevie ‘s tribute to Charley after his passing in 1984), and live in the “Live at Montreaux” video.
In 2003, Charley’s and Rene Martinez made 23 limited edition replicas of this guitar, selling for $2500.
1959 Fender Stratocaster “Yellow”
This guitar was previously owned by Vince Martell, the guitarist of Vanilla Fudge, who sold it to Charley Wirz of Charley’s Guitar Shop in Dallas. The previous owner had hollowed out the body to mount four humbucker, but Wirz removed them and installed a new pickguard in which he placed a single coil pickup Fender in the neck position.
He also painted the entire body yellow and installed the Charvel brass tremolo system. Charley then gave the guitar to Stevie in early 1981, who added decals SRV where the two pickups would normally be placed, just below the strings.
This is presumably the guitar Stevie played on the album versions of “Honey Bee” and “Tell Me,” and live on the “Live at Montreux” DVD for the last song in the set-“Collins Shuffle.”
The “Yellow” was finally stolen in 1985 at New York’s Albany International Airport and has never been found.
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