A SOLID-BODY ELECTRIC GUITAR, CUSTOM SHOP STRATOCASTER FOR JEFF BECK, BY J.W. BLACK

This custom J.W. Black neck JB12 was originally delivered to Jeff Beck in 1993 with a cream body (see the previous lot). J.W. Black sent the Fiesta Red guitar body with a set of Dimarzio hum-cancelling pickups in May 1998 as a body only. Andy Roberts, Beck’s then guitar tech, told journalist Douglas Noble in 1993 that they often experimented with different necks - 'He'll change necks from one guitar to another to see if it performs any better - he usually does it to put on a thicker neck.’ The Fiesta Red Strat was likely used as a touring spare in 1998. Shared to The Jeff Beck Bulletin, a fan report of Jeff’s concert at the Free Jazz Festival at Metropolitan, Rio De Janeiro in Brazil suggests that this red Strat may have been brought out as a third spare to allow Jeff to finish the show, after technical problems led to him smashing the first spare into the stage floor in frustration. The fan reports that Jeff played ‘Slingshot’ on a red and white Stratocaster to finish the show. The following year, Jeff was photographed with the Fiesta Red Stratocaster (at that point with a maple neck) in Paris in February 1999 by Marc Villalonga for a feature in French Guitar Part magazine.