Fender 'Mark Knopfler' Signature Series Stratocaster (0117800-815) - Owners list

[quizzaciously]

The colour of this guitar has been the only gribe for me for ages. When I saw it live the first time I though "Wow, why this guitar is so pink"? The greatest mystery is why they decided to reinvent the wheel, but not use the legendary Fiesta Red colour.

[border_reiver]

It's like someone combined the Dakota and the Fiesta by mistake and just went with it. 

I do like the color a lot.

[hunter]

Red is cool, but it's not for me. Sonic or Daphne Blue, though. Perfect.

[dustyvalentino]

And then of course some of us are lucky enough to have the “wrong” colour


https://www.instagram.com/p/CDYz6d2nm6j/?igshid=iexw251csaqq


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[border_reiver]

Very beautiful!

[border_reiver]

I wonder when Knopflerfan is going to return here to add me to the list... 

[hunter]

And then of course some of us are lucky enough to have the “wrong” colour


https://www.instagram.com/p/CDYz6d2nm6j/?igshid=iexw251csaqq


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Do my eyes play a trick on me, or is the fretboard very dirty?    Time for a string change and wiping the board with some lemon oil, I think.

[dustyvalentino]

It’s taken me years of playing to get that dirt on the fretboard so it stays


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[hunter]

Haha!


Oh, man, I need a clean fretboard. Can't stand that green gunk.

[Knopflerfan]

I wonder when Knopflerfan is going to return here to add me to the list... 

I'm here!   

[Knopflerfan]

Finally after many many many years I am entitled to join this prestigious society. 

SE12199 in PRI-STI-NE condition. Basically case kept during the years. Not scratch not a mark on it. Except for Mark's name itself. 

I am sooo happy today 

Congratulations BR. I will have great honour in adding you to this select list!!! Oooh a 12xxx - one of the last ones....Black case?? Have you emailed Fender, with regards month/year of manufacture?

[Knopflerfan]

And then of course some of us are lucky enough to have the “wrong” colour


https://www.instagram.com/p/CDYz6d2nm6j/?igshid=iexw251csaqq


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Nice!!!!!!

[Tomcaster]

Guys time to continue the geek talk.

I looked into the different shades of red and wondered about the color of MKs original 1961 vs Hot Rod Red vs Fiesta Red. I think I made a step forward.

Some background knowledge:

1. Hot Rod Red is NOT a color that Fender introduced explicitly for MK. There are guitars preceding the year 2004 which are colored like that, e.g. here:
https://www.strat-talk.com/threads/ngd-n-o-s-2001-hot-rod-red-american-series-strat.223823/
-> Mark probably took whatever was available off the shelf. He is a down to earth guy and not necessarily focused on guitar gear as much as others (e.g. Eric Johnson)
-> there is an approximation of that color here: https://encycolorpedia.com/d20117. RGB 210 1 23

2. Mark has a clear preference for red as car color. He owns a Maserati 300S and he sings about it in his song "Red Staggerwing" recorded with E. Harris.
The color of a Maserati 300s is called "Rosso Corsa". You can read about it here:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosso_corsa
-> here is an article stating that Rosso Corsa was used on the Maserati 300S: https://carbuzz.com/news/italian-racing-red-demo-day-at-simeone-foundation-auto-museum
-> Rosso Corsa has RGB 212 0 0

3. RGB is just a code for mixing red, green and blue. Here it is explained in detail: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RGB_color_model

What we see is that Hot Rod Red is red with a shot of blue. This is interesting, right? I always wondered how Hot Rod Red could go red and pink so strongly. Examples:
-> pinkish Hot Rod Red: https://www.makenmusic.com/products/fender-custom-shop-1960-stratocaster-mark-knopfler-signature-model-masterbuilt-todd-krause-nos-new-old-stock-solidbody-electric-guitars-hot-rod-red
-> reddish/orangey Hot Rod Red: https://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/fender-mark-knopfler-signature-stratocaster-guitar-hot-rod-red/1332046066

Why that happens is because the blue part in the Hot Rod Red Color (remember RGB 210 1 23) reflects blue light. Is there blue light around us? Hell yes - all the LED chips in luminaries have a significant part of blue in the spectrum, this is why the light appears to be "cold" compared to a traditional light bulb.

Rosso Corsa is 212 0 0 -> no blue, so it never gets pinkish. Let's check out Mark's guitar:
https://youtu.be/nwOzONsGGLo?t=1372
https://youtu.be/27OT_FSWrIE?t=1197
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDyaSFRn_rJ/

Of course I don't know if Rosso Corsa really is on that guitar but I assume that Mark would have that red in mind seeing it in his garage.

For your entertainment, I am attaching different hues of red in comparison. Did it in power point. "Just red" is RGB 255 0 0 so full intensity red. The difference between Rosso Corsa and Hot Rod Red will appear more obvious under artificial LED light. Best is to use a color accurate monitor ;-)

notice that both Hot Rod Red and Rosso Corsa have a very similar value in the "red" department, i.e. 210 vs 212, no green and they really differ only in the blue. This is why HRR is such a close approximation to Rosso Corsa.

Does that make sense?

[quizzaciously]

Hello fellow Nerd! Great article. I was never a fan of Hot Rod Red... When I first saw real Fender Mark Knopfler Stratocaster, immediately I asked myself, why is it so pinkish-blueish? I don't know what it was, but I certainly like red when it's redder than pinkish. I think Fiesta Red has more green in it and for some reason looks redder, probably it's a little bit more neutral red. I have a pretty cool monitor here with P3 color gamut, so I do see the difference between all the reds that you posted.

Interesting what color this Fender was that Mark played in 2009...

[Tomcaster]

Pavel I am a massive fan of your channel. My nerdiness is dwarfing compared to yours ;-)

I can answer your question, think. What we see in that clip is an American Vintage Reissue (AVRi) guitar, as produced by Fender from the early 80s to 2013, when it was followed up with an updated version called American Vintage Series. In 2018, that one was replaced by the American Original Series.

Anyway, that guitar is either Hot Rod Red or Fiesta Red. These are the only two shades of red available from Fender factory at that time. It is certainly not a Custom Shop because the string tree is in the wrong position (typical of the factory made American Vintage Reissues until 2013). The pickups could be Texas Specials or 57/62s. Nothing special really... and a proof MK sounds good on everything.

Now before you rush buying a Fiesta Red Strat. The hue of Fiesta on Strats varies tremendously. Fender buys the color from external suppliers and it can change so the color from the can which colored MKs prototype from your vid is most probably used up forever and gone in history. Fiesta is a difficult shade of red because it can easily get very salmon. You need to see "live" the Fiesta Red Strat you would like to buy otherwise you might be disappointed.

by the way, you are right on Fiesta. it has a shot of green.