Jane Wiedlin and her Aztec Gold Strat

[IMMusicRulz]

Hi everyone. So Jane Wiedlin of the Go Gos has had a pretty successful solo career. OK, maybe not so much as Belinda Carlisle, but still pretty successful. But I saw the video recently for Blue Kiss and felt like sharing it. In the video she is seen playing an Aztec Gold Fender Stratocaster.



Can anyone at least tell me if she ever used this Stratocaster on any of the Go Gos early Recordings? Or at least when did she acquire it, and what year is this Strat from? It looks to be a 70s or 80s Strat. And does she still have it? I also know she has used a Squier Hello Kitty Stratocaster, which she sold to a fan a few years ago. Jane Wiedlin mostly played a Gibson Sg, a white Gibson Les Paul, a Gretsch, and a Rickenbacker 12 string during her stints in The Go-Go's. I think her amps were a Vox AC30 and some Marshall stacks.
That's the thing about gold Strats, they're not as common as sunburst Strats or Olympic White Strats. Gibson had already had their award winning goldtop finish on the Gibson ES 295 and Goldtop Les Paul, but that's about it. If you ever find a gold Strat, please keep it forever.

But if anyone has info on this Strat that Jane Wiedlin is playing please let me know. It could even be a 62 reissue Strat, because those were all over the place in the Eighties.

 

[John C]

I don't think I ever saw any other instance of Jane with this guitar - it could simply be a prop acquired for the video shoot and not anything she owned. So it could be a vintage early 60s or an early 1980s '62 Reissue; the song was recorded in 1984 and released as a single in the fall of 1985 so the assumption is video was filmed at some point in 1985.

 

[Peegoo]

Jane was great as "Miss of Arc" in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. What a cutie!

 

[SnidelyWhiplash]

What guitar??? I think she is absolutely gorgeous.

Rush Hour is one of the best unsung singles of the 80s.

 

[Bruxist]

Jane was great as "Miss of Arc" in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. What a cutie!

She was also in Clue!

I loved that silver sparkle Gretsch Jet she played in the Head Over Heels video.

 

[FSRCustomTeleHHGT]

I had both of the first two Go-Go's albums and Belinda Carlisle's first solo album. And though I listed to top-40 throughout the 80's I don't remember a single solo song from Wiedlin. But I do remember the 2014 gold 50th Anniversary Stratocasters. There was an American, a MIM, and this Squier in Aztec Gold:

I usually go for finishes that aren't "me too" boring. But when I saw one of these in GuitarCenter, it just seemed way over the top even for me, and I have a pink jag and a purple Strat.

The Fender Tele in my avatar is a goldtop, but it's not Aztec Gold -- even if Fender lists it that way in it's database. It's too orange for that. My "Shoreline Gold" Tele:

is more silver than gold. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Jane's guitar is actually Shoreline Gold since that can look goldish in the right light. Here's a Fender Classic Player Strat in Shoreline Gold:

 

[archetype]

She was also in Clue!

I loved that silver sparkle Gretsch Jet she played in the Head Over Heels video.

Jane Wiedlin shows up at the front door as the cheerful 'singing telegram woman' in a uniform, starts singing, and BAM! is shot dead in seconds.

It's brevity going from cheerful to dead makes it funny, oddly enough.

 

[blowtorch]

here's mine

 

[MattAndTheMachine]

I would agree that this is most likely Shoreline Gold.
Aztec Gold appears much more "yellow", as you can see from the examples above.

FWIW, Aztec Gold didn't exist as an official Fender color until the mid 80s, whereas Shoreline Gold was one of the first official Fender custom color options in 1961.

Here you can find more info on Fender's gold colors over the years (around the 14:00 min mark):

 

[McGoldTopp]

 

[Blackmore Fan]

This is a "stock" photo of the Shoreline Gold 50's Players Strat I bought a few years ago.

 

[stratisfied]

Shoreline Gold. I've owned an Aztec Gold Strat and the color was over powering.

 

[Jakedog]

I had both of the first two Go-Go's albums and Belinda Carlisle's first solo album. And though I listed to top-40 throughout the 80's I don't remember a single solo song from Wiedlin. But I do remember the 2014 gold 50th Anniversary Stratocasters. There was an American, a MIM, and this Squier in Aztec Gold:
View attachment 1074329

I usually go for finishes that aren't "me too" boring. But when I saw one of these in GuitarCenter, it just seemed way over the top even for me, and I have a pink jag and a purple Strat.

The Fender Tele in my avatar is a goldtop, but it's not Aztec Gold -- even if Fender lists it that way in it's database. It's too orange for that. My "Shoreline Gold" Tele:
View attachment 1074336

is more silver than gold. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Jane's guitar is actually Shoreline Gold since that can look goldish in the right light. Here's a Fender Classic Player Strat in Shoreline Gold:
View attachment 1074338


View attachment 1074339

Yeah, the guitar in that vid definitely looks like shoreline gold. Aztec is way more “gold”. Shoreline is almost a kind of metallic beige.

 

[Flaneur]

This is a "stock" photo of the Shoreline Gold 50's Players Strat I bought a few years ago.

View attachment 1074862

The Classic Player guitars were such a great deal. The Baja, of Strats....