July 2001 Issue - Fender's 'Bowling Ball' Stratocaster: Part 2
(Including never before released Fender Production Totals and Steve Vai's Ibanez Jem and Universe Swirl Guitars)
By Larry Meiners
My first article about Fender's Bowling Ball Stratocasters ran in Vintage Guitar Magazine and discussed the history of these instruments, including interviews with Fender personnel. This article exclusively available at Guitar Collector Magazine, Part 2, includes an interview with the creator of the "multi-colored swirl" finish process, his swirl finish on the Ibanez Jem and Universe guitars and the real production totals of the original Bowling Ball Strats and Teles by color!
The story began in the early 1980s when Darren Johansen created his swirl finish process. He originally applied this unique finish to a drum set and later to a foam board cutout of a guitar. Delighted with the results, he did what only an entrepreneur would, he sent a picture of the imitation guitar to Fender. To his surprise, Fender called and wanted to see the guitar in a few months at the next NAMM Show. Darren had to scramble to meet this deadline using a process that was never tested on a real guitar.
Darren believed that his finish could be applied to almost anything with proper surface preparation and knew he could make it stick to a guitar body. A few days before the NAMM Show, the prototype guitars were completed. They looked terrific with vibrant colors. So, he packed his guitars and ventured off to see if Fender would like his creations.
He remembers going to the Fender booth and into a meeting room at the NAMM Show. Darren showed Fender's management the first guitar and could tell they were excited about the possibilities for this custom finish. When he showed them the second guitar, Fender's people closed the meeting room door and asked him not to show or discuss these guitars with anyone else at the show. To prove their interest, Fender committed to finish 300 guitars with Darren's swirling colors. Darren was now in the custom guitar finish business with one of the largest and well-known guitar manufacturers in the world. He had to get busy, fast.
These 300 original swirl guitars (aka Bowling Ball Strats) were finished by Darren and assembled by Fender on their Standard Stratocaster model during 1984 and shipped to dealers early in 1985. Unfortunately, Fender management was in the middle of buyout negotiations with CBS during late 1984 and these custom guitars were not the highest priority for the new owners of Fender. Shortly after, Fender discontinued the Standard Stratocaster model in favor of newly introduced 1950s and 1960s Reissue Strat and Tele guitars. The 300 Bowling Ball guitars were originally called the Marble Strat and Marble Tele and all were sold to dealers. However, Fender was unsure if they should add the swirl to their line-up of custom finish options.
Darren confirmed that the numbers shown in various guitar books indicating 225 Standard Stratocaster and 75 Standard Telecaster guitars produced is incorrect. His original invoice from Fender states that 250 Strat and only 50 Tele guitars were finished with his multi-color swirl. The Gold-Silver-White swirl finished guitars are the most rare based on these production numbers. Darren has supplied the production numbers by color scheme as follows:
| Fender Bowling Ball Guitars | Stratocaster | Telecaster |
|---|---|---|
| Red-Black-White Swirl | 108 | 21 |
| Blue-Black-Yellow Swirl | 105 | 21 |
| Gold-Silver-White Swirl | 37 | 8 |
| Totals | 250 | 50 |
Fender did not order any more of Darren's finish for their guitars. At that point, he decided to focus on building a business applying his swirl finish to other products, including clothing. A few years later, Darren's friend suggested he apply the swirl finish to a few guitars for Steve Vai. Steve Vai first endorsed the Jem line in 1987.
Steve sent him a few Jem bodies and Darren began to apply his new and improved swirl process to these Ibanez guitars. By 1990, Ibanez had contracted with Darren to finish prototype guitars for the NAMM Show. Dealer response was positive and Ibanez began making a limited number of Steve's Jem and Universe guitars with the swirl finish, including the Green and Purple multi-colored versions. These Ibanez Jem guitars look much different than the Bowling Ball finish due to improvements in the finish process made during the prior six years.
During 2000, Ibanez issued the Limited Edition Y2K DNA model Jem. All 300 DNA guitars were finished by Darren with a special blend of red paint colors mixed with Steve Vai's actual DNA in liquid form. Darren highlights a DNA guitar registry on his website for the owners of those special guitars.
Today, Darren's guitar work is only a small portion of his revenues compared to his custom clothing business that includes Disney and Harley-Davidson as customers. Darren also applies the swirl finish to guitars for customers on a one-off custom basis. He said to "stay tuned for news of the latest swirl guitar project from Ibanez in the near future".
Thanks to Darren for setting the record straight! Darren's company is called About Time Designs and his website is abouttimedesigns.com. Bowling Ball guitar photographs courtesy of Eliot at Rumble Seat Music (rumbleseatmusic.com) and Jem guitar photographs courtesy of Glen at jemsite.com.
Copyright © 2001 Larry Meiners All Rights Reserved