Members SPONGEBOB Posted April 27, 2006 Members Share Posted April 27, 2006 I walked into a stupid local music store and saw a nice green Fenandes strat copy.. I looked it over... Looked good.. small kind of G&L looking headstock..Very "closet classic" looking... Like an old hi end guitar that hadn't been played much at all... Turned it over,, neckplate said Made in Japan.. Price $199...Hardware looked EVERY BIT as good as ANY high end strat. Clear finished wood [headstock,back of neck],looked warm and rich the way old Fenders look..like fine old varnished furniture...Nice stamped bridge pieces, Old Fender style open top tuning keys etc.. VERY well built.... I play it, and it is smooth and glassy sounding like a good OLD strat...Sounded warm and sweet despite the Crate SS amp I was subjected to,and the 009 strings on the guitar... Small frets, but the guitar played very well with REAL good intonation... The Aqua blue/green finish looked aged and with a touch of age fade,,but unmarked as was the hardware, like its been sitting 25 years just waiting to be played... Fairly light, but not a feather,,Board was a VERY light rosewood similar look to what Ric would use on a fingerboard... ... Something was NOT right however... I can find NO damn pickup switch... NONE.. a THREE pickup guitar with NO switch and NO HOLE for a switch in the pickgaurd!!!,,, WEIRD!!!.... anyway , I tell the salesaman, and he almost craps himself.. NEVER noticed the lack of a switch,,, Says if I want it I can have it for $135... I said sure, put my name and number on it, and put it on hold.... I'll put my own switches in it... It seems like a GREAT guitar... A notch or two above the Chinese/Korean stuff I have been playing as of late. Anyway, I think this may be an early MIJ Fenandes but I'm NOT sure... any way of knowing?/... Is it worth what I paid??.. I know next to NOTHING about Fernandes other than the fact the MIJ ones were suppossed to be quite good...It looks on a par with a good MIJ Fender or early Ibanez... any help would be greatly appreciated... bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zenbu Posted April 28, 2006 Members Share Posted April 28, 2006 yes.does it have Revival on the headstock? I`m looking for these here in japan but can`t find em in this city. getting very collectable and prices are on the rise. does it have the Fender headstock or the one from recent years?... not quite Fenderish. I own several older MIJs and love em all, they made some great stuff back then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SPONGEBOB Posted April 28, 2006 Author Members Share Posted April 28, 2006 Does NOT have revival on the headstock.. Thehead looks like a G&L head....When was this built?.. 80's 90's?.. Are they still made in Japan?.. Korea? China?... anyone??... bobl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kentuckyklira Posted April 28, 2006 Members Share Posted April 28, 2006 Originally posted by SPONGEBOB Does NOT have revival on the headstock.. Thehead looks like a G&L head....When was this built?.. 80's 90's?.. Are they still made in Japan?.. Korea? China?... anyone??... bobl You Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ramblin Posted April 28, 2006 Members Share Posted April 28, 2006 Buy it! I bought a 70's Fernandes strat a few weeks back. Nice guitar with really good pickups.I have heard somewhere that Fernandes made some pickups that came damn close to vintage Fender tone back in the 70's/ 80's.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kentuckyklira Posted April 28, 2006 Members Share Posted April 28, 2006 Originally posted by Ramblin Buy it!I bought a 70's Fernandes strat a few weeks back. Nice guitar with really good pickups.I have heard somewhere that Fernandes made some pickups that came damn close to vintage Fender tone back in the 70's/ 80's.. My Fernandes 68 Strat copy, made in Japan around 1982-83, beats the {censored} out of most Fenders concerning sound and playability. There was a "The Revival" Telecaster on eBay here in Germany that went for over 600 Euros (about 700 $). That Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zenbu Posted April 28, 2006 Members Share Posted April 28, 2006 in my book, they had two logos in 1977... the script fernandes and the one with a white circle in the corner of what looks like a square-ish thingy, with Fernandes corporation ltd. next to that. Appeaes to have been used till 1980. The Function strat was introduced at that time as well, I have two of those...one was custom ordered by somebody...I got it used... and has the original order card with 135, meaning it went for 135,000 yen at that time, has a VH1 bucker and 2 VH2 single coils...only thing I don`t like is the Floyd bridge but I got it really cheap and the huge flame maple neck is gorgeous, very thin vintage white finish ona two piece body.The other Function is a regular production model but again, i got it used and cheap.The thing that throws me about yours is the G&L headstock... not sure what that means. They made small and large Fender headstock strats but no pictures of one like yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ramblin Posted April 28, 2006 Members Share Posted April 28, 2006 This is the headstock you are talking about, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kentuckyklira Posted April 28, 2006 Members Share Posted April 28, 2006 Originally posted by Ramblin This is the headstock you are talking about, right? If that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members supercow3 Posted April 28, 2006 Members Share Posted April 28, 2006 Originally posted by kentuckyklira If that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zenbu Posted April 28, 2006 Members Share Posted April 28, 2006 right ...those were very average guitars...but hey, one can sometimes find a great one among the ordinary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SPONGEBOB Posted April 28, 2006 Author Members Share Posted April 28, 2006 Yes.. thats the guitar... same color too.. It IS made in Japan, says it on the neck plate..and from what I can see is a VERY well constructed guitar... I can't believe some guys are worried about the pickup selector not being there... geez, a half hour and $5 for 3 mini toggles and I'll have it licked.. I PREFER 3 switches on a strat style anyway, and ALWAYS take out the 5 way, as you can get 7 pickup combinations as oppossed to 5... So what some guys are saying is some JAPAN made Fernades guitars were fantastic and some were poor or ordinary?... This looks very nicely done,and played very well,, sounded lovely[as far as I could tell with no pickup switch]...ALL the parts used looked like what you would see on a good USA Fender from the 60's.. real nice quality.. looked like they were nickel plated too... not sure... In any case, I'll take the gamble for $135.. looks like it beats the CRAP out of a China or Korea made strat,which is all I would get for $135 anyway... I don't NEED this axe, I have a house full... but it called me from its wall hanger, and when I played it, it felt right,,, and when I listened, it sang to me.... bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kentuckyklira Posted April 28, 2006 Members Share Posted April 28, 2006 Originally posted by SPONGEBOB Yes.. thats the guitar... same color too.. It IS made in Japan, says it on the neck plate..and from what I can see is a VERY well constructed guitar... I can't believe some guys are worried about the pickup selector not being there... geez, a half hour and $5 for 3 mini toggles and I'll have it licked.. I PREFER 3 switches on a strat style anyway, and ALWAYS take out the 5 way, as you can get 7 pickup combinations as oppossed to 5... So what some guys are saying is some JAPAN made Fernades guitars were fantastic and some were poor or ordinary?... This looks very nicely done,and played very well,, sounded lovely[as far as I could tell with no pickup switch]...ALL the parts used looked like what you would see on a good USA Fender from the 60's.. real nice quality.. looked like they were nickel plated too... not sure... In any case, I'll take the gamble for $135.. looks like it beats the CRAP out of a China or Korea made strat,which is all I would get for $135 anyway... I don't NEED this axe, I have a house full... but it called me from its wall hanger, and when I played it, it felt right,,, and when I listened, it sang to me.... bob I have yet to encounter a Fernandes that is total crap. But you were asking "good deal or not?". Even the made in China Fernandes are good guitars because they still have to pass the Fernandes QC. Plus, at 135 $, what are you risking?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SPONGEBOB Posted April 28, 2006 Author Members Share Posted April 28, 2006 **Plus, at 135 $, what are you risking??** I'm risking $135...lol....thats about it I suppose... chump change in the guitar buying world....Geez I can always get most of that back if I decide to.. I would think any MIJ guitar from the 80's-90's is worth at least $100... I cannot recall ANY bad guitars being made in Japan since the late 70's really, but have seen lots of bad Korean guitars in those years... Korea HAS come on VERY strong since the late 90's, but in the 80's and early 90's didn't seem to have the consistent quality the MIJ axes did... bob __________________ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ejersbo Posted September 29, 2006 Members Share Posted September 29, 2006 I have an Fernandes Revival Custom Body Stratcopy with the Fender headstock.. It's amazing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burningleaves Posted September 29, 2006 Members Share Posted September 29, 2006 Sounds like a sweet player. Thats a cheap price for the guitar that described in your post. Seems like you "bonded" with it right off. Adding a switch to it is cheap enough. $135 is chump change these days for guitar gear. Go for it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fretmonster Posted September 29, 2006 Members Share Posted September 29, 2006 You know what to do Bob!!! I wish it was my decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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