Members Misha Posted July 2, 2010 Members Share Posted July 2, 2010 I tried one in a music shop that had a price tag of 799$ CAD... But: - It's an old guitar with cosmetic flaws (scratches on the back, a chip on the lower bout and a flaw on the finish on one side (2''). The nut may need to be replaced, switch losts its cap, one knob is too tight... - It plays nicely and sounds very good! - It's small and light and I like it! - The guy told me they rent it which explains why it looks like it... - It's made in China - It may be a 2004 - The neck seems to be straight. - I think the description in the review below fits the guitar! Product: Fernandes Guitars Monterey Pro Price Paid: USD 300 USED Submitted 04/04/2007 at 08:22pm by A guy who plays guitar Features : 8 There seems to be a bit of confusion about the various Monterey models, plus Fernandes may have changed things recently. My "Pro" model has the following- -Mahogany body and neck -Rosewood fingerboard (a nice thick slab) -Set neck w/ a Gibson scale and mid-jumbo frets -Body style Les Paulish but wider and a bit thinner, w/ cutaways. -Transparent finish to show off the wood -Grover Tuners (not copies), tunamatic style bridge -Sustainer in the neck, EMG-HZ in the bridge -Volume, tone, 3 way pu select, sustainer on-off, sustainer intensity The neck has a bit of heft to it but is easy to get around on. The jumbo frets and short scale make bending and vibrato easy(-er). Fretboard is mildly curved, again like a les paul. It's not a shredder's neck, but regular lead playing is fine. The body is comfortable on the lap and weighs about the same as a vintage strat or G&L legacy- solid, but less than a Paul and not as back-breaking. The finish (dark red) on mine looks very nice, and combined with the chrome and black of the parts and headstock it looks a bit...sinister. Heh heh. Body is too wide for an LP hardshell case but it fits sungly into a secondhand coffin case. Sound : 7 With the stock pickups it is made for overdriven sounds. The stock EMG-HZ is dry, trebely, high-output and exaggerates the transients. So it's crap for most clean sounds- no depth- and mediocre at best for 70's classic rock tones. It'd be OK for something like Reggae where you just need the chop to punch through a dense mix, or for situations that usually call for a solid-state amp. But for distorted rhythm it keeps the note definitions so you can still hear the chords. Played through a Bitmo-modded Epiphone Valve Jr. it sounds great for punk and hardcore such as The Clash, Buzzcocks, Gang of Four, and Negative Approach. What suprised me was the great howling blues tones I can get- Hound Dog Taylor, R.L. Burnside, and "Green Manalishi"-era Peter Green just come screaming out. So overall it's on the lo-fi, garage side of guitar sounds but if you like those you'll love this. I considered changing out the EMG-HZ for something more mainstream, but decided to leave it as is for what it does well, and use a different guitar for clean/subtle/rich tones. Action, Fit, & Finish : 10 I bought this new old stock. It may have been set up by the seller before I got it. That said, it was set up pretty much perfectly right out of the box, with 11s and a medium-low action. Frets were well dressed, there were no buzzes or dead spots, and the finish is flawless. I may need to tweak the pickup height but that's an individual taste thing. Very Impressive. Reliability/Durability : No Opinion Very solidly built. I haven't taken it out live yet but there's nothing to make me think it won't hold up. Customer Support : No Opinion Haven't had the pleasure. Overall Rating : 8 I've been playing for several years and having gone through a bunch of equipment I settled on a pair of G&ls for normal guitar sounds. But for experimental stuff I wanted a set-neck guitar with a Sustainer, and this came up at a bargain price so I took a chance. I'm glad I did. I didn't buy it to play rock music but as a platform for a Roland synth pickup. (My real love these days is for unusual guitar ala Fripp/Eno, Sonny Sharrack, Caspar Brotzmann, Sonic Youth, David Torn, Andre LaFosse...). That it works so well for the sort of rock music I like- Punk, Reggae, Trashy Blues, I'm not a cape-wearing Page wannabe or a wrinkled-nose "vintage tone" guy- is a bonus. It's easy to play. The sustainer has more uses than I thought. It's not just for the endless note effect, but with the intensity set low it adds versimilitude to direct-recorded parts, and with the synth pickup mixed in I can get grinding organ tones and such. One complaint- the volume knob doesn't turn the pickup all the way off. Odd. My largest reservation about the guitar is the lo-fi nature of its sound, but it's a GOOD lo-fi. I can't expect one guitar to do everything, can I? What this does it does very well. Based on my experience with this model, I would definately consider picking up a high-end Fernandes model when I have the cash. I told them it wasn't worth 800$ (CAD $)... I asked the guy if his boss would like to get rid of it and he said yes... but wanted 400$ for it. I told him it was still too expensive because of its condition. I offered him 200$. He said that he couldn't do it but told me to go back when his boss will be there... So, what do you think about this guitar and how much do you think it's worth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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