Chushin (?) Built Fernandes Stone Logo Thru Neck Guitars & Basses

[Sigmania]

Edit: Looks like some if not all of these were Chushin built. See post #10 below by Vlad.



Thanks to Shredder69, it looks like we can sort out who made which Fernandes Stone Logo thru neck guitars & basses.

"Matsu did Magnum (MA-55/65) and Bomber (BO-50/60) while Kawai did the more expensive Alembics, MH-series, FPM-series and BC Rich copies... 1979 was the year everyone and their dog wanted to do neckthroughs..."

Thru Neck Fernandes Gallery

 

[Sigmania]

$999

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1245743414...b_vTl8uRJe&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[Sigmania]

Wild thru neck!

FERNANDES Fernandes Stone Logo PB Plebe Precision Bass Vintage Electric Bass [Current Item]

 

[Sigmania]

Fernandes Stratocaster Neckthrough Guitar

1978 Fernandes Stratocaster Neck-Through
There are None of these in Circulation

AlienXnation™ Has Over 50 Vintage Artist Model Guitars in Stock - AlienXnation™ Since 2004

This is a 1978 Fernandes neck-through stratocaster made at the famous Matsumoku Factory Japan. Its an artist model made for a Japanese artist and manufactured in very few numbers. The Matsumoku made versions of this model are seldom seen yet highly collectible and identified by the rear control cavity shape and a number of other indicators.

Its common knowledge that Fernandes outsourced their guitar making in the 1970s. Factories like Tokai, Kawai and Matsumoku helped Fernandes make their mark in the world of guitar sales with models just like this.

Over the years very few neck-through stratocaster type guitars have been produced. Fernandes "Stone Logo" era guitars are well known to have captured the vintage tone that we all seek with their bolt on versions of the classics that they released in the late seventies. With this guitar we have a successful example of vintage mojo with the added feel and sustain of neck-through engineering.

This guitar is in perfect operating condition. The robust truss rod has been turned left-to-right. Every operation of the guitar and all the hardware has been tested and there are no issues. Its ready to play upon arrival to you.

This guitar has been aged naturally by 3-1/2 decades of careful use. The previous owner took great care of this guitar and the small cosmetic imperfections add to the magic of this guitar.

No Case Included - Tremolo Bar is Included

 

[Sigmania]

Rare Fernandes MA-55 Neck-Thru Strat MIJ Japan Stone Logo

 

[Sigmania]

http://www.music-trade.co.jp/f_80020502carte.html

Fernandes Stratocaster Through Neck Type

This is not catalog model. Maybe custom made or shop special model.
Good looking and very rare model. But this guitar has a problem.
The beg head was broken and now fixed by professional repair shop.
You can see the line on the head. It is very good job for repair.
Another bad point is electric circuit. This should have booster or Equalizer.
But it was taken, not there are no wiring.

Beside above, this is very good and fine.
Fernandes made several Alembic Replica in early 1980. This guitar has a influence of Alembic series.
Fernandes made the bass for same design which I put on Bass stock area.

This is a guitar telling us the Fernandes history.

In addition, the sound is great. Neck and frets are fine too.

 

[Sigmania]

Fernandes MA-55 Stone Logo Neck Thru Stratocaster

Fernandes Neck Thru Strat
Made in Japan
Vintage 1977 - 1980
Rare Model

This is an extremely resonate guitar with a chimey, real vintage tone found in old strats. The guitar has been professionally setup and plays great! The neck is straight and the truss rod works fine. The fretboard is smooth and fine. The electrics are good. There are only some minor scratches and blemishes (see pictures). You could say that the guitar is in very excellent condition.

This guitar has "Ishi " mark (logo) on the head stock which indicates that this one was manufactured between 1977 & 1980. *Ishi means Stone in English and the mark (logo) resembles the Chinese character"Ishi", so in Japan this mark is called "Ishi" logo.

It has the individual on-off-on pickup selector switches. When the pickup toggle switch is in the middle position the pickup is off, meanwhile when the switch is in the downward position or in the upward position the pickup is on. For using more than two pickups, when their switches are in the same position other than in the middle position, the pickups are in parallel.On the other hand, when their switches are in the different position other thanin the middle position, the pickups are in out-of-phase. With the switch system, you can get normal Strato's sounds by the 5 way switch + variety of different sounds like Brian May's guitar.

 

[Sigmania]

Fernandes Bo 50 Pb


Make / Model: FERNANDES / BO-50 through the neck PB
Finish: Sunburst
Condition:. Very Good No problems with normal use
Year: 1980's
Number of Strings: 4-string
Pickups: passive
Pickup Configuration: Purebe type
Number of frets: 20 frets below
Neck Scale: Long
Weight: 4.1kg
Body Material: other
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Neck Joint: neck-through
Accessories : hard case

 

[Sigmania]

Fernandes Bomber Bass Through Neck original Early 80's Made

Fernandes Bomber Bass Through Neck original Early 80's Made

Fernandes made several though neck model early 80's.
Absolutely, these guitars and basses were influenced by Alembic model.
I have collected this model. I still keep same bass but it has been re-painting...

Anyway, this bass outlook is not really good. Many dents and scratches on the body.
But These are not visible because of natural color. The sound, well, pretty powerful bass tone as Bomber name.
The output jack hole was damaged. The previous owner put the metal washer on.

The metal parts are bit rusted, however, it is O.K. for functionally.

The neck is though type. Standard C grip like with 41.1mm but width.
The though neck offer you pretty smooth fingering at high frets area.
The Body is Sen (Japanese Ash). The weight is 3.89Kg.

Well, it is good tone bass!

We are going to ship this bass with used Soft Carrying case.
Well, enjoy JV bass !

 

[Vlad]

Hi,
came across this thread while looking up some Fernandes stuff. It's nice that you keep documenting these models but I don't think any of them are Matsumoku made. At least those with the small electronics cavity are clearly Chushin built. The best example would be this El Maya I've had (that's my site) with an identical routing.


The Chushin link is very clear on that one, bc they liked to stamp the hardware they engineered themselves.


Additionaly you can see an inspection stamp which I've found on many other Chushin instruments. The upper line says smth like "Inspection" and the bottom line is usually the name of the inspector, in this case 山田, which translates to Yamada.
Better example:

You can see the same initials on the Fernandes as well.

 

[Sigmania]

Thanks for that Vlad. I’m not a Fernandes collector and was relying on my understanding of information shared by another member who knows a lot more about Fernandes guitars than I do.

Is it likely then that all of the guitars in this thread are actually Chushin builds?

 

[Vlad]

Is it likely then that all of the guitars in this thread are actually Chushin builds?

So far, they all carry similarities like the neck heel shape and neck construction - the width of the individual stripes, so it's likely. I have to say though that this particular stripe pattern is not unique enough to serve as a sole identifier. There are some non-Chushin instruments like Morris neck throughs that have a very similar pattern (that's where comparing photos isn't enough and it's time to whip out your ruler) but those are not Matsumoku builds either.
The bridge on the bass models is what you'd see on other classic Chushin basses like the Cimar XR or El Maya EB-2200.

The differently shaped neck heel, tremolo and pick-up routes of the first MA-65 were throwing me for a loop a bit, although if you compare it with the "narrow pick-up version" it seems to have the exact same electronic cover with identical screw positions, identical controls positions, fret markers, fretboard shape, etcetera. Chushin changed the pick-up routing on their strat-style guitars 3 times between 1975 and 1980, so that's easily just an earlier version.

 

[Shredder69]

Thanks, this is great info. I know we looked at Fresher builds before, but apparently didn't have enough to pin it to Chushin (maybe the differing routs as you mention in the last post). These models were rather short lived as well, and with Chushin joining in to pick up the slack after Tokai on the budget Les Paul builds, this fits in the timeline. I haven't had my own MA's on the bench yet, so I'll be sure to dig them out and check for markings.

 

[Shredder69]

Thanks for that Vlad. I’m not a Fernandes collector and was relying on my understanding of information shared by another member who knows a lot more about Fernandes guitars than I do.

Is it likely then that all of the guitars in this thread are actually Chushin builds?

With Fernandes sometimes having more than one supplier for certain products, I think we'll have to go over all the available material and segment them into variations. I may even have data to verify that some (like the one with the larger pickup routes) were modified etc.

 

[Sigmania]

Cool. Just let me know. I can modify this thread and or split it if need be.

 

[Sigmania]

1980 Fernandes BO-50 Vintage Neck Through P-Bass Sunburst Stone Logo w/ Case

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Up for sale, a 1980 Fernandes BO-50 in 100% original condition and in perfect working order, complete with a hardshell case. This Fernandes dates to the “Stone logo” era of production, used from 1977-81 and signifying the partnership between Fernandes and Tokai. This period of Fernandes production is widely lauded for premium tonewoods and craftsmanship, and this BO-50 features five-ply maple/mahogany neck-through construction with sen ash body wings, loaded with a GB-3 split-coil pickup. The neck-through construction provides plenty of natural resonance and sustain beyond what's typically achieved with a P Bass, and this BO-50 is notably lightweight and well-balanced given its construction at 8lbs 7oz. The GB-3 split-coil pickup features ceramic magnet construction, yielding smooth, rumbling lows with great punch and sweet treble articulation accentuated via the brass saddles. This BO-50 has been professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 45-100 roundwound strings, comfortable action, and accurate intonation. Neck Specs: -Wood: Maple/mahogany (five-ply) -Shape: Chunky U, measuring .885” 1st fret, .995” 12th fret -Fretboard: Rosewood slab, dot inlays -Frets: Medium jumbo, leveled and crowned, virtually no wear -Scale Length: 34” -Nut: 1 5/8”, bone -Tuners: Clover button, nickel-plated Body Specs: -Wood: Sen ash (walnut stringers) -Pickups: GB-3 split-coil x1 -Harness: Full-size Japanese pots date to January, 1980 -Hardware: Toploader bridge with brass saddles, dome-top knurled knobs (nickel-plated) The gloss Brown Sunburst finish highlights the neck through construction, and cosmetic wear includes light pick scuffing on top, some dings on the body as a whole and light finish checking adjacent to the output jack. The gloss on neck profile exhibits just a few shallow marks. A black tolex hardshell case is included.