Fernandes years/original prices for MIJ?

[sumitagarwal]

I have many Japanese guitars and just now looking to get into Fernandes.

Unlike some other brands, it's a little bewildering the variation of Japan-made, Taiwan-made, Korean-made, etc and there's very limited info out there and compared to other brands less hard stamping of "made in Japan" on the instruments themselves.

Rather than going through the many specific models, are there specific year ranges and original catalogue price points to be looking at that are good indicators that a guitar was made in Japan?

 

[Sigmania]

You are right! Definitely bewildering.

I tried to take a stab at it by just collecting examples of different Frenandes strats and see what it looked it.

Here is what I put together:

Fernandes Strats

 

[sumitagarwal]

You are right! Definitely bewildering.

I tried to take a stab at it by just collecting examples of different Frenandes strats and see what it looked it.

Here is what I put together:

Fernandes Strats

Holy moly, that's a lot of detail! And some seriously nice guitars there too, I didn't realize Fernandes made guitars in nitro... I'm a sucker for that.

At the end of the day I'm more of a set-neck 24.75" guy, so was hoping for more insight into those ones too. Especially the ones that aren't direct copies of US designs.

 

[Sigmania]

Set neck? Do you mean Gibson clones?

If so, those are called Burny.

A few LPs labeled Fernandes.

Is that what you are looking for?

 

[sumitagarwal]

Set neck? Do you mean Gibson clones?

If so, those are called Burny.

A few LPs labeled Fernandes.

Is that what you are looking for?

No, there are some funky 1990's ones, like APG 100 or APG DLX

 

[Sigmania]

Ahhh. Those are PRS clones. Tokai has made a bunch of those too.

PRS Copies

 

[sumitagarwal]

Ahhh. Those are PRS clones. Tokai has made a bunch of those too.

PRS Copies

How do I know if they're MIJ?

 

[Sigmania]

No idea. I’ve never seen those before. Maybe someone else will chime in.

 

[sumitagarwal]

Figure that 100,000 yen in the mid-90's would classify as relatively top of the line, and so unlikely to be built elsewhere. I did see something about a Fernandes Los Angeles custom shop, but don't know if they really did any production there

 

[Sigmania]

Fernandes APG-100 Double Cut Set Neck Mahogany w/Carved Maple Cap 24 Fret 1995 - Trans Dark Brown | Reverb

 

[Sigmania]

Partial translation:

U.S.A.
FERNANDES USA.SERIES
USA.Custom Shop opened in Los Angeles with the support of musicians and customers, and reopened with the addition of bags and sales section as ``Fernandez Guitars''. The U.S.A. series is a project lineup of Fernandez Guitars U.S.A., which promotes a worldwide approach, not just America.

 

[Sigmania]

 

[Sigmania]

Here are some catalogs to look through.

Fernandes Catalogs

 

[sumitagarwal]

Thanks for all the content!

 

[Sigmania]

Better scan from the 1995 catalog.

Translation:

U.S.A.
FERNANDES USA.SERIES
The ``U.S.A. Custom Shop'', which opened in Los Angeles with the purpose of supporting musicians and developing new products, has reopened with the addition of a sales section, ``Fernandez Guitars U.S.A.'' to match the American and European markets. We plan products and develop them to meet the requests of musicians.The U.S.A. series is a project lineup of Fernandes Guitars U.S.A., which promotes a worldwide approach, not just in the United States. .

https://www.dropbox.com/s/w5ordev8mmglb1w/1995 Fernandes Catalog & Price list Vol.2.pdf?dl=0

 

[Sigmania]

So it’s not clear where those were made based on that. Sounds like there was some possibly some design stuff happening in L.A.

 

[sumitagarwal]

Better scan from the 1995 catalog.

Translation:

U.S.A.
FERNANDES USA.SERIES
The ``U.S.A. Custom Shop'', which opened in Los Angeles with the purpose of supporting musicians and developing new products, has reopened with the addition of a sales section, ``Fernandez Guitars U.S.A.'' to match the American and European markets. We plan products and develop them to meet the requests of musicians.The U.S.A. series is a project lineup of Fernandes Guitars U.S.A., which promotes a worldwide approach, not just in the United States. .

https://www.dropbox.com/s/w5ordev8mmglb1w/1995 Fernandes Catalog & Price list Vol.2.pdf?dl=0

Yup, my impression is that these guitars were made with the input of the LA shop but built in Japan

 

[sumitagarwal]

Nabbed this one for $450: Fernandes Dragonfly Standard - Charcoal Smoked Black | Reverb

After poring over the catalogues I found that the 1995 had a 50mm body with an older Fernandes logo, and then from 1996+ they went to a 45mm body with the newer/current Fernandes logo.

My suspicion is that this coincided with a change in manufacturing location as well, with the 1995 model being something like a test run. It would otherwise be odd to make that many changes to a design just one year after debut.

I've seen ones online that look like the 1995 design and have "made in Japan" stickers on the back of the headstock, so I'm going to assume they are. But with all the verbiage around "USA" in the catalogues, and the fact that we know there was a USA custom shop, I figure it's possible some were made in the US as well. Although I wouldn't expect those to be any better than Japanese.

 

[Sigmania]

I hope you like it.

Fernandes is confusing since it’s a brand rather than a manufacturer. So it may be that a different company got the contract in 1996? Hard to say.

Let us know what you find out after you get it. Will probably help others.

 

[sumitagarwal]

I hope you like it.

Fernandes is confusing since it’s a brand rather than a manufacturer. So it may be that a different company got the contract in 1996? Hard to say.

Let us know what you find out after you get it. Will probably help others.

Yup. I'm guessing that it's exactly that confusing aspect which has prevented Fernandes from amassing the same kind of following that many other Japanese brands now have.

Which is why, if you're willing to put in the work, means there's still bargains to be had.