Fernandes 170 6 string guitar

[mb94952]

Wow, pretty nice, and very affordable at $1300. No affiliation, I don't even play guitar anymore.https://reverb.com/item/74687095-fernandes-170-w-vintage-nos-alembic-bridge-vintage-stratoblaster-with-custom-brass-parts-playable-project-guitar-mij-japan-rare

[lbpesq]

Saw this one on Reverb this morning.   Made me think of a guy in a white smock, behind a counter full of meat.

Bill, tgo

[edwardofhuncote]

That guitar belongs to a club member, who doesn't check in here very much anymore.


If interested, you might ping user SoilandStone here- https://club.alembic.com/index.php?action=profile;u=26312

[gtrguy]

If I didn't already have one I would be very interested. The Fernandes FAG (Fernandes Alembic Guitar) was pretty well built and I bet this could make a nice player.

[edwardofhuncote]

Chris thinks that one may have been a prototype. I have never seen another Fernandes with the neck layup that is made to emulate the early Alembics. May be one, or twenty I just haven't seen it.


I have no need for it either, plenty happy with my Alembicized Japanese guitar... it's made a perfect counterpoint to the Lil Darling. Now if I could just figure out how to play the things!

[flavofive]

I literally just finished restoring my FAG-170 earlier this week!  Had a dead pickup and needed to be Plek'd.  Works terrifically now.

What I don't get about this is that the current seller says that this "has been my 'Go To' guitar for nearly a decade in its current condition", and "I received the instrument like this almost 10 years ago".  But Reverb shows that this same guitar was sold just 3 years ago:
https://reverb.com/item/74687095-fernandes-170-w-vintage-nos-alembic-bridge-vintage-stratoblaster-with-custom-brass-parts-playable-project-guitar-mij-japan-rare
They're clearly the same guitar, so I wonder what's going on.  Maybe the ad from 3 years ago was fake?  Doesn't really look like it though.

Nonetheless, the price was reduced to only $900, which seems pretty reasonable given the condition and non-original electronics.
I think the finish issues and neck laminate separation actually bother me less than the slightly-slanted pickups - driving my eyes a bit crazy 

Edward, you're right about the "reverse" neck laminates, I agree it's very cool.  There are others - in fact, one just sold on Reverb within the last week or two, coincidentally.
https://reverb.com/item/74429329-fernandes-fag-170-1980s-natural-alembic-copy
But it definitely seems to be a rare option.  I don't know why they made some with the reverse laminates; I don't think the old Fernandes catalogs mentioned it as an option.

[lbpesq]

I don't believe this left the factory with those pickups.  Looking at the sides of the humbuckers, it appears you can see the original route which had  Alembic-size single coils.  The routing on this looks to have been done with a Swiss Army knife!

Bill,tgo

[gtrguy]

Yes, it's a bit of a chop job. Maybe someone could put one of those slanted humbuckers in there like the Gibson Nighthawk had (just kidding)! or a P90? No wait, a big brass pickup cover like Wolf had!

This may well be a prototype. What a fun project to do and you could build it the any way you wanted since it is no longer original.

[flavofive]

Actually, that is a really good idea.  A Wolf/Tiger brass plate may seriously be the best option for this guitar.  Nice!

[edwardofhuncote]

I saw it sold this morning after a price drop yesterday... anybody here got any Sunday mornin' 'fessin' up to do? 

It's a cool project guitar... hacked-up enough that almost anything is an improvement. Absolutely, some brass or wood plates could hide a multitude of sins committed here.