So I got this Mustang....

BartMan · Post by **BartMan** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 4:54 pm

About 5 months ago, I got this 1980s Made in Japan Fernandes Mustang for cheap. It was refinished rather poorly so I refinshed it in cream/white. Took me about 4 month of intermittent work. Far from being a perfect finish, but it worked out pretty well.
Aside from the pictures in the old Fernandes catalog in their site, I couldn't seem to get anymore info about this guitar. I know that the model is FMT-50, that's about it. Anybody here has one like this?

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 4:55 pm

Good job on the refinish dude! Am also liking that grain on the headstock too.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 5:00 pm

that is awesome. what's the neck like? any idea what it's modeled after?

really great refinish. +1 on the headstock grain, as well.

BartMan · Post by **BartMan** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 5:04 pm

Dave wrote:Good job on the refinish dude! Am also liking that grain on the headstock too.

Thanks. This was how it was refinished when I got.

BartMan · Post by **BartMan** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 5:09 pm

hotrodperlmutter wrote:that is awesome. what's the neck like? any idea what it's modeled after?

really great refinish. +1 on the headstock grain, as well.

I think Fernandes was putting out a lot of Fender and Gibson copies during that era. I couldn't find any info as to what Mustang era this was based on.
The neck is very slim and comfortable to play. I think this was re-fretted at some point. It has some rough spots that needed re-dressing.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 5:12 pm

jesus christ, that comp stripe is wank.

BartMan · Post by **BartMan** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 5:14 pm

stewart wrote:jesus christ, that comp stripe is wank.

I think those are road markings rather than stripes. Reflective stickers coated with clear nitro, dude.

I sure won't get hit in the dark.

Vis · Post by **Vis** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 5:24 pm

You have made an estimated one million percent improvement to that guitar. Fernandes stuff rocks as a rule. For a while they were kinda out-Fendering Fender if you see what I mean.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 5:28 pm

stewart wrote:jesus christ, that comp stripe is wank.

Looks like they put it on with 5" brush from Wickes.

That's one nice guitar now though, i bet it plays great too. Why dont we ever find stuff like cheap Fernandes Mustangs

BartMan · Post by **BartMan** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 6:09 pm

Fran wrote:
stewart wrote:jesus christ, that comp stripe is wank.

Looks like they put it on with 5" brush from Wickes.

That's one nice guitar now though, i bet it plays great too. Why dont we ever find stuff like cheap Fernandes Mustangs

Worse, they're reflective stickers.

I feel for you guys. I've lived in Tunbridge Wells, Kent for 5 years and know first hand that you guys are being shafted in almost everything. Especially gear.

Phil O'Keefe · Post by **Phil O'Keefe** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 5:24 am

I'll bet you could have landed a jet on those stripes...

Very nice job on the refinish. It does look much better now!

SirAstatine · Post by **SirAstatine** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 10:23 am

Amazing stripes!

Great job on the refin - looks classy. I'd love to find a fernandes over here too!

cur · Post by **cur** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 4:19 pm

That looks real good.

Are the fernandes mustangs 25.5" or 24" scale?

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 4:58 pm

24" - 22 frets.

BartMan · Post by **BartMan** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 5:02 pm

Thanks so much guys.
Full disclosure: I messed up the neck fit. Should have masked the neck pocket right from the beginning.
Also, there are numerous small shallow pits all over the clear coat visible upon closer look.

But, I've learned a lot from this first project.

cur wrote:That looks real good.

Are the fernandes mustangs 25.5" or 24" scale?

Thanks. It's a 24" scale. I think Fernandes produced some period-correct replicas during that time.

cur · Post by **cur** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 5:58 pm

Didn't know that they made a 24" scale mustang. I got my daughter a Fernandes strat and the neck on it is terrific. Very thin D profile and large radius. Is the radius on your fretboard flat or curved?

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 7:38 pm

afaik, fernandes didn't make any other scale mustang replicas.

cur · Post by **cur** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 8:13 pm

Thanks for the info. I think I ran across on once and assumed it was 25.5" for some reason. Worth looking into if I find one again.

astro · Post by **astro** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 4:09 pm

Wow, gorgeous! Looks absolutely killer.

I take it that these Fernandez Mustangs are pretty rare? How long were these available for?

I often see on ebay cheap 70's Japanese Mustang knockoffs that don't look quite right. But accurate copies seem to be quite rare. Who else made accurate copies?

Rox · Post by **Rox** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 4:21 pm

Looks like a fun guitar. I'd love to get a close up on the vibrato and see how close it is to the Fender. Looks REAL close. Think I might look into getting one.