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Fernandes basses...under-rated?
- Thread starter Crystalman85
- Start date
In 1995, shortly after I started playing, my dad and I saved up for a few months, so I could purchase a Fernandes APB-90M.
She was all maple and in a JJ pickup configuration. She was a beauty - looked and sounded great. Cost me about USD700 at that time.
6 months after I bought her she was stolen.
That bass was one of the few basses I have ever been really, very happy with and I still curse the two guys who stole them.
She was all maple and in a JJ pickup configuration. She was a beauty - looked and sounded great. Cost me about USD700 at that time.
6 months after I bought her she was stolen.
That bass was one of the few basses I have ever been really, very happy with and I still curse the two guys who stole them.
I have found the early 80's - ESP (400 series and Surveyor), Fernandez, Tokai all made very nice interments and, on the whole were pretty light.
Never thought that one was noticeably better than another and all had reasonably consistent quality.
Still have a Tokai 57' Pbass and ESP Strat
If you shop carefully you really can get a pro quality axe for $250-400, yet I still play the real Fenders that they were copied from.
Never thought that one was noticeably better than another and all had reasonably consistent quality.
Still have a Tokai 57' Pbass and ESP Strat
If you shop carefully you really can get a pro quality axe for $250-400, yet I still play the real Fenders that they were copied from.
I see there are more people who has played fernandes basses. I still think they make great bass guitars. it's a shame that they're under-rated, but that's okay. there are a few people here who dig the basses they make. I still dig the passive gravity basses.
I am WAY into Tokai, Fender Japan, Fernandes & ESP guitars....especially the 80's versions.
I am always on the lookout for their basses as well....workmanship and quality of materials is going to be very good from these companies as a whole imo.
I am always on the lookout for their basses as well....workmanship and quality of materials is going to be very good from these companies as a whole imo.
I played one recently. Gravity Deluxe. I thought it was very good. A lot better than its price tag.
Fernandes basses are very solid, well built instruments. They can take a beating, and are easy to set up. Road worthy stuff...
I recently bought a Fernandes atlas 5x and I gotta say it sounded pretty cool. This bass from my perspective sounded like a mix between a fender p-bass and a music man stingray. What makes me say that is that it seems to have the rounded lows of a p-bass and the punchy sounds of a stingray. Speaking of that, it does have a music man styled pick-up and a three way switch to select the pick-up to series, single coil, and parallel. It's really a great sounding bass. I do recommend it.
Does it really matter if they are underrated or not? Shouldn't the more important thing be how it plays and how it sounds to the user?
In 1995, shortly after I started playing, my dad and I saved up for a few months, so I could purchase a Fernandes APB-90M.
She was all maple and in a JJ pickup configuration. She was a beauty - looked and sounded great. Cost me about USD700 at that time.
6 months after I bought her she was stolen.
That bass was one of the few basses I have ever been really, very happy with and I still curse the two guys who stole them.
I'm sorry to hear about that, activebass. It must of been a totally awesome bass. These basses reminded me of the Fernandes gravity basses. I once owned a gravity 5x. It was a pretty cool bass. Recently I bought an atlas 5x. Great sounding bass. But yeah, major drag to hear about your stolen Fernandes bass. I wish you luck to find another one like that.
some brands are considered to be under-rated and not many people do acknowledged them. It is true that how it does play and sound from users is important, it's just that I do feel that Fernandes basses are under-rated. Especially their passive basses. They do sound great and they're built solid. I do recommend these bass guitars.
I couldn't agree more. They are pretty solid bass guitars. And they sound great too.
Fernandes made the P-Project PUM series back in the 90's n they were gorgeous, boutique jazz styled axes that still are my ideal jazz type bass, if only I coulda convinced them to do a run of lefties when I lived in Japan. Ahhhh the memories...
I've recently purchased a Fernandes gravity 5x and it is an awesome sounding bass. It's passive and and sounds pretty punchy. I once owned this bass a few years ago and I did miss owning it. Now that I bought it once again, it staying in my arsenal. This bass is a keeper.
In the USA, yes they're under-rated but that's good for folks who appreciate them....right?
The only one that got my eye is this one, the FPM-80(Neck-thru P).
Sounds & plays as good as it looks but is a bit weighty.
The only one that got my eye is this one, the FPM-80(Neck-thru P).
Sounds & plays as good as it looks but is a bit weighty.
Yeah that's true. It is good for those who appreciates them. And that's a nice bass you got there.
I have three Fernandes. Two were for the Japan-only market, so they weren't sold here. I picked them up when I was in the Navy, stationed in Japan. Both are "lawsuit" basses. One is a copy of Billy Sheehan's Fender and the other is a copy of Jaco Pastorius' Fender Jazz. I felt that they were of good quality and quite playable. The other Fernanades is a copy of a 51' Fender Telecaster. In all fairness, I haven't played any Fernandes bass that's been shipped to the USA, so there's no comparison on that. Cheers, ;^D.
