My RPJ-45 AKA PJR-45. It plays and sounds amazing. The bridge and pickguard seem non-original, everything else is OG. It seems like these were made with the Fender-style headstock from 84-86, and possibly with the 90s-style Fernandes headstock later on. This is the 3rd 80s-90s Japanese Fernandes I've owned over the years. Each one has been excellent.
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Hello folks, random question... Stumbled across an FRB 125 on Reverb... Were these made in the same place as 90s Yamaha TRBs? They seem to have the same pickup shell, same truss rod and neck pocket carve, same neck attachment hardware, same tuners, similar everything else.... Just curious.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRgdR_wUOB5f7T7rvUwEV9rGkUet_ySRRi5CA&usqp=CAU
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRgdR_wUOB5f7T7rvUwEV9rGkUet_ySRRi5CA&usqp=CAU
Paging @feschyn for this one...he's familiar with the 6 string models. They are MIJ, I know that much.
Riis
Riis
Hello,
I own one, and I have also owned a 90s Yamaha TRB6 with the same style pickup (long and narrow). I do not know it the pickups are the exact same size and shape as I no longer own the Yamaha. As far as the neck joint and bolt pattern are concerned, I do not know if they are the same. I will say that both basses are really well made.
The Fernandes is noticeably lighter than the TRB and only has one truss rod. The string spacing is also tighter at the bridge. I will mention that Bartolini G66 pickups fit the Fernandes route with no modification. I did, however, need longer pickup screws as the stock pickups are beveled at the edges whereas the Barts are not.
Besides the Bart G66 Classic Bass pickups, I also replaced the stock preamp with a Noll 2-band that allows active or passive operation. I also switched out the stock Gotoh tuners with Gotoh Res-o-lites.
Ive been looking everywhere for some more info on Fernandes FSB-40/Atlas basses. Where were these made? Japan/Korea? some are bolt-on and some have matching headstocks and neck-through. Does that indicate different production years?
Well, a couple years after getting my Masterhand bass, I have managed to get my hands on a BO-60 Bomber bass in an attempt to fill a P-bass sized hole in my arsenal. The neck pickup position is slightly off from a true p-bass position (closer to fingerboard) but it can pull off a convincing enough P-bass tone. The bridge pickup cuts well and the combined position can get me in early Larry Graham tonal territory. Worth the buy for sure!
My understanding is that some early ones were built in Japan. The later ones were either built in Korea (deluxe) or Indonesia (standard)
Can anyone tell me the differences in the APB basses and Gravity basses? Thanks!
Nope and I have two of the APB's. I've looked at a couple of Gravity's and noticed a couple of variances:
*No adjustable nut which I never cared for in the first place.
*APB's are MIJ. The handful of Gravity's I saw were MIK...not that it matters.
*APB's used their branded active pickups. The Gravity's I viewed were sporting EMG's.
*The Gravity's are missing the wonky pick-up positioning and bizarre bridge configurations as below:
Not 100% on this but I believe The APB series was renamed the Gravity series when production moved from Japan to China (not sure about Korea made models) - I own a late 90s APB-90M p/j bass MIJ - high build quality
The APB-90M seems to be the cool one to have. I remember seeing that one in a Fernandes catalog back in the day.
here's mine I got from original owner a few yrs ago (it's a 1995-1996)
I discovered these in the 90's at a ma & pa music store that didn't have the big lines like Fender & Peavey, but they had Fernandes. I always liked the APB line, and it seemed like they were well constructed. The all-maple APB 90-M is the real looker. If the neck is staying true, I bet this is an awesome bass to play!
No issues , still looks like new and plays great , The original owner purchased it new from a small (now closed) music store in Fla that was a Fernandes dealer - Sadly It mostly sits in the case but not ready to part with it , I'll pm you when and if I decide to part with it
the key words I posted were : Not 100% on this but I believe
I understand. I have too many in cases that are not getting enough action, but I hate to part with them. Do give me a heads up if you are thinking about selling it.
