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Official Fernandes Club

#81
Setebos said:
fer5.jpg


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Hmmm.. your bass makes me even more confused about the origin/date of my J-bass (see page three). Yours has the same headstock, tuners & neck plate as mine and is from '97. My bass has the older logo and (according to the information I got) should be from the early 2000's. Because yours had a stamp on the neck, that info should be reliable. Either I really have an older Japanese bass on my hands, or some sort of transitional Korean model with the old logo or something else. I really don't know anymore.

..Doesn't really matter, actually. I've come to the conclusion that this bass rocks. I've been on the verge of selling it for a couple of times (I have a couple of basses too many), but I always back out after I play it. For some reason my fingers have been telling me something that my brain is just now starting to believe.

I've done a couple of mods also. The old/original bridge felt a bit too flimsy, so I swapped a more solid Fender (MIM) Standard bridge in. Sold the SD's also, got some new lesser known pickups (Tesla) and wired a V + V + Series/Parallel setup in. Worked like a charm, but the PU's lacked some punch (yes, even in series mode!) -> got some DiMarzio Model J's and swapped them in yesterday (keeping the wiring same otherwise). Now I got almost too much punch = perfect. I also decided that the pickguard will stay off and filled the screwholes, only thing left is to use a blue marker pen to cover the wood color on the filled spots.. not pretty but the bass is a bit reliced already so what the heck. The old tuners are also going to go at some point. Even though they do their job "ok", they are a bit too loose and I want something that is more solid and doesn't go out of tune if I happen to sneeze at their direction..
 
#82
Its a pity there is so little clear information on these basses but bottom line no matter if MIJ or MIK they are great basses.

I'm tend to believe mine is MIK. The ones MIJ I saw where all REVIVAL which had the fender style headstock and mentioned somewhere they were MIJ.

But while I was writing the above comments I checked several basses posted for sale in what is like a local ebay and only one of them said it was MIK. The rest all mentioned MIJ without any proof. None of them showed any markings except one that had a sticker at the back of the headstock with Fernandes written in the same font as the logo, a serial # and made in japan written below.

Regarding mine is now at the luthier. After I got it I got a Fender MIJ and was able to compare the difference in neck sizes. The Fender's neck is very thin and a delight to play. I'm of the idea that Fernandez moved the production to Korea and at the time decided to have only one type of neck instead of following different Jazz or Precision specs. And therefore we ended up with a Jazz bass with a quite thick neck. So I decided to get it trimmed a little by my luthier and get it closer to a jazz neck. At the same time I got Duncans SBJ-1 for it. Hopefully I will have it back in 10 days for it to become my working horse!!!

Edit: just spotted another one with the sticker made in Japan at the back of the headstock (non Fender style headstock) and on the neck plate.
 
#83
Setebos said:
Its a pity there is so little clear information on these basses but bottom line no matter if MIJ or MIK they are great basses.

I'm tend to believe mine is MIK. The ones MIJ I saw where all REVIVAL which had the fender style headstock and mentioned somewhere they were MIJ.

But while I was writing the above comments I checked several basses posted for sale in what is like a local ebay and only one of them said it was MIK. The rest all mentioned MIJ without any proof. None of them showed any markings except one that had a sticker at the back of the headstock with Fernandes written in the same font as the logo, a serial # and made in japan written below.
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I don't know what to tell you my friend. What else constitutes proof? I have a 1999 Fernandes Gravity 5 with a Fernandes Serial number sticker on the back of the headstock with "MADE IN JAPAN" under it. That is the proof. I don't know what other marking you would expect that shows it is a Japanese made instrument. If it had no sticker at all, then I would question the provenance of the instrument.

Japanese made or Korean made- if your instrument works for you that is great. I just happen to be of the belief that the Japanese made instruments are better quality and craftsmanship. Don't get me wrong. I am sure that many an instrument from Japan may have defects like anything else.
It's simply an opinion.

:bassist:
 
#85
Hi Rudyboy, I think you didnt understand what I was trying to say. Is possible that being english a second language in my case I wasn't clear enough in my explanation. will try to clarify

I was saying that out of 5 or 6 basses posted for sale (here in Argentina) that looked exactly as mine and were all "MIJ" according to sellers description, ONLY TWO of them had a sticker saying that it was MIJ (that of course is a proof) and one of the at least had a MADE IN JAPAN stamped on the neck plate. The other bass with sticker didnt show a pic of the neck plate so I cannot be sure if it was stamped or not. All the rest showed no proof of being MIJ. No sticker, no neck plate stamp but seems a common procedure for sellers to say all these are MIJ.

Hope now is clear.
 
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#86
cavscout19d said:
Here's a bad pic of my TEB-1 on the left. She really deserves a better picture. Wonderful bass with a beefy neck.

DSC_1074.jpg
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Had one just like that, sold it this passed April at a guitar show in Dallas. Nice sound and all but just a bit to heavy for me. I just had rotator cuff surgery so that had something to do with the sale. But I stll have my Fernandez jazz bass that I love.
 
#87
Hi Rudyboy, I think you didnt understand what I was trying to say. Is possible that being english a second language in my case I wasn't clear enough in my explanation. will try to clarify

I was saying that out of 5 or 6 basses posted for sale (here in Argentina) that looked exactly as mine and were all "MIJ" according to sellers description, ONLY TWO of them had a sticker saying that it was MIJ (that of course is a proof) and one of the at least had a MADE IN JAPAN stamped on the neck plate. The other bass with sticker didnt show a pic of the neck plate so I cannot be sure if it was stamped or not. All the rest showed no proof of being MIJ. No sticker, no neck plate stamp but seems a common procedure for sellers to say all these are MIJ. Hope now is clear.

Hello Setebos:

Your clarification is noted and I can see how you have reached your point of view. I concur that checking the neck plate helps in identifying instruments with more certainty. I don't always check unless I have a reason to. But I hope that the instrument you checked is what you expected! Enjoy the cheer!
 
#89
Nice Houta!!! I just saw it today in your pedal board post in El musiquiatra. I'm Malcolm over there :)

by the way, I just got my Fernandes back from the luthier yesterday. He trimmed the neck a little in order to give it a more "jazz" neck feel and he also installed Duncans SJB-1

It sounds incredible. A good improvement to the original sound which was already ok but a bit thin when compared to the Duncans.
 
#92
Number, please!

Fernandes Tremor 5 Standard, bought in late 2001. I'm the only owner.

And yes, I'm going to use this same photo for the 'green' club and the Genz-Benz club and the Portaflex club. I'm nothing if not lazy. :D
 

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#95
I have just purchased a Fernandes Bass. I have looked all over and can't seem to figure out the approximate model or era mine was produced in! I do read this same thing from many Fernandes owners on here.
Mine is High-gloss black with a white pick-guard. It very much resembles a Fender Jazz in shape, and overall appearance.
One of the things that baffles me is the truss rod access. Mine is at the heel of the neck and there is no body pocket to access the Phillips end of the rod. Just the flat body. However, it is still a very easy task to adjust the truss rod.
Another bit of weirdness on mine is a very thin strip of metal from the bridge to the bridge pickup. Looks like some sort of ground maybe???
I will post some pics tomorrow to see if I can get any opinions on this bass.
 
#96
You can check out this site Link Removed
It's a site of Fernandes' catalogs. I have a "The Function" bass which is mid 80's. The truss rod adjustment is in heel with no access port. I have to remove the neck to adjust the truss rod. The metal strip going from the bridge to the bridge pickup is a grounding strip. Great bass, hope yours is as good.
 
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#100
Anyone know what pup is in a Japanese Atlas 4X? Don't know what year it was built, seller thinks 2007 or earlier. I looked on Fernandes' Japan site and it shows EMG MMTW or MMCS on their parts listing, however those are both active.

I could always pull the pup and look for clues on the back but I'm hoping someone will know.
 

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