Fernandes? tele style, Any good?

[huckdeuceman]

Seen a Fernandes tele style guitar and was wondering how well their made?
Thanks in advance for your input.

[Ringo]

The old MIJ Fernandes Tele style guitars are great, the earlier models even have a Fender style peghead.

My buddy has a teal double bound Fernandes Tele, it plays great and sounds like a Tele, the bridge pickup in his guitar is a bit microphonic, just like some vintage Fenders...

You don't see them for sale too often these days.

[Stuco]

I haven't played one but I've always heard good things about the old ones. I know that Billie Joe Armstrong from Greenday played one (strat) as his main guitar for many years.

[Doug 54]

Played bunch too.
Some were so-so, others realll good. Play and decide!

[Roku]

I know a great pro/ guitar teacher that's main guitar is an early 80's fernandes strat. He bought in NYC new, said he was in a store played it and was blown away. Said he has caught crap over the years for it not being a 'real' fender. But I've played it, it's one very nice playing guitar. He did replace the pickups though. So yes

[J Hog]

I have an old TE-1N. I LOVE IT!!! I changed out the stock pickups for Bardens when I got hip to Danny Gatton, around '94 or '95. Nothing wrong with the stock pickups, I just wanted to try the Barden pickups. I put the Fernandes fingerboard pickup in my old Tele, after the original puckup went microphonic. When I got mine, I was managing a music store and talked my boss into carring Fernandes after falling in love with the product at a another store I worked at. Mine was the 1st guitar I unpacked from the 1st shipment we got in.

[Ringo]

Well we're a bit off topic, the OP was asking specifically about the Fernandes Tele models.
I've had Fernandes Teles and Strats, the Teles are pretty consistent IMO, they feel like a real Fender to me , I guess it's the simple design of the Tele?
No doubt some folks will want to change the stock pickups out, just like they do on Fender Teles.

The Fernandes Strat style guitars are a different story, some of them are great , others are so so, the Fernandes Strat models do have the narrower spaced bridge and small trem blocks, like the import Strats.

Later models Fernandes Strats seemed to drop off in quality , they moved production to Korea and then elsewhere.

[teleforumnoob]

I had this MIJ Ferd bass for a while. It was very well made, shoulda kept it.

[bossaholic]

I owned a Blonde 1988 '52 Clone, bought new. GREAT guitar. Played like a dream.

I don't know how the newer ones are, but I am sure they are just as good.

[Ringo]

Fernandes still makes some good guitars but they don't make a Tele style anymore, still have some Strat style guitars.

[sneakyjapan]

The can be good but like so many other Japanese builders back when they made some lower ends and some higher ends...if the seller doesn`t know what model it is that info may be marked in the pocket, but from what I see in Japan, higher ends tended to be fewer pieces for the body with better electronics for higher end stuff. I own a couple of Fernandes guitars but no teles...both of mine are higher end and I love em.

[huckdeuceman]

Thanks for the info guy's, really helped me decide on trying one on for size!!

[dqami]

I have the MIJ TE-1N. Fantastic guitar and not as heavy as my CV 50's tele. I had heard that they were made in the same factory as the Fender 50's RI at the time. At one time I came close to selling it but luckily I came to my senses.

[RevMike]

I had a double bound surf green Fernandes. It was a GREAT guitar. Sadly, I had to sell it due to an unforeseen cash crunch. That was a heartbreaker. One of only two guitars I really really miss.

[Stefano Biondo]

I have a blond thinline tele , the 60s type without the humbuckers, Fernandes with a rosewood fingerboard that had a Hipshot B bender and E-D tuner lever put on it. Bought it cause it was going for about the price of the Hipshot unit. Was pleasently suprised at the quality of the guitar,the routing, the sound of the pickups and, feel of the neck. And the neck has a nice flame to the maple!
think it is the TE-3 model. I know it is a pain to figure out the dating on these, says JAPAN on the neck plate. There was a useful review thing on Ebay with pictures but yesterday all but one of the pictures are gone. I think last year when I bought it I figured it was an early 90s MIJ. Anyway, IMHO it compares nicely to the CAR made in Japan Fender Custom I have and many real Fenders, just a nice little thing. They seem to be less of a secret so prices already seem to be inching up. TIP: sometimes peole list them on Ebay incorrectly with a Z (as in the more common spelling of this Spanish name) at the end instead of S so folks who search for them sometimes do not see them and you may snag one. Actually that is what happened in my case.

[Stefano Biondo]

I attached a picture of the headstock sorry seem to have misplaced picture of the whole thing, but look at jwells393 's picture gallery and you can see a blond thinline 69' like TE 3 FERNANDES ( his has a blond fingerboard)

[Stefano Biondo]

Another pic I found FERNANDES TE 3 this one is in Australia for 1,500 AUS buckaroos.