Fernandes decade standard

I bought this guitar used at Mountain Music in Hamilton, Ont. for $149 CND. I tried a lot of their used guitars and lower end new and I just really liked the feel of the neck and fretboard on this one.

It has an interesting set-up -- three single coil pick ups and five position switch, just like a strat, but the switch is on the upper horn, like a les paul, and the body shape is like a Fender jazzmaster. So it is a sort of hybrid. I like the styling, the action was set just right for me, and the satin finish neck was really nice to work with. It has 21 widish frets and a rosewood fingerboard. One volume and one tone control, whammy bar. Pretty solid bridge and tuners.

I don't like the pickguard. The silver finish is very nice, but the white plastic pickguard just looks cheap.

It seems to be well constructed and the finish all over is very nice and solid. The frets are a bit wider than on my acoustic, which makes slides nice. The neck is four-bolt to the body and well placed and tight. The guitar has quite a lot of hollowed out space beneath the rather large pickguard, which makes it very resonant for playing without an amp. It is good for just quiet scale practicing and that sort of thing.

I think I got a really good deal on this guitar. I like how it is set up, I tweaked the intonation, but that's it. It just feels good on the neck, and it is well balanced. I like that it is a little unusual -- the jazzmaster shape with the strat-type pick-ups. I am really happy with it and would replace it if it was lost or stolen (if I could find one!)

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com