Fernandes FTE-55 Tele style, white blonde, made in Japan 1976. Fernandes launched in 1969, initially offering flamenco style acoustic guitars, before expanding into electric guitars in the early 70s. They would go on to become one of the biggest guitar brands in Japan to this day. This one is a 'Burny Olds' series, offering takes on models from Fender's 'golden age' delivered with plenty of pizzazz. There's some proper timber involved: beautiful tightly grained maple paired with a 70s-grade slab of ash, all finished beautifully and tooled with great care by hand. The sound on deck is bright and lively, with heaps of attack and a shimmering top end paired with a percussive bass response. The blonde finish shows an alluring hint of the grain underneath, it's yellowed beautifully over the decades and is now sporting a delicious baked-cheesecake hue. These aren't getting any easier to find, so nab yourself a slab of the 70s while it's still pretty manageable to score.

Model: Fernandes FTE-55
Made: Japan, 1976 (serial 61205)
Finish: white blonde, gloss poly
Body: sen ash
Neck: maple, maple board, 25.5" scale, 7.25" radius, deep vintage C shape
Weight: 4.480kg
Mods: none
Pickup: Fernandes single coil x3
Case: basic hard case

Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has some scuffs on  the end and bottom edge. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, minor dimples and rub wear on the back only, plus some slight finish shrinkage on the skunk stripe. The back has some dimples in the elbow area and near the jack, as well as widespread light scuffs around the whole body. The sides have minor dimples around the whole body. The front has some scuffs around the knobs, dimples in the elbow area and some play wear on the guard and horns. Overall: very good condition (8/10).

Playing condition notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. The frets have been recently levelled and polished, so they're nice and even but with some height gone, 6/10 for fret life left. All electrics tested and working properly. Setup with fresh 10/46 Moonshiners strings.