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Fernandes Monterey Elite
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Fernandes Monterey Elite
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Published on 10/06/14 at 03:29
Korean production, the guitar has a default and without any quality wood finish.

Features:
Mahogany body with maple top
mahogany glued
ebony fingerboard
locking tuners
22 jumbo frets
Sustainer neck pickup
pickup Seymour Duncan SH-4
Sustainer system by two mini switches
chrome hardware
1 volume and 1 tone
micro switch 3 positions

UTILIZATION

Accustomed to handle my '50 Gibson LP, the handle of this Fernandes, very fine, threw me off, I find it less comfortable and have the strange feeling not to have on hand. Matter of habit as preferably, of course; but really, I love the thick stick LP Traditional and R07.
The guitar is light compared to my LP, the body is very thin; Ergonomics is very good.
Given the price, it is in excellent. The price most often found is 850 €, I took advantage of a special price at which posted € 549 session.de.

SOUNDS

I bought this guitar for embedded Sustainer system. Admirer of Steve Hackett, who most often uses a Black Fernandes LP or LP Gold Top equipped with the famous so important in its sound system, I wanted to get closer to the effect that he obtained for infinite sustain and harmonics. And it is exactly that offered by the Monterey!
10/10 for the Sustainer.

At the trial, the guitar proves excellent on all three positions, clear sound in full.
The neck pickup gives a very round sound and defined, rather compressed but a somewhat low compared to the intermediate position or that of the neck pickup. Intermediate position and its clear, we have a pretty slamming her perfect for arpeggios with chorus or phasing. The neck pickup is ultimately quite sweet in the clear.
In full, the neck pickup lacks precision and will hardly be comfortable on rhythm; To be reserved only minimal power chords. The intermediate position, in this case, is the most interesting, especially if you play the tone knob to calm his propensity for high-méduims. The neck pickup sounds great, sharp and accurate. But all that the condition not to connect a LP right after to compare ... Because there what a slap! The comparison is clear: everything in this Fernandes, seems so narrow, small sound, without scale, a very average definition with distortion and so on. This allowed me to see how a guitar is a LP Traditional absolute exception (I knew but a wakeup call always good !!!). Of course, the comparison between a normal guitar with a price of € 850 with another worth € 2,000 is not very fair to the first, but it ensures that such a difference in price is largely justified and to understand what differentiates a "normal" guitar exceptional guitar. By dint of practice my LP, I was accustomed to excellence and it had become for me the single standard; well no! LP of the sound is not in the standard!
Leaving aside my LP, I give an 8/10. If I compare a 5/10.
But what made me buy this is the Fernandes Sustainer and there I have exactly what I wanted. The system works perfectly, with no added noise, and gives a very good sustain, perfect musical. A second switch activates the harmonic at the octave of feedback quite controllable.

OVERALL OPINION

To summarize, this purchase, in my case, only justified the presence of the Sustainer. However, the rate for which I have acquired by making total abstraction of the Les Paul Gibson, this guitar has many qualities. The finish is excellent, it is beautiful, made with quality wood, offers an ebony fingerboard (which in this price range is truly exceptional), and pickups are quite correct. I do not know all there is around € 550 but it seems to me that the Monterey deserves to be seriously considered in this price bracket. Session.de only has this model but offers another (without the ebony fingerboard) to the incredible price of € 499.