{"id":67,"date":"2012-01-25T22:33:53","date_gmt":"2012-01-25T22:33:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bunnyears.net\/guitar\/?page_id=67"},"modified":"2020-05-05T18:55:53","modified_gmt":"2020-05-05T18:55:53","slug":"19-fernandes-h-65-vertigo","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/bunnyears.net\/guitar\/electric-guitars\/19-fernandes-h-65-vertigo\/","title":{"rendered":"Fernandes H-65 (Vertigo)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Year<\/strong>: 1995\/1996
\nFinish:<\/strong>\u00a0Pale Cobalt
\nOrigin:<\/strong> Japan
\nAcquired:<\/strong> November 2008
\nMods:<\/strong>\u00a0Schaller straplocks
\nStill owned:<\/strong> No<\/p>\n

The Story:<\/strong>
\nMost people quit a band and then sell the gear. Not me. The day after I left Fast Times, I found a rare bird on eBay and jumped.<\/p>\n

The week before my last FT gig, I saw a listing go up on eBay: \u201cRare Sherwood Green Fernandes Vertigo Guitar.\u201d You\u2019re kidding me \u2014 the same shade as the bass<\/a> we had already had refinished in a guy\u2019s garage in California? Pull the other one. I could have a complete set of Vertigos! Kat and I on matching instruments, like those sad families you see on vacation!<\/p>\n

As you might expect, the Vertigo is such a specialized (notice I didn\u2019t use the word \u201cugly\u201d) shape that it didn’t command a high price at the time it appeared on eBay (though that has changed!); what\u2019s more, the main run of them had a painting defect that caused the finish to flake. Most serious collectors ignore them. If my guitar collection says anything, it says that I am not a \u201cserious\u201d collector in the way that other \u201cserious\u201d collectors are \u201cserious.\u201d Still, this is a fairly uncommon specimen \u2014 the Fernandes logo on the headstock is an older script style, and the witch-hat knobs also seem on the early side. The Vertigo was originally called the H-65, so I figured that\u2019s what I was looking at \u2014 and the only other one I could find in this finish was on an Aussie website for a lot of money. The pickguard was flat white, not pearloid as some others I’d seen \u2014 another great match for the bass. Plus, check out those pickup covers \u2014 plain chrome, no screws! I love that look and it’s not common. I had gear lust.<\/p>\n

My last FT gig was on a Friday night. The auction ended Saturday afternoon. Five hours before it went off, Kat gave me a slightly weary permission \u2014 like \u201cI have run out of reasons to say no.\u201d I sniped it and won but considered it an investment.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s more damage than a listing saying \u201cexcellent condition\u201d would suggest, and \u201ca few dings\u201d is not the truth: \u201cthe guitar\u2019s awkwardly large rear wing has clearly been rammed into walls several times, so you can see the wood underneath through multiple gouges.\u201d (I have since bought it a fitted hardshell case.) But the D-profile neck feels great, the frets are immaculate (very surprising considering the body damage and the age), and after a fretboard cleaning, a string change, the obligatory strap locks, and some mild adjustments to the action\u2026well, it still needed to go to Greg at Orbiter Guitars<\/a> to have all that stuff done right, but it\u2019s definitely a keeper, and it sounds great. Very full, very thick slabs of tone \u2014 there\u2019s a lot of alder in this body \u2014 and it\u2019s a great rhythm guitar.<\/p>\n

Let’s talk about that finish. Green, right? No. Pale Cobalt, says Fernandes<\/a>.\u00a0How…how?<\/em> Maybe this is their riff on Gibson’s Pelham Blue, which famously turned green with age as its nitro overcoat yellowed, but I can’t think of another more reasonable explanation. This is almost a Sherwood Green in person and in photos.<\/p>\n

I believe the body is alder (the fancier H-80s were as well), but I still don\u2019t know exactly what year it was made. These were branded as Fernandes’ Japan-only brand Burny in 1994, which was rebranded for other countries with the Fernandes script logo in 1995. That headstock logo changed again in 1997, so it must be either a ’95 or a ’96. There is no visible serial number, so I don’t have anything to go on without disassembling it. Regardless, it looks and feels right when I play it, and it\u2019s so naturally cool that I\u2019m a happy camper.<\/p>\n

I never thought the day would come that I would part with this, but I wound up having too many other project guitars and things that I have dialed in perfectly for me. Every so often someone will write asking if I am interested in selling, and I never have been — but earlier this year, I finally realized this was not getting played as much as it should, and I entertained one. It’s now living a happy life in Colorado, and I miss it, but I’ve made my peace.<\/p>\n