Fernandes FRT-8 — Obscure Lefthand Bridges — FR-55

Описание: A look at a left handed Fernandes FRT-8 from the early '90s. These bridges were made from the mid '80s to mid '90s, with some slight variations over the years. Judging by catalogues, this one was made somewhere around 1991-1994, although I don't know if left hand versions were available all of those years.

Incidentally the FRT-8 saddles also appear extremely closely related to the Yamaha RMX bridge, so whether Yamaha was contracting the RMX out to whomever Fernandes used before Yamaha developed their own RMX II? (At least in photos they seem near identical, I've never seen an RMX in the flesh.)

The camera doesn't know how to interpret the FR-55 colour. It's an EXTREMELY red red, appearing purple at times on video. This specific guitar actually has purple paint under the red paint (visible in cavities), I don't know whether the factory changed their mind about the colour, or whether a purple undercoat was part of the process for this finish.

If you wanted a double locking bridge, it's a relatively easy swap given the post style and spacing (74mm). I think the FRT-8 is an interesting design, but I'm not so excited about the arm threading directly into a thin zinc alloy casting, never had much luck with this sort of arrangement.

00:00 Intro
00:20 Change strings
00:55 String height
01:12 Underside and block
01:31 Intonation adjustment
02:06 Materials
02:46 Substitutions — Gotoh or Floyd?

SB 1 (SB SUS 1) SH 4