Fernandes Burny RLG-50 '59 Model (Cherry Sunburst)

This Fernandes Burny RLG-50 '59 Model in Cherry Sunburst (CS) is in remarkably good condition, virtually dead stock.

The “The Revival” series — Burny’s lineup of vintage reissue copy models — first appeared in the 1981 catalog and can be traced until 1988. By 1989, it seems the series had been discontinued.

Based on the catalogs in my possession, the Les Paul Standard models in this series began in 1981, carrying over directly from the previous year’s lineup as the FLG-90, FLG-150, and FLG-240.
In 1982, the prefix was changed from FLG to RLG, and the lineup was revamped into four models: RLG-50, RLG-90, RLG-120, and RLG-150. The RLG-60 was added in 1984, and the series appears to have ended around 1989.

After The Revival period, Burny RLG truss rod covers adopted a distinctive shape with small bulges on both sides. Therefore, if a guitar features the original bell-shaped Gibson-style truss rod cover, it can generally be identified as a The Revival model—though one must, of course, consider the possibility of a replacement part.

Identifying an RLG-50 is relatively straightforward. A plain (non-figured) maple top, bell-shaped truss rod cover, fret-edge binding, and nickel-plated hardware together make a nearly certain match.
To narrow down the production year, the pickups offer further clues: this guitar’s pickups have brass baseplates and gray lead wires, characteristic of the L8000 pickups used from 1982 to 1984.
In later models of the same series, these were replaced with VH-4 pickups, which featured brass baseplates and black lead wires.

Even a once “affordable” model like this has become very hard to obtain today.

Body: Two-piece mahogany back
Weight: 4.40 kg (including strings)
(Updated August 20, 2016)