Fernandes FRT-120 Stratocaster (circa 1990)

This Fernandes-made Stratocaster FRT-120, built around 1990, originally came equipped with the Fernandes FRT-4 tremolo unit shown below.
However, I later replaced it with an original Floyd Rose, for reasons explained further down.

By the late 1980s, as most major manufacturers were winding down production of so-called “Neo-Strat” models, Fernandes was one of the few that kept the concept alive.
Perhaps this was because they were OEM-producing Floyd Rose tremolo systems, and therefore needed a suitable platform on which to mount and sell them.

Evans Pickups

This guitar is fitted with Evans pickups, a hand-crafted brand from Rod Evans of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
They became known primarily because the late Jeff Healey, the blind Canadian guitarist, used them.
Distributed in Japan from the late 1980s through the early 1990s, Evans pickups were handled by Fernandes,
who offered them both pre-mounted on production guitars and separately as aftermarket assemblies.
Two main types were available: single coils and humbuckers.
These pickups are extremely rare in Japan today—it’s uncommon to come across any example at all.

Single Coil (Eliminator 1 Series)

Marketed as “noiseless Strat pickups”, the Eliminator 1s were praised for being exceptionally quiet.
Known models include:

• E1R (Rhythm) — standard output

• E1HR (Hot Rhythm) — higher-output version

Contemporary descriptions noted that “bent notes don’t thin out” and “it retains a very Strat-like tone while being completely noiseless.”
Although the exact internal design was never disclosed, they are believed to use a stacked or dual-coil hum-cancelling structure,
similar to other noiseless designs of that era.

Humbucker (Eliminator 2 Series)

Models like the Eliminator 2 Hot Lead had extremely high DC resistance values—around 30 kΩ, or 15 kΩ when coil-tapped.
Despite such extreme specs, players described them as “super hot yet surprisingly quiet,”
offering a single-coil-like response when tapped, roughly as silent as the Series 1 singles.
Of course, DC resistance alone doesn’t tell the whole story—wire gauge, coil count, and structure all play a role—
so they can’t be equated directly with an ordinary “30 k humbucker.”

Playing Impressions

The feel and tone are quite distinctive.
When playing single notes or power chords, the guitar produces a smooth, harmonically rich sustain that’s almost intoxicating.
However, when strumming full chords, the upper-register tones tend to get buried in the mix.
For my style, it works best played melodically or with focused chord work.

Tremolo Unit

The stock FRT-4 tremolo was, frankly, difficult to use.
Its acorn-shaped fine tuners interfered with my fingers as they brushed the body when turning.
For that reason, I swapped it out for a genuine Floyd Rose, which solved the issue.

Construction & Finish

Thanks to its translucent finish, the beautiful alder grain is clearly visible.
The fingerboard, made of jet-black ebony, is flat and easy to play.
Along the bass edge of the fingerboard are luminous side dots serving as position markers,
and the main inlays are mother-of-pearl.
Only the neck is finished in lacquer, while the body is polyurethane.

Originally priced at ¥120,000,
this guitar weighs 3.51 kg (including strings).