Fernandes Guitars

Fernandes Guitars is a guitar brand of Japanese marketing company Fernandes Co. Ltd. It is one of two guitar brands belonging to the company, the other being Burny Guitars which are Gibson guitar replicas. It's parent company originated in 1969 as Saito Musical Instruments before changing its name to Fernandes in 1972. The company started as a distributor of flamenco guitars sub-contracting to Japanese factories to build them. As the company grew, it expanded production to include electric guitars, bass guitars, amplifiers, and accessories to become one of the biggest guitar producers in Japan. Early manufacturing was done by Kawai Gakki whom had guitar building experience from their acquisition of Teisco in 1967. Other major Japanese manufacturers have built guitars for Fernandes under original equipment manufacturer (OEM) arrangements, including Matsumoku, Dyna Gakki, and Tōkai Gakki. From the late 1980s, lower-spec guitars have also been built in Korea and more recently China.