Favorite Instrument #11: 60th Birthday Red Special - Photogenic ST-180 Body / Fernandes FST-85 Neck (2025)

Starting around the autumn of 2024, I began maintaining my collection of beloved instruments as part of my decluttering efforts.
I spent my days searching online for parts to replace damaged or missing ones, hoping to restore them to their original state as much as possible.

When I start thinking like that, a bad habit tends to flare up.

"I don't own a guitar with a maple fretboard, do I?"
"I've wanted a red Strat-style guitar for a long time."

Before I knew it, I was browsing auction sites.

Photogenic ST-180

What I found on the auction site was this Photogenic ST-180 MRD (Metallic Red).

It started at 1,000 yen, so I thought it would be fine if I could win it for around 5,000 yen, and I successfully won the bid for 1,900 yen.
The shipping cost was higher (2,570 yen), but the total was 4,470 yen, which was within my budget.

The unit that arrived from Osaka still had the film on the pickguard, but the tremolo arm was missing.

The logo looks old, so maybe it's from around 2021? (Or even older?)
The pickups are standard 3-single coils. This is also something I don't have in my collection.
I just wanted a red Strat-style guitar, so I didn't worry about the fine specs.

For now, I connected it to a LEKATO PA-1 headphone amp and it sounded fine with no crackling.

The neck feel is different from what I'm used to, but it's a decent feel.
However, the fretwork is rough and there are burrs left, so my hands are all scratched up...

I spent two or three days removing the burrs, polishing the frets, cleaning the fretboard, and applying oil.

Second Form: Modification Begins

It had a synchronized tremolo bridge with a missing arm, so I thought about using it as is, but for some reason, I had a gold bridge lying around.
I couldn't let it go to waste, so I decided to install it.

I also replaced the jack plate with a flat one.
It's silver, but I don't mind.

The gold bridge was the perfect size, so it was installed in a flash without any issues.

I could have left the 3-single pickups as they were, but for some reason, I ended up clicking on a pickup assembly. Since the pickups were already mounted and wired to the pickguard, installation was easy—just soldering the ground and the jack.

I changed the pickguard to black and went with an HHH configuration for the SSH-style pickups.
Each pickup can be coil-tapped, allowing for combinations like SSS, HSH, SSH, HHH, etc. It even has a kill switch.
I was drawn in by all the switches.

Third Form: FerGenic? Photonandes?

I am satisfied with the pickups, which allow for a wide variety of combinations.
I've also started to like the look, but I'm struggling with whether to unify the parts in gold or silver.

I was originally looking for a guitar with a maple fretboard, so I searched online to see if I could find just a neck.

However, what caught my eye was...

A red neck!

A neck from a 1985 Fernandes FST-85. It has a matching headstock, with the neck itself painted in the same color.
Although it's hard to tell from the photo, the color is CAR (Candy Apple Red), and I had a slight worry about whether it would match the body's MRD (Metallic Red), but I don't worry about the small details.

The logo on the headstock is still clearly visible, and although it costs many times more than the body itself (10,000 yen), the fact that it is from the same period (1985) as the ST-145SL made me want it.

Since I originally liked the feel of the 1984 Fernandes ST-145SL neck, the neck from the FST-85 of the same era seemed like a good choice.

When it arrived, as I thought, the feel of the neck was similar to the ST-145SL and it was easy to play. The Photogenic neck felt a bit too flat and didn't suit me.

I've moved away from a maple fretboard again, but the rosewood fretboard of the FST-85 looks darker and nicer than the one on the Photogenic.

Since there was no nut, I had to prepare a nut for a Floyd Rose, and I chose the GOTHO GHL-1 C (43mm bottom mount).
Even though it's a non-locking tremolo, the nut is a locking type. I tighten the nut to prevent noise, but only to the extent of tightening it with my fingers.

Fourth Form (Current): All Red

I tried to unify the hardware with gold, but I gave up because I felt it would be too flashy, and changed it to silver.

For the bridge, I chose the Wilkinson WOV01.
I tried covering the cavity cover panel with red wrapping sheet.
I used gold screws for the pickguard as a one-point accent.
The strap is a Fender 2" Monogrammed Strap, Red/White/Blue.
The strap pins are Schaller-type locking pins I had lying around. They are made by Sadowsky and are not compatible with Schaller locking pins.

The metallic red of the body and the candy apple red of the headstock (neck) don't look that out of place.
It's true that the body has a metallic element, but it's not something you really notice from a distance.

It's a cheap guitar that I built without much trouble, but I like it in terms of both appearance and functionality.
I'm an amateur so I don't worry about the fine details, but I think it produces a decent enough sound. It might not be suitable for recording, though.

BARKS featured it in their [My Instrument, My Favorite Gear] section.

I have finally been able to introduce a red Strat-type guitar.

Thank you for sticking with me.
See you later.