The Players Behind the Sound

Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day made history with his blue Fernandes The Revival RST-80, a guitar he has played on stage for much of his career. Kirk Hammett reached for Fernandes in the studio for clean, atmospheric tones, and Billy Corgan brought one out around the Smashing Pumpkins’ Adore era.

The Edge sculpted ambient, sustained textures with a Sustainer-equipped Retrorocket, while Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert, and Neal Schon all praised the expressiveness and control of the Sustainer. For these players, the instrument was not just a tool; it helped shape the sound they became known for.

More than a feature, the Sustainer became a creative approach in its own right. With infinite sustain, harmonic control, and rich, musical feedback, it let players push past what a guitar normally does. Frank Marino called it the kind of sustain he had chased for decades and never found anywhere else.

Adrian Belew, Robert Fripp, Danny Lohner of Nine Inch Nails, and Reeves Gabrels all built parts of their sound around it, using the system to craft textures that would be difficult to reach with traditional gear. For many, it stopped being a novelty and became a permanent part of the rig.

Fernandes put down deep roots in Japan’s rock scene. Members of X Japan, Buck-Tick, and L’Arc-en-Ciel, including hide, Heath, Hisashi Imai, and Ken, played signature Fernandes models, often as their main stage and studio guitars. That long relationship with Japan’s rock elite says a lot about the brand’s reliability and feel.

In the U.S. and beyond, Fernandes turned up with Brad Gillis, Robert Trujillo, Dave Kushner, Tobias Forge, Andreas Kisser, Tony Campos, and Duff McKagan. On tour or in the studio, the appeal was the same: instruments that responded intuitively and held up night after night.