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Fender rival Fernandes Guitar abruptly shuts down its US business and will no longer sell guitars
Fender rival Fernandes Guitars has abruptly announced it has filed for bankruptcy.
The company, which was established in 1969, is best known for its affordable Fender and Gibson replicas.
The company has shut down its website, which now simply reads: 'Fernandes USA division has closed.'
Although famous for its knockoffs of more expensive guitars, Fernandes counts among its fans Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, and Metallica lead guitarist Kirk Hammett.
Armstrong has proudly played his Fernandes Revival RST-50, which is based on the Fender Strat, at nearly every Green Day show.
Fernandes counts among its fans Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong
Affectionately named 'Blue', he has owned the guitar since he was just 10 years old.
Metallica's Hammett, meanwhile, acquired a Fernandes guitar in the early 1980s, which featured on the cover of 'The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited.'
The company has also produced a number of signature guitars over the last decades with artists including Robert Trujillo, who joined Metallica in 2003, and Velvet Revolver's Dave Kushner.
Fernandes announced it was filing for bankruptcy on July 13, with a statement on its Japanese website which said the company had a 'considerable amount of debt.'
'We apologize for the inconvenience caused to creditors and related parties, but in light of the total amount of debt, Fernandes plans to file for bankruptcy proceedings as soon as possible,' the statement read.
It added: 'We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patronage over the years,' Guitar.com reported.
By filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, this means there is still time for a larger company to swoop in and buy the company out.
Its Japanese division is still running.
It is not the first guitar company to file for bankruptcy protection in recent years.
Metallica's Kirk Hammett acquired a Fernandes guitar in the early 1980s
Iconic family-run music business Sam Ash also filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year
Iconic guitar maker Gibson filed for bankruptcy protection in 2018 after wrestling for years with debt, which has mounted to nearly $500million.
Gibson guitars were esteemed by generations of guitar legends. After Chuck Berry died, his beloved cherry-red Gibson guitar was bolted to the inside of his coffin lid.
Sam Ash, the beloved music store chain, also filed for bankruptcy in May and has been liquidated and sold.
The new owner of the 100-year-old chain will operate a website but all physical store locations have closed.
Sam Ash has supplied guitars, pianos, keyboards and drums to countless amateur and professional musicians since it opened its first store in Brooklyn, New York City, in 1924.