Fender Duo-Sonic
Encyclopedia
The Fender Duo-Sonic guitar was launched by Fender as a “student” model guitar. The “Duo-Sonic” features two single-coil pick-ups and a vertical (as opposed to Fender's standard blade-style) switch on the lower horn of the body to select bridge, neck or both pickups in a humbucking style configuration. The Duo-Sonic features typical Fender construction techniques with a bolt-on neck, maple attached to a solid body. The bridge is fixed and the line has a shorter scale neck than standard models as a concession to younger, beginner guitarists and other players with smaller hands.
introduced a few months earlier, it featured basic but effective construction and a 22.5 inch scale length
(standard Fender guitars feature a 25.5 inch scale) and cost $149.50. The original model was only available in a light tan color called Desert Sand and had a maple fingerboard with 20 frets and a neck with a soft-V profile. The original model Duo-Sonics also sport a gold-colored, anodized scratch plate that helps in screening the single-coil pickups and electronics from interference.
that had recently been added to the student model line but without the vibrato tail-piece. The student guitars now all featured larger and slightly offset bodies, necks with larger headstocks and rosewood fingerboards and plastic pickguards with the volume and tone controls mounted on a separate metal plate. Pick-up selection was moved above the pick-ups on both the Duo-Sonic and the Mustang and utilized two 3-position on-off-on switches that allowed for in and out-of-phase sounds. The pickups were also reverse-wound/reverse-polarity, which made them into a functional Humbucker
when both pick-ups were used simultaneously. Also added in this redesign was the option of a 24 inch scale neck in addition to the 22.5 inch scale. This re-designed model was re-named Duo-Sonic II although decals with and without the II designation were used occasionally. In addition to white, Sonic Blue and Dakota Red colors added.
The Duo-Sonic lasted until 1969 when it was dropped most likely because the Mustang with its tremolo tail piece was far more popular.
The Duo-Sonic I and II are both considered rare and have displayed growing collector value. The Duo-Sonic II in particular is often seen as a desirable alternative to the more popular Mustang, since it lacks the difficult-to-maintain tremolo bridge.
In 2008, the Duo-Sonic was re-released by Fender's Squier
brand in the Classic Vibe series of guitars. It is intended to be closely modeled after the model released in the 1950s and looks very similar with a maple fret-board, gold pick-guard and Desert Sand body. Difference include the material used for the body is now basswood, the neck is now a 24" scale and is C-shaped with more modern medium jumbo frets.
Original design (1956-1959)
The Fender Duo-Sonic was introduced in 1956. Like the MusicmasterFender Musicmaster
The Fender Musicmaster is an electric guitar by Fender, and was the first of their 3/4 scale guitars. With a single pickup and no tremolo arm, it was a basic but functional instrument....
introduced a few months earlier, it featured basic but effective construction and a 22.5 inch scale length
Scale length
*Length scale, - a significant concept in physics used to define the order of magnitude of a system*Scale height, - a specific parameter in physics denoting the distance over which a quantity decreases by a factor of e...
(standard Fender guitars feature a 25.5 inch scale) and cost $149.50. The original model was only available in a light tan color called Desert Sand and had a maple fingerboard with 20 frets and a neck with a soft-V profile. The original model Duo-Sonics also sport a gold-colored, anodized scratch plate that helps in screening the single-coil pickups and electronics from interference.
Second version (1959-1964)
In 1959 the Duo-Sonic went through a face lift. The most significant change was a switch from a maple finger board to a rosewood one in keeping with changes to other Fender models at this time. These fret boards were originally in the slab-style but switched to the veneer style after approximately a year. The other significant change was a switch from anodized aluminum to plastic pickguards. To begin with the second generation Duo-Sonic was still only available in Desert Sand, however, the tan color now used was significantly darker than that used on the 1956-59 models. In 1961 a new color, sunburst, was made available; this color is sometimes referred to as maroonburst for the way it looks today. In mid-1961 the Desert Sand color was dropped and then in mid-1963 Sunburst dropped and replaced by white.Third version - Duo-Sonic II (1964-1968)
In 1964 the Duo-Sonic was redesigned based on the Fender MustangFender Mustang
The Fender Mustang is an electric guitar by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, introduced in 1964 as the basis of a major redesign of Fender's student models then consisting of the Musicmaster and Duo-Sonic. It was produced until 1982 and reissued in 1990.In the 1960s, it was used in Surf...
that had recently been added to the student model line but without the vibrato tail-piece. The student guitars now all featured larger and slightly offset bodies, necks with larger headstocks and rosewood fingerboards and plastic pickguards with the volume and tone controls mounted on a separate metal plate. Pick-up selection was moved above the pick-ups on both the Duo-Sonic and the Mustang and utilized two 3-position on-off-on switches that allowed for in and out-of-phase sounds. The pickups were also reverse-wound/reverse-polarity, which made them into a functional Humbucker
Humbucker
A humbucker is a type of electric guitar pickup, first patented by Seth Lover and the Gibson company, that uses two coils, both generating string signal. Humbuckers have higher output than a single coil pickup since both coils are connected in series...
when both pick-ups were used simultaneously. Also added in this redesign was the option of a 24 inch scale neck in addition to the 22.5 inch scale. This re-designed model was re-named Duo-Sonic II although decals with and without the II designation were used occasionally. In addition to white, Sonic Blue and Dakota Red colors added.
The Duo-Sonic lasted until 1969 when it was dropped most likely because the Mustang with its tremolo tail piece was far more popular.
The Duo-Sonic I and II are both considered rare and have displayed growing collector value. The Duo-Sonic II in particular is often seen as a desirable alternative to the more popular Mustang, since it lacks the difficult-to-maintain tremolo bridge.
Reissues
In 1993 Fender released a Mexican-made reissue Duo-Sonic in a 22.7" scale. It was available in black, torino red and arctic white and cost $259.99. It was dropped from the Fender line in 1997 but was then launched again as a Chinese made Squier Affinity model in 1998 only to be dropped in 1999.In 2008, the Duo-Sonic was re-released by Fender's Squier
Squier
Squier is a musical instrument brand name owned by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.-History:Fender, under the ownership of CBS, acquired the Squier brand name in 1965 when it bought a USA based string making firm , but it lay dormant for many years...
brand in the Classic Vibe series of guitars. It is intended to be closely modeled after the model released in the 1950s and looks very similar with a maple fret-board, gold pick-guard and Desert Sand body. Difference include the material used for the body is now basswood, the neck is now a 24" scale and is C-shaped with more modern medium jumbo frets.
Notable Duo Sonic players
- David ByrneDavid ByrneDavid Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...
- of Talking HeadsTalking HeadsTalking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
early in his career - Jimi HendrixJimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
- played a Duo-Sonic when he backed up The Isley BrothersThe Isley BrothersThe Isley Brothers are a highly influential, successful and long-running American music group consisting of different line-ups of six brothers, and a brother-in-law, Chris Jasper...
in the early 1960s and was known as Jimmy James, also in the studio in the mid-1960s, and while gigging with Curtis Knight & the Squires (New York, late 1965). - John McLaughlinJohn McLaughlin (musician)John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer...
- before switching to a Gibson doubleneck in 1971. - Johnny WinterJohnny WinterJohn Dawson "Johnny" Winter III is an American blues guitarist, singer, and producer. Best known for his late 1960s and 1970s high-energy blues-rock albums and live performances, Winter also produced three Grammy Award-winning albums for blues legend Muddy Waters...
- used a modified Duo-Sonic during the late 1960s and early 1970s, on his first few albums. - Liz PhairLiz PhairPhair's entry into the music industry began when she met guitarist Chris Brokaw, a member of the band Come. Brokaw and Phair moved to San Francisco together, and Phair tried to become an artist there...
- one of her main guitars is a now-faded white '60s Duo-Sonic. - Patti SmithPatti SmithPatricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
- plays a Duo-Sonic and has featured her guitar in song lyrics, for example in "Radio Ethiopia/Abyssinia" from the Radio EthiopiaRadio EthiopiaRadio Ethiopia is an album by the Patti Smith Group, released in October 1976 on Arista Records.- History :Radio Ethiopia was the followup record to Smith's widely acclaimed debut Horses. In interviews surrounding the album's release, Smith explained that she chose producer Jack Douglas in hopes of...
LP. - Dean WeenDean WeenDean Ween is the stage name of Michael "Mickey" Melchiondo, Jr., American guitarist and half of the alternative rock group Ween.-Biography:...
- Michael "Mickey" Melchiondo, Jr. of WeenWeenWeen is an American alternative rock group. They formed in 1984 in New Hope, Pennsylvania when central members Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo met in an eighth grade typing class. Ween has a large cult underground fanbase despite being generally unknown in American pop music...
plays a cherry-burst 60's Duo-Sonic/MusicMaster. - Richard Lloyd and Tom VerlaineTom VerlaineTom Verlaine is a singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the frontman for the New York rock band Television.-Biography:...
of TelevisionTelevision (band)Television was an American rock band, formed in New York City in 1973. They are best known for the album Marquee Moon and widely regarded as one of the founders of "punk" and New Wave music. Television was part of the early 1970s New York underground rock scene, along with bands like the Patti...
. - Rory GallagherRory GallagherWilliam Rory Gallagher, ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995, was an Irish blues-rock multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and bandleader. Born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Ireland, and raised in Cork, Gallagher recorded solo albums throughout the 1970s and 1980s, after forming the band Taste...
- used a Duo-Sonic guitar with MusicMaster neck that was tuned up one step circa 1982.
See also
- Fender MusicmasterFender MusicmasterThe Fender Musicmaster is an electric guitar by Fender, and was the first of their 3/4 scale guitars. With a single pickup and no tremolo arm, it was a basic but functional instrument....
for more history. - Fender MustangFender MustangThe Fender Mustang is an electric guitar by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, introduced in 1964 as the basis of a major redesign of Fender's student models then consisting of the Musicmaster and Duo-Sonic. It was produced until 1982 and reissued in 1990.In the 1960s, it was used in Surf...
for more history of the Duo-Sonic II. - Fender BroncoFender BroncoThe Fender Bronco was an electric guitar model produced by the Fender company from mid 1967 until 1981. It used the body and neck from the Fender Mustang, but had only one pickup and a different tremolo arm mechanism...
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