Fender Duo-Sonic II Solid Body Electric Guitar (1965)
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Item # 9293
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Fender Duo-Sonic II Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1965), made in Fullerton, California, serial # 103411, white lacquer finish, alder body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, original grey hard shell case.
This Fender Duo-Sonic II was assembled a year or so after the model was redesigned in mid-1964 with components interchangeable with the new Mustang. THAT guitar took off to become one of the most popular electrics of the 1960's, possibly the most successful student solidbody ever made. By contrast the Duo-Sonic seemed to fade away, even though it was at that point the same instrument just without a vibrato. It just goes to show how much a snazzy name and a whammy bar mattered in the mid-60's! This white-finished 1965 example has a tortoise celluloid pickguard and white pickup covers and switches used only with this color.
This guitar has a neck dated December 1964, fitted with the then-brand new pearloid dot inlay that is generally thought of as a CBS feature. We've seen several Dec 64 stamped pearl dot necks, and a number of necks with clay dots dated into early '65. It just goes to show feature transitions on Fenders are rarely in neat order. This neck has the longer of two scale lengths offered, 24" (shared with most examples of the Mustang) which most players find friendlier in use than the short 22 1/2" scale the Duo-sonic started out with in 1957.
Something of a forgotten model in the mid-'60's, the Duo-Sonic was eclipsed in the mid-'60s by the Mustang which sold over 16,000 units in 1966 alone. This one has parts dated some months apart, which is typical of slower-selling Fenders as the guitars would not be assembled until there were orders for them. With its string-through body-mounted bridge, the Duo-Sonic II is a more solid-feeling instrument than the tremolo-equipped Mustang it shares all other features with and is often found to hold tuning more steadfastly. The switches for the two pickups offer interesting on/off and in/out of phase pickup options, identical to the Mustang. This is a very nicely preserved example and a fine-playing, light, handy little guitar.
Overall length is 39 7/8 in. (101.3 cm.), 12 1/4 in. (31.1 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 in. (610 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This is a lovely clean example overall, showing some light wear but all original. The finish shows checking and small dings and dents but no major wear areas. The original frets have been crowned down a bit but are still quite playable, and the rosewood fingerboard has some noticeable wear in the lower positions. This is a great sounding and playing Duo-Sonic, a guitar one writer once described as "the .22 Magnum Derringer of the Fender line" complete in its original HSC. Excellent Condition.
This Fender Duo-Sonic II was assembled a year or so after the model was redesigned in mid-1964 with components interchangeable with the new Mustang. THAT guitar took off to become one of the most popular electrics of the 1960's, possibly the most successful student solidbody ever made. By contrast the Duo-Sonic seemed to fade away, even though it was at that point the same instrument just without a vibrato. It just goes to show how much a snazzy name and a whammy bar mattered in the mid-60's! This white-finished 1965 example has a tortoise celluloid pickguard and white pickup covers and switches used only with this color.
This guitar has a neck dated December 1964, fitted with the then-brand new pearloid dot inlay that is generally thought of as a CBS feature. We've seen several Dec 64 stamped pearl dot necks, and a number of necks with clay dots dated into early '65. It just goes to show feature transitions on Fenders are rarely in neat order. This neck has the longer of two scale lengths offered, 24" (shared with most examples of the Mustang) which most players find friendlier in use than the short 22 1/2" scale the Duo-sonic started out with in 1957.
Something of a forgotten model in the mid-'60's, the Duo-Sonic was eclipsed in the mid-'60s by the Mustang which sold over 16,000 units in 1966 alone. This one has parts dated some months apart, which is typical of slower-selling Fenders as the guitars would not be assembled until there were orders for them. With its string-through body-mounted bridge, the Duo-Sonic II is a more solid-feeling instrument than the tremolo-equipped Mustang it shares all other features with and is often found to hold tuning more steadfastly. The switches for the two pickups offer interesting on/off and in/out of phase pickup options, identical to the Mustang. This is a very nicely preserved example and a fine-playing, light, handy little guitar.
Overall length is 39 7/8 in. (101.3 cm.), 12 1/4 in. (31.1 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 in. (610 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This is a lovely clean example overall, showing some light wear but all original. The finish shows checking and small dings and dents but no major wear areas. The original frets have been crowned down a bit but are still quite playable, and the rosewood fingerboard has some noticeable wear in the lower positions. This is a great sounding and playing Duo-Sonic, a guitar one writer once described as "the .22 Magnum Derringer of the Fender line" complete in its original HSC. Excellent Condition.