Fender Duosonic

The Fender DuoSonic guitar, sometimes spelled with a dash as in Duo-Sonic, was introduced in 1956 as a student guitar. Leo Fender realized that the price of the Telecaster and Stratocaster guitars were too expensive for many new guitarists. Also, the 25.5 inch scale neck was too large for small hands. Therefore the Duosonic’s neck was made at the 22.5 inch scale length while using the new stylish, double cutaway, body similar to the Strat.

The Duo-sonic has been available in both 22.5 and 24 inch scale necks. The Duosonic II, released in 1964 and discontinued in 1969, had a 24 inch neck although an optional 22.5 inch neck was available some years. This neck length is quite rare in the Duosonic II era and has better than average collector value. With the arrival of grunge music in the early 1990’s Fender reissued the Duosonic in the original 22.5 inch scale length and made this guitar in their new Mexican factory. They also made a Squier line as well that you could purchase new for under $100 at the time. These reissues were discontinued in early 2000’s. In 2008, Fender did another reissue, a more upscale one, in their Classic Vibe line.

The Duosonic features 2 single coil pickups with a single vertical pickup selector switch on the lower bout, or horn, of the body. The placement of the pickup selector switch makes it difficult to reach while playing, unlike the Stratocaster and Telecaster. Another difference is that the pickups in most models are reverse-wound/reverse-polarity. This means that there is humbucking when both pickups are engaged when the switch is in the middle position. This is by far my most favorite position when playing the Duo-sonic.

The standard tone and volume pots on a Duosonic are 250K. The wiring is rather simple. The only thing that you really want to make sure of is that you use a correct RW/RP pickup so that you get the humbucker effect when the switch is in the middle position. Also, use caution when working with the pickguard on the Duo-sonic. If you try to force things you can easily break the guard.

While there have been many variations of the Duosonic over the years, most models came with a solid plastic cover which covered the pole pieces of the pickup entirely. Some newer models have the pole pieces exposed with a plastic cover, much like a Strat. In fact, Strat pickups will easily fit within the body and pickup cavity of the Duosonic. This gives you a wide variety of pickup sounds to choose from when selecting new pickups for your Duosonic.

The Duosonic’s electronics, along with its short scale length, combine to produce a unique guitar tone. This tone has been used by Jimi Hendrix, especially early in his career when he needed a funky sound while playing backup guitar with the Isley Brothers. Liz Phair found the Duosonic a good fit with her lo-fi rock sound. Slide players like Johnny Winter and Rory Gallagher liked the effect the short scale lent to their playing.  David Byrne, like Hendrix, also appreciated the funky tone of the Duosonic. The Duosonic, with its easy playability and comfortable feel for a lead singer, was especially popular with early punk acts like Patti Smith, Richard Lloyd and Tom Verlaine.

The Fender Duosonic hasn’t quite been mainstream but it has a lot of fans, including myself. What do you think about the Duo-sonic? Leave me a comment and let me hear your thoughts on it.

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