NGD: 1964 Duo Sonic with some interesting mods

[Will S.]

I just picked this up from the guys at Mike & Mikes guitar bar and absolutely love it. It’s a 1964 Duo Sonic that’s been modded in just about every possible way, the Mikes have an insane inventory and out of the 10 or spectacular vintage guitars I played this one just stood out to me.

The neck is absolutely amazing, it’s feels wonderfully worn in and the action is nice and low. It sounds and plays spectacularly, weighs in at only 6lbs 14oz, and really fits my need for a quirky guitar.

So on to the mods:

- F Logo Bigsby added, along with appropriately modified bridge, perfect for a little wiggle and some nice dips and vibrato - it’s great to have a bigsby in the collection again

- Lollar Flatpole Blackface pickups and vintage spec CTS pots - these sound amazing and give you that sweet open 60’s chime in spades, the Blackfaces sound even better in here than they did in my old 65 RI Strat

- Okay quality Desert Sand nitro refin, it has tons of Mojo and if I ever get bored of it is a good candidate for a pro quality refin. The wear on here looks great.

- 50’s style Duo Sonic tuner strip added, I’ll likely restore it to more appropriate tuners

Overall a wonderful guitar that really has “it.” I’m loving it for indie rock, post rock, etc. Thanks for looking!

[MechaBulletBill]

That's modding done right. Tasteful mods with personality. Love it.

[gringopig]

Looks very very nice! Did you chop the bridge plate for the Bigsby or modify it yourself?
Great mods!

[Will S.]

Much appreciated guys! The folks at Mike & Mikes did the mods to my knowledge and did a very clean job. The Bigsby looks and feels surprisingly at home on the Duo. Thanks again for the kind words.

[Sauerkraut]

[minimumnishe]

The Bigsby looks and feels surprisingly at home on the Duo.

Absolutely! I've always felt the student guitars look silly with so much room behind the bridge, almost like it was made for a bigsby.

[Maggieo]

That is one of the coolest guitars I've ever seen.

[Surfysonic]

Congrats, she's a beauty!

I've been thinking about getting a vintage Duo-Sonic (they sound amazing) but I have big hands so the neck profile is a concern. What is the neck profile like on your Duo-Sonic? Slim (like a modern C), a little chunkier like a mid-60s C, or chunkier?

I have a modern Fender Duo-Sonic with a "C Shape" neck and was wondering if it's similar to a vintage neck. The modern Fender Duo-Sonic's "C Shape" neck seems slimmer to me than say the "C Shape" of a Fender American Vintage Jag/Strat/Tele/JM and Squier Vintage Modified Mustang neck and more like a a "modern C" to me.

[ArtieFisk]

Been thinking for a long time about getting an old one in dire straits and modding it in very much this fashion. Groovy!

[Pacafeliz]

That is one of the coolest guitars I've ever seen.

Yesss!!!

[Enzo]

I have an old and beaten ‘62 duo sonic body that’s already had some mods. One day when I have the money, I plan to put a vintage 25.5” scale length neck from a Coronado on it and pair it with a jazzmaster tremolo for the ultimate Fender frankenstrat partscaster. The Coronado headstock is my favorite Fender headstock, while the duo sonic pickups are my favorite Fender pickups, and the jazzmaster tremolo is my favorite Fender tremolo. So it will be a dream machine!

[cmd2kx]

I saw this one back for sale on eBay. I am curious as to what happened ?

[gringopig]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1964-Fender- ... =R40&rt=nc

I see it on Ebay too sold by Mike and Mike's Guitar Bar. You no like?

[wooderson]

My experience with Mike and Mike's was terrible, wouldn't surprise me if this had issues they didn't disclose.