NGD: fender player duo sonic in desert sand

Discussion of newer designs, copies and reissue offset-waist instruments.
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del
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NGD: fender player duo sonic in desert sand

Post by del » Thu Jun 23, 2022 1:55 pm

I traded this and that and the-other-thing and ended up with an excellent guitar: a Fender Player Duo Sonic in the desert sand finish.

It's a dream to play. The neck is a chunky full-C with great fret finishing. And the pickups are a delight: the neck is dark and driving and the bridge is cutting. It's really a stellar guitar for my style of music and looks so very, very cool.

I'm thinking of changing the bridge to a top loader (and posted a question in "mods and projects," so if you have any thoughts or experience I'd love to hear it there), but straight from the box this is a great guitar for wrangling both weirdness (the 24" scale and hardtail bridge allow for some crazy bending) and straightforward rock/surf/country-western sounds.

Happy to answer any questions or share the glow!

~del
The Kinks - The Fall – The Bad Seeds - Spacemen 3 - The Gories - Royal Trux
"The idea is to put a pick in one hand and a guitar in the other and with a tiny movement rule the world." - David Fair

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Re: NGD: fender player duo sonic in desert sand

Post by pikmin » Thu Jun 23, 2022 3:18 pm

We need pictures :-)

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Re: NGD: fender player duo sonic in desert sand

Post by del » Thu Jun 23, 2022 6:16 pm

It's this one!
Image
The Kinks - The Fall – The Bad Seeds - Spacemen 3 - The Gories - Royal Trux
"The idea is to put a pick in one hand and a guitar in the other and with a tiny movement rule the world." - David Fair

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Re: NGD: fender player duo sonic in desert sand

Post by bessieboporbach » Thu Jun 23, 2022 6:56 pm

I almost bought one of these last year. I was in the market for my first short scale and these Player Duos are kind of the hidden jewel of the current Fender line. They are gorgeous and have the sounds I like. However, I have a big torso and came to the conclusion that they were just too small for me (even Strats feel dinky on me), so I kept saving up for a Vintera Jag. But the Duo still gives me GAS when I see one. They have a real simplicity and elegance.

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Re: NGD: fender player duo sonic in desert sand

Post by del » Fri Jun 24, 2022 6:00 am

bessieboporbach wrote:
Thu Jun 23, 2022 6:56 pm
... these Player Duos are kind of the hidden jewel of the current Fender line
... came to the conclusion that they were just too small for me (even Strats feel dinky on me), so I kept saving up for a Vintera Jag
... They have a real simplicity and elegance.
I'm still so very happy with the guitar - it definitely is a jewel. And the simplicity you mention is a real hallmark of what's working for me when I pick it up.

Length wise - from heel to the end of the headstock - my duo-sonic is almost exactly the same size as my strat. It's a shorter scale, but the length of the body behind the bridge is much longer on the duo sonic so the whole of the guitars are the same length.
The Kinks - The Fall – The Bad Seeds - Spacemen 3 - The Gories - Royal Trux
"The idea is to put a pick in one hand and a guitar in the other and with a tiny movement rule the world." - David Fair

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Re: NGD: fender player duo sonic in desert sand

Post by bessieboporbach » Fri Jun 24, 2022 7:09 am

del wrote:
Fri Jun 24, 2022 6:00 am
Length wise - from heel to the end of the headstock - my duo-sonic is almost exactly the same size as my strat. It's a shorter scale, but the length of the body behind the bridge is much longer on the duo sonic so the whole of the guitars are the same length.
It's actually not the length of the guitar that is a barrier to it being comfortable to me, it's the width. Duos and Mustangs are very narrow (to be fair, so are Strats) and they look small against my body. I also find I tend to hunch over them when I play sitting down, because of where the strings sit relative to the waist. It's one of the reasons I don't get along with Les Pauls. But honestly, it's also one of the things that make the Duo look so cool.

Jaguars have the same scale length as Mustangs and Duos, but the more radical offset shape throws the fingerboard out to my left and makes the heart of the fretboard (7th-15th fret) more comfortable for me to hang out in. The strings are also lifted a bit out of the player's lap.

I realize this is all very personal. I actually learned on a Strat, but from 2008 to 2018 the only guitar I had was a very large dreadnought. Subsequently I bought a Hofner electric that is roughly similar to an ES-335 or certain Gretsches, but is very wide at the lower bout (18"). So I kind of got used to the cozy "guitar as shield" feeling.

I wish I got a long better with the Player Duo ergonomically because they otherwise are pretty much the exact guitar for me. A real pick-up-and-play experience.

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Re: NGD: fender player duo sonic in desert sand

Post by del » Fri Jun 24, 2022 9:35 am

bessieboporbach wrote:
Fri Jun 24, 2022 7:09 am

It's actually not the length of the guitar that is a barrier to it being comfortable to me, it's the width. Duos and Mustangs are very narrow (to be fair, so are Strats) and they look small against my body. I also find I tend to hunch over them when I play sitting down, because of where the strings sit relative to the waist.
Hear, hear! That feel and look you're describing is so very important to playing guitar. I'm a big believer that confidence and comfort are even more important than the subtle nuances of tone. I'm eager for you to latch on to a Jaguar!

And for me and my style, this Duo Sonic is really making me feel good as I play it. It's going to help me get through the day, no doubt.
The Kinks - The Fall – The Bad Seeds - Spacemen 3 - The Gories - Royal Trux
"The idea is to put a pick in one hand and a guitar in the other and with a tiny movement rule the world." - David Fair

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Re: NGD: fender player duo sonic in desert sand

Post by del » Sat Jul 02, 2022 3:37 pm

Just continuing to glow over this guitar! :w00t:

I've read a couple of reviews that were ho-hum on the pickups, but I think they're just fantastic! They're bold and have some power to them - and they really do have a clearly distinct tonal features that make switching between them a really strategic move in sound. And the switch itself has a metal tip that is a little bit bigger than typical and it makes it very satisfying to flip while playing.

And it just looks fantastic!
The Kinks - The Fall – The Bad Seeds - Spacemen 3 - The Gories - Royal Trux
"The idea is to put a pick in one hand and a guitar in the other and with a tiny movement rule the world." - David Fair

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Re: NGD: fender player duo sonic in desert sand

Post by forestgreen » Sat Jul 02, 2022 4:52 pm

Okay we're gonna need some more pictures please

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Re: NGD: fender player duo sonic in desert sand

Post by ainm » Sat Jul 16, 2022 3:37 am

I just got one of these too - same finish. Open-box b-stock, but I can't find anything wrong with it. Possibly the pickguard is slightly off around the bridge (tight up against one side; gap on the other), but everything else looks sweet. Maybe it was was just a return, but that suits me as I got around 20% off retail!

Not sure where it fits in with the rest of my guitars because I reckon it's like a stripped down version of my Strat, but couldn't resist the desert sand finish and how faithful it looks to the original Duo-Sonics. Surprised me that it sounds like a Strat (to me) - thought that shorscale and those covered pickups would mix up the tone somewhat more.

My Strat, a pretty solid Japanese Hank Marvin reissue, was my first guitar, so I've special feelings about that one. If I was a youngling today, however, and picked up a Duo-Sonic, it would fill that space wonderfully. If I had to mark out the one thing that set it apart from my other guitars, I'm particularly impressed by the sustain, acoustically and from the pickups. And they do have their own tone thing going on when you get to the bottom end of the tone dial and fiddle about with the volume (think they've got vintage wiring?) All in all, a cracking guitar. Anyone considering one can rest assured they're keepers.

One thing: despite having been in Fender's offset range a few years back, not technically offsets 😁

Give us some pics - show me yours and I'll show you mine.

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Re: NGD: fender player duo sonic in desert sand

Post by bessieboporbach » Sat Jul 16, 2022 3:44 am

ainm wrote:
Sat Jul 16, 2022 3:37 am
I just got one of these too - same finish. Open-box b-stock, but I can't find anything wrong with it. Possibly the pickguard is slightly off around the bridge (tight up against one side; gap on the other), but everything else looks sweet. Maybe it was was just a return, but that suits me as I got around 20% off retail!

Not sure where it fits in with the rest of my guitars because I reckon it's like a stripped down version of my Strat, but couldn't resist the desert sand finish and how faithful it looks to the original Duo-Sonics. Surprised me that it sounds like a Strat (to me) - thought that shorscale and those covered pickups would mix up the tone somewhat more.

My Strat, a pretty solid Japanese Hank Marvin reissue, was my first guitar, so I've special feelings about that one. If I was a youngling today, however, and picked up a Duo-Sonic, it would fill that space wonderfully. If I had to mark out the one thing that set it apart from my other guitars, I'm particularly impressed by the sustain, acoustically and from the pickups. And they do have their own tone thing going on when you get to the bottom end of the tone dial and fiddle about with the volume (think they've got vintage wiring?) All in all, a cracking guitar. Anyone considering one can rest assured they're keepers.

One thing: despite having been in Fender's offset range a few years back, not technically offsets 😁

Give us some pics - show me yours and I'll show you mine.
This is one of the great Fender secrets -- a LOT of their pickups are essentially just Strat pickups. So, for example, Jag pickups are just Strat pickups inside a claw, and yes, modern Duo and Mustang pickups are usually just Strat pickups in a different cover. Why fix what ain't broke, I guess.

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Re: NGD: fender player duo sonic in desert sand

Post by CVBassVI » Sat Jul 16, 2022 3:51 am

Those Jag pickups are also inside a different (much wider) plastic housing, and the vintage Mustang pickups (as well as the ones in the new Vinteras) are not as wound as Strat pickups, so although they are the same size, they are not really Strat pickups at all.

I remember MusiciansFriend closing out the Classic Vibe Duosonic in Desert Sand at $99 (the one that looks exactly like the OP's). It had been a poor seller for years and no one wanted them. Now they sell for hundreds more used than they sold for new. Hardly the only "recent" Squier that is true of. Strange world we live in. I was flipping through 2012 MusiciansFriend on the Wayback Machine last night and kept wanting to hit the Add to Cart button. :P
"You WISH your overpriced Fender was actually better than my Squier." --TSElliot

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Re: NGD: fender player duo sonic in desert sand

Post by ainm » Sat Jul 16, 2022 6:57 am

bessieboporbach wrote:
Sat Jul 16, 2022 3:44 am
This is one of the great Fender secrets -- a LOT of their pickups are essentially just Strat pickups. So, for example, Jag pickups are just Strat pickups inside a claw, and yes, modern Duo and Mustang pickups are usually just Strat pickups in a different cover. Why fix what ain't broke, I guess.
Fender do list the pickups with different names on their websites. I was half-expecting to see Mustang pickups listed under the Duo-Sonic specs, reasoning they've got the same covers and what's underneath was probably the same, but they seem to want to make us believe they're different at the least.
CVBassVI wrote:
Sat Jul 16, 2022 3:51 am
Those Jag pickups are also inside a different (much wider) plastic housing, and the vintage Mustang pickups (as well as the ones in the new Vinteras) are not as wound as Strat pickups, so although they are the same size, they are not really Strat pickups at all.

I remember MusiciansFriend closing out the Classic Vibe Duosonic in Desert Sand at $99 (the one that looks exactly like the OP's). It had been a poor seller for years and no one wanted them. Now they sell for hundreds more used than they sold for new. Hardly the only "recent" Squier that is true of. Strange world we live in. I was flipping through 2012 MusiciansFriend on the Wayback Machine last night and kept wanting to hit the Add to Cart button. :P
I'm assuming the Mustang/Duo-Sonic/Musicmaster pickups don't have the staggered poles either. And while I've not played a recent Mustang, but they don't sound exactly the same as the Duo-Sonics in the videos I've watched. Of course, the angled vs perpendicular bridge pickup may have something to do with that as well as the rest of the circuits. Unsure if there are differences in the circuits? Alot of the aftermarket wiring looms lump the Mustangs/Duo-Sonics together, but that doesn't necessarily mean Fenders specs are the same for both.

I almost went for a pre-owned CV, but the price difference to the Fender I got wasn't big enough. If you manage to get one of those $99 ones in your carts, though, grab one for me 😂

Tidy guitars. Surprised the Squiers didn't shift back then - hopefully the Fender ones are turning more onto them.

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Re: NGD: fender player duo sonic in desert sand

Post by vistavision » Sat Jul 16, 2022 10:30 am

I'll be that guy.

A reminder that 1st gen Duo-Sonics aren't offset waist guitars. These need to go on the Non-Offset board.
viewforum.php?f=9
.
.

Image
I'm sure some Fender dealer in '64 looked at the new Duo-Sonic II and thought, "That's not a Duo-Sonic. That's a Mustang".

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Re: NGD: fender player duo sonic in desert sand

Post by ainm » Sat Jul 16, 2022 11:08 am

vistavision wrote:
Sat Jul 16, 2022 10:30 am
I'll be that guy.

A reminder that 1st gen Duo-Sonics aren't offset waist guitars. These need to go on the Non-Offset board.
viewforum.php?f=9
.
.

Image
Oh yeah, we got there already - don't fret 😁

Although that pic does suggest it has the teeniest, weeniest offset to it. Maybe Strats belong in here too 🤔

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