![]() ![]() The Mustang Bass PJ’s Jazz Bass-style 38mm nut width combined with a very similar neck depth to the guitars make it feel very much like a member of the same family, while the 30-inch scale makes getting around the 19 medium-jumbo frets a breeze, even for guitarists.ĭescended from student models they may be, but all three of these instruments are compact, robust and optimised for high-energy stage performances. The six-string electrics share Strat-style hardtail bridges with bent steel saddles and similar C-shaped, satin polyurethane-finished necks with 22 medium-jumbo frets and 9.5-inch fingerboard radii. Although all pre-64 Duo-Sonics had a 22.5-inch scale length and it remained an option right up until the model was discontinued in 1969, the full 24 inches is mandatory today.įor the purposes of this review, we selected the Mustang 90 and Duo-Sonic HS, along with the Mustang Bass PJ. The Duo-Sonic also got a larger, Mustang-style headstock as part of the makeover, but Fender has opted to use each model’s original headstock shape for 2016. ![]() Just to confuse matters further, Fender redesigned the Duo-Sonic in 1964, renamed it the Duo-Sonic II and switched to the same body shape as the Mustang, itself newly launched that year. We confirmed this fact by drawing around the bodies of our review guitars on a roll of wallpaper with a Sharpie and then comparing the outlines. Although visually similar to a Mustang, Fender’s 2016 Duo-Sonics echo the model’s original 1956 body shape with a waist that’s higher on the bass side and much closer to symmetrical than the Mustang’s, which is a true offset. That is all fine and dandy except for the fact that the Duo-Sonic isn’t actually an offset-waist design. The Offset range comprises a pair of Mustang electrics – one with a maple ’board and the traditional pair of single coils, the other a ‘Mustang 90’ featuring a rosewood ’board and a pair of P-90-style pickups – a Mustang Bass PJ with Precision and Jazz Bass pickups and two Duo-Sonics, one with two single coils and the HS model with, you guessed it, a bridge humbucker and necksingle coil. On their launch at Summer NAMM in Nashville in June, like many other of the show’s attendees, we – complete with jetlag, artisanal hangovers and the sound of loud country music still ringing in our ears – saw the new-for-2016 Offset series in its attractive rainbow of colours hanging from the wall of the Fender booth and thought that it was good. In this instance, market forces have helped to create products with plenty of personality. ![]() ![]() The humbucking bridge pickup has the output and punch to hit the rock range, while the single coil neck pickup (and coil split bridge) offer a lighter, brighter sound.Fender’s response to competition and demand? Launch a slew of cool new models at a made-in-Mexico price point that’s hard for the guitar-buying public to resist and impossible for smaller builders to compete with. The smaller scale, neck profile, and satin finish on the neck make playing this guitar a smooth experience. This updated version is reminiscent of its original ancestor, offset but still more symmetrical than a Mustang. Courtesy of grunge and heavy rock bands, these instruments found their way to the limelight and certainly helped their construction. Mustangs, Duo Sonics, and the like were originally conceptualized as a student level guitar. The Duo Sonic HS by Fender is part of a popularity resurgence of guitars that were previously considered a lower level instrument upon their inception. It is otherwise functional and plays well. It has a small blemish (ding) above the pickguard (shown in last picture). ![]()
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