Fender Duosonic Reissue

While the classic Duosonic was discontinued in 1969, it did reemerge briefly in the 1990's as a reissue. The Fender Musical Instrument Corporation (FMIC) decided to recreate their student series guitars in their newly constructed Mexican facilities in 1993.

The reissue Fender Duosonic was close to the original late 1950's/early 1960's models. The body, which was either alder or poplar depending on what was available, was available in white, black or sunburst. The fingerboard was maple. The pickups were quite similar to the Tex-Mex pickups used on early Mexican made (MIM) models. They produce a brasher sound than the vintage pickups.

These reissue Duo-sonics weren't quite as good as the original due to the typical cost cutting in today's guitar manufacturing process. Since they were made in the newly opened Mexican factory they often suffered from manufacturing errors just like their full sized cousins. However, this varies from guitar to guitar. The most common problems included bad wiring, improperly cut and/or placed nuts and uneven fret work. A decent guitar technician can easily fix these problems though.

The MIM reissue Duosonic guitar was discontinued in 1997. It was replaced in the Fender line-up by a Chinese made model issued under the Squier name in 1998. This model was almost identical to the Mexican made model although there tended to be more quality problems associated with it. It often sold for about $100 new in stores at the time. This version of the Duosonic was discontinued in late 1999 but stayed in the distribution pipeline for a while afterward.

These reissues are a great way to get your hands on a student, 3/4 scale, style guitar very inexpensively. This is great for someone who doesn't want to lay down 4 figures for a vintage Duosonic. Often you can find a reissue Duosonic for about $100, sometimes even less for the Squier Duosonic model.