1992 MIM Fender Duo-Sonic

Small_Parts · Post by **Small_Parts** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 7:51 pm

Hello!

I'm new to the boards. I recently bought a 1992 MIM Fender Duo-Sonic, which I LOVE. First question, the previous owner put a Seymour Duncan JB jr in the bridge, which I'm not a fan of. I'm wondering, what pickups do people prefer for these? I was thinking of the strat pickups they used to come with, but I'm wondering if a hotter mustang pickup would be good.

Second, does anyone know if a Bigsby B5 could be installed?

Thanks!
-evan

endsjustifymeans · Post by **endsjustifymeans** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 7:57 pm

Using the B5 Telecaster bridge it should work just fine. The big question is why bother, that's a heft expense for such a cheapo guitar.

As far as pups, I had an sjag3 in mine and loved it but I use alot of dirt which is what they excel at.

The main upgrade that I did to mine that I think really improved it was installing a toronado string through 6 saddle bridge. Aside from the simple bennefit of six independent saddles the string through aspect really helped with string tension which it was always lacking with that short ass neck.

Small_Parts · Post by **Small_Parts** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 8:19 pm

With the Toronado bridge, did you route holes through the body?

For such cheap guitar, I'm really happy with it overall.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 8:28 pm

Small_Parts wrote:With the Toronado bridge, did you route holes through the body?

endsjustifymeans wrote:The main upgrade that I did to mine that I think really improved it was installing a toronado string through 6 saddle bridge. Aside from the simple bennefit of six independent saddles the string through aspect really helped with string tension which it was always lacking with that short ass neck.

as for the pickups, mustang pickups are basically strat pickups, so i don't think mustang pickups would be technically 'hotter' than any strat pickups. the best thing to do would be find some replacement strat pickups that are a little ballsier. like GFS hot single coils, or hot rails.

hot jag pups are cool like ends suggested, but i don't think those are bolt-on, as jag pickups mount to the body instead of to the pickguard (like stangs and strats).

endsjustifymeans · Post by **endsjustifymeans** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 8:30 pm

hotrodperlmutter wrote:
Small_Parts wrote:With the Toronado bridge, did you route holes through the body?

endsjustifymeans wrote:The main upgrade that I did to mine that I think really improved it was installing a toronado string through 6 saddle bridge. Aside from the simple bennefit of six independent saddles the string through aspect really helped with string tension which it was always lacking with that short ass neck.
as for the pickups, mustang pickups are basically strat pickups, so i don't think mustang pickups would be technically 'hotter' than any strat pickups. the best thing to do would be find some replacement strat pickups that are a little ballsier. like GFS hot single coils, or hot rails.

hot jag pups are cool like ends suggested, but i don't think those are bolt-on, as jag pickups mount to the body instead of to the pickguard (like stangs and strats).

They bolt right onto the pickguard, you can even put robroes on them.

And yeah, I had to drill though. It was surprisingly easy though now that I know better, I would have used a smaller bit and sanded to the necesary wideness. The fat bit I used chewed teh paint a bit.

Leisureclub · Post by **Leisureclub** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 8:44 pm

I've got a 96(i think) MIM duo and a really old one that I put together from random parts. The old parts guitar has a tornado bridge. On the MIM guitar, I just changed the saddles(compensated brass tele saddles).

I prefer the 3 brass saddles on the stock bridge. You can't get quite as close on intonation, but both guitars are within 5 cents. I don't know for sure but I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that +/- 5 cents is as accurate as the human ear can distinguish. I know that I can't hear a difference. My ears aren't the best though. Sustain is my main reason for preferring the 3 saddle bridge. Just between my specific guitars the difference is night and day. There are other factors at play too though, I'm sure.

Both guitars have lollar strat pickups. "Tweed's" on the old one and "blackface's" on the MIM. I went with those because a friend is a dealer and I can order them through him for a discounted price. They're great, I love both models. There are demo's on the lollar webpage and they're pretty acurate.

I'd make sure to get a set that's matched though, because having one of them RWRP makes the guitar a bit more versatile, IMHO. I most play in the middle position with both.

edit: if you decide to go with aftermarket tele saddles, be sure that you use the correct string spacing. IIRC, there are two common tele spacings and one of them is compatible with the MIM duo, I think it's 2 1/8" but don't quote me on it. It's been a while since I did that research.

robroe · Post by **robroe** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 8:45 pm

i suggest this for it.

SJAG-1 vintage sound jaguar replacement pickup

http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/e ... vintage_f/

OR if you don't want to spend a crap load of money. get these. classic strat sound for 5 bucks a pickup

http://store.guitarfetish.com/vistseblwobl.html

endsjustifymeans · Post by **endsjustifymeans** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 8:50 pm

Leisureclub wrote:I've got a 96(i think) MIM duo and a really old one that I put together from random parts. The old parts guitar has a tornado bridge. On the MIM guitar, I just changed the saddles(compensated brass tele saddles).

I prefer the 3 brass saddles on the stock bridge. You can't get quite as close on intonation, but both guitars are within 5 cents. I don't know for sure but I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that +/- 5 cents is as accurate as the human ear can distinguish. I know that I can't hear a difference. My ears aren't the best though. Sustain is my main reason for preferring the 3 saddle bridge. Just between my specific guitars the difference is night and day. There are other factors at play too though, I'm sure.

Both guitars have lollar strat pickups. "Tweed's" on the old one and "blackface's" on the MIM. I went with those because a friend is a dealer and I can order them through him for a discounted price. They're great, I love both models. There are demo's on the lollar webpage and they're pretty acurate.

I'd make sure to get a set that's matched though, because having one of them RWRP makes the guitar a bit more versatile, IMHO. I most play in the middle position with both.

You got better sustain with the compensated brass? I had those, and when I upgarded to the string through toronado bridge my sustain improved ten fold. I had shit for sustain with the brass saddles. There was just zippy for string tension.

Small_Parts · Post by **Small_Parts** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 8:58 pm

hotrodperlmutter wrote:
Small_Parts wrote:With the Toronado bridge, did you route holes through the body?

endsjustifymeans wrote:The main upgrade that I did to mine that I think really improved it was installing a toronado string through 6 saddle bridge. Aside from the simple bennefit of six independent saddles the string through aspect really helped with string tension which it was always lacking with that short ass neck.
as for the pickups, mustang pickups are basically strat pickups, so i don't think mustang pickups would be technically 'hotter' than any strat pickups. the best thing to do would be find some replacement strat pickups that are a little ballsier. like GFS hot single coils, or hot rails.

hot jag pups are cool like ends suggested, but i don't think those are bolt-on, as jag pickups mount to the body instead of to the pickguard (like stangs and strats).

I meant a hotter mustang pickup - Curtis Novak does a mustang replacement that I hear good things about.

This is all good info!

Leisureclub · Post by **Leisureclub** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:01 pm

endsjustifymeans wrote: You got better sustain with the compensated brass? I had those, and when I upgarded to the string through toronado bridge my sustain improved ten fold. I had shit for sustain with the brass saddles. There was just zippy for string tension.

Yeah, the difference isn't ten fold, but a chord will ring almost twice as long on my 3 saddle bridged duo. I'm sure that the bridge isn't the whole story though. It's also got pickup's which are slightly hotter, a maple fretboard and the stock finish. My parts-o-sonic has a rosewood fretboard and is finished with acrylic enamel, but it's so thin that you can see grain popping through a little bit.

The neck fits in the pocket pretty snug on both guitars, so I don't think that's where the difference lies. I guess it's just a mystery. The difference in sustain is pretty apparent un-amplified too, so that's a strike against the pickup difference.

glitchathon · Post by **glitchathon** » Thu Feb 25, 2010 4:51 pm

i have never tried a MIM Duo Sonic and was curious if the shorter 22.7" scale is hard to get used to? I have thought about picking one up on ebay but was always worried i couldn't get used to it.

Small_Parts · Post by **Small_Parts** » Thu Feb 25, 2010 5:06 pm

It's definitely different. I probably won't make it my primary guitar, but it's not at all unpleasant to play. They're relatively cheap (when you can find them), I'd say it's totally worth a couple hundred bucks.

-evan

glitchathon · Post by **glitchathon** » Thu Feb 25, 2010 5:31 pm

Small_Parts wrote:It's definitely different. I probably won't make it my primary guitar, but it's not at all unpleasant to play. They're relatively cheap (when you can find them), I'd say it's totally worth a couple hundred bucks.

-evan

thanks, if i see a good deal, i might spring for one.