The Fender Duo-Sonic that helped launch Peter Green’s late-’70s comeback is going up for auction
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Guitar Auctions at Gardiner Houlgate has announced its latest raft of high-profile electric guitar and acoustic guitar auctions, which will be headlined by a 1965 Fender Duo-Sonic that once belonged to Peter Green.
Though the late Fleetwood Mac guitar star is most often associated with iconic Greeny Les Paul – as well as a handful of Stratocasters and Telecasters – it turns out the Duo-Sonic was yet another Fender model that Green was partial to.
In fact, according to the auctioneer, Green began playing this particular ’65 in the late 1970s, and used it to compile his 1979 solo album, In The Skies – a record that marked Green’s long-awaited return to music.
The Duo-Sonic then apparently saw action for the follow-up, Little Dreamer, which featured Green on lead and Ronnie Johnson on rhythm. Green’s late ’70s comeback followed nearly 10 years out of the limelight, during which time the guitar great dealt with mental health issues and drug abuse.
Now, although the Duo-Sonic shares some strong similarities with the Mustang, this particular offset is its own thing. In the case of Green’s model – a Duo-Sonic II – a hardtail three-saddle bridge can be found, as well as two slider switches that control the pickup tones.
Notably, those sliders replaced the original Duo-Sonic’s three-way toggle switch, with the flagship mode’s all-plastic pickguard giving way to a far more Mustang-esque metal control panel.
Other specs include a humble 22.5” scale length, a rosewood fingerboard, an Olympic White finish, and all the wear and tear that came from Green’s playing. Of course, you get plenty of chime-y bite and rumbly crunch that comes from the two single coils – an assortment of tones that can be heard in Gardiner Houlgate’s demo video above.
The Duo-Sonic is one of Fender’s most under-appreciated offsets, often overshadowed by the likes of the Mustang, Jazzmaster and Jaguar.
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However, the plucky model originally designed for students found favor with an array of A-list guitar stars, and was championed by the likes of Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon.
Green’s Duo-Sonic will go under the hammer on September 3, with a rather modest upper estimate of $4,000. It’s easy to see this going for slightly more, even if it isn’t one of Green’s most famous instruments.
Visit Guitar Auctions at Gardiner Houlgate for more info in the meantime.
This is the latest guitar from the blues legend to hit the auction blocks, following the sale of over 150 of his guitars in June 2023.
