January Birthdays 
I always planned to someday own a true, Fender logoed guitar, and yesterday became that day. I have several Squiers, and I love them dearly. They are excellent guitars and quite sensible for my budget and strictly "bed-room" player status, but the romance of owning a real Fender has always lurked in the corners of my mind.
I always figured my first Fender would be a Stratocaster, Jazzmaster, or Jaguar, but last week I happened to stop by a Music & Arts store and, as I walked in, I noticed on the far wall a beautiful daphne blue guitar with a mint green pick guard, and sporting a large cardboard price tag that read: $299 USD. At that price, I was assuming it was a VM Squier, but as I got closer I saw the Fender logo, and that it was a Duo-Sonic. The Duo-Sonic was a model that I was only vaguely familiar with. I knew it was an offset guitar and was kin to the Mustang, often considered a "student" guitar, and had a 24-inch scale, like a Jaguar. I asked the clerk if it was used or on consignment, but he said, no it was brand new and they had only had it for a couple of weeks.
A new Fender at a Squier price? I was intrigued. How would it serve as a surf guitar? On the negative side it lacked a tremolo, it was a hardtail, but it was string-through-body which I liked. I could see it replacing my Squier Affinity Telecaster that I used as an "out-and-about", grab and go guitar. Another negative, for surf, was the bridge humbucker. Not good for surf, but it would give it some versatility over the Tele's 2 single coils. But, what if it had a coil-split like the Jaguar Player? A tug on the tone control was rewarded with a satisfying click as the knob popped up. Yesss! It had a bridge single-coil, too.
The neck felt great. The Pau Ferro fretboard did not concern me. It may not be as traditional as rosewood, but I thought it looked very nice with the daphne blue. And my first electric guitar, a MIJ Squier, had a 24-inch scale that I had loved very much and had missed ever since giving it to my son when he started guitar lessons. It would be great to have a 24-incher again, and a chance to make sure that a Jaguar would be a good fit for me if I decided to go that route in the future.
I was very interested in that Duo-Sonic, but I somehow managed to leave the store without buying it. I felt like I needed to do some research on the Duo-Sonic and sleep on it. One of the first Youtube videos I found on the Duo Sonic was by our SG101 friend Ryan at 60 Cycle Hum. By the time I finished watching that video and several others, I had a strong feeling that I had to give that daphne blue guitar a home. Work kept me busy for several days, but on Saturday I called the shop to see if they still had it. They did. I returned to the store and spent three hours playing it through several of the amps they had, and I kept coming to same conclusion, this probably wouldn't be the last Fender I'd be buying, but it would certainly be the first.
With the single coil engaged:
-Tim
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