The 1950s Fender Musicmaster was described as three quarter size, but the difference in size was not so great: Fender also suggested these models for more established players with smaller hands. Although these 'student' guitars were shorter scale than the Fender standard (22 1/2" vs 25"), they were not 'student' in terms of build quality - in fact very much in line with the Fender professional models such as the Telecaster and Stratocaster. It was joined shortly afterwards by a dual pickup companion model, the Duo-Sonic. Fender Musicmaster.The three-quarter size Fender Musicmaster debuted in 1956, as a new student model in the Fender solid body range. Musicmaster and Duo-Sonic: How Fender’s original short-scale models went from students to legends. Dean Ween plays Superstar on 1959 Musicmaster. Patti Smith playing her Duo-Sonic (Eno, 2018) Demonstration of a Musicmasterĭemonstration of a 1962 Musicmaster by John Willis Guitars (2016).Īmericanshaft. Rory Gallagher (BlogSpot) Patti SmithĪmerican singer-songwriter, poet, and visual artist who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses (Wikipedia). Irish blues and rock multi-instrumentalist Rory Gallagher played many Fender guitars including a Musicmaster. It is used mostly in alternative pop and rock music genres today. Genresįrom the mid-1950s, the Musicmaster and Duo-Sonic appeared in rock ‘n’ roll music through to the blues. The Musicmaster was produced until 1982 when it was dropped in favour of the newer Fender Lead series (Wikipedia). The redesigned Musicmaster was named the Musicmaster II and its stablemate the Duo-Sonic II, both using the Fender Bronco body and pickguard shapes (Wikipedia, 2018). The 24 inch scale proved to be the most popular of these options. In 1964, the Musicman and Duo-Sonic were produced with the option of a 24-inch scale and 22-fret neck or a 22.5-inch scale and 21-fret neck both models were also offered with the choice of round-lam (slab neck), or veneered, rosewood or maple fingerboard (Wikipedia, 2018). Musicmasters that were produced between 19 featured a slab 21 fret fingerboard made of Indian rosewood (Wiki collecting, 2015). In June 1956, the second production run of Musicmasters and the first Duo-Sonic models, were distinguished by an additional single-coil pickup at the bridge position (Owen & Duffy, 2018).Įarlier models produced between 19, featured a truss rod skunk stripe of walnut along the back of the guitar neck. The Musicmaster body was made of ash with black paint on its aluminium pickguards. Both guitars had slightly smaller bodies and Strat-like headstocks and single-coil pickups (WikiCollecting, 2015). ![]() They were the first 3/4 scale – 22.5” student-model guitar Fender produced. ![]() Early advertisement for the Fender Musicmaster (Gear Review) Featuresīoth the Musicmaster and Duo-Sonic are a solid body electric guitars. And of course, there was Jimi Hendrix with his Duo-Sonic before he discovered the Stratocaster (Owen & Duffy, 2018). Perhaps that’s a big reason why they were favoured by so many indie artists who played them throughout later years. ![]() They were well-designed, solidly built and highly affordable guitars. ![]() It’s worth noting that while the Musicmaster and Duo-Sonic were smaller student models aimed at beginners, in no way were they lacking in the quality present in Fender’s pro-level instruments such as the Telecaster and Stratocaster. They played an important role in Fender’s history: they were one of the first student models Fender ever produced and were incredibly popular among novice guitar players due to their simplicity (Reverb, 2018). The Fender Musicmaster and Duo-Sonic electric guitars were produced by Fender from 1955 – 1982. Artists like Bill Halley and His Comets spent the summer of 1955 at the top of the charts with ‘Rock around the clock’, with that in mind, Fender Sales Chief Don Randall urged Leo Fender to develop a student model (Owens & Duffy, 2018). Rock ‘n’ roll was taking hold in popular culture in the 1950s.
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