Fender Duo-sonic MIM 93-97 Owners. HELP!

[rexter]

Yeah they are definitely made with a conversion neck. The neck pocket goes really deep into the body compared with a standard Mustang etc. Also long intonation screws on the bridge help. To improve the tuning on the original I found all I had to do was change tuners and use at least 10 gauge strings. Wish I still had the original neck!

[HedonismBot]

I picked up a '97 Duo Sonic from a local pawn shop a couple months ago (black, just like in the post above). Having a blast playing it. But... depending on how hard I strum, I get this annoying buzz every now and then. It seems to be coming from the bridge area around G and B strings. I adjusted the truss rod and the saddles and it seems to be better now but it's still there. I'm pretty sure its not the frets (every string sounds nice and clean on every fret when tested individually). At this point, I'm not sure if have much room to raise the saddles any higher and I'm happy with the action as it is right now. Not sure if I want to replace the bridge either. Is there anything I can do to make the buzz go away or should I just leave it alone (it's nothing extreme, really, I think I can live with it)?

[MKR]

I picked up a '97 Duo Sonic from a local pawn shop a couple months ago (black, just like in the post above). Having a blast playing it. But... depending on how hard I strum, I get this annoying buzz every now and then. It seems to be coming from the bridge area around G and B strings. I adjusted the truss rod and the saddles and it seems to be better now but it's still there. I'm pretty sure its not the frets (every string sounds nice and clean on every fret when tested individually). At this point, I'm not sure if have much room to raise the saddles any higher and I'm happy with the action as it is right now. Not sure if I want to replace the bridge either. Is there anything I can do to make the buzz go away or should I just leave it alone (it's nothing extreme, really, I think I can live with it)?

does it only happen when you play either the g or b strings?

to start i would give all the screws a check to make sure nothing is loose. Also if you suspect the saddle on the bridge dry to touch the saddle screws with your fingers when you play those strings open... see if that makes the buzz go away.

[BillClay]

Apologies for hijacking but while people are talking about the 90s duosonics again I wanted to know if anyone has pictures or even just a description of what the pickups in these guitars look like? I've got a 90s duosonic with mismatched pickups and I'm not sure which(if either) is original to the guitar. They're both strat style pickups but one has a single magnet that completely covers the bottom of the pickup and the other has two bar magnets that and the pole pieces can be seen between them. Does anybody's guitar have a pair of pickups matching either description?

[HedonismBot]

does it only happen when you play either the g or b strings?

to start i would give all the screws a check to make sure nothing is loose. Also if you suspect the saddle on the bridge dry to touch the saddle screws with your fingers when you play those strings open... see if that makes the buzz go away.

Yes, mostly G. The saddle screws seem to be stable. It just occurred to me that the problem may be caused by the middle saddle being slanted diagonally more than the other two (for intonation reasons). Maybe I can sacrifice the intonation to some extent and decrease the angle a little bit. I have a feeling that the string may be hitting the side of the slot in the saddle.

[HedonismBot]

Apologies for hijacking but while people are talking about the 90s duosonics again I wanted to know if anyone has pictures or even just a description of what the pickups in these guitars look like? I've got a 90s duosonic with mismatched pickups and I'm not sure which(if either) is original to the guitar. They're both strat style pickups but one has a single magnet that completely covers the bottom of the pickup and the other has two bar magnets that and the pole pieces can be seen between them. Does anybody's guitar have a pair of pickups matching either description?

You might want to check this thread out: viewtopic.php?t=93111

[MKR]

does it only happen when you play either the g or b strings?

to start i would give all the screws a check to make sure nothing is loose. Also if you suspect the saddle on the bridge dry to touch the saddle screws with your fingers when you play those strings open... see if that makes the buzz go away.

Yes, mostly G. The saddle screws seem to be stable. It just occurred to me that the problem may be caused by the middle saddle being slanted diagonally more than the other two (for intonation reasons). Maybe I can sacrifice the intonation to some extent and decrease the angle a little bit. I have a feeling that the string may be hitting the side of the slot in the saddle.

an easy and cheap attempt at getting rid of the problem would just be to buy some inexpensive tele type saddles on ebay or something and swap them in. pretty much any three saddle types will do. I have used brass ones intended for a tele in the past. they should all fit.

[BillClay]

Apologies for hijacking but while people are talking about the 90s duosonics again I wanted to know if anyone has pictures or even just a description of what the pickups in these guitars look like? I've got a 90s duosonic with mismatched pickups and I'm not sure which(if either) is original to the guitar. They're both strat style pickups but one has a single magnet that completely covers the bottom of the pickup and the other has two bar magnets that and the pole pieces can be seen between them. Does anybody's guitar have a pair of pickups matching either description?

You might want to check this thread out: viewtopic.php?t=93111

Thanks! In that thread, they say they think they're pretty much Texas specials but the price point of Texas specials and looking at pictures of the construction compared to what is in my guitar doesn't seem to jive. TEX-MEX Fender pickups on the other hand, do make sense and have the same double bar magnet as what I have in my duo's neck so I'm going to assume that's what they meant.
Thanks again, if anybody does open up their duo and grabs a pic or a description then we'll probably know for sure.

[BillClay]

Oof my bad, upon closer examination it looks like the Tex mex doesn't match the construction of either of my duo's pickups after all. Neither does the Texas special. I guess it's possible that both pickups in mine were replaced but I'd still be interested in any firsthand accounts from anyone who has or will be getting a look under the hood of their duosonic

[HedonismBot]

an easy and cheap attempt at getting rid of the problem would just be to buy some inexpensive tele type saddles on ebay or something and swap them in. pretty much any three saddle types will do. I have used brass ones intended for a tele in the past. they should all fit.

This may be worth a shot. Thank you for your advice!