Jimi Hendrix’s 1960s Fender Duo-Sonic

Before his nine-month gig with The Isley Brothers in 1964, Jimi, then known as Jimmy James, acquired his first Fender guitar. According to Jimi Hendrix Gear (p. 48), this guitar was a gift from O’Kelly Isley, likely given to Jimi shortly after his audition for the band in February 1964.

Unfortunately, Jimi’s time with this Fender Duo-Sonic was short-lived. It is said that the guitar was stolen just a couple of months after he received it.

Specs

Jimi’s Duo-Sonic was likely an early to mid-’60s model, as significant design changes were introduced to the Duo-Sonic line in late 1964. The guitar featured a 22.5-inch short-scale rosewood neck, two single-coil pickups, a fixed bridge, and a white pickguard.

The exact finish on Jimi’s guitar is unclear. It appears to be lighter than the standard finishes commonly found on these models.

The Color Confusion

Jimi’s Duo-Sonic appears to be white. However, the white finish was only introduced on the Duo-Sonic II model in mid-to-late 1964, which featured significant design updates, including a metal plate beneath the volume and tone controls, new body and headstock shapes, and a different control layout. Jimi’s guitar lacks these features, indicating it was the earlier model.

One possibility is that Jimi’s guitar was a rare custom-color Duo-Sonic, as Fender occasionally produced models with finishes other than light brown as early as 1962.

Another theory suggests the guitar may have been light brown, but it appeared white in photographs due to the way early black-and-white cameras captured light-colored objects. This is similar to Gibson’s “TV Yellow” finish, designed to appear white on early television broadcasts.

If you have ever seen early black and white television footage from the 1940s and ’50s, you have probably noticed that white objects often appear unnaturally bright, “blown out”, haloed, or blurry.  To mitigate this problem, legendary inventor, guitarist, and TV star Les Paul (for whom the Gibson Les Paul® line of guitars is named) suggested a wheat-colored guitar finish. The color would appear white in live television broadcasts, but because it wasn’t actually white it wouldn’t overwhelm the cameras under bright lights.

TV Yellow – The Faded Origin of a Classic Guitar Color by Aaron Cheney, Warmoth.com

Tremolo Added

At some point, Jimi installed what appears to be a VMA-1 tremolo on the Duo-Sonic. Interestingly, this tremolo was commonly found on 1960s Epiphone models, suggesting Jimi may have taken it from his old Epiphone Wilshire.

2010 Duo-Sonic Auction

In 2010, a Fender Duo-Sonic was auctioned with the claim that it had once belonged to Jimi Hendrix. However, the guitar did not resemble the one he was known to play with The Isley Brothers. Most notably, it lacked the screw holes for the tremolo bridge and showed no evidence of being refinished to cover them up.

One possibility is that the auctioned Duo-Sonic was simply another guitar Jimi owned. However, given the history of fraud associated with the auction house [Cameo Auctioneers Found Guilty of Fraud – BBC.com], it’s also possible that there was something questionable about the sale. Without concrete evidence, it’s difficult to determine the truth.

What is clear is that the absence of screw holes on the auctioned guitar suggests it never had a tremolo bridge, unlike the Duo-Sonic Jimi played with The Isley Brothers. This discrepancy raises further questions about the guitar’s authenticity and history.

It’s important to approach such claims with caution until tangible proof is obtained. While assumptions can be made, they should be taken with a grain of salt. Given the high price of the auctioned guitar, it’s reasonable to assume that some level of research was conducted before the sale.

Jimi had at one stage fitted his Duo-Sonic with an Epiphone (Maestro) Vibrato unit but had later taken it off. The rumor is that this guitar went missing whilst on tour in the USA but contrary to this Jimi just tired of using it and it was put away for a while and resurfaced years later in Chas Chandler’s London studio. Chas Chandler discovered and managed Jim, and later sold the guitar in 1982 for £400 to Rod Weinberg, who in 1983 reunited the Animals for a world tour.

information posted on the original auction page

The listing mentioned the tremolo but failed to explain the absence of screw holes. Adding to the uncertainty, Chas Chandler passed away in 1996, making it impossible to verify the seller’s claims directly. Unless Chandler provided a signed letter of authenticity when he sold the guitar to Weinberg, the chain of ownership becomes difficult to substantiate.