Peter Green’s 1965 Fender Duo-Sonic, used prominently on the solo album In The Skies and beyond, is set to be sold at auction. Its sale is the headline act of Gardiner Houlgate’s latest sale of prestigious pre-loved guitars.
It follows Eric Claption's prototype Martin 000-28EC, Ian Bairnson's expectation-surpassing Wuthering Heights Les Paul Custom, and Johnny Marr's The The-era '62 American Vintage Strat reissue to Gardiner Houlgate's auction block, with the trio of instruments having been sold this year.
The Fleetwood Mac guitarist is most closely associated with his “Greeny” Gibson Les Paul Standard, which he later sold to Gary Moore, and is now in the hands of Kirk Hammet.
But Green’s love affair with the Fender was hardly fleeting. As per the auctioneer, the Duo-Sonic became a key part of the bluesman’s collection in the late ‘70s, playing a key role in 1979’s In The Skies, which featured Pink Floyd and Thin Lizzy guitarist Snowy White.
Notably, it was his first release after eight years of obscurity following his departure from Fleetwood Mac. Its follow-up, Little Dreamer, arrived a year later, and the Duo-Sonic remained by Green’s side.
Green’s beloved Fender has a stunted 22.5” scale length, rosewood fingerboard, and an Olympic White finish. All the wear and tear that can be seen on the guitar – particularly around the bottom of the body – are the result of Green’s playing.
The guitar has a hardtail three-saddle bridge and two slider switches to alter the tone of its two single coil pickups, which are full of chiming and biting tones.
This particular instrument – a Duo-Sonic II – had seen some choice changes made from its first production run, with those sliders, usurping a three-way toggle switch, one such tweak.
An all-plastic pickguard also gave way to a metal control panel, a lá the Fender Mustang.
The Fender Duo-Sonic hasn't quite lived the test of time like the Mustang. Yet while many were quick to dismiss the three-quarter-sized “kid's guitar,” it had and has fans in Jimi Hendrix, Rory Gallagher, Walter Becker, and Dweezil Zappa.
A major figure in the late-1960s British blues boom, Green was considered one of the best electric blues guitarists of the era. For a few years, it seemed he would stand among an elite cast of guitarists to shape the direction of blues rock for years to come, having risen to prominence alongside Eric Clapton, another famous Les Paul user at the time.
However, for a period Green stopped playing Gibsons altogether, and it was at this time that his Duo-Sonic, alongside several Stratocasters and Telecasters, got plenty of mileage.
He once even claimed he'd never play a Les Paul again. Asked by Guitar Player in 2003 why he'd made such a statement, he said: “In some ways, I regret ever buying a Les Paul guitar. I sort of overshadowed Eric [Clapton]'s breakthrough.”
Its auction will take place on September 3, with a humble estimate of $4,000 touted.
Visit Gardiner Houlgate to learn more.
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