Tonight, after work, I went to a guy's house to check out a mid '90s MIM Duo-Sonic. Oddly, I've wanted one of these since they were available in the '90s, didn't have the spare money available at the time and, now that I do, I wasn't willing to spend more for one than I spent for my 1966 Fender Mustang in the mid '80s (I paid $175 for it).
Other than a messed up nut and a few small nicks, the guitar is in great shape and cost less than the '66 Mustang did. I have a couple of nut blanks and will cut a new one.
He said that he bought the amp for his nephew about 15 years ago (the kid is 24 now) but he only played for a few months and then moved on. The guitar's condition confirms this story. It has a '94 serial number but the control cavity was dated by "Laura" in 1996.
The thing that surprised me is what a great slide guitar the Duo-Sonic is. It could use better tuners (Kluson style with white buttons) and a pair of alnico pickups, but it's a rockin' little axe!
For $100 more, the guy sold me a MIK Squier Thinline Telecaster. This guitar is black and the Squier log has silver filled letters. It appears to have been made in '91. It's in great shape and isn't a bad guitar at all. The pickups are the Duncan Designed single coils that it came with and it has a set of die-cast Gotoh locking tuners on it. The neck is a bit skinny and the frets are small, but I figured it's a hell of a deal and I'll give it a chance.
He said that this guitar belonged to a country guitarist friend who had leukemia and died.
Oh, and he threw in a little Crate amp. It's not great sounding but would be ideal for a niece or nephew if they decide to play.
Best of all, the guy is a steel guitarist and played for me! I got chills! He had a hell of a lot of cool gear!
More often than not, when I buy or sell something, the best part is meeting someone who I like and find interesting!