Danelectro Guitars

  • Thread starter Thread starter Zaphod B
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Zaphod B

Zaphod B

Raccoons-Be-Gone, Inc.
The new ones have bodies made of plywood and Masonite. (I can't help but chuckle - plywood and Masonite??!! :eek: :eek: :D )

In an odd, shameful way, I want one. :o

Do ya think that Masonite needs to be kept dry? :D
 
Zaphod B said:
The new ones have bodies made of plywood and Masonite. (I can't help but chuckle - plywood and Masonite??!! :eek: :eek: :D )

In an odd, shameful way, I want one. :o

Do ya think that Masonite needs to be kept dry? :D
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Just like the originals! Didnt know they were doing em again. If theyre cheap(as they should be!) I highly recommend getting one.
 
Flamin Lip said:
Just like the originals! Didnt know they were doing em again. If theyre cheap(as they should be!) I highly recommend getting one.
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They have a street price of $250. Think they're worth that much?
 
Its a little high.... I think the last reissue MAPed at $149-$189?

Theyre a blast because those lipstick PuPs dont really sound like anything else out there, they are also great to jam on unplugged as they are loud enough to enjoy without bothering the wifes Lifetime TV watching. :)
 
They've always been made with masonite I believe. Masonite was one of the "new, futuristic materials" available to them during the 50's. :D

Personally, I think it adds to their charm. Nothing sounds like a Dano except a Dano. I've got a purple DC12 myself!
 

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I read an interview about 25 years ago with the founder of the company--and the reason for using Masonite was primarily economic: something cheap and stable so the neck would not require a truss rod to prevent warping. It was only after the fact, when session aces like Vinnie Bell, Tommy Tedesco, Ry Cooder, David Lindley, and Lindsey Buckingham started using them in recording sessions, that they became highly sought after as "vintage" instruments--that was in the mid- to late 1970s--after the original Danelectro company had gone bankrupt.
 
The new models have bridges that are adjustable for intonatation, and aluminum nuts. I'll bet they sing very nicely.
 
Zaphod B said:
The new models have bridges that are adjustable for intonatation, and aluminum nuts. I'll bet they sing very nicely.
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I played one at a gig several years back when the other guitar player brought a Danelectro as his backup guitar. It was set up nicely and sounded pretty good through my amp-I was only going to try it on one song but ended up playing it for the whole set. It was really a light weight guitar compared to my Strat and Les Paul that I had brought-I think I'd go for the 59' myself...;)
 
The only Dano I've ever tried was a used baritone that I'd seen seen at the Guitar Center in Indy, but my experience wasn't very good...not because of the guitar, but because I was SO giddy about having found an actual baritone guitar to try, I momentarily forgot how to play. :p Had I had my senses still about me, I could've always asked the guy next to me, trying out a Strat, if he could play an open B, so I could double check the baritone tuning, and go from there. If I could ever find a 6-string Danelectro bass that's tuned like my Fender Bass VI, and if I actually have the bucks available to spend, I'll snag it.

Soon as I get around to it, I'll get 3 Lipstick pickups for my Stratocaster. Should give it a Dano-style chimey tone, while retaining the typical Strat "quack." Have GFS Pro Tubes Lipsticks, for my Squier Fat Telecaster, that I need to get around to swapping into that, along with a 4-way switch, so I can do parallel and series switching. I'm also thinking about adding a switch to my Stratocaster, a la Danelectro style, that'll bypass the 5-way switch and activate all 3 Lipsticks. I may seek out a Dano that's already got the "Blow Switch" before I do, however, just to find out if it's worth adding it to my Strat.

Matt
 
Unsprung said:
The only Dano I've ever tried was a used baritone that I'd seen seen at the Guitar Center in Indy, but my experience wasn't very good...not because of the guitar, but because I was SO giddy about having found an actual baritone guitar to try, I momentarily forgot how to play. :p Had I had my senses still about me, I could've always asked the guy next to me, trying out a Strat, if he could play an open B, so I could double check the baritone tuning, and go from there. If I could ever find a 6-string Danelectro bass that's tuned like my Fender Bass VI, and if I actually have the bucks available to spend, I'll snag it.

Soon as I get around to it, I'll get 3 Lipstick pickups for my Stratocaster. Should give it a Dano-style chimey tone, while retaining the typical Strat "quack." Have GFS Pro Tubes Lipsticks, for my Squier Fat Telecaster, that I need to get around to swapping into that, along with a 4-way switch, so I can do parallel and series switching. I'm also thinking about adding a switch to my Stratocaster, a la Danelectro style, that'll bypass the 5-way switch and activate all 3 Lipsticks. I may seek out a Dano that's already got the "Blow Switch" before I do, however, just to find out if it's worth adding it to my Strat.

Matt
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Matt-here is a cool variation on wiring up a Tele with a 4 way switch. It will give the series and parallel positions-without hum-on the 2 inside positions and the 2 outer positions are the neck and bridge pickups by themselves. I have several Teles wired this way and its a lot easier to find the sound I want quickly. Just remember to cut the ground to the chrome cover on the neck pickup and ground it to the volume pot!

RobDiStefanosTele4-wayswitchhookupN.jpg
 
When I was a kid one of my friends dad worked at the factory in Neptune N.J.
He was a bass player and we always had lots of "Dannys" to play around with.
They were good guitars for the money then, I don't know about now?
 
Zaphod B said:
The new models have bridges that are adjustable for intonatation, and aluminum nuts. I'll bet they sing very nicely.
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They do. I have a 12 too.
 

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I think there are a couple of youtube clips showing Jimmy Page playing a 59 in concert....
 
MK-Ultra said:
How well does it stay in tune?
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Mine's rock solid, tuning-wise. I used it on a couple of tunes at an outdoor gig last month. The 12 string tunes were near the end of our 1-1/2 hour set, and it stayed in tune all the way through the gig, including the songs I used it on. I really love the neck too.
 
Anfontan said:
Matt-here is a cool variation on wiring up a Tele with a 4 way switch. It will give the series and parallel positions-without hum-on the 2 inside positions and the 2 outer positions are the neck and bridge pickups by themselves. I have several Teles wired this way and its a lot easier to find the sound I want quickly. Just remember to cut the ground to the chrome cover on the neck pickup and ground it to the volume pot!
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Thanks for a great tip! I'll likely take both Teles (Squier Fat Tele & MIM Fender Tele) to a tech for the pickup swaps, and other mods. It's bad enough that I never seem to be able to find the time to do it myself, but I also never seem to have the time to get any of my "to mod" guitars to a tech. When I do get the Teles to a tech, I'll be sure to take that picture with me..."please do the wiring like this."

Matt
 
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