Danelectro Nifty-Fifty

Features are great on this amp in my opinion. I don't ask for much when it comes down to amps, Volume and Tone, Speakers can always be replaced.
It's a very basic amp. I play very basic music so this amp is great for me. I have had it for about 4 years now, with NO Downtime, Except for now, BUT!!! it's my fault, I dropped it and broke 3 Pots I have the new pots, and ready to replace them today.

I rated this at very versatile, because it is, but in this case 1 is the highest.
It's loud, it can be Mic'ed, It's got HP Out, all the settings "I" need for myself and it's very light weight

I have a Bottom Line Jackson with an upgraded Duncan Designed HB-103B Distortion Pickup. The Dirty Sweet is Great with my pickup, Nice Low Tones Great Mids, and Excellent Highs.

I can definitely depend on this amp, I can rely on it at a small gig, but it is always good to have a backup with you, but with this amp, i doubt you would ever need the backup.

My amp is broken down right know due to user error, it was dropped and i broke 3 pots. New parts are in hand and waiting to be installed.

I haven't ever dealt with the company. I work on electronics myself, so i have no reason to pay someone to do it for me, even though they have the parts on hand, i have to go searching for them. i may have to go to one source, or 5, but it's still more economical for me to do it myself.

I have been playing this amp for about 10 years,
If it were stolen i would steal it back, or buy a new one, I didn't buy mine in the first place, i found it next to a dumpster at my friends apartment complex.
I love everything about it.
I had a 15w Peavey Rage, It was alright, but i love this one

Very basic single channel 15 watts amp with a built in fuzztone. Very solid controls and looks great. No modelling or other gimmicks.

I play a Fender Jazzmaster, Epiphone SG with Seymour Duncan pickups, Burns Steer and Danelctro Dano Pro. The clean tone sounds great with all of these very different instruments - its quite clear and at the same time has a certain weight low down that many practice amps lack. A slightly dark, retro-sounding little amp, and that is not a bad thing to my ears.
Has enough volume for practicing, jamming with friends or even small gigs, but is not as loud as my Fender 15 , which is brighter sounding with less bottom. I use it frequently for recording when a warm, jazzy tone is needed. Some have complained about the hiss, I find it tolerable if the Dirty knob is right down to zero. Both my Fender solid state amps are about the same.
The tone controls are very responsive and musical for such a cheap amp - scooping out some mid frequencies and adding a bit of treble really helps to clean out a muddy sounding guitar.
The Dirty Sweet knob adds noise and brings up the high mids, canceling the bottom. Its a fuzztone sound a la Proco Ratt. Can be used occasionally, but most people would want to get a better and more versatile distortion stompbox.

Had it for four years, never an issue. Its solidly built and the finish stays on (sort of).

For what it is, you cant really ask for more. Most little amps are anonymous gray cubes, this one looks fantastic and has a distinctive, personal tone. To get a better sound from this kind of package you'd have to spend a lot more money and start looking at the Fender/ epiphone valve combos.

I am reviewing the amp based on the following criteria:

1. I am using an American Custom Jeff Beck Strat with hot (higher output) 'single coil' (noiseless) pickups
2. I primarily use this amp with a Modeling device (POD, ToneLab, etc)

For the purpose I have of this amp, nothing has done better so far. I have even used an Atomic 112-50 and various other (50 watts or less) amps (tube and solid state).

First. The 3 band EQ on this amp are the best working EQ I have found. The do exactly what they are supposed to: help shape the sound. The harder you push the input into this amp and the louder you play it, the better it sounds.

Plugging direct into it, using it as a CLEAN or slightly overdriven sound it where this 15-watter excels. The "dirty sweet" gives a vary obnoxious rat-fuzz if turned up too far, unless you back the Treble off entirely.

The only other major ding is that you cannot turn off the dirty sweet. It is in the signal path no matter what. It does help to get some extra volume when using a modeler.

The nice thing is, unlike a 74 Fender Champ amp, it will not "black out" at higher volume settings. I spent $80 having my Champ gone over with a microscopic inspection to be told "that's what happen when the input stage is pushed too hard". Not so with this little guy.

On an amp stand it is able to "run with the big dogs", including a 50-watt Atomic and hold its own.

This amp is IDEAL for using to monitor a modeling device. I have owned 2 and am on the hunt for a third (so I have 2 again).

If you take care of it, I will work great for you.
I gave one the best torture test possible.
I sold it to a beginner.
He literally drags it everywhere, and the covering shows it.
And it has held up quite nicely.

Speaking to reliability for me is consistency.
The amp I sold him 3 years ago is identical in every aspect to the one I bought used 2 months ago.

At the age of this amp, and the fact it is discontinued, support is not an issue.

IF you are looking for a great sounding amp to record with or play smaller gigs (I use it in a 5-piece where I stand next to a drum cage and a 600-watt sub) it will do the trick for you. I look forward to running 2 of these in stereo in the very near future.

Bought this little fellow in 1999 on holiday in Byron Bay. I saw it in the local musical instruments shop and was taken by the serious retro look. The salesman came up and said that he'd bet me that if I heard it, I would buy it. OK, plug it in, I said. Five minutes later he was swiping my bank card. It's been very good to me ever since and is probably the most used amp in my collection as it is ideal for jamming with mates and even doing smaller gigs.

Without reverb, the sound is a bit dry, but you will only notice it's solid state tone once you run it up against a Pro Junior or something like that. For a low wattage amp with just some no-name 8 inch speaker, it is pretty impressive. I manage to get very satisfying tones out of Telecasters, Les Paul Specials and particularly anything low-fi like a Danelectro U2 re-issue or an old Hondo copy of a Rickenbacker/ES335. I never use pedals, other than the occasional vibrato or tremolo unit, and turn the Dirty Sweet knob to about a quarter to get more volume and a fatter tone where it begins to get distorted the harder you play the strings. With the Gibsons it can get a full-on blues and hard rock wail if you push the Level knob all the way and keep the Dirty Sweet to about half. I was hearing strains of Kossoff as I dug in for sustain. I have also played acoustic guitars through it many times. The Australian-made AGA pick-up system on my Baby Taylor and Maton 808 guitars really works well. In fact I once played an impromptu electric Blues gig with nothing but the Baby Taylor and the Nifty Fifty - people were flabberghasted, including myself!

Mine has been very reliable, and has not given any of the problems that the other reviewers have mentioned. I have even played a Boss sampled drum machine through it for accompaniment whilst practicing at high volume in a studio and it never complained.

No need for it and by now seven years old and still doing its thing.

I bought it as a loungeroom amp, for its looks, size, weight and sound, but it has turned out to be quite a bit better than I imagined and has in the last seven years accumulated many road miles and gigging/jamming hours. I regularly recommend this baby to my friends, but they are hard to find in Australia these days. The Behringer Firebird, which can be gotten more readily, is very similar in design, but it has a much harsher tone and so the Dano easily kicks its butt.

Bought this at a garage sale for $40.00. Got it home and liked it right away. Immediately, I wished it had reverb, but hey... $40.00?! I read reviews on it in this forum and actually followed the suggestion of one of the reviewers; bought and added the low pass filter and grounded the (-) side of the speaker to a metal part of the chasis. The filter made a HUGE difference! It's very quiet, even at high volume (clean channel).
I have a Vox AC30 and a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe that I gig with. This amp is preferred over them for home use. Travels well, too. It vintage styling looks great in our den, and is plenty loud for practice purposes. I use an old Boss SE 70 Super Effects Processor to give it reverb and other desired effects.

I Play an American Strat '62 reissue with EMG pickups, as well as an old Gibson ES 335 dot neck. This amp sounds great with both guitars, single coil and Humbuckers alike. The Drive channel is incredibly noisy and crappy (not musical), but the Boss SE 70 covers that nicely. I agree with an earlier reviewer- glue the drive channel to the "off" position. You can rock this little devil or make it sing sweetly. I really appreciate that I can get great tone without having to crank up the volume. That's a limitation with my other amps.

After reading other reviews in this forum and then inspecting its innerworkings closely, I'm very cautious with the input plug-in. I've only had it a week or two, but it's working well thus far.

N.A.

I'm very happy with it, seeing that it's a 15 watt practice amp that I bought used for 40 bucks. The things I wasn't happy with (noise, no reverb) I remedied. I've been playing for 35 years and am very picky about tone and noise. This is a great value and a lot of fun. I've become an incessant noodler (says my wife). I highly recommend it after applying the fixes mentioned above.

I dont know when this one was made.. prpobably one of the last one though!
One channel solid state amp, with 3 band EQ, "dirty-sweet knob" for distortion/overdrive. Has headphone jack for quiet practice.
Be nice if this amp had reverb, but thats the only thing I'd want extra. 15 watts output, but pleny loud enough for it. 8 inch speaker.great 50's retro styling. Looks really cool if you like that sort of thing..I do. Iuse it at home but I'd use it to gig if I mic'ed it up thru the PA.

I'm using this as a harmonica "harp" amp. Other people had suggested it was a good solid state amp for harp ( OK - heresy.. tubes are the way to go or so I'm told!)
This amp is somewhat noisy.. there is a background hiss that is worse than my 70's Linear T30/40 MOSFET amp until I re-capped it. That said it's liveable with. I tried installing the low pass crossover as suggested. It does remove the hiss, however the amp is far too bassy with this mod(at least for harp)so I removed it again. I might play around with the cap value and see if that makes a difference..
I'm using this with my Shaker dynamic mic. clean stays clean, I avoid using that "dirty sweet" knob beyond the first quarter of a turn or it's feedback central for me.

I've had it a few days. I've read previous reviews. I'll go easy on the input jack. I'm fairly confident in my ability to repair the pots if the problems mentioned earlier appear. That said this amp is secondhand, and in excellent condition.

Danelectro no longer list the amp on their site.
as it's secondhand I'd try to fix it myself if there were any problems.

I've been blowing harp 15 years on and off (about 7 years off!)
I own about 15 harps, a shaker mic,and a zoom 505II,
I love the 50's retro look, ideal for a chicago blues player. I tried the little Kustom amps, a vox valvetronix, and some acoustic & bass amps, but I liked the tone from this best. Price & looks helped clinch the deal..
If someone stole it I'd be pretty annoyed. I can't afford 300 pounds for a fender blues junior. This amp would be great if it had reverb. Danelectro produce some good pedals and they could have put reverb or slap echo in. Guess I'll just have to buy the pedals seperate. my Zoom 505II doesn't sound as good through this amp as my old MOSFET, but the Nifty Fifty tone is so good for a solid state amp I don't care.

Totally cool and one of the best amps ever, after you apply the fixes below.

I play Fender teles and strats, Epiphone hollow bodied guitars, Godin Acousticaster and even harmonica through a green bullet mic through this dream.

It was made in 1998 and handles Rockabilly, blues, rock'n'roll a la 60's/70's and acoustic sounds great.

Without fixes 1 and 2: noisy and hissing, even with the pots down to zero.

Fix1 : Ground the speaker with an additional lead from the metal chassis to the speakers (-) connection.

Fix2: Buy a cheap two way speaker filter (rated ~100watts RMS max) with a 12dB/octave suppression and a cut freq of 3500Hz. Install it in between the speaker and the amp itself (using the woofer side of the filter as opposed to the tweeter - of course).

Total cost: roughly $10

Result: Fabulous tone and less noise than in any other modern amp without affecting the effective frequencies of the guitar sounds.

Use it with an external delay - chorus - flanger - compressor - whatever effect box and you're rigged for practice, jamming, recording and travel playing.

If you break this amp by pressing the cable connector to hard into the input, try another hobby than music playing. Chances are you're gonna break that guitar neck too...

No need for support.

Playing gigs regularly at clubs, pubs, festivals and bigger parties since 1988.
Would replace it if lost - no doubt.
The looks are great and with the simple two fixes sound is awesome.
I use Behringer, Fender, Roland, Peavey and Vox amps. THis one is not replaced by any of them.
For this price you can't seriously ask for more features.

Keep rockin'!

The amp I worked on was from 1998.

So here's the deal. There is one MAJOR flaw in it's construction. The circuit board is not mounted to anything but the knobs you see. Also, the input jack is made of plastic and is a little bit flakey. Sometimes you have to push in hard to get the signal. This action breaks the pots off of the board. I've read about this happening to people and it happened to a friend of mine who gave me his nifty fifty to fix. To fix this, first take off all the screws. Cut the plastic tie around the power cables. Pry the circuit board from the bottom and pull towards you, removing the pots through their holes with minimal damage. Unattatch the input and power cables from the circuit board. Look to see which pots have been broken in any way. Unsoder their remaining parts from the circuit board. Repair or replace them (replace recommended). Resoder the three wires per pot in the circuit board. Put the ciruit board back together and this time use string, sticks, wires, gum, soder or whatever necessary to attatch the circuit board to something so that it won't move when you touch knobs. Enjoy once again the crappy tone this 'tonally awesome' device provides.

All other components seem solid.

Danelectro must be lazy because one more cheap screw on this thing would have saved many people a lot of frustration.

Danelectro does make some good products, and I definately like their style. But unless a better version of this is made, only get it if it comes free with something and make sure to take delicate care not to put ANY kind of pressure on the input jack.

Not many features, and this is my only fault w/this amp. I'm writing this review because I own one of these and I think it's great...for what it is. I read the other reviews and I think some of the people who wrote reviews think that this 99$ amp is going to have them sound like a 3000$ rig. Its great for what it is.

Sounds great. I love the Kinks, and Stones etc... this thing reminds you of that sounds much better than the little marshall mg, or any crate in this price range. And it gets very loud for its watts. the only problem I have is that it doesnt have a loud clean, to play loud its dirty (great for lead though) I must say that most amps in the price/watts range are not this loud

Mine works great

Seems to suck, I tried to send in my warrenty and it was sent back???????????

One of the best for a little amp to practice with. Some of these other reviewers need pay more money for a bigger amp, if thats what they want. It does what its supposed to do

This is a very basic practice amp, 15 watt output power and a 3 band eq. Has overdrive "Dirty Sweet". Headphone Jack, nice volume, nice feeling knobs (quality feel with some resistance when turning)

I am a begginer and is using a squire strat, the sound is nice, very versatile but the clean sounds like its muffeled.

I used this amp for about six months and then just like any hole that ever gets plugged, the input jack broke. I tried to fix it my self but it is impossible to fix becuase it is just integrated onto the ciricuit board with no wires or anything so that was out of the picture. Then I went to the dano website....

THEIR CUSTOMER SUPPORT SUCKS !!! Ah I went to their website, looked for a number and could not find one so i e-mailed them multiple times and with no avail i wrote them letters and i never heard anything back. I am disqusted with this company and would never even think of buying one of there products ever again.

Dont buy this P.O.S. I am currently looking at an Fender M-80 at my local pawn-shop.

Just a basic 15 watt, solid state practise amp. 1 channel, volume, gain and 3-band EQ. That's okay by me, I love simplicity.

Amp is nice because you can turn up the distortion for punk and rock, and down for playing blues or jazz. You dont need an extra distroter if youve got this amp. Also for loud for its size.

Had it for over a year now and Great so far.

Never dealt with the company. Year warranty. Pretty cool website .

This is a great find---I did not mention the cosmetics yet--it is very 50's two-tone vinyl with cool grillcloth. And an insanely low price.

Plus it really sounds good! Hats off to Dano for a highly portable
amp that gives actual "musical" tones that I can use immediately.

I was so impredded with its volume that I install and output jack to push 2 12 inch cab . and it worked fine . but it was a tempoary fix at the time , But it worked.

Solid state emulation of a fifties tube sound.

From other reviews, it sounds great. Mine is not working...yet.

From reading other reviews, this amp tends to break quickly. After taking apart a Nifty Fifty that I found *tossed* on the side of the road, I found what may be a common source of trouble. Apparently the jack is made of plastic, so the holding nut strips easily. When this happens, you need to push in harder and harder with the guitar cord each time you plug in. In the case of my particular unit, this had caused no less than three of the welded-in potentiometers to completely snap off. To the previous owner, a complete mystery -- no doubt. Now I am trying to find replacement jacks and pots, but this is proving difficult. Any advice, circuit diagrams, etc, would be helpful. Thanks.

Currently attempting repair on trashed amp.

It looks great. I can't wait to hear it...

bass, treble, mid, dirtysweet or something (i haven't used it in awhile, got a peavey 412, ultimate tweed!)

Kind of dry. I don't think I really ever got that great of a sound out of it on either my Squier or LP Studio. I think I paid $99 for it. If it was $50 I probably wouldn't mind. If I had to do it again I'd get a Kustom tube amp 12w ($70). It even has a Celestian speaker and a tube preamp.

I actually gigged with it once (almost), I ended up using a friends Fender that was about the same wattage. But then I was young, naieve, and playing Weezer (which doesn't necessarily demand that warm a sound).

Never contacted them.

Playing about 6 years on and off (more on now).

www.mp3.com/keane_li

I wouldn't buy it again if it was lost/stolen. Again, I'd get a tube amp.

I used a Danelectro Daddy-O pedal with it for awhile. It didn't really help that much. I spent so much time turning knobs to no avail. My peavey classic sounds good on anything and I spend more time playing (and sounding great!)

Very sturdy amp though, no tubes to break or change (good), but no tubes (bad) No reverb

I don't know how it compares to others in it's category, probably good because I heard it got a guitar something award when I bought it.

Yes, I'd like to share this: www.keane.zoson.net

Small practice amp with 8 inch speaker, dirty/sweet, level(volume), bass, middle, and treble knobs. You can dial in the amount of fuzz you want with the dirty/sweet knob. Attractive plaid speaker grill cover. It has the tan and dark brown fake leather covering on it. I have it sitting in my living room, and seems to blend right in. Even has a handy headphone jack for late night jam sessions, although the sound isn't nearly as good.

For it's size, it's surprisingly loud. With a little help from the suggested settings in the manual, you can dial in a lot of different tones. Definately not an amp for you shredders out there. This amp is aimed at blues and hard rock players. I bet running a harp through this baby would sound pretty good also. I'll probably use it just for home practice and for recording purposes, although I wouldn't exclude playing a gig with it entirely. I run a Danelectro 59DC w/lipstick tube pickups, in to it. This guitar/amp combination is perfect match for each other, as I'm sure Danelectro intended it that way. I can get some nice trashy blues tones from it. Really good clean tones as well. I can get a big jangley sound out of my Musicvox electric 12-string. The sounds suit me just fine. I don't seem to get the noise other reviewers were talking about(Knock on wood).

I bought this used, so I'm probaly on my own if craps out. It seems to be working fine right now. Time will tell I guess.

I've dealt with Danelectro's service department before with good results.

I've been playing for about 25 years. If this were lost or stolen, I would definately look for another. I don't think Danelectro makes these anymore. For $50.00 bucks I thought what the hell. I'm very pleased with this. Come on, they're cheap fun little practice amps. What do you want for this kinda money.

I bought one in 2000 for use as a bedroom practice amp. I play mostly surf, and classic rock, some blues. It covered those styles OK, for a practice amp, but only where a clean sound was called for. Forget overdriven sounds on this amp. Very basic solid state amp with a very cool retro look, which I've decided was its best feature.

Used it with a Dano guitar at first. Got a great surfy Dano tone with that combination, but that's about it. Later got a Reverend Rocco, and was able to coax some fatter blues tones out of it as well. It was my first amp so I was really stoked on it for a while, but after playing through some slightly higher end solid state amps, it began to suffer by comparison, but still OK for what it was. Then there is the "Dirty" setting:( I think it is misleading to use the term "distortion" or "overdriven" to discribe any sound this amp makes. Fuzz? Maybe. I tried to get something resembling distortion out of this box. Forget it! Not sure how to describe it, but the word "static" keeps coming to mind. In any case, the Dirty setting is not in anyway useful or musical.

Well, here is the real problem. After about a year of fairly light occasional use, the amp quit working. I tried to troubleshoot it myself but could not find the problem. For what the amp cost me
I decided it wasn't worth the time and money to take it to a shop, so I tossed it.

I've had good dealings with them in the past when a guitar pickup wasn't working properly. Quick response. In the case of the amp, the waranty had expired, so I didn't bother.

OK, let's face it. This is a $60-$70 solid-state amp. Bet you could even find one for $50 now. Putting aside for a moment its ultimate and complete failure, I was fairly satisfied with this amp and its sound. What's more, it really is very cool looking. My wife loved the look and even made a special place for it in the living room. I wish Marshall would put one of their little practice amps in such a tasteful box. I've been eyeing the MG15DFX. Tried one out the other, and whoa! For $80 more, the thing has impressive clean and distorted sound and built in effects. But I'll probably have to hide it under the bed.

Anyway, If the Dano were still working, I might recommend it to someone who likes the look and wants a cheap practice amp for clean sounds only. What the hell, if you have $50 to blow and you like the look, and the sound, go get one. Maybe you'll get lucky. On the other hand, if you value your $50 I recommend saving up a little more and getting something more reliable and versatile.

Just a basic 15 watt, solid state practise amp. 1 channel, volume, gain and 3-band EQ. That's okay by me, I love simplicity.

As an added bonus, the thing just looks damn cool. Really damn cool. You could probably justify the purchase price even if you used it as a piece of decorative furniture.

So, a 7 for basic features with nothing you don't need plus a bonus point for the cool factor and attention to visual design.

It sounds the way it looks.
What do I mean by that?

It looks like a vintage tube amp, but not really. You can tell that the leather's fake, that it's too small to be packing tubes, that it isn't showing the tell-tale wear and tear. But that's okay because that's the appeal.

Similarly, it doesn't really sound exactly like a tube amp. But the sound reminds you of the vintage tones and that's the appeal. You can't get a Fender sound out of it but you can get a Fender-ish sound that is good BECAUSE it's not dead on. It's that kitschy aesthetic that really appeals to me. It's not a modelling amp, but it's better then a modelling amp because it hgets you into the ballpark and then gets you to do all the work. You can actually crafyt a unique tone out of this thing.

A few points about the sound:
- Don't go nuts with the dirty-sweet knob. This thing can't do modern high-gain stuff. Thing vintage, light distortion with maybe a bit of fuzz and it'll sound good. Don't try hjardcore metal and punk stuff.
- The hiss that everyone talks about. You won't notice it when your playing. In a noisy bar or jam situation you'll find it very easy to ignore. It's not a huge problem, but if it really bothers you that much, don't get this amp.
- Don't be afraid to experiment with the sounds in the manual. The funk sound is also good for jazz and blues. The Aussie Rock (thing Angels, Rose Tattoo, AC/DC) is good for Ozzy-era sabbath.
- This thing rocks with a slide.
- I've had people ask me if the thing contained tubes. Consider that a vote of approval.

Had no problems so far.

The warranty doesn't apply to Aussies like me. But they did answer my e-mail in 24 hours, so I'll give them a 7

This amp isn't for everyone. Beginners who want to sound like Slipknot or Blink 182 should avoid this like the plague. But who should get this amp?
- Blues fans.
- Middle age guys who want to recreate the sounds of their youth.
- People who care about visual design.
- Recording artists who wnat an interesting tone (check the inside cover of Beck's Midnite Vultures).
- Beginners who hat the sound of the amp that came in their bundle-package.

Overall it's a great sounding, reliable amp. It won't last you forever but I bet that you'll be coming back to it even after you upgrade. It fills a niche, but it's not perfect for everyone. For the price, a damn respectable 8.

Basic amp -Volume, tone controls,knob for "dirty" distorted sound...that's all folks.Just a practice amp by most standard. Traded an old tube amp for this,my amp needed lots of work this was new and sounded pretty good for solid state(I play harp)though it is written that it is a motal sin to play harp through anything but tubes .Don't wish for any features why muck up a basic amp with some cheap sounding reverb. The 15watts goes a long way IT IS LOUD! Play it at small jams and have played it on stage but it needs to be mic'd.

It hisses it pops occasionally but all is forgiven because this lil amp has a hell of a screamin/cuttin/ raunchy sound.I also play some jazz and R&B with my band so I keep the tone controls about the same and just cut the dirty knob and I'm able to keep it cleaner.I am amazed how I get tone out of this thing. Dave Barrett a harp guru recommended this amp, I know why.

Like I said it makes noises but it has held together for two years of weekly playing(jams,gigs,practice).I always take a backup but that's with all amps I don't trust any of them I've learned from experience to trust the unexpected.

Never had to deal with Danelectro.

Been playing since the 70's been playing professionally since 95. Own a Fender Bassman RI,Vibroverb RI (set up for harp).Use an Ibenez delay with all my amps. Mics used are sm58 and a crystal ball, both work well with the Dano I use the crystal ball more often.I'm trying to buy another at the moment --for some reason they are tough to find on the net.I love the sound and some versitility for such a small amp.I also love not having to carry 50to60 pounds of unwieldy amp up and down stairs

Ok, I have never posted anything on internet. This is my first and last review for anything. So here it goes.
This lil amp is the best sounding practice amp ever built. The Dirty sweep has so much range, and clean sound will get the job done. I play my 71 LP standard and my Dearmond Goldtone through this lil gem. I have a DanElectro corned beef reverb stump box that I use with this amp only, they match perfectly. I have a Marshall, Mesa, and vintage club 2*12 all three amps are tube. So I am not just typing this thing up. My unit has no noize problems and it has been with me for a lil over two years with no problems. This is the best amp I have ever bought for the price. The amp is not for giging, but it is the best amp you can buy to carry around to friends house. 15 pounds and 15 watts of vintage sound through a soild-state amp and the amp has style. I wish they made a one with a 12" Speaker to get more bottom end. I give this amp a 10 for the price, sound, and reliability. Fantastic Valuve.

Nice overdrive/distortion. 3 tone controls. Retro-design. Solid construction. The power cord that originally came would not, "seat," properly, resulting in intermittent operation. I replaced with another I had on hand, and no problem whatsover from that point forward. I would bet this design flaw in the original power cord is responsible for so many of the problems that people have had. It is an easy fix for an otherwise stellar little amp.

This thing kicked the hell out of its competition in this wattage and price range. I can actually get an old tube sound out of it. Here's a tip that should not be ignored: USE A PRE-AMP WITH THIS AMP! It gets it over the solid state hiss and turns this little gem into a cranking, fire-breathing little monster. I use a multi-effects pedal with plenty of pre-amp zap.

With the power cord replacement, this thing has been reliability incarnate. I have gigged with it.

Excellent. You have to get the DanElectro number that a retailer would use to call them up, as the number that came with the paperwork was a bust. I have to give DanElectro a 10+.

Been playing since '62, which means, been around the block more than a few times. Last time I gigged out with this little cranker, more than one person came up to me and said they could not believe all the sound coming out of that small amp. I use a multi-effects pedal for reverb and other things, so the lack of reverb is a feature I actually prefer. Why? Well, it means, dirt simply, that DanElectro can and did put that money into a straight ahead little amp that renders its competition as paltry. I have another larger Fender amp. Whenever possible though, this is the one I prefer to use, because it sounds so good and is so easy to carry. Which means, as a professional, I have been well served by this amp.

I Got this little pig in December of 2000....lasted 2 weeks beyond the warranty lapsing and I'm out a practice amp. Features were what I'd expect for a $75 amp....basic + a feedback circuit (I really think that is what killed the amp chip).

Sounded fine when operable...."Dirty" was a little too dirty sounding for my taste, but ok.

Reliable until I left it on for 8 hours straight.....burned out the amp. Anyone out there have any details on what is a chronic problem with these amps? I know other people were having the same problems....just wonder if anyone knows the fix.

Took a few e-mails to get a minimal response....I think Danelectro is a front office for the Chinese junk they're importing. Do they even repair their stuff or do they just send out a replacement and dump your old one?

I've had Crates and others that are built to take a nuke......this disappointed me after it belly-upped.

I bought this amp brand new and got it yesterday (1/10/02). I really like the looks and size of this amp. The features are basic for a practice amp. It takes some adjusting to make it sound decent, but it can sound ok (WHEN IT WORKS! - Read below).

At first it sounded really bad. In my opinion, an amp shouldn't sound "really bad" at any setting. Of course you need to adjust everything to how you like yourself to sound. But I cringed at the first sound this thing made (not talking about volume either). But yeah, after adjustment it almost sounded "good". I had serious problems with mine though, and maybe those problems had some effect on the sound quality when it was actually working. The rating is based on how it sounded while it was functioning. If I should rate the loud buzz (see reliability section), I'd say "0".

The description for a "1" rating is "think it worked once". Well, I had just gotten mine set to where it sounded okay and WHOA - it let out a huge buzz/hum that was so loud it scared the crap out of me. I hit the power switch ASAP and prayed I hadn't fried my Epi LP Custom. I checked all my connections, plugged it into a different power outlet, used a different top-dollar cable (no effects in between) - and still the same. I can play just fine for 4 - 6 minutes and it does it again. It must have a wiring problem that is only an issue after it heats up. I'm sending it back today.

Haven't dealt with Dano directly. I was told by someone in the business that there have been problems with some of these amps (nifty 50, dirty 30, and nifty 70). But for the price ($60), I thought I'd give it a shot. Bad idea. But Musician's Friend seems to be good at taking stuff back without much hassle - If I have trouble, I'll update this.

I've only been playing for just under a year (teaching myself - so it's kinda slow). But any dope could tell ya that an amp should last for more than 5 minutes! I have always liked the look of this amp and bought it as a secondary to my Crate GFX15 (which I think sounds a lot better - of course mine was screwed up). To get the look of this amp in a better quality, the only thing I could find was a Fender Blues Junior with the blonde cover (and that still don't look as "nifty" in my opinion - sorry for that). But I'm not good enough yet to invest that much money in this.

Great practice amp, good amp for low-volume endeavors. 15 watts, one eight inch speaker. No reverb.

I've used it for jazz and country, and people have remarked on the great tone coming out of that little box. Remember though, we're talking low-volume, semi-acoustic stuff.

In general, single-coils probably sound better through this than humbuckers. I've also played a classical through it and it sounded great.

Good bottom end. Basically the Nifty-Fifty is Dano's Daddy-O overdrive/tube simulator pedal hooked up to a speaker. It has way more tone than your typical solid-state 15 watt amp.

It certainly doesn't have the headroom you get from a nice old Fender though.

Headphone jack fell into the back. I don't really care.

Also, leather covering looks cool, but tears oh so easily.

For $100, this thing rocks. A practice amp with tone. And sounds good for low volume jazz and semi-acoustic stuff. Definitely not for metal. And no, definitely not a threat to replace your Fender Twin. Nevertheless, a lot of value for the money.

I wish they made a bigger one!

My Nifty Fifty was made in China in 1998. The Dano factory is probably next door to a sneaker sweat shop too. Anyway, the Nifty Fifty is a cute tan & brown covered solid state practice amp that has 1 input; Dirty/Sweet; Level; Bass; Middle and Treble controls followed by an on/off switch and has a head phone jack. It's 15 solid state watts will not make you forget that vintage Fender Champ......... unless you have ears of stone.

OK now.... if you play this, you'll forget that Dumble you've been lusting after. Uh......wait a minute. The Nifty Fifty sounds as if a bumble bee was flying around inside your baggy pants near your crotch.
It screams but not in a pleasant way. Very solid state sounding...clean or overdriven. But hey, it's a cheap practice amp.
After hearing this amp, that crappy 5150 will sound like God.

As dependable as a cockaroach after a nuclear explosion.
It only stays at home.
I think I tourtured my last lead singer with this at a song writing session.

Dano is very dependable. They replaced my dead Danecho pedal without question and I received the new one in a week.
Some of the big companies should take note....customer service is important especially to musicians.

It's a practice amp. I actually bought it for my wife who is perpetually learning how to play guitar.
In my opinion, the only solid state amp that can be used as a practice or gigging amp is a Gallien Krueger 250ML. The Nifty Fifty is a far cry from the 250ML.

Standard one channel amp package. Reverb would have helped. Headphone jack is nice.

I tried a '60 Strat with .012 strings and Bill Lawrance stacked Humbuckers and the thing smoked. Turn all the knobs to 10 and there's enough creamy, SRV blues tone to fill a room. The knobs do more than you'd think, so twisting bass, mid or treble really does something, but flat out is best. I also tried a PRS with .010s and the bottom dropped out. Couldn't really get a Satch/Vai shredder tone.

Either way it covers it's bases and does an impressive job for such a small, light amp. Beautiful for practice and parties but I wouldn't gig with it.

It's more about looks. The previous owner had to get service by just kicking over a 12" tall amp. The board separated from the knobs, but Dano stood behind him and fixed it.
You see alot of old Dano stuff so I have high hopes for reliability. But it's not built for the road like a Roland or something.

??????

Love the look, dig the tone, easy to carry, wouldn't care if I lost it. I traded a Roland DAC-15X, that I paid $40, for mine.

I love this vintage amp with its dirty-sweet knob. The other knowbs are standard: level, bass, middle, trebble. Its also very light weight
so its easy to carry around.

Amp is nice because you can turn up the distortion for punk and rock, and down for playing blues or jazz. You dont need an extra distroter if youve got this amp. Also for loud for its size. Twice as loud as my 15 watt bass amp.

Only owned it for a month so no problems yet. But looks stable enough and probably wont break for a while.

I play bass in a punk band, but we only have one guitar player so we needed another one for recording. Its one of the best amps for playing punk that ive heard. A lot better than my guitarist's fender amp. This amp works best with humbucker pickups also.

Your basic practice amp 1 input gain,vol,bass,middle,treble,on/off.
Delicate case covering, looks 100% retro but take it easy with the
covering. Also headphone jack. I got it new for $49.95 from a store
getting out of the music business (not their main product).

using this with a Strat copy, I like it a ton better than the
Dirty thirty with its small speaker. This has very good tone
on clean mode. I seldome use my bridge pickup it would sound
so muddy, not with this, those extra tone knobs really help.
This thing is plenty loud also! Mine is nice and quiet any
noise is generated in my cheap guitar. I like the distortion.
you have to play with the tone knobs but there are a lot of
tones in this little box.

Ok, mine had some loose screws holding the speaker and guts in.
15 seconds work cured any buzzing on low notes. Cabinet is put
together with a lot of hot melt glue, but looks industrial
strength for sure. no problems.

Not needed yet, others say they will flat out replace it with a
new one if you have a problem, you can't get any better than that!

This is a keeper, not too big, loud enough, looks good.
For me this is all I need right now. I have used a lot of
small tube amps that sounded good but had to go to max volume
to get that tube distortion, I like dialing that in at a lower
volume. Now this will not sound like a small tube amp spilling
its guts on '10' but will do the job for me. I would get this
for someone starting out also. I started with an EARLY solid
state, PLASTIC amp of few watts that turned me off from playing
for many years.I wish this was around then!

"Bought" brand new for $0.00 - and it's worth every penny (or lack thereof). Features? Come on, don't be as lazy as I am - scroll down to other posts.

Played my G&L ASAT though this amp, and in clean mode, it sounded pretty damn good, except for that constant hissssssssss sound the amp makes, with or without a guitar plugged in. But hey, for the price... what can you expect?!

The dirty settings took some tweaking time, which surprised me. I actually read the manual, and saw that many of the suggested overdriven tones had the treble almost to zero. I found out why. B/c otherwise it sounds like $#!+. But with the treble rolled off, you can actually use some of that overdrive to get a classic tube like break-up. Kinda a "farting tube" sound... if you squint, you'd think you're playing an old 50s tube amp, in need of some mods.

Reliability? Hmm... I guess it's ok, except the knobs look like leftovers from a push-button vending machine. I wouldn't abuse this thing though, b/c I mean, how well could the pcb be made?

Customer support? You'd be surprised at some of the customer support you get with a cheap item, and how bad it can be with an expensive one. I guess it doesn't cost the company much to send you a new guitar pick when you claim your's is defective, while a twisted neck on a Gibson is "customer error". :o)

Btw - no experience with customer support, for Danelectro, or Gibson. (or pickboy for that matter, though one of their checkerboards picks I was using actually split in half, down the middle - essentially creating 2 ultra thin picks, and a pick shaped piece of see through silver paper. I should complain.)

The amp was part of MARS free package deal, so it was a free-bee. I'm enjoying it though, and would like to see how it would sound in a live band situation, mic'd up through a pa system. Could be a cool little amp - light, easy to travel with, don't have to worry about the occasional drink spilling on it (unlike your Mesa Quad-Recto).

I like the looks of the amp - very 50's, and the covering material is pretty cool too. It's tiny, and there might be better amps out there for under $100 - but it's also a cool buy, neat toy, and hey - you could do a lot worse for $80.

As you've read already, this this amp has 5 knobs - Distortion, Volume, Bass, Mid, High. Lose the distortion. Otherwise great.

I use this amp with a DeArmond X155 Archtop. Yah, I play jazz. For $99 this is a great jazz amp. Just never turn up the distortion. In fact, a couple drops of superglue will make the knob unturnable - highly recommended.

Amp works great - never had a problem with it. A fine gig amp for jazz.

Never dealt with them.

No Reverb, but a great little amp for the price. As a jazz player, you don't need much more than this even for gigs. No, it doesn't sound like a Polytone Mini-Brute, it sounds like a Danelectro Nifty Fifty which is fine with me. If you want it to sound like another amp, buy something else. It's light too (my guitar weighs twice as much). If you play jazz, and want a decent clean tone for under a hundred bucks, this is the ticket.

Bought this new in 2/01. Basic Practice amp, 15w. Only one channel. Nice distortion, although it increases the volume. For a practice amp, it's features are a 10; overall though, I give it a 7.

I'm playing a Les Paul standard and can produce lots of different sounds. With a Zoom 505 I can duplicate a lot of sounds. Clean sounds very nice. Distortion is great up to 1/2 setting. It does increase the volume too.

Really can't comment as I've only had it a month.

Again, I've only owned it a month.

It simply isn't possible to get a better amp for less than $100!

I use this a practice amp in my living room. Amazingly, the little guy us almost too loud. It also looks quite nice with its "retro" vibe. It has a volume knob, and a "Dirty-Sweet" knob, which progressively adds volume and distortion. One could get many sounds from this amp if one tried.

It sounds good with my Strat and Carvin DC-127. Somewhat noisy with single-coils.

This is my second Nifty-Fifty. The first one had a bad input jack that crackled and cut-out the sound, before eventually falling completely inside the amp, rendering it useless. This happened over about a year. The new one is fine so far. The amps are made in China.

I wrote to the company describing my problem, and I got a call from a customer service rep, who told me that I could mail the amp back for a replacement. I did so, and two weeks later, I got a brand new amplifier. I think it is great that Danelectro (actually, the Evets Corp.) stands behind a $99 product like they do.

This is a nice practice amp, it looks cool, and the company is great to deal with.

I purchased this cute little amp on October 22, 2000 to use as a practice amplifier. I play rhythm (and sometimes lead) in a swing band and like the amp for its nice clean tone. It is limited to one channel and no reverb, but the tone is so nice, I don't miss the reverb aspect.

I play a blonde Epiphone Zephyr with one neck pickup and use Thomastic-Infeld flatwound strings. The amp works wonderfully with the humbucking pickup in a jazz setting. The amp can get an overdriven sound, but then it starts to hiss a gret deal, so I keep it on clean.

It's been very reliable by virtue of having so little in the way of components that can go bad.

I've never dealt with the Danelectro, but they have a really well done website at this URL: www.danelectro.com/.

I love this cute little beauty with its nifty retro styling. It doesn't have chrome hardware protectors on its corners, so you have to be careful with it and not abuse it, as the leather covering is rather delicate.

Bought it used in 1999. Not very versatile, but fine for a little portable. Only one channel, so you are stuck in gear unless you can drop out and turn the knobs in mid song. For the size, weight and price it is fine.

I use it to practice and in a church praise band. I play a Telecaster and Les Paul Classic through it. Both sound fine. The clean (sweet) setting gets plenty loud without distortion. On the dirty (distoted) setting it clicks some like it has a short.

No problems.

N/A

I have played over 20 years. I hav an old Epiphohe practice amp that sounded terrible with mega hum/buzz. The Nifty Fifty is super in comparison.
I love the size and weight. It looks really cool vintage/retro.

Bought used, small cut in covering.Using a Danecho with it for Harp playing.I know solid state for Harp sucks. This Amp breaks that rule, and Im speaking as an owner of a 59 Bassman RI, A 4-10 Deville set up for Harp and a Pro junior.The secret is in the Mic, Im using a Shure Unisphere 585, if youre luckey enough to find one jump on it. Ive been playing with a Blues Band with some veteran players in it and they really like the sound of this setup miced with a 57 thru the P.A. I set the Danecho as follows, facing it left to right,left knob at about 1/4 up or to taste. next two knobs at 0, last knob full or 10.The toggle switch to the right.I also use a 58 sometimes, both mics sound good.

So far this has been a great little Amp.

I first heard a Harp player blowin thru one of these at a local Gin Mill and thought how weird, then I noticed it for sale on Kevins Harps web site. I dont think Id buy a new one, but a used one maybe if some fool stole this one..

This your basic solid state practice amp. It has one channel with a master volume and gain, three band tone, low/mid/high. I wish it had reverb, but I bought the new Dano mini-pedal Corned Beef reverb for $40 and fixed that problem. It's pretty good little PRACTICE amp and it just looks friggin' cool!

I'm using a Mexi strat I wired with Rio Tallboy pu's and a Richie Sambora standard strat. This thing does hiss even with nothing plugged in, but I didn't expect superior quality with a cheap, Chinese, practice amp. In my ears, it does a pretty good job of emulating an old tube amp. I really don't care for the distortion on the amp and prefer to use my TS-9 overdrive. It does distort at higher volumes, as to be expected, but I was impressed at the volume output and the lowend on this amp. Very good for my needs. I have a fender blues deluxe "gig" amp that is just heavy enough that I don't like to carry it out too much just for practice. This light little guy can put out enough volume to practice with the guys and that's why I bought it.

I've had it for about a month and there's not problems with it so far.

Never dealt with Dano.

I've been playing 9 years. I got rid of my old practice amp about 5 years ago when I got the blues deluxe. Now that I can afford another one, I wanted a practice amp for late night playing and practice sessions. This was, for me, the perfect combination of good looks and tone for a cheap price. I'm really impressed with all the new Dano stuff. In fact the only thing I don't own of theirs yet is a guitar. Based on the great experience I've had with this amp and my 4 Dano pedals, I'm thinking about getting a 56-U2.

Its a small amp intended for practice, recording, or jamming as long as you have a quiet drummer and nobody's amp is much bigger. Read the other reviews for details on controls. It's not incredibly versatile, but it is terrific in its range/purpose.

This is a classic-sounding small, semi-enclosed combo amp. It handles most 50s-60s-early 70s tones very well, from roundly clean to gritty trebly crunch. For example I can play almost any Who song -- with Strat, Les Paul, or Takamine -- and get real close to the right tone. As others have said, for metal/alternative this is not what you want, and there is some noise. But a lot of pros use these now for recording and as on-stage monitors (including Billy Joel) and I agree with them that for a sub-$100 the tone is outstanding and a little hiss is worth it.

Like all Dano stuff, built exceptionally well for the price. Rubber coated cabinet, leather handle, grille logo...not much to break and the plastic dials and pots and on/off switch seem high quality. Separable power cord is separable, so if that bothers you it will.

Cool web site. Other than that, no idea.

I've got a POD (which is really all you need unless you gig) as well as a Marshall VS series and a Roland 405 along with the Nifty 50. If I could only have one "amp" it would be the POD for sure. But I got the Marshall for jamming with friends and harder rock playing; the Roland for cleaner stuff and recording at home (before the POD came along) and the Danelectro to be a kick-around practice amp. For what it is I love it, and paired with a boost pedal (DOD 250 works great as does a Metal Zone) and a Les Paul you've got a very versatile amp with great response for almost no money. If your favorite albums were made in 1975 or earlier, you'll love this. If not, look at the Marshalls, Peaveys, etc for more modern overdrive sounds and thump.

Has 'Dirty Sweet' which in a perfect world would be aptly descriptive
and standard level, bass, mid, treb nobs. Has a headphone jack that
I'm wondering how well it would work as an out jack to another amp/
cabinet....I wanted an inexpensive solid state practice amp and admit
the look got me and I have the whole DanO line of pedals anyway..

I have to admit I need to tweak this amp a bit more to discover how
I can shape the sound; I have a lot of pedals (Dano's, a boss Metal
Zone, and Fulltone Soulbender/70's which will make almost anything
sound cool anyway)and run this baby pretty much clean; bass up w/mid
treb moderate 'dirty sweet at like 3:45. This amp sounds really warm
when run direct and clean; too muddy for metal, o.k for blues and
surf. I feel this amp is too mushy with 'spacier' effects settings.
My rating is an average of clean(10) vs effect laden(5)

I have not had this amp long, nor do I abuse it. I do not gig
currently and this is strictly used as a practice amp.

I have a fair amount of confidence in their pedals having used them
awhile, and I trust the dude at the dealer I bought it from so I think
this will be a non-issue with me

been using for about a month; I do plug in direct and damn this sounds
REALLY good cleaner; the hiss does annoy me a little but I can't
recall ever thinking about it after I turn it on and start playing.
I love this as a practice amp over a pignose(o.k. so the pignose is
more portable being batt powered) or a crate or gorilla. I have a Peavey classic 30 tube amp and a classic strat and for a cheap non-
pro amp this is fine. And yes I want to eventually own Mesa/Randall/
Roland/Fender etc......if they had $100 amps I would. Otherwise
the DanO is Fine.

I'm assuming the Nifty Fifty amp that I owned was made in '98... Problem is that I bought it based on its looks and not it's sound. I'll admit it is a cool looking little amp, but it wasn't exactly what I was looking for. Think it only has one channel as well. For the price, this little guy had ample power for my use (bedroom) "Dirty Sweet" distortion wasn't as tight as I wanted it to be. Mid sounded like it didn't work, either.

I play a standard Squire Strat with single coils... Didn't really suit my tastes in New Rock/Alternative. Problem with this amp was that it emitted an annoying little "SSSSHHHHH" every time you turned it on. I ran a Nobels trem pedal through it and the "SSSHHHH" became a really annoying "SH,SH,SH,SH," Amp was really only good for one type of fuzz as well. Other types of distortion sounded really crummy. Gotta say, when the amp was played clean, it wasn't all THAT bad.

No problems here... Even accidentally dropped it a couple of times and it still worked fine...

never dealt with the company. Year warranty. Pretty cool website, though...

I've only been playing for about half a year now. I realize now that I really rushed into buying my very first amp. Word to the wise... TAKE YOUR TIME IF YOU'RE A FIRST TIME BUYER! I also have a KORG 411 multi effects... I ended up trading it in for a VOX Pathfinder which is a much better product hands down... I really liked the vintage look to this amp, but didn't care for the sound. Not the best of investments in my opinion.

one channel 3 bnd eq dirty sweet knob, i only use "volume" you can get a $100 practice amp w/ tons of features this has few but i dont need em.

play with humbuckers, does nicely on clean, usually keep it at about 9o'clock volume just for quiet living room kinda stuff. nothin like my peavy 50/410 but its a hell of a lot easier to move and it only cost 100. best sounding of all the $100 practive amps on the market(don't buy the crate)so i give it an 8.

funny power cord that unplugs from amp shakes loose on a whim, fixed w/ duct tape:) always the same, very reliable

never had the pleasure of reaming them a new one so i couldn't say

if you are looking for a $100 practice amp that sounds good and can punch a little when mom leaves too this is definately the right choice.

There aren't a whole lot of features. Level, Dirty/Sweet (distortion), Hi-Mid-Bass. Personally, I am annoyed by a mass of meaningless knobs and faders designed to impress. Put them on something that can use them like a mixer, thank you. You can get a lot of variety without the extra knobs so who cares?

I play my vintage U2 and my remake U2 through this puppy. My playing style has been described as a weird cross between Beefheart and Fripp, if you can imagine that... It sounds great for a solid state and I've only played a couple of solid state amps that I liked as much or more. But my being partial to tube amps, I had to lean towards a 9 on this. I have been playing for about 30 years and like distinctive sounding amps.
One word of caution though. Do NOT crank up the ditortion too far. It is not a replacement for a good distortion pedal (why should it be)and will start to sound bad fairly quickly. But again, if ANY amp distorted that much ever without the benefit of a distortion pedal, it would find itself sailing through the window. With a little manipulation it is a great sounding amp.

My amp broke down a few months after the warranty passed, bad thing. But how Danelectro acquitted themselves in handling the situation is impressive (see below under Customer Support).

As I mentioned above, the amp rolled over and died a few months after the warranty passed. I contacted Danelectro about it and their response was: send it in and we'll make good on it. They stand behind their products way above and beyond the call of duty and that is the sign of a great company. Of course, YMMV, but I was impressed...

Again I've been playing for about 30 years. I would definitely buy another. In fact, was thinking about it (with some concern of course)before Danelectro responded so admirably. Now I wouldn't hesitate. It's not a tube amp, but it is one of the best sounding small solid state amps I've encountered especially for the money.And believe me I've played through a LOT of different amps. Just stay conservative on the Dirty/Sweet knob and you'll get a good sound for yourself. The new Danelectro is showing themselves to be much like the old Danelectro, an incredible value. Quality at a low price. The same thing that made them a threat to the other companies before is being repeated again (the old ones were voluntarily banned by many music stores in England because they so severely undercut the homegrown brands). BTW - Their guitars are great too. Distinctive sound, well built and inexpensive, if you can find them (often the music store employees yank the first ones that come in).

Bought this amp new in July 1999. In terms of features, you've seen it on previous posts. I like the simplicity of the controls (level, sweet/dirty, tone). Plenty loud for home use.

I play a Standard Fender Strat, single coils, no effects. Considering the size and price, the amp's tone is great, the distortion is nice, and it is very versatile. BUT, as with a previous reviewer, what bugs me is the hiss!! This amp produces a constant, noticable, annoying hiss, even with the guitar unplugged, and independent of the control settings. Only one thing stops the hiss: the power switch. Didn't notice it at the store due to a lot of background noise. The hiss is most annoying through headphones. It is bad enough that I can't stand to use it for late night headphone practicing, it just drives me nuts. A lot of the nice tone disappears through headphones as well. Granted, the hiss aversion may just be a personal problem, but if you have similar tendencies, stay away from this amp!

I opened up the box (trying to figure out where the damn hiss was coming from!) and found nothing remarkable. Cheap integrated circuits slapped together in a Chinese factory.

I've only been playing for two years, so I won't pretend to have a lot of experience with guitar amps. But I have been designing and building electronic equipment for 25 years, and I know that the hiss produced by this thing is orders of magnitude louder than what you would expect from even an amateur design. My guess is that when trying to cut those last few cents off the production costs they made big sacrifices. Totally inexcusable.

I hung on to this amp for six months thinking I'd get used to it, but I haven't. I'm currently shopping for a new practice amp. I'll probably give the Dano to my dog.

I bought this amp in Feb. 1999.
I find the amp to be very versatile but I usually use it on its clean setting with a Boss Acoustic pedal, Tube Screamer, an old MXR phaser, Danecho pedal and a Morley Vol/Wah.
I like to play Blues a la Stevie Ray, Beatles n' Stones etc.
There is one channel and a headphone jack.
I wish that it had an external speaker jack more than anything. The 6 inch speaker has a surprising capacity but it doesn't inspire much confidence. My wah tends to cause it to sputter. I emailed Dano but they had no recommendations for a replacement speaker. (I guess that they just didn't care that day.)

I'm using an Aria Pro strat copy with it.
The amp does kick out the notes!
A friend of mine actually plugged her old Yamaha Baby Grand into it and it handled the bass notes quite well. (I thought that I'd have to collect the speaker with a coffee filter, but I was pleasantly surprised.)
The amp is relatively quiet.
I've packed the amp off to a number of jams up against Marshalls and Fenders and still cut through the mix. Although I'm timid about the speaker, I use the amp fearlessly.
I'm sure that, an alternative rocker could use this amp's distortion sound with no effects at all. I like a little control.
I wish that my Wah didn't make it "spank"... (I just stopped using the Wah)

I've got an amused respect for this amp. I expect it to crash and burn but it doesn't.
I'll probably end up replacing the speaker and eventually I'll look into get an extension speaker wired up.
Right now I'm not gigging as a guitarist so using it without a backup is not an issue. If I miked the amp I'd probably use it without worry.
The headphone jack has lost its nut ring and I'll have to go inside and fish it out...(Piddly pain...)

I've emailed the company a couple of times and received answers within a couple of days.
The amp has never broken so I've not needed service.
The manual says that I've got to ship it back if I do need service.

I've been playing about 20 years. I have a Yorkville 400B bass rig and an Ibanez Soundgear 5 string bass. If Dano came out with a bigger amp or something like a "twin" configuration I'd look at it VERY seriously. I get such a kick out of the 50.
I just find the amp managable and simple enough for me to have a degree of understanding with.

My new Danelectro nifty fifty amp is great for Christmas music, but thats about it. Its psuedo-tube sound can't produce any punch. After I had my amp a cople of months the real problem appeared, my amp was defective and two tone knobs became "disconnected" from the circut board. Now I am am difficulty getting it fixed or talking to real person at danelectro.

This amp just does not suit my style, someone else might like it though. I play a strat standard and Nifty Fifty just is not very mean sounding, but the clean channel is nice.

0 My new amp broke after no neglect what so ever

I am having problems talking to a real person at danelectro.

This is a relatively new solid state practice amp. It's versatility is relative to it's operator. I use a lot of feedback and distortion mixed with clean tones and dynamics in a 60's acid rock format and the amp was sufficient for my needs. For what the amp is I feel the control layout is adequate. The amp is quite powerful for it's size and cost

I used it with a Fender Strat and a Gibson SG. Noise wasn't a problem with my particular unit. There's loads of distortion with the "Dirty Sweet" knob. The player's ear alone determines how well this is applied. The amp recorded quite well.

Reliability sucked Bigtime. My amp completely quit after a few weeks. I'll have it repaiered correctly with quality components and keep it or trade for a brand with a better track record.LET THE BUYER BEWARE. If you have access to competent techs it's one thing, but if you are just starting out, buy something else.

The dealer didn't give me a J card with the amp and was somewhat reluctant to do more than refer me to Dano customer service. Fortunately, I have an excellent amp tech named Rob Hull, in Memphis at Martin Music, who will get the thing back online for me.

I have been playing 27 years. I would not buy another Danelectro amp, period. As I said, I can salvage this mess. Many would not have my resources and find themselves in a very frustrating situation.

Only real advantage with this "amp" is its weight and vinyl-retro-look. 15W solid state, single 6" speaker; weighs about five pounds.

Folks, this is a cheap practice amp. I can't believe all the 9's and 8's that other people are giving it in this category. It is a very small solid state amp that costs around 100 bucks and it sounds just like a small cheap solid state amp. The built-in distortion is awful. Having said that, it does have surprisingly strong bottom-end for its size. With a reasonably good overdrive pedal in front of it and the amp set to "clean," the sound graduates from "awful" to merely "tolerable." But folks, this is NOT a blackface Vibrolux or a blonde Bassman or a Marshall Jubilee or any other amp that deserves a 9 rating under "sounds".

No idea. Had it three months; still works.

The other postings on here prove that most contributors have no idea of what a good amp sounds like; if all you do is play in your bedroom, this amp will allow you to hear yourself. If you are tired of carrying your Bandmaster to rehearsals and want to save your back, and you're not too picky about sounding good, this is a good buy. I admit I did gig with it twice, in a really small (!) pub, and it got me heard. But if you are considering buying a Nifty Fifty, don't be fooled into thinking that this is a serious guitar amp.

Brand new. 1999 manufacture I suppose. Features as stated in others' reviews. Been playing for 25 years, but haven't owned a lot of amps:
A small Crate back in the '80s. A little butt-kickin' Gorilla. Also a sweet old Epiphone (1/12) tube model(#?) w/'verb and trem! It is sorely in need of new tubes now...one of these days... Anyway, based on my love of my reissue 59-DC, and the reviews found here, etc., I decided to try out the Nifty Fifty.
I've gotta agree that this thing is cosmetically divine! And the sounds are pretty darn groovy. The settings listed in the manual are real helpful to those such as myself who aren't technophiles - in no time I was getting some impressive tones. I play avocationally - mostly blues, but a smattering of everything; so this is the ideal concept for me - small is good. Indeed, I like this pup a lot. There's only one thing about it that detracts from it's
"creampuff-at-a-bargain price" Holy Grail status for me. It has nothing to do with any LACK of anything - features, tone, nuthin'! see below...

Dano 59-DC. Mexi strat. Fine for my blues excursions and stuff. What knocks it down a notch for me (here we go) is the NOISE (see review above bemoaning speaker HISS) that the poor little hisser makes just sitting there. All controls DOWN even. Nothing plugged INTO it even. I emailed Dano' about it (just this morning - haven't heard back yet) I'm actually considering returning it. I guess I COULD live with it if I have to, but WHAT'S UP WITH THE HISS!? Could this not be reduced or eliminated. I kind of hope the joke's on me and this IS typical, but still it's a shame that this one aspect can be so seemingly incongruous with an otherwise HEARTBREAKER of an amp. That's IT! It's such a damn cool little amp that it just CAN'T have ANY flaws... But then again it was only $90.00... :(
Back to the review format... I haven't really cranked it yet - might never. No need. As stated: thrilled with tones and variety thereof! As indicated in other reviews: roll off that treble when you turn up the drive. Giving it a seven here only because of the EVIL HISS.

Seems good overall. Only had it a couple of days... I know - too soon for a review! ... but I couldn't resist... Don't gig, but I think it would do fine for my stuff if I did. Just mic it! An eight here because the hiss might indicate radioactive leakage or something. Kidding about the radioactive part of course : /

Based on others' stated experience, Dano should be very helpful. I'm sure I'll get an email response within a few days. I'm eager to hear from them. One year warranty. A five only because I can't yet speak from personal experience.

It's a sweet-pea overall! Definitely a tone mini-monster. I'd probably replace it if it walked away.
It really does have all necessary features. KILL THAT HISS and it would be manna from heaven! A nine because of that damned hiss. I mean it. It's ALMOST PERFECT. Now, I'll just make an appointment with my therapist and everything will be just fine...maybe I'll just hit a pillow...

This amp has five very nice feeling nobs, a switch, LED, power cord, nice manual, and one hell of a appearance! It's leather all the way around in perfect old-fashioned colors with a nifty logo on the front. The built in 'Dirty Sweet' overdrive is good too. A nice bonus is the manual that gives knob setting examples for different styles, which isn't really critical but is kind of helpful. The headphone jack is there, but is a little too quite when you're playing clean. Only 15 watts of power, but it sounds much more that that. For a small cheap amp, lotsof features.

The sounds are very versitile. Trying out the settings in the manual proves this. It get's pretty damn loud while sounding good, the best I've heard in a 15 watt amp. The distortion is sounds pretty good to me. It can be pretty noisy, but I think that's because of my crappy Samick Strat copy.

There's nothing to tell me it's not reliable. I've had it for a day, so I guess I can't really say but it seems sturdy. The only downside is two seconds I bought it I bumped it into the door on the way out of the shop, knicking the purdy leather. I fixed it up pretty well, but the delicate finish takes it down a couple knotches.

Beats me!

Hot damn, best little amp I've seen. Granted my experience in electirc guitars is very young, but I know what sounds good. This thing sounds good, and looks even better. I can't wait to take it somewhere and show it off. I upgraded from a weeney Peevey 15 watt practice amp, and the difference is incredible. The sound is so big, it's hard to believe it has an 8" speaker. I suppose since it's so cheap and low wattage it's technically a 'practice amp,' but if I would definatly use it for a show. If you are looking for a good affordable guitar amp, BUY THIS!

Features? What features. Hi-Mid-Bass, Level and Dirty-Sweet(distortion). 15 watts, one 8" speaker. Extremely cool covering and real leather handle. Shes a looker.

Im playing a Gibson Les Paul Special mainly through this amp with stock Gibson pickups. The amp sounds great overall an dis very quiet through my Les Paul. I havent had the chance to play a Strat through it yet, so I dont know how it reacts to single coils, but Im sure it would still be fairly quiet. The clean tone is very clear and pronounced with very little natural distortion until you get to about 4 oclock on the dial, after that it breaks up a little. There is also an amazing amount of low end on this little amp, more so than any other practice amp Ive ever played. Although the clean tone is nice and smooth, you dont get to the best part of this amp until you turn that Dirty-Sweet knob up a little. The crunch coming from this thing blows my mind. Turn it a little and get a fat, creamy bluesy overdrive, turn it up more and youve got full Marshall Plexi crunch. Man I love this amp. Ok, heres the bottom line, relative to the size of this amp and the price I payed for it, it is simply amazing. I give it a ten relative to the size and cost. However, this is no top of the line Matchless or Fender or Marshall. So, I give it a solid 8 overall.

The first amp I brought home died on me just five minutes after turning it on. It just developed this loud constant crackle . I checked my cables but it was defintely the amp. So I drove it back to the deal (Motor City Guitar, Waterford Michigan) and they replaced it without any problems. The one I have now has been great for the past several days. No problems so far. I have enough faith in this amp to gig with it if I had to.

I havent dealt with Dano but I did have to take the amp back to the dealer and they replaced it no questions asked.

Ive been playing for a couple of years now and currently own an Epiphone Les Paul and a Gibson Les Paul Special. In addtition to the Dano I own a PEavey Bandit 112. I would buy this amp again if stolen, its just so much fun. Overall its a great little amp for practice or miked gigs. It blows away any otehr amp in its price range. I would like it to have reverb, but ill live. This amp has my full endorsement however if you need a small amp to practice with. Its a great product.You

Three tone controls for a very versatile sound. The manual offers some pretty helpful suggestions for settings. Power cord unplugs you can stow it completely, nothing hanging out to catch on door knobs.

Outstanding for the price. Very sweet and versatile clean sound and the dirty goes nicely from thick to all out grunge. Very impressive for a solid state amp!

Mine broke down on day 5. Completely dead except with Dirty Sweet cranked all the way, At that setting it still worked perfectly.

I can't speak for Danelectro, but the local shop took very good care of me. Traded for a crate GX20M. Not as good a sound but I know I can count on a solid state crate.

I've been playing for 40 years (or so) I've used a lot of amps and was very impressed with the sound of this little guy. It certainly doesn't compare with my Boogie but it cost about a twentieth as much. I just HATE it when stuff breaks down, thus the low rating. It didn't last a week fer Hell sake!

Three tone controls, Dirty/Sweet knob for overdrive, volume control. No reverb. 8 in. speaker, 15 watts solid state.
VERY COOL soft leather-like covering, two-tone. It looks retro, but kind of nuevo retro, you know? Modern, yet old. I don't know.
All my reviewing here will be from the context of price/performance ratio.

I play in a surf band, and use a Fender Hot Rod deluxe amp, Danelectro DC (Jimmy Page models, you know) G&Ls. Also have a Strat, Les Paul Special, and Les Paul Custom.
I got this amp simply to screw around with, take elsewhere in the house to jam, back patio, run a stereo out to, etc. Not to play out with necessarily (although you could almost do that with this!)
That said, it is a cool amp. The manual really provides some great suggestions for different sounds. I LOVE the sound of the DC guitars, with the lipstick pickups, through this amp. It doesn't take a lot to overdrive it, and make it "fuzz out" like you're running it through your old stereo system, so the Danelectros, with their weaker output, are a perfect match. Sometimes I'll even play it in favor of my Fender tube amp, just for a different tone. Plus, IT JUST LOOKS SO COOL you have to play it from time to time.
As you turn up the Dirty/Sweet knob, it gets fuzzier, although up to about 9 o'clock, it pretty much just increases volume, which is good.
At higher overdrive levels, turn down the treble for more "ear pleasing" overdrive. If you're into it, the overdrive does indeed reach "thrash" levels.
Used with a Tubescreamer in front of it, helps the overdrive from being less fuzzy, but not a ton. It kind of retains its trashy sound.

So far, fine. Seems well-built. It's simple enough.

Not dealt with them.

This is a fun, very cool-looking little amp that really cranks pretty well. If my main amp went down, I would seriously give this guy a shot at a gig, with some pedals in front of it. For the price, it's just fantastic to have around. I own two of the new double cutaway guitars, and they're absolutely phenomenal.

Brand new amp, bought at Guitar Center grand opening. Overall: Solid state low-power (10-15W?) combo with 8" speaker, open back cabinet, headphone jack. Controls: Dirty-Sweet (gain), Level, Bass, Mid, Treble. Reverb would be great, but this thing is quite a bargain as it is. I bought this amp for quiet practice situations and portability.

So far I have used this amp with a Fender Lonestar Strat, American Standard Natural Ash Strat (I specify because I think the wood affects the tone), and a Les Paul Classic. My musical styles these days tend to be less modern, including blues, surf, rockabilly, a tiny bit of jazz, and a little bit of punk. This amp can handle all of these with no external effects, although I find that I prefer to use a nice clean sound on the amp and add distortion using outboard effects. Effects I use include an old MXR dyna comp, Ibanez TS9 (modified for TS808 circuit), Danelectro Daddy-O, Fab Tone, Cool Cat, and finally an old Ibanez AD9 delay. As you might imagine, the Dan-o effects sound pretty cool with this amp. The amp does not get as loud when kept clean as it can get when the gain is up, but by bumping the Dirty-Sweet up to around 9-10 o' clock the output can be increased with only slight compression and only a little noticeable distortion. When using the Dirty-Sweet to add distortion above around 11 o'clock, things can get quite buzzy and raw until you back off on the treble control - this is where it becomes obvious that you are dealing with a solid state amp. However, there is a large amount of control over the tone, and you can crank the distortion up and back off the high end to smooth things out for a very responsive, creamy lead tone. Alternatively, you can dial in a clean sound that is either somewhat bright (not quite sparkly - again, not my bag so it is okay with me), or quite warm. Oh, talk about warm - that is why I had to have this little guy, it had more warmth and bottom end response than the little Crate thing for $60 more, and the Crate actually does use tubes (it has a single tone control tho). Very impressive showing for a solid state amp. I've been playing tube amps exclusively for quite a while, and I am very impressed with the "vibe" of this cheap little Chinese made amp. The folks at Dan-o did their design and engineering work well before sending this for production. BTW, my experience has been similar with their pedals, which I have been using for almost two years now, since the Daddy-O first came out.

I've only had this amp for a week, but if it is anything like the Dan-o pedals, I don't expect to be making any warranty claims. I don't know if I'd be comfortable with any amp on a gig without a backup, but I'd be comfortable carrying the N50 as a backup for a tube amp. This amp has not broken down and does not exhibit any signs of early problems.

Have not dealt with customer support.

I've been playing for 19 years now, and currently own several (more like 9) guitars including the ones noted above, and other amps including Marshall, vintage Fender, vintage Gibson, and Music Man amps, and a big box of effects. I would replace this amp if lost or stolen, without hesitation, because I know I can take it anywhere with me and get a good sound without inflicting hearing damage on myself or anyone else, that is what I love about it. What do I hate about it? Well, I wish it was made here in the USA, but it seems very solidly built despite being made in China, and the components appear to be of moderately decent quality. The covering on the cabinet feels almost luxurious, the feet on the bottom are real screw-in rubber bumpers, and I can't believe the carrying handle is real leather.
I compared it to other products including Crate (the sound of the Crate did not compare to the Dan-o), the Dan-o Dirty Thirty (another surprising amp, but smaller and not as warm), and the Fender Pro Junior (really nice tone, real tubes, but 2-1/2 times as expensive with fewer features).
I was looking for a cheap and dirty little amp to take on vacation with me, and I think I ended up with something that I will be using a lot because it has the tone(s) I want at the low volume level I need to practice at. This amp is an incredible value at around $100.