Danelectro 1956 U2 Reissue

When Nat Daniel made the first Danelectro back in the mid Fifties, could he have had any clue that his guitar would sound so great and play so majestically? Known for its amazing tone and "signature sound", the U2 guitar was a instant hit when it first appeared in 1956. Thousands of recordings from the 50's and 60's feature its signature sound.

Forty-something years later, this U2's sonic magic is superbly replicated in its new reissue incarnation, the 56-U2. Impressively, it's a near-perfect recreation of the original with "Coke bottle" headstock and a "cool copper" colour and exact replicas of the original's "D" style tuners only used on the early reissues, probably this guitar is from 1998, these made in Korea reissues were produced from 1998 until 2001 - 2003.

Just about everything here is identical to the original. This includes those beloved "lipstick tube" (so-named because the originals actually used surplus lipstick tubes), single-coil pickups; the stacked, concentric knobs (combining volume and tone onto one pot); the heavy-duty, industrial-strength toggle switch; and an alloy bridge with a rosewood saddle.

The 56-U2's hollowness provides a buxom acoustic voice; amplified, it's a bright, trebly guitar with ample harmonic overtones that cut through a mix. It's simply a great-sounding guitar that delivers jangle (using both pickups) and fatness (the typical front-pickup tone). The pickups kick out a Strat-like output, but with more midrange. The 56-U2 offers great playability and cool vintage looks.

Specifications Average weight = 6.0 lbs.
Body Hardboard top and bottom with plywood frame.
Neck Hard maple with rosewood fingerboard.
Scale 25???
Frets 21
Body Width 42mm
Headstock Width 15.5mm
Nut Width 40mm
Action 1.6mm high 'E'
18mm low 'E'
Pickups Original style brass tube w/chrome plating
Magnet ??? Original formula 50???s style Alnico magnet.

Controls: Large knobs control volume.
Small knobs control tone.
Knobs closest to the neck control neck pickup.
Knobs closest to bridge control bridge pickup.

Toggle switch :
Up = neck pickup on.
Middle = neck & bridge pickups on wired in series in phase.
Down = bridge pickup on.

Unbelievable, if your looking for crisp & cristal clear sounds with lots of treble this is it, don't look any further anymore. I use this guitar mainly with a 1979 Fender Silverface Princeton Reverb.
I own a variety of single coil guitars : Fender Strats & Tele's, Epiphone Zephyr Blues Deluxe and an old 1960 Gibson ES-330-TD (the same guitar Grant Green used on his early Blue Note recordings), I'm a real Fender fanatic when it comes to guitars and amps, but this Dano has become my all time favourite guitar instantly. I'm suffering from "Dano fever" ever since and the next Dano I'm gonna buy is the rare & more versatile 56-U3 in a cool sparkling turquoise colour, I can't wait until I put my hands on that guitar!!!

I bought this guitar second hand and cannot say anything about the factory setup, when I got it I've tweaked around with the action until it suited my style, as a blues guitarist I prefer a little bit higher action then normal for better tone and easier string bends and I use heavier 011-049 D'addario EXL115 strings instead of the more common 010-046 strings also to achieve a better tone.
But the pickups on this guitar were not balanced well, the rhythm pu was loud compared to the weaker lead pu, even raising the lead pu height didn't improve this problem. After checking the DC resistance it turned out that the rhythm pu (LP1) with grey cable measured 3,8 kOhm and the lead pu (LP2) with white cable measured 3,77 kOhm, almost identical readings, so the unbalance in output was probably caused by a difference in magnetic strength between the rhythm pu and the lead pu???
I decided to desolder both pu leads from the pots and swapped the pickups in position, afterwards I've soldered the pu leads back to the correspondive pots and the unbalance in output was gone, the problem was solved, I assume that the original neck pickup LP1 with grey cable has stronger magnets then the lead pickup LP2 with white cable. I don't know if this was only the case with this particular guitar, normally the hotter pickup should always be mounted in the bridge position instaed of the neck position.

Here's the standard switching on a Danelectro 56-U2 :
Toggle switch :
Up = neck pickup on.
Middle = neck & bridge pickups on wired in series in phase.
Down = bridge pickup on.

As a blues guitarist I like the nasal out of phase sounds that can be achieved on a 2 or 3 pickup guitar like T-Bone Walker, Jimmy Nolan, Johnny Guitar Watson etc... I liked the standard middle position on this Dano with neck & bridge pickup wired in series in phase for a hotter output, but when I decided to change the little red & white wires of the now grey bridge pickup cable to place it out of phase with the neck pu it was pure blues heaven. I can now really achieve that cool nasal out of phase blues tone used a lot by contemporary blues cats like Rick Holmstron, Junior Watson, Teddy Morgan etc...

Here's the customised switching on my Danelectro 56-U2 :
Toggle switch:
Up = neck pickup on.
Middle = neck & bridge pickups on wired in series out of phase.
Down = bridge pickup on.

Like most other Danos equipped with a rosewood saddle mounted on an alloy bridge, the metal baseplate has warped over time under the string pressure, but the guitar still plays like a dream, no string buzzing over the entire neck because of this poor bridge design.

This guitar will withstand live playing in my hands, I'm very careful with my gear and I always take good care of it.
Recently I've played live with this Dano at a blues caf?? and got many positive reactions afterwards about the unique tones this guitar produces, I was also surprised how easily it cut through the mix.
The only thing that could break on this guitar are probably the small white plastic strap buttons, they could drop out unexpectedly, maybe I've to remove them, use very strong super glue and fix them back into place.
The vintage Danelectro & Silvertone guitars also used this simple design and are still around up to today, so I'm not afraid about the build quality, you can depend on it.

I've never contacted Danelectro.
I repair all of my gear myself, and in this case you can buy all the original Dano parts on www.danguitars.com!!!

I play for more then 22 years now, mostly blues, I wish I would have bought me a Dano right from the start.
Danelectro guitars are really fantastic, a lot of bang for the buck!!!

Danelectro 56-U2 Reissue from 1998-2001, made in Korea.
Color : Cool Copper
Specifications Average weight = 6.0 lbs.
Body Hardboard top and bottom with plywood frame.
Neck Hard maple with rosewood fingerboard.
Scale 25???
Frets 21
Body Width 42mm
Headstock Width 15.5mm
Nut Width 40mm
Action 1.6mm high 'E'
18mm low 'E'
Pickups Original style brass tube w/chrome plating
Magnet ??? Original formula 50???s style Alnico magnet.

Controls: Large knobs control volume. Small knobs control tone. Knobs closest to the neck control neck pickup. Knobs closest to bridge control bridge pickup. Toggle switch: Up position = neck pickup on. Middle = both pickups in series & in phase. Down = bridge pickup on.

This guitar is the best kept secret for blues lovers.
It has a real crisp & clean sound, retro looks & sounds, if you like Tele's for blues, this guitar will even do better.
I use the Dano with a 1979 Fender Princeton Reverb.
The guitar is a little bit noisy, but I don't care for that, you wouldn't even notice this at a life performance.
The lipstick pickups produce very clear & bright sounds, awesome.

This guitar has 3 basic sounds, toggle switch up = neck pickup, toggle switch middle = both pickups in series & in phase , toggle switch down = bridge pickup

The guitar was properly setup when I bought it second hand, nice action, not too high without fret buzzing, straight neck, this guitars plays like dream, even unplugged it produces a reasonable volume which is always a good indication.

The bridge baseplate with rosewood saddle has warped a little bit bend under the pressure of the strings, this is a common problem but didn't have any negativ impact on the sound or playability of this guitar, it is possible to upgrade the bridge to a newer model with six individual saddles for perfect height adjustment & intonation of each string, furthermore these newer bridges can be mounted down to the body to improve overall sustain, these bridges and a lot of other Danelectro parts can be bought at www.danguitars.com

I noticed a big volume difference between neck & bridge pickup, neck pickup was giving good output, bridge pickup was weak sounding, I changed the height of both pickups but didn't get the bridge in balance with the neck pickup.
I decided to desolder the pickups & placed the neck pickup in the bridge position & bridge pickup in the neck position and soldered them back to the appropriate pots -> this was a huge improvement in output balance of the 2 pickups.
After that I even changed the wiring a little bit more, I've changed the 2 leads (white & red) of the bridge pickup soldered to the volume pot to make it out of phase with the neck pickup when the toggle switch is in the middle position.
This gives you both pickups in series & out of phase for that trademark sound a la Rick Holmstron / Junior Watson / Teddy Morgan.
To my personal taste it's way better now then the normal wiring.
This mod is very simple if you can handle a soldering iron and easy to reverse.

This guitar seems strong enough to me for live performances.
Maybe the warped bridge baseplate with rosewood saddle needs to be upgraded to the newer model with 6 individual saddles
The plastic strap buttons look tricky, they can also be upgraded easily to metal ones.

I have no experience with the customer support of the Danelectro company.
I don't care too much, you can buy a lot of original Danelectro parts at www.danguitars.com, everything can be easily replaced on these guitars, they are very easy to service.

I've been playing blues guitar for more then 22 years now and I own several vintage Fender & Gibson guitars and amps.
This cheap Danelectro 56-U2 Reissue was a big surprise to me, great playability and incredible sounds at bargain prices.

I wish the Danelectro 56-U2 was also equipped with a 6-way rotary Select-O-Matic switch instead of the 3-way toggle switch.
This would give the following switching possibilities :

Pos 1 = Neck pickup
Pos 2 = Neck & Bridge pickup in parallel & in phase
Pos 3 = Neck & Bridge pickip in series & in phase
Pos 4 = Bridge & Neck pickup in series & out of phase
Pos 5 = Bridge & Neck pickup in parallel & out of phase
Pos 6 = Bridge pickup

I want to buy the Danelectro 6-way Select-O-Matic rotary switch and upgrade my Danelectro 56-U2 with it to get all the possible 6 sounds by a flick of the switch for greater versatility.

If it were stolen I would definately buy it again or maybe look for the more collectable Danelectro 56-U3 or DC-3 Reissue with 3 lipstick pickups.

1998 made in Korea lefty '56 U2 Reissue. 21 fret, 3 way pickup selector, 2 volume controls (stacked), 2 tone controls, 2 single coil Alnico "lipstick tube" pickups. Single cutaway (Les Paul style) semi-hollow body, masonite top and bottom, bolt-on painted maple neck, adjustable truss rod, 21-fret rosewood fingerboard with white dot inlays, aluminum nut, rosewood/metal stop tailpiece, "Coke bottle" headstock with screened logo, 3-per-side sealed tuners, chrome hardware with off white plastic machine heads, 2 off white plastic strap buttons. 2 tone "Aqua-burst" painted gloss finish on guitar body, back of neck and headstock. Clear, stylized plastic pickguard with "D" logo, 2 screw mount. This is a small, semi-hollow guitar, so it is quite light.
Tuners, strap buttons and the metal/rosewood bridge are the weak features of this guitar.

I really like the sound from this little guitar. I like blues and rock styles primarily and this guitar has no problem creating nice tone. I'm a hobby player and just play through a couple of practice amps, a '98 Fender Frontman Reverb and an Orange Crush 30r. I have a few other lefty guitars, a Tele, Strat and an Ibanez RG550L and the '56 U2 RI has a distinct sound from those guitars. You can get a fairly nice creamy tone on clean settings and you can also get a full, well rounded growl when you push the overdrive and crank the gain. Pickups are well behaved on all settings. Being a semi-hollowbody it is also quite resonant. I find it great for noodling on unplugged when I'm watching a game on TV or just relaxing.

I've had this guitar about 6 months and the action is a little high. I don't believe the previous owner had it set-up, so this is probably the original set up. Very playable, but it is a little high.
Fit and finish is very nice. Over ten years old, well cared for, it looks mint. Neck and frets dressed nicely, body finish (paint) is A1. Plastic strap buttons look cheap, but are serviceable, their still tight, but I haven't used a strap with it. The rosewood fretboard is not the tightest grain I've seen and is of a lighter variety in color. This type of metal/rosewood bridge have been know to warp due to string tension, however a full metal intonating replacement bridge is available for around $50 on the net.
I think my biggest complaint is the machine heads/tuners are not the best quality. They are quite stiff to use, although the guitar appears to hold tune very well.

I believe this guitar could be gigged with, although upgrades to the bridge, tuners and strap buttons may be advisable.

Have not dealt with the company. These '56 U2 Reissues were only made from 1998 to 2003. The company still has a website, however there is no information on previous models, only the current year models. It would be nice if they could incorporate more of their model history on their website.

I've been playing on and off since the early '80s, played mostly acoustic early on and in recent years more electric. I have other lefties including a '69 Fender Tele partscaster, '89 MIJ Fender Stratocaster '67 RI and a 1990 Ibanez RG550L.
I like the different tones this guitar produces compared to my other guitars. I like the size and weight, great for just picking up and creating masterpieces on the couch, lol. Love the color and retro looks. I'm always on the look out for cheap lefties, especially an LP style. This came along and it is a nice contrast to my other guitars.
If stolen or lost, I would love to find a replacement, however they are no longer made and had a limited run. My guitar retailed for $500 new here in Canada, used examples are cheaper, but appear to be rising in value.

STANDARD FEATURES, BUT A WAY COOL ANTIGUA FINISH

INCREDIBLE! JUST PLAYED IT THROUGH A PEAVY 5150. VERY IMPRESSIVE.

AS GOOD AS ANY GUITAR 4 TIMES THE COST.

SEEMS SOLID

NEVER NEEDED

EXCELLENT! EXCELLENT!

Purchased on e-bay. 2 lipstick p/u, short scale (25") lp body style. Very basic instrument, but thats the idea.

Then there's the dano sound. The only reason forgetting this guitar was the sound from the lipstick p/u's. The retro bridge p/u sound, and the phased middle position are worth every cent.

Unfortunately, it is true to the '56 version, which means a rosewood bridge. Relpaced with an intonating bridge, this guitar holds pitch WAY better. Action a little high, but for what I need (slide), no problem. No sustain whatsoever, but that should be expected given th construction.

Don't know....seems solid, but time will tell.

Never contacted

Been playing too long (35+years). I got this for the specific sound (In My Time of Dying) and covering '50's and '60's stuff. Put this in the "Have to Have" category since it is so unique. I play an Austin Tour Pro (modded with duncans) and an '84 Tele. This does things that the other just can't. "Twangier" than a Tele, major retro sound. A must have to fill out a sound library.

Not terrible, but not amazing, either. I just bought this and will probably replace rosewood bridge with the adjustable intonating chrome bridge (available at danguitars.com). A worthwile $49.00 investment in my mind. The aluminum nut is great...sure as heck beats the plastic ones found on some higher priced guitars. The guitar stays in tune just fine, but I could see myself eventually upgrading the tuning machines, as well. The strap pegs also need to go...the plastic feels like they're going to come loose (or worse...snap off). But overall the guitar seems like it was built with care.

I'm not an old blues guy, and I'm not in a dad band and I don't like heavy metal. I play powerpop (The Posies, Big Star, etc) and this guitar is great for it. I use a Marshall Valvestate Combo Amp and get a great clean tone that sounds like a Tele when I switch to the bridge pickup.

The setup out of the box was pretty darn good. Not in love with the rosewood bridge which could really throw the intonation off after a time, but it works for now. My primary stage guitar is an Ibanez Artcore AS93 (a semi-hollow double cutaway like the Gibson ES that weighs about 95lbs). Compared to that, this guitar is VERY fast. I'm no shredder, but I found myself able to do some pretty clean licks on this that were a bit tougher on the 'Nez.

The guitar looks awesome. I've got a white one that fades into this orange creamsicle color...cool as hell! I knew the second I discovered that Danos existed, I would own one someday.

I just came off a 50-date tour and now I'm taking a four month rest before I head back out. I acquired the Dano after said tour was over, but it'll be around for the next one. After playing it around the apartment and among friends, I think as long as it's taken care of, it can withstand some hefty gigging. I'm going to get a hard case for it...for now it sits in a guitar hook on my wall (talk about hanging a piece of fine art). Tunings pegs and strap pins feel a bit flimsy (I'm likely going to upgrade both eventually). Since I do like to live dangerously, I would play a show with no backup. I think the Dano would come through.

N/A

I've been playing guitar for only four years and have quickly become an enthusiast. I have an Ibanez Artcore AS93, a Fender American Strat, and a Guild acoustic. The Dano is the perfect addition to my guitar collection. I can't wait to play it live and show off to all those old dads playing their dusty barroom covers. If this guitar were stolen, I'd look to replace it immediately.

Malt-shop cream '56 U2 reissue purchased in summer 2000. The lipstick pick-ups look great and produce a great viontage tone. 22 frets, limiting for lead guitar in higher keys but never really been a problem. stacked volume/tone knobs with three way pick up select. The metal nut is a nice touch, shame about the cheap-looking plastic pegs for securing the strap in place, unfortunately they have a tendancy to come loose. The action is nice and low which allows for fast playing and easy chord playing higher up the fret board. The guitar is hollow and feels as though it could be easily damaged yet i've never had any problems so it must be tougher than it looks.

Works well for almost all styles. I play a lot of blues, funk and hard rock and the guitar is well suited to all of these.
In a clean setting the guitar shines through with a distinctive tone ideal for jangley settings, especially in conjunction with a chorus pedal. The guitar excells with a rich, full bluesey bite in an O/D 1 setting with a fantastic full crunch. Turn the amp up to the 11 and the U2 will sustain notes with brilliant clarity as long as you want it to whilst offering nice fat power chords. Knock the pick up select into the bridge position and the guitar produces a tone reminiscent of a telecaster. None of the pick up positions are noisy and the stacked volume/tone knobs allow for lots of tweaking in creating whatever sound you want. On sound alone this guitar is great, the fact that it looks amazing too is a bonus.

Nice low action straight from the box, i've never had any complaints and as such i've never bothered having it adjusted. One screw on the higher pick up has a tendancy to come loose from time to time causing the pick up to mute the top string, although easily fixed with a screwdriver this is rather irritating when it happens. The guitar has a fantastic retro look. Aside from the cheap, loose strap pegs and the equally cheap looking tuning pegs I wouldn't have this guitar any different.

I use this guitar for gigging and teaching and 7 years on it is still my favourite. The hardwear has held it's own as has the finish. A few knocks on the headstock have seen the paint wear off ever so slightly but you'd only notice if you were really looking for it. Sound wise this guitar always performs and as such is reliable. Part of me wants to replace the tuning pegs and strap buttons but at the same I like the colour scheme of the instrument and am reluctant to actually act on doing this for fear of butchering an old friend in the process. I always gig with several guitars for fear of snapping a string as well as for a variety of different sounds. I also have a Fender Strat and a PRS and tend to vary between these instruments.

For what I paid this guitar is fantastic value. If it were lost/stolen I would seek out another one as soon as. I like Danelectros for their distinctive tone and retro look. They look very different to most other guitars which also sets them apart. Apart from some of the cheap hardwear already mentioned there is little fault I could pick about the U2. If you ever get chance to buy one do so, you won't be disappointed.

Imagine the beauty of any noise after 10 years of silence. This guitar aims to please and pleases to aim. Might look like it was made in a Korean sweatshop (possibly was) but don't judge a book by it's cover. It's always darkest before dawn... play a simple open chord and realize your own musical expression.

Unfortunately, cream and pink don't always impress the ladies. I'm secure with my manhood though so whats good for the goose is good for the gander. I'd give it an 3 but the sound makes the inadequate paint an 8.

I've been playing guitar for a solid 1 1/2 months, I've been playing this guitar for 1 month, and have had only slight problems with some cracking from the input. But then again, does as bear shit in the woods?

Like a fart in the wind.... does this company even exist anymore?

fantastic value... I suggest you find yours at yardsale as well... suckers.

this is actually just an edit to my review my dano is actually a56 reissue pro,it has an ajustable bridge(not a wooden one),the tuners are solid and closed ,the strap buttons are chrome plated metal and screwed in.there is an ajustable truss rod but the neck must be removed to make a change.and i justed wanted to add that pickup selector switch is actually very quite.not a pop or click or anything.it seems the quality of these guitars really varys and should be throughly checked out before buying.

i cant lie it feels cheap, it looks plain,and it does'nt have any features to speak of .It's almost impossible to set the action. yup its pretty much a piece of ikea furniture with strings.but its a dream to play and sounds wonderfull.

with different amps and effects there has'nt been anything that this guitar has lacked in

the factory setup was poor,well bad actually.horibble string buzz the frets were all over the place and the action was too high.but it went to the guitar tech and 50 bucks later and it feels and plays as nice as my prs cu 22.i shoud've bought the dano first and saved about 3500 bucks

treat it gently you could play it for ever.but it is light and feels delicate.its not punk rock lifestyle friendly.

hasn't been an issue

i ve played guitar long enough to know it plays and sounds as good as my prs and blows my les paul away in every way.a high end guitar may look better but this one is alot of fun to play and would need to be replaced first if i lost all my guitars.