Danelectro 1956 U2 Reissue

This is the reissue of the old Danelectro U2 guitars. Recent Guitar Player review seems to indicate it's pretty darn close, production-wise and feature-wise, to the original. Right down to aluminum nut and rosewood bridge. Hollow, with plywood body and masonite top (I think). Two lipstick (chrome) pickups, single cutaway body. Three-position pickup toggle. Volume and tone knobs are concentric, like on some car stereos. No case or gig bag included. No manual. Pretty basic, but I knew that going in. All the colors are great, mine happens to be light blue and cream. Pure cheese. There's a wide, thin textured paper-like binding around the body. Very different. I give it a "9" for rating because you can't adjust intonation on individual strings, or adjust a truss rod. Other than that it had all the features I wanted...

I play in a surf-rock band (Ventures, Surfaris, Southern Culture on the Skids) and it's pretty perfect for most songs. It's definitely got it's own very unique vibe going. If you've every heard Southern Culture (Walk Like a Camel), this guitar nails it. I'm using it through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. For raw overdrive and cheesy clean, this guitar is wonderful. My only complaint is in the pickup differences: the middle position is WAY deeper and fuller than the neck-only or bridge-only, and it seems like it should be between the other two. I think it may be wired wrong. Also, it seems like the bridge pickup is just a little too trebly, although that may be the way it's supposed to be. But I'm nit-picking...it's supposed to be cheese, and cheese it is. The middle and neck positions (especially middle, like I said) yield a surprisingly pleasing and full clean sound. I tried out two of these at a guitar show, and came home with this one. There was a big difference in the pickup sounds on those two. My advice would be to try and test a couple, if you can. Also, while the volume pots seem to roll off gradually, the tone pots are very sudden and severe. But again, I didn't get this baby for subtle tone.

I use .010s and .011s typically, and I think this came with .009s, so I changed the strings to .011-50 to help the bridge pickup. I wanted to go heavier, but I'm unsure of the ability of the neck to take it. It is, after all, a "cheap" guitar. I had to adjust the action a bit, but I've never NOT had to do that on any guitar I've bought. You have to personalize something like that. The strap buttons are (this was a little disappointing) simply shoved in, and come out quite easily. I can glue them in sometime if I feel like it, however. No big deal. Frets were beautiful. So far it stays in tune fairly good, not great. I'll plan on stomping on my tuner every couple of songs. Finish is flawless and quite beautiful, in a cheesy sort of way. It's a simple beauty.

I feel like if treated with a moderate amount of respect, this guitar will hold up fine. But who knows: it's a $250 guitar.

No dealings with the company.

I have a Fender Strat Plus and G&L ASAT (Telecaster). The other guitar player in our band is playing a Strat, and I wanted something different sounding and looking to complement his gear. Let me say this: I knew it was cheap and had the cheap-o features going into the deal. So I've rated it on that baseline. It met most of my expectations, with the exception of the bridge pickup and strap buttons. Rating it against a PRS or Gretsch or Fender would be wrong. This guitar doesn't aspire to be that. It's a cool retro guitar that has a very unique feel, look and sound. It's way cool, daddy-o. But that's just one man's opinion.

This, as others have said is a pretty authentic reissue of an old gutar. The originals were available through such places as Sears, and were not expensive guitars. The one major feature is it's semi hollow body design, even though it looks solid. Top and back are quite thin. It has two lipstick case pickups, a tone and volume for each, which are stacked (tone control is on top of the volume control). It is a single cutaway body, it's light, and top and back are Masonite over a plywood frame. Not sure what the neck is made of, fingerboard is rosewood. Mine is the cool copper color, I prefer the blue suede but mine played better. Haven't seen all of the colors yet. I bought a gig bag with mine but they come with nothing as far as accessories go.

I play mostly the blues, rock stuff. I use this through a Fender Pro Junior, and what ever effects I feel like. So far it's just been the amp and guitar. Mine hums a little, but no more than my Strat. The Dano has a unique acoustic quality, it's very bright and while it doesn't seem to have a lot of sustain the notes will keep vibrating for a lond time (I know, sounds like a contradiction). Cranked, mine doesn't squeal, but it does feed back in the most delightful way. The pickups don't have a lot of output, but they are not what a would call real clean, especially when you run them both together, this gives it a nice growl. The sound leans towards the treble side of things, but this gives the bottom end a real tight defined sound. I love it because it doesn't sound like a strat, or a double humbucker.

I am happy with mine, but I tried five. One was dead from the factory and the store was sending it back. One hummed very loudly, although I only played it by itself, so it could have been the amp or the stores electrical system. One of the others had slightly discolored rosewood in the upper end of the fretboard. Mine is quieter than my strat, the pickup selector is a little cheesey, not solid at all, and the gutar I played that hummed had a reallllly loose switch. I adjusted the action when I got it home, I will leave it alone probably from now on. The neck is in good shape and well finished, the intonation wasn't perfect but good enough, string spacing, frets, etc, all seem excellent. The nut may have to be sanded or just have some graphite rubbed over it. All the ones I played seemed like they were catching on the nut when you really bend the strings. It does stay in tune well even though the tuners look kinda cheap. The volume and tone controls work well and are quiet, as is the jack. I had a little nick in my bridge but other than that the finish is flawless. It's not a bookmatched flame maple top or anything, but the finish is perfect for this guitar. The neck plays great and has no buzzes until you get the action way down, which I won't because to me, that interferes with the guitars acoustic properties, which is one of it's main charms. I rate mine an eight, but play a few and find a good one.

I never take one guitar to a gig if I can help it, but I figure this is as good as any of my other ones. I think if you take the time to find a good one from the start you shouldn't have any problems. The pickup selector seems suspect (loose movement) but has displayed no sonic evidence of future problems. The top and back are quite thin in places, so you probably wouldn't want to beat it against your amp or anything. The tuners should be kept lubed on occasion. The strap buttons may be something I replace at some time. They are just pushed in like an acoustics, and I would prefer something a little more sturdy.

Can't say, the local store looks after all the stuff it sells.

I've been playing about 25 years, I've had a bunch of guitars and amps. Currently have a strat (almost 20 years now), a Vantage flying V, a Takamine acoustic, Fender Pro Junior, and some effects. I think with the Dano you have to know what your getting into, it's a very good copy of a very cheap guitar (although I had Silvertones and none of them played like this, 1\4" action, baseball necks). It's not a Strat or a Les Paul, it has a character all it's own. It's character is special and not something you will find elsewhere. That is why I bought it, it's the first guitar in along time that just is plain old funky, and put a big smile on my face. If it was stolen I would be at the music store in a second getting a new one.

I just bought a brand new Dano U2 re-issue. It's got a wacky semi-hollow body made out of 3/8 inch Masonite, plywood and vinyl. The neck is Maple with a rosewood fret board. It's got lipstick pick-ups, just like the original Danelectros. Mine is "Commie Red". It's sort of a dark crimson color, similar to what Dano uses on their "Fab-Tone" pedal. It didn't come with a case or any accessories.

It sounds great to me!! I play Blues/60s psychedelic-type stuff. I use it with my Fender Super amp and a Daddy-O overdrive, DOD Classic Fuzz and a Vox wah. The pick-ups do hum quite a bit, but I expected that. Passive single-coils do that...you just have to ACCEPT it (or always stand at an exact 90 degree angle to your amp!!) I had always heard that Lipstick pick-ups sound thin, but mine don't sound that thin at all. In fact, the neck pick-up sounds pretty fat. I'd describe the sound as somewhere between a Strat and a Gibson. Not thin, but not fat either. One reviewer said his Dano pick-ups gave off a lot of feedback. I think his might be defective, 'cause my Dano isn't any more prone to feed back than my Strat!! The guitar has an impressive un-amplified sound, and has a really neat "hollow-body vibe" (for lack of a better term!), when you plug it in. Running this guitar through my Daddy-O pedal with the neck pu on, I can get an awesome, fat blues sound. I find the bridge pick-up is a little weak, though...perhaps I need to raise it a little?

Well, the action was WAY to low and the strings were WAY to light, but guitars always come from the factory like that. It's so sissy-wimps don't hurt their fingers while playing "Eruption" to amaze their friends!!! I raised the bridge and put on a set of .O11s. For a guitar in this price range, you can't expect perfection, but my guitar comes pretty close!! The neck joint is solid and tight, the fret work is great and finish is absolutely flawless. The tuners are pretty crappy though, and the pick-up selector switch is very suspect indeed. Overall, I'd say the fit and finish is excellent, for ANY price range. (Gibson!!! Are you listening???) This guitar is definitely "low-tech", but not "low-quality".

Just got it, so I can't testify as to it's long term reliablity. Has a one year warranty. My other Danelectro product,(my beloved Daddy-O pedal) has worked perfectly for almost a year.

Customer support? Personally, I rely on the guys who work at my local guitar shop. I've been going their for 10 years and have always got great service. Company support is great if you can get it, but I don't rely on it!

Overall, it's great. Looks cool, sounds cool and at a bargain price. Great neck too!! Really comfortable. My one quibble is with the strap buttons. THEY SUCK!!! Oh, God how they SUCK!!They should be metal, they should be SCREWED into the body, and the should be placed in the traditional locations. I was intially attracted to this guitar because of it's looks and price. After trying it out I realized how good it sounds and how well it's built (from very humble materials!!) Great guitar. Unbelievable price. Buy one.

This is a brand new Korean copy of a guitar made in New Jersey well before I was born. I can't really comment on how well it mimics the original U2, but most magazine reviews say it does a decent job of that. In any case, then and now it is an oddbal guitar. The body is masonite over a plywood frame -- semi-hollow in an unconventional way. The body is a single cutaway, and mine is a vibrant blue-green. It's got a 21-fret, bolt-on maple neck, which is painted the same color as the body. The neck is medium sized -- not fat, but not real thin either. It's got a rosewood fingerboard and a 25-inch scale. It's got individual tone and volume controls for each of the two pickups, and the controls are stacked -- that is, they work like an old-time radio. The inner knob does tone, the outer knob does volume. The pickups, of course, are the lipstick single-coils invented by the original Danelectro company. The bridge is a chunk of rosewood screwed to a metal plate. No intonation adjustments, but you can raise or lower the height of either end of it. The strings anchor on the bridge plate. Tuners are cheapo sealed (sort of) units.

The sound is unlike any other. Great for blues and swampy rock. I play through either a Pro Reverb or a Princeton Reverb, with a Daddy-O overdrive pedal and a Cry Baby wah. The lipsticks hum and because the body is semi-hollow, raw squeals of feedback happen with minimal effort at relatively low volume. Whether this is good or bad is a matter of personal taste; I don't mind it because I can control it and put it to use at times. If you're looking for pristine sound, however, this guitar doesn't have it. Between the hum and the feedback, there are plenty of distractions. But I like that, and I like the tone that comes through. It's a very bright guitar, even with on the neck pickup. It has a very sharp, biting tone, although the hollow body mellows it out ever so slightly. It's not Tele bright, though, it's somewhat more nasally. And with both pickups on, it has a completely unique snarl. Not much bottom end, but that also results in individual notes articulating pretty well. It doesn't sustain well, but notes really ring, which I find a quirky combination. I really like how it sounds, but I can see how it would be an acquired taste.

My particular example is well-made, but I tried out six or seven before I chose mine. Several had significant buzzing. Mine is fine. The action gets a little high the farther you get from the nut (which is made of metal), but I think I can fix that by lowering the bridge a smidgen. There is no truss rod to adjust. The pickups were adjusted well, but I tweaked them a little just to suit myself -- there was nothing wrong with the way they were. The bridge is in the right spot. The neck is bolted on firmly -- no wiggle -- but there is a little gap at the joint. The frets, amazingly, are perfect -- but again, this is something that may vary from example to example. The tuners are pretty crappy, but that's the way they all are, I think.

It's still pretty new, so I'm not sure. Subjectively, it feels a little cheap (well, it IS cheap) and it is light. One of the plastic strap buttons pulled out the first day I had it, but I pushed it back in and haven't had it come out since. But that's the kind of thing that will stay in the back of your mind. The tuners will not function well for long, I am sure. The rosewood bridge may develop grooves someday that affect tuning or intonation. Who knows. Anything will last with proper care, but it seems considerably less durable than my other guitars.

No idea.

I've got two Strats and two Hamers (a Special and a Special FM). The Danelectro is nothing like any of them. And yet although its design philosophy is 180 degrees from that of the Hamer Special, a lovingly built, top-notch guitar, its vibe is almost the same -- funky, raunchy and full of attitude. They both are individualistic guitars, but get to where they are going completely differently. And I love them both for that quality. Before getting this, there wasn't much else to compare it to -- there's nothing else like it, except a Jerry Jones longhorn at the guitar show for more than twice the money. I just instantly liked it, and figured that for less than $250, how could I go wrong?

This guitar is a brand new (1998) Danelectro faithful re-creation of a 1956 U2 made in Korea. It has a masonite top and back painted a nice aqua, a metal nut, 21 frets, and a non-adjustable (intonation) bridge. There are 2 sibgle coil "lipstick case" pickups and two concentric knobs for volume and tone for each pickup. The fingerboard is rosewood and the bolt-on neck is finished aqua just like the body. The neck is thin but has a nice basebaru bat feel. The tuners are pretty cheezy , copmes with no case. Very utilitarian

The thing sounds like a dream, picture Godzilla meets Los Lobos. I use it mostly direct (Sans-Amp) or thru a 1967 Fender Deluxe Reverb. Real bright sound and not a thin as I expected. The high end will rattle the fillings out of your teeth so its a good idea to rool back the highs a bit. No resonant frequency squeal like the old Danos. Persona;;y I am in love with this guitar, I have 16 other guitars and nothing sounds even remotely like this. Would definately bring it to play out

The set up was better that my new Gibson did on my 1997 ES-335 (big surprise?). The bridge pickup needed to be adjusted closer to the strings. The intonation was perfect. I checked it using a strobe tuner. I never expected anyone but PRS to have the guts to go with a non-adjustable bridge, especially a $250 guitar. Nice fretwork.

Not sure on reliability yet...will get back to you

1 year warrenty, don't know about customer support yet.

I have been playing for 34 years and been thru a lot of guitars. I play everthing from no-minded 80's metal to country to classical to the usual guitar gods. This is a guitar I wish I had when I was starting out a 8 years old. I am not a true collector, I have a bunch of guitars but I play an maintain every one. This one fills a gap that I didn'y know existed until I bought it.