Danelectro 1956 U2 Reissue

Well this has about the same amount of features as a standard Les Paul two volumes two tones, 3 way selector. There are a few shortcomings but nothing too terrible, a metal looks like alluminum nut, which might cause string binding problems. The tuners are a little cheesy but they have performed fine. The one real shortcoming is the strap posts, which are just pushed in and bound to come out eventually. The rosewood bridge might also become a problem with the tiny wear notches the strings make. Overall though, not bad for $200 and some coolness as well.

Well, I played quite a few of these in the store, and I thought they were cool enough and cheap enough to add to the arsenal. When I told the salesman who was a friend of mine I wanted one he said wait Kurt I've got one for you. He disaapears into the back and comes out with a black one that looks normal enough. I only noticed one thing and that was that the fretboard was like a 1/4" think looked like a huge chocolate bar. I plugged it in and was like wow listen to this. The cleans were beautiful really sparkly and really twangy, overall very nice and a sound I didn't have with my other 12 guitars. It's a touch noisey when you have anything more than lower gain settings, but it sounds so good at the lower levels that you'd never want any high gain on it. The ideal combination for this is a nice thick clean with some chorus and delay and on the other end of the spectrum think Matchless type drive with big cabinets, great full sound. Not too many guitars in this price range or double can get as much tone, but I suspect it comes from the fact that it has sound chambers. These chambers are probably how it gets around being made of inferior materials, it's made with a masonite top and back and plywood internals. Plywood is stable, but not exactly a tonewood and who knows what masonite really does. No matter how you break it down though the sound that comes out is what's most important.

It came with slightly high action for me, lowered it a little at the bridge and it felt good, I like the radius and size of the board, another fret would have been nice. THe pickup selector is a little cheap and it can become a little noisy. The fretwork was great right out of the box. I also bought the matching hardshell case and that was decent too. In this category it was as good as most decent instruments.

Well I'd just say be careful with it, I haven't really had any problems so far, but haven't used it much in a live environment, however, being it's semi-hollow it won't sustain a fall like some solids might. I can see potential problems though, especially for those not particularly careful with their equipment.

I have no idea what so ever.

I have been playing for quite a while, and am the owner of KWCABS the custom guitar speaker cabinet company. I own a dozen guitars ranging from many thousands to guitars like this and only use great gear, and one thing I have learned is that if you are discriminating, big price doesn't always equal great quality and vice versa. This particular U2 that I have is great, and I would hate to lose it, it would be hard to find a replacement. I might not use it all the time, but it has some sounds that it's ideal for. All in all a steal for the price, and it's something a little different.

I'll give it a ten for features because this guitar has everything I expect from a guitar: two pickups with a switch and individual volume/tones, six strings, etc. I think that asking anything more of a guitar that's so cheap is ridiculous.

However, I did put some money into upgrading it. First, new strap buttons, because my strap was falling off all the time (even now it still does though, so I guess I'll get those things that clip onto your strap). Then, a Bigsby vibrato bar, with a new bridge (Schaller I think, I forget) to make life easier. WOW! What a difference this made! Now it's a much more versitile guitar, and in fact it has become my main guitar (replacing a Jazzmaster which I think I'm going to sell to buy a second Dano). Next, I'm going to replace the tuners, pickup selector switch, and output jack, because those all seem a bit squirrely.

Imagine my surprise that a $125 could sound as good or better than a Telecaster? That's the closest comparison I would make, and it does the sound very well. Again, I give it a for-the-value rating. There's nothing you can get for this cheap that sounds as good as this.

At first I thought the sound was good but a bit weak, so I raised the pickups a little and that helped. The problem is that you can't raise them very high without them wobbling around. A friend with an original Dano told me the solution is to raise them to the proper place and then put copious amounts of tape on the screws to keep them there. Worked like a charm.

Then, when it came back from the shop, the new bridge had raised the strings a bit higher and the sound was weak again. When I mentioned it to the guy at the shop, he gave me some strips of weather-insulating foam to put under the pickups to raise them up a bit. Brilliant. I did that in conjunction with the tape on the screws and now they sound perfect.

Since I didn't get it straight from the factory, I can't tell about the setup for sure. But I love the setup right now. I have .011 gauge strings on there, and they sound and play really well. No fret problems, but see above for the pickup adjustment problems I had.

I'm docking a few points for the hardware though. The bridge, tuners, pickup selector, strap buttons, and output jack are all shamefully bad. I have replaced or will replace all of them. I mean, I know it's cheap, but it couldn't have saved them more than a couple of dollars to make these so terrible.

I would give it a 7 in its stock state, but with upgraded hardware (say, about $70-$100 worth of upgrades, which still makes the guitar an incredible value for the money) it would be a ten. Still, some people are unwilling to put any money into making a good guitar into an awesome one, so 7 it is.

The company doesn't make the guitars anymore, so I'll leave this blank.

This is an excellent guitar and beats many that cost much more. It's a shame that Danelectros aren't taken very seriously.

I play this guitar through a Zoom Ultra Fuzz, Ibanez DE-7, sometimes a Boss DD-20. Sounds excellent with fuzz and delay, particularly with some short slapback. Amp-wise, I use a Fender Ultimate Stereo Chorus when I want ultra-clean sounds and a 9-watt Gibson Discoverer when I want dirty rock-n-roll. I particularly love cranking the Gibson and playing some Big Star. Normally I'm not a big fan of bridge pickups, but the one on the Dano is great.

I've owned a bunch of Dano stuff: the Vibe (eh. like a phaser with a really fast rate), the EQ (excellent), Slapback Echo (good, though a one-trick pony), Fabtone (excellent), and Cool Cat (excellent, second in its price range only to the EH Small Clone). If you've got about $300 and want a good backup or slide guitar or different sound, then I would suggest getting a Dano of any kind and upgrading the hardware. If you hunt patiently, you can even score deals as good as mine.

well its made of hardboard but dont let that put u off.Cool lipstick pickups.Tuners look great and do a reasonable job(same applies to the bridge)

This is where this guitar really scores!!!
Pure white stripes tone with both pickups on,gretchy at the bridge,whispery at the neck.
Got mine 5 years ago as a spare guitar in case i broke a string live.Ended up using it as my main guitar!!!!!!!!!!+it only cost 100gbp in a sale.
Just has a sound all its own and a great one at that.

Quite a high action but good 4 slide.
Finish is ok.
good fretwork
Adequate tuning stability(have fitted mine with a set of grovers.)

Never let me down yet.Guess it feels flimsy on account of its lack of weight(this aint no les paul!!!)

Great value and more importantly great tone.Get one now if u can find one!!

well reviewed by the 100+ people who submitted reviews. i read the reviews before i picked up this guitar.

2 lipstick sc's
made of masonite?
3 way selector
rosewood bridge
feels like a short scale neck. neck is average, in my opinion similar to some fenders i've had before.

features are for what you really need in a basic guitar.

mine is the "coral" type color.

i was really shocked here. the pickups are actually good! chords , which i thought would sound like mush, sound great! single notes are clear as well. has the real vintage vibe to it.
can get a variety of sounds with it- anything from 60's rock to your jimmy page , old school blues, get the jack white sound with ease if you so desire. sounds great! i thought ahead of time that the pickups would be junk and that they would need to be replaced( duncan makes aftermarket pickups for this, cost around $62 each... but i think i will leave them as is.
another surprise, as mentioned by another reviewer, is that you do get a boost in volume with pickups combined.

action is a tad hi... this is a second hand guitar. can deal with it as is; i might just reserve it for playing slide stuff on, but can work with it. as this is used, but not heavily used, it had a cheapo am. paint design painted on it by a previous owner, but that will easily come off.

i'm not sure about this bridge. i have heard of someone who had one of these who replaced the bridge , etc.. with individual saddles on it.. is it worth doing all that? that's up to you. strap buttons are solid. the tuners are absolute crap..
input jack and selector switch are 'scratchy' .. need to be replaced.
if you were gigging / practicing with this, you'd absolutely have to frequently tune up.

could be gig worthy for a few songs; keep in mind this would not be someone's main axe, but it has a nice sound to it.

my latest trip to the dano website.... not much. you can only access info on their new series of pedals on there. cust. support seems non existant. it's an inexpensive guitar-- you're on your own.

overall , it's a fun guitar. best way to put it. it honestly has a great sound. i'm playing it through a vox ad120 vt. haven't tried this guitar with anything hi gain, but i will to see how it sounds.

i felt like i got my money's worth with this one...
keep in mind this isnt a custom shop guitar-- so don't expect it be that. also, i can't stress the importance of having a decent amp. soooo many people bash guitars, etc... , then they list there gear, which usually consists of a $100 cheap practice amp, a $39 zoom multi effects pedal, and all i can say is, what do you expect?

it's got a nice sound, it's debateable if its really 'gig worthy' ...
i agree with other reviews on the signature sound.
if you can get one for cheap, go for it.
for some reason, some of these recent year dano guitars are going for 250- $300... i dont know if i would pay that.

a few minor upgrades( new selector switch, input jack, ) and this guitar is good to go.

LEFTY Black Dano U2! Bought it for $175.00CDN! This is a guitar that i have set up for slide playing, and it gives me a nice gritty sound! It is super light, being made of masonite!! 2 lipstick pups, 3 way switch, volume and tone contols. These guitars have super necks! Great shape and feel, great finish.Great fretboard and frets. Bridge is a crappy little rosewood thing, gotta change that. Tuners are poopoo too! but they look cool...came with 0 accessories.

It suits my style for slide, and i find myself sitting around playing it for general purposes too. It is a little on the brittle tinny side, but that is sometimes the sound i am looking for. I push this thing thru a Vibro King or a little Blues Junior. If you tinker with the tone contols, and you should, you can get some legit tones out of it. I dislike the bridge, tuners thats about it.

Great neck and fretboard, frets. Finish is kinda cheesy on the bod etc. but that is part of its charm, i guess, who cares what a 175$$ guitar looks like! It has vibe.

Sure, it will withstand pretty well anything, except for those tuners and bridge...you can depend on this guitar to sound the way it sounds! i would never use this on a gig without a back up, seeing that i only use it for slide live.

never use em.

been playing along time own lots o stuff. i saw this thing, in all its lefty splendor, hanging on the wall and i went to it and asked it if it wanted to come home with me and it said yes. if it were lost or stolen, i would find the person who did it and call them an idiot for stealing it and not my $2000.00+ guitars next to it!! I never compared this guitar to anything else. i wanted a guitar i could set up for slide and thus sacrifice it in a way, since i would not enjoy playing it for anything else because the action is too high. Wish i had a long horn bass, lefty.

Re-issue, Korean made Danelectro 2 single-coil, single cutaway pickup guitar.

3-way pickup selecter, stacked tone/volume knobs for each pickup. Unusually, pickups are wired in series, meaning you get a big output boost when you select both pickups at once.

Semi-hollow masonite construction. Very attractive blue-burst finish, if you're into the 50's kitsch asthetic.

Single adjustable truss rod, where the originals had two non-adjustable pickups. A nice addition, although you have to take the neck off to get at it. Makes set-up a pain. Remove strings, adjust truss, replace strings, let guitar sit overnight, check neck, repeat.

Strange, primitive bridge. Not much more then a sliver of wood. You not ever going to be able to get your intonation dead on, but come on guys, this is Rock and Roll, the the LSO I don't mind the bridge, you might hate it.

Aluminium nut. Unusual but it works.

This is the king hit. This is the #1 reason why you would want this guitar.

Normally on Harmony Central I expect the ratings to be scaled to the price of the guitar. So a '10' in sound for a $200 guitar may only be a 6 or 7 for a $3000 guitar. Not with the Dano. The sound of this thing can stand up against anything. It's very distinct and the guitar will maintain it's sonic signature through any amp. I've played it through custom made tube amps, cheap SS cheapies and even a Pignose (my favourite!) and it always sounds like a Dano.

How to describe the sound this thing makes?

Think spaghetti westerns, think trashy garage rock, think dirty blues, think surf guitar. Think Link Wray.

It's an obviously retro sound, a little bright in the top end, although the pickups have no problem lending definition to the low notes. (Danelectreo used the exact same pickups on their basses). The pickups are very low output, so it'll take 'em a while to overdrive your amp, but when they do you're in garage rock heaven.

Having both pickups on gives you the "classic" Danelectro sound, with a bit of an output boost. The neck pickup is very similar to a tele neck pickup. The rbidge has quite a "jangly" sound which reminds me a little of a Rickenbacker, although still with that distinct Dano mojo.

I use it for dirty slide-blues and it fits my style perfectly. On slightly overdriven settings it does an incredible job of sounding like a biscuit-bridge resonator guitar. Turn up the filth and you're staright into Hound Dog Taylor territory.

Very well put together. No flaws in the finish, electronics very well done. Strap buttons are a bit cheap, but that's no major complaint.

Pickups are very noisy when around electric interference.

Seems pretty durable. Masonite's stronger then you'd think. More then able to withstand live playing, provided you're not Pete Townsend. I often do a bit of the Bukka White style slapping, so it gets a bit of a pounding, but it just smiles and asks for more. Treat it with respect due to a musical instrument and it'll last.

Danelectro (or rather Evets, which owns the name) don't make the guitars any more. I tried e-mailing them and all I got was a failed delivery message.

I love this guitar. It's probably the most rock-and-roll guitar in the world, provided that your definition of rock and roll places Link Wray, The Cramps and ? and the Mysterions above Led Zeppelin.

For what it does, nothing does it better. It's not an original, but factory production in Korea seems to to fit Nathan Daniel's industrial design asthetic more then a Jerry Jones custom job.

I love it. The day I bought it was the day I found my sound. It's my gigging and recording guitar. I think I need another one.

Surf green and cream colored guitar. Two lipstick single-coil pickups. This is a 1956 reissue and It only cost a little over 100.00 its a steal. i also play a Jag-Stang and this old guitar beats it out by far. 21 frets.

The sound is warm and full. It has he in/out phase switch and it can get really good distortion. The sound is grungy/surfish. Probably the best sounding guitar Ive heard for being a classic reissue. I played an Ibanez Iceman IC400 and it was amazing, but this one comes pretty close.

This guitar is made to last. I thoroughly trust this company, they make amazing beautiful classic looking guitars. I never would have imagined I would buy a Danelectro, but I did.

It seems durable.

I just got the axe Friday afternoon, I havent had to deal with the Danelectro corp. yet but I anticipate it will be hard because they are a relatively old company.

Ive been playing for a few years I am still young and I am fem. guitar player. This is a perfect guitar for small hands, its easy to manage. It just looks old and different, to me thats beauty right there.

Features have already been covered by those more ambitious than I. (You gotta give me credit for using AMBITIOUS in a sentence though.)
I give it five not because it's bad but because there aren't alot of them.

It is perfect for blues. I picked this up to just bang around on while my Epiphone LP is on consignment and fell in love with it. I play it through a ZOOM 7010 portable effect amp and when powered on batteries I get no hum. My Blues2 setting makes this sound identical to a Resonator I MEAN IDENTICAL!! I love it. The lipstick pickups overdrive a tube amp with some definite hum but tolerable. I am looking to use a booster with this thing.

I took this guitar apart and the control cavity was SPOTLESS. The first time that has ever happened to me. Can't comment on the factory setup as I bought it locally and they set them all up before selling.

This guitat was meant to take a beating. The body and neck are pretty solid. The rosewood bridge and saddle will have to be replaced a few times I am certain. I am going to get a replacement bridge for the U3 that doesn't have the rosewood and keep that on hand. Also going to order some Rosewood replacement bridges as they probably aren't going to make them much longer. The tuners suck but I am not planning to replace those anytime soon. Drilling would be required and I always hate to do that. If live playing I would not jump around with it too much to begin with. It just ain't that kind of guitar.

Haven' dealt with them and doubt I will. Besides, they stopped production on these guitars.

I love this thing. I find myself picking it up quite often. I am not afraid to let my kids bang around it or that they are going to knock it over and destroy it. I am looking to buy other Danelectro's if the price is right.

Second hand two pickup U2 reissue, edible turquoise color, art deco styling and the cutest knobs you've ever seen. In perfect condition, same specs as described before. Pretty basic construction but just perfect, although the bridge seems a bit dodgy and the intonation of the second and third strings can be a bit of a hassle. Medium/thin frets, very flat fingerboard radius, just perfect for slide. Not many features but the construction is amazing for the price. Why don't they make them anymore????

The sound is very bright, airy and resonant. Incredible. Moreso for a guitar at this price (even though they are very hard to find in Spain and not cheap...). Using a small Marshall combo and other small solid state amps for that bluesy sound. I mainly play blues and country, some jazz. The sound on the treble pickup is very edgy and thin but perfect for chords. This guitar is a screamer for the blues, add a little distortion and there you go. Pickups hum a little but these lipsticks are amazing. Want to try them on a Strat or Tele... The middle setting is just fabulous, tons of middle and much more volume, the tone pots work really well. The neck pickup is also thin but wth more open sounding, perfect for some more chords. It is a killer rythmn and slide guitar, full stop. Not a "do-it-all" horse, but would definitely use it as a reliable second guitar. Also VERY nice sounding with gobs of reverb for surf and instrumental, lots of snappy and choppy rythmn with both pickups on. I give it a ten because I was astonished with the sound, fell in love with it the minute I took it out of the box. Definitely not a metal guitar, but a cutie for bluesy/vintage rythmn sound lovers.

Setup is a bit weak, very high action and difficult to intonate, also difficult to access the truss rod, but hey, this is a Dano. Pickups can be adjusted from the back and sit below the strings perfectly. Action is killer for slide, the neck camber is very flat and you can slide those Elmore riffs like butter. The only thing I dislike is the plastic strip that covers the sides, I've had the guitar for a couple of months and it seems it can peal off easily, but it's not a major issue. No flaws, no construction defects, just perfect. Gibson and Fender quality dept's should check this baby out, see what can be done for just a few bucks.

The construction is pretty solid but the guitar is not a tank, finish chips easily and hardware is very cheap. Sounds terrific though. How did they do it?
Strap buttons are crap, replace them immediately, they fall off. This guitar can be used as a main guitar, if you treat it well. I'm not sure it would withstand heavy playing, punk or metal, but for lighter styles it does it all.

n/a

A ten, definitely. This is one of those guitars you fall in love with, if you don't need a versatile guitar that does all kinds of tricks this is it. Been playing for 15 years and own a Fender Tele, Strat, Duosonic, Ricky, Epiphone Broadway and a Les Paul Studio. The sound is unlike any other I've heard. If I had to define the sound in one word I would say it is "open". I am now considering on buying one of the double cut models or the three pickup sparkle finish dazzlers if I find one. I also own a DC3 bass which is also one of my most prized posessions, and that one cost half the price of this one!
I only with it had a Fender string through style bridge which would give more resonance. No sustain here, just choppy rythmn for he masses. Love this baby to bits!

First of all tis is an inexpensive guitar. That is something that must be kept in mind at all times. And for the price it is worth the money overall. I bought this guitar when this reissue had just come out. In retrospect, I probably should have waited, but I needed a back up for slide. I play primarily blues and blues-rock and replaced the flimsy strap pegs and tuners. However,even with the locking Sperzel tuners, I still have intonation and tuning problems. The cheap wooden bridge keeps this guitar from ever really being in tune, but you can get by if you fool enough with the screws on the bridge to get the intonation set as well as can be expected. I don't like just "getting by" however.

Blues and blues/rock is what I play, and it works okay for slide. Tone is bright and there's not too much noise depending, of course, on the club one is playing in and their light set up, neon beer signs, etc. I have had problems with my Strat under certain conditions as well, so really, noise hasn't been a real problem with the Dano. I use a 1966 Fender blackface Concert amp with 4 10 inch speakers hooked up to a 2 12 inch Fender blackface Bassman (1964) bottom. In addition, I use an Ibanez Tube Screamer and a Sansamp in tandem with one another for a more distorted sound. Sometimes I will use just the Tube Screamer. I don't put a ton of distortion on these two effects, just enough for a little more sustain. The Dano does just fine for this type of music.

Action was good when I got it. I had to raise it for slide. I use fairly heavy strings on it, about 12s to 50s top to bottom. Pickups are fine. Tuning and intonation has been the only problem, and while I think I have it intonated fairly well now, I still am not sure it will hold. Guess I'll have to see at the gig. If anyone out there has any suggestions on how to solve this problem, I'd gladly listen.

I have played with it live and it handles it all right. I would not use it on a gig without a backup, but I believe in a backup guitar anyway since I play in a guitar/bass/drum trio. Can I depend on it? Hmmmmmmmm.......that's a tricky one. I would have to answer "Not really." I have almost quit playing slide due to the intonation/tuning difficulties. In fact, I had purchased another guitar, a Phantom teardrop to play slide with and had been leaving the Danelectro at home, but someone stole the teardrop at a gig, so I am back to the Dano.

Haven't dealt with the company.

I have been playing for 39 years off and on. I have 2 Mexican Strats, one with SRV pickups, the other one with stock pickups. Both have Sperzel tuners and Strap locks. I also own an Epiphone acoustic, although I am primarily an electric player. If this guitar were stolen, I would probably look around for something else, but for the price, I don't think I would have a lot of luck.