Danelectro 1956 U3 Reissue

Korean made, masonite, ply and PVC tape with a nice neck and medium jumbo frets... 6 position switch with a toggle blow switch for the 3 lipstick pickups. It looks like a skinny Les Paul on steroids... black metal flake. It came with a pretty nice gigbag, printed tweed color, sort of appropriate for a reissue.

Someone else commented that they didn't hear a difference in the tones. I don't know how they could say that. Turn it UP a little... You'll hear PLENTY!

I play a little of everything, but the tones toward the bridge are the most useful for me... 50's Everly Brothers tones galore.

Action, Fit & FInish... Oh good Lord! It's made from the finest Masonite and PVC tape that money can buy... how's that? There was one sparkle in the metal flake finish that was out of place... ;-) Jeez...

I got mine used and it arrived set up ready to play with the left hand if I didn't feel like picking. The action was that good.

I only record at home, so this isn't a big deal, but the plastic strap buttons don't have enough edge on them to stay in a strap and I would prefer a normal strap button that could be changed for strap locks.

N/A

I've been playing for almost 40 years and always felt you couldn't play a Danelectro without it making you smile. I own more guitars than anyone should be allowed to have, but this is simply something for fun and it does that for me very well.

Ok you all know the score with how its made. Mine is silver sparkle with cream tape binding. tuners are gotoh, three lipstick pick ups and a whole lot of twang...came with nothing except dust from being in the shop so long.

I play my own stuff but will cover anything from Weezer to rufus wainwright. I was looking for an electric with a bit of style and a good sound, clean or distorted. was hankering after a tele or a a re issue strat....but then i saw this in the window. In the shop i hooked it up to a fender 50 watt something or other and thought it sounded like a mix between a strat and a tele. add some reverb and its pure surf. After I bought it i put it throuigh its paces on a pignose practise amp and an old peavey. like i said... twang. Seems to distort just fine to me for single coils...via a rat pedal it will buzz up nice for punky riffs. as for the select o matic I have to admit i find it as confusing as the set up on a jaguar. there is a by pass switch that lets you tap all three pick ups and its very nice indeed.If you love 50s era sound you have to check these out.

Terrible. Only word for it. Action mile high. Intonation way off. poorly finished neck. "blow" toggle switch coughs and cuts when going between settings.Two of the tuners slip constantly so it will not stay in tune at all. As noted by others here jack plate was loose but that is easily solved as are most of the problems above. still its diappointing in this regard.strap buttons are tiny. Beware!!

Have it about six weeks its ok so far. got it set up just right but the tuners are still frustrating me...it will not stay in tune longer than one song. I can see it falling to pieces,but not for years. even so it would still have that fantastic sound.

Overall it suits my needs perfectly and it was a bargain. I read all the reviews i could before eventually buying it.Its a very fun guitar that is let down by slip shod construction, but a pro set up and some care will remedy this. by the way the original asking price for this guitar was 400 euro (500+usd) and I would not have bought it at that price. I would have held out for a tele.would I buy a danelectro guitar again? Yes.

This is quite a step up from the U2. It comes with three lipstick tube pickups, Gotoh tuners, and a six-saddle metal bridge. It has stacked master volume and tone knobs, a six position "Select-o-matic" pickup switcher, and a blower switch which activates all three pickups. My particular U3 came with a silver metal flake finish, which is quite fetching. The neck and headstock are unpainted, unlike the U1 or U2.

I play a variety of music, though I mostly play alt-country and lo-fi garage. This guitar works very well for those styles. Every pickup position is usable, and they all have very unique sounds. The three pickup setting (activated by the blower switch) adds a bit more beef to the sound, but the guitar never really loses that hollow Dano tone. The blower setting is useful for going from a thing, twangy rhythm sound (on the bridge pickup) to a fatter lead sound on the higher strings. Unfortunately, this guitar is fairly noisy in any pickup position.

This guitar probably wouldn't fit into a metal or heavy rock band; the sounds are too airy and hollow to provide the "oomph" needed for those styles. However, this guitar could work in pretty much any other style, and it makes a great color guitar.

This guitar came with .10 guage strings and medium-low action. It felt great off the rack, which is part of the reason I bought it. The pickups were originally equal in height, which led to an unbalanced sound when switching between them. It was a cinch to adjust the pickups using the screws on the back of the body. One problem I found when doing this was that the bridge pickup began to rattle after I had raised it. The pickup screws were actually coming out of the back of the body, causing the pickup to shift. This was easily remedied with some scotch tape.

The tuners are a huge step up from the open gear tuners used on the U1 and U2, but they are not perfect. I still have to retune the B and G strings after a heavy bending session. Other than that, the guitar stays in tune very well. If you just play rhythm then there is nothing to worry about.

Everything on this guitar is solid. I have gigged with this guitar without any problems, and I have had no problems at all with it (besides the aforementioned slight tuning instability).

I have never dealt with the Danelectro customer support, as this guitar has never given me any problems.

I've been playing for about nine years and have been in a variety of bands and in solo settings. My other main electric is a heavily modded Mexican Strat, and I play through a Line 6 Flextone II. The U3 complements this setup very well.

I grabbed this guitar up as soon as I saw it on sale, as I had wanted one of the new Danos for quite a while. I could not be happier with this guitar. It sounds great and looks fantastic. I couldn't imagine ever giving it up since it is such a fun guitar! It has a very unique (some might say trashy) sound that no other guitar has. Were it ever stolen, I would definitely try to get another.

This is an excellent guitar that I strongly recommend.

It has three gorgeous typical danelectro single coil lipstick pickups with this slightly gimmickie but actually really effective select o matic selector.

I got mine when it was discontinued, and the only one in the shop was black metal flake, which is a bit glam for my liking, but it stops me from taking myself too seriously.

It gives such warm sounds it is unbelieveable. From fantastically funky chunky sounds to as jangly as all get out, it will deliver the goods with style. For single coil versatility with a unique edge, I don't think I'll ever tire of this guitar.

I run it into a Marshall MG250DFX, and it performs really well. Especially nice are the slightly overdriven sounds, lovely and bluesy.

No probs here

This isn't put together that fantastically. The tuners get on my nerves especially. But nothing that stops it from being a great little guitar.

I got this for such a bargain that I actully one bargain of the month in "What Guitar" magasine, or I thought I did, but I haven't bought every issue since they told me and I've never received the prize. But the real prize was the guitar. The sound is fantastic, and even for the list price of #365 it would be well worth it. Danelectros have always been budget, but few budget guitars have such great sound that they are used by those that could afford any. This is in my opinion such a guitar. It's a shame they've stopped making them, and there's no way I'm getting rid of mine.

A turqois metalflake, bought it on eBay,including a not original case. First thing about this, if you want to feel a guitar (weight) don't buy this buddy. I think it is a bit of a fashion-thing because after all it looks good, but the sound.....

There is not much difference between the select-o-matic sound.i mean, you can hear a difference you have to hear very concentrated.

Youlook at this guitar and think: Mmmh,looksnice but when you play the higher frets you feel that you have been trapped !!! The way the neck is atteched to the body makes it impossible to play those high fret (and that are the frets that sound nice!). This all cheap and after a month the thing where the strap is atteched fell of so I had to glue it.Advice buy one-second-glue with your guitar it helps !

Did not gig with this only used it to record a few songs. Strap buttons suck major.

Dunno

I am glad I sold it and made a profit of ? 50 (hehe). It is a nice guitar but don't believe the hype ladies and gentlemen. realprice should be around $ 200

YOu know from readin the other reviews

Guitar has a good twang really good for surf just add reverb

haha my guitar has lots of flaws cause my friend found it in the art room at the high school with the neck broken off of it and somone scratched rock and roll into the body lol nothing a black magic marker wont fix gold metalflake on black finish is nice though
it doesnt ahve the right dano neck on it but my friend had found one that hadnt been drilled yet and the differnt headstock gives it a stranger look

so far its depedable seems to drop out of tune easy I might replace the tuners

hey a 22 dollar working guitar is great i wouldnt use it as my primary guitar but i play surf/metal yeah .. kinda odd but i also play a ibanez artcore and a epiphone demon flying V this is better for surf

Pretty much all 56 U3s are gonna' be the same. Made in Korea, plywood body, maple neck/rosewood fretboard, 3 passive lipstick pickups, 6-way selector, classic bridge (don't know what it is, but it's pretty much the same on all Dan-0s), small scale neck, solid tuners, metal nut (don't underestimate this feature cuz I've had some shite graphite or plastic nuts break on me on more luxurious guitars than this and it's not easy locating/making a nut to fit exactly with your neck...plus then you have to have the s.o.b. set up all over again which is just a pain in the @$$...) huge thumbs up to Dano though on this little detail. Overall, more onboard features than your average guitar...good if you find a tone you like on the select-0-matic, bad if you can't (although, if you like the Dan-0 sound in the first place, I'm confident you'll find a tone you like on this)...I personally will give the features a 9 on the strength of the metal nut, solid tuners, and the fact that I found a tone I like built-in. Only graded down for lack of versatility and the simple bridge that I like, however is pretty much not replacible (try looking for one).

I've gigged this guitar in a mid-tempo punk band (think Jawbreaker, Alkaline Trio) and an expiramental metal band (think somewhere between Mr. Bungle & Helmet) and the unique-ness of this guitar has never ceased to amaze me. I own a Gretsch Duo-Jet and an extremely hot-rodded custom guitar (strat style body, custom neck w/ ebony fretboard, emg active pick-up system, schaller tune-o-matic bridge) which are my primary axes now, however the Dan-0 has a voice all its own that has solidified it a spot in the rotation. Play one of these without an amp and it sounds like honey...the cheap-as-sin hollow plywood body give this thing such a unique voice. As far as amps: I've played it through a Crate 212 combo, a 1972 Fender Bassman 10 (4x10 Silverface), and an Orange OR120 Head w/ a custom Avatar cab. It has sounded fine through all of them, but it got the truest tones out of the Fender since both were made to reverb and twang. I use it on the 6 (highest) setting on the select-0-matic and it twangs right along with the Gretsch (which are known for twanging like no other). I used that brite ringing tone to stand-out with the experimental stuff when the 1st guitarist was holding down the low-end chugging and riffing in the expirametal band. Especially good guitar if you are in a band with another guitarist that uses a Gibson LP, SG, or Flying V...offsets the thick Gibson tone beautifully. With distortion on the 6 setting it sounds very hot in a vintage overdrive way (suggestion: DOD grunge pedal went good with this...only DOD worth it's cheap price IMO...if you're shopping w/ more $, then a Pro-Co Rat goes quite nicely w/ this guitar too), when you switch to all 3 pick-ups, the sound is similar to that of a guitar with only one (cheap) humbucker in the bridge position. Not as bad as some have noted on here, but not that terribly heavy/full either...get the right fuzz or death-metal pedal (or processor) and this is easily remedied...not that it needed to be...I didn't think it sounded that bad...and I'm used to using active pick-ups.
Look, the bottom line is that this is a very cheaply-built and unique sounding guitar (the two-things might actually have something to do with each other)...I chose it as my first electric cuz everyone plays either Gibson SGs/LPs or Fender Teles/Strats (defenitely sounds noticably different from any of these) and I wanted something different...if you're in the same boat and like BRITE, BRITE, BRITE sound, I GARAUNTEE you will not be disappointed with the sound of this thing.

Set up fine when I got it. Extremely playable guitar...esp. for smaller hands. You will notice on the small scale neck that you can reach things with your pinky and ring finger that you couldn't before...once you get used to it, it will help w/ soloing and leads no doubt. Also, the neck is nice and thin (solid, but thin). Don't know what it is about the shape of the guitar, but my flailing arm technique usually results in chaffed arms and guitar finishes but never does on this one. Also, my flailing arm will at times bump the pickup selector on Gretsch's or Gibson's where all of that is located on the top...never have that problem here cuz everything pertinent is below and to the right of the strings.
The finish on mine is black w/ silver sparkle...this will illicit some cracks about playing Liberace's guitar if you play to punk-rock hecklers, but I don't care...there's nothing flashy about me or the way I dress, so I minuswell play a shiny guitar. Besides, Danelectro offers every damn day-glo color in the world so if you can't find a color/finish you like, you're either an idiot or too picky for your own good. I've been playing it for 4 or 5 years and there's not a hint of wear to the finish.
Only grade this down one from perfect because I know how mass produced these were and how long some have been sitting around music shops...so even though mine came set up perfectly, there's no garauntee that yours was or will be.

As far as the build of the guitar, lets be frank here: how much did you pay for this thing? They listed at $399 back in the day (98/99) but due to overproduction and poor sales, they have been blowing these things out like mad at music stores since 2001 so chances are you paid or will be paying somewhere between $100-$200 on this thing. As far as durability goes, you get what you pay-for...I mean, with the exception of the nut, the bridge, and the tuners (which stay in tune better than those on my Gretsch or my custom) these things are plastic and plywood (you would almost think that Danelectro is a division of Fischer Price). Parts will pull out, fall off, screws will loosen (especially if you play the hell out guitars like I do), etc. But don't be a baby, use that $ you saved buying a Danelectro and get a set of screwdrivers and some super glue, do a little routine tune-up between shows and you're money.
Like I said, as far as durability is concerned, you get what you pay for with a Danelectro...the reason to still buy one is because you get way more than you pay for in tones and sounds.
It gets a 5 because with the plywood/plastic, it ain't gonna' last forever...but then again, at these prices, you could always buy several.

Never had to use them (never had a problem w/ my Dan-0 I couldn't fix myself), however a friend of mine broke his bridge on his U1 (not cuz it wasn't sturdy, he just felt the need to rip the thing off w/ his teeth on-stage one night). You can't really find a readily available replacement...maybe if you dig...I doubt he called the company though.
Then again, if I had to guess based on their overproduction and poor sales, there isn't going to be much of a company left for customer support in a few years, so get to 'em before they fold (again!).

I've been playin for about 6 years but have owned or play on or around pretty much everything under the sun as far as guitars go. I feel that Danelectro offers the absolute best sound for the money, hands down. Notice I don't say quality...it is all about the sound and part of it's unique sound comes from it's cheap albeit unique design. If I HAD to compare it to another guitar, the closest thing I could think of would be a poor man's version of Gretsch Sparkle Jet w/ Dynasonic (Gretsh's single coil) pick-ups...or maybe an old Harmony/Silvertone. But I don't think it sounds worse than any of the above guitars...just different.
If it was stolen or lost, I really think I would seek out another...it's great to have for recording in order dial in that perfect brite-warm tone. Which brings me to my recommendations...if you're just starting out and you want something cheap that sounds unique, this is your best value. Look at the alternatives in that price range: Squire (please, if you want a Fender sound, wait 'til you can afford a real Fender...these do not compare), Epiphone (a tad more expensive than Dan-0 but if you're REALLY into the Gibson sound, that's the only reason I'd spring more for one of these just starting out), if you're really into Gretsch, but can't swing the huge $, absolutely look into a Dan-0. Also, look into one if you have other guitars and are just looking for a studio-toy to dial in some different tones with in layering. I've found in recording that this layers out the high end beautifully. Plus it's cheap, cheap, CHEAP!!! Overall I give this thing a solid 9 because I love the sound...the lack of durability is of little concern to me as it's not my only axe. Fantastic value if you use like I do.

I'm not sure when it was made. . .I bought it in 1999 on clearance. Made in Korea. 21 frets, plywood body :( really lightwieght. controls: there is a select-o-matic which just changes the sound of the guitar to six different vintage tones (i would have rather had a pickup selector so i could make my own sounds), there is a volume and a totally lame equalizer on top of it ( turning it from about1-9 does absolutely nothing, and then at ten it loses all highs), and there is a toggle switch which turns all 3 pickups on (which in my opinion sounds horrible. The 3 pickups are all single coil Dano pickups. The finish is pretty cool, its silver sparkle on black, it always turns a couple heads onstage. I think the body is supposed to be modeled after an LP, it is ok, but it doesn't let you get very high on the fretboard.

This guitar really isn't my cup of tea. I know i bought the wrong guitar, but it is a really good wrong guitar. i realized shortly after i bought this guitar that im looking for the humbucker sound (ska-punk, etc.), which this guitar does not deliver. I wish it also had a real wood body, instead of the cheap plywood. i've used this guitar with a Fender Princeton, through a tone works pandora, through a crate bass amp, and throgh a marshall g50 (i know, nothing great), and it sounded pretty good clean on pretty much any setting (except for the evil toggle switch). on distorted, however, it doesn't quite bite in the way a humbucker guitar would. don't even try to palm mute it. i can only stand it on the sixth setting of the switch o matic, when it loses a lot of lows but isn't extremely noisy. by the way, this guitar will ot keep a secret. if you screw up, it will tell you. Bottom line: i really like the guitar clean, but it sucks distorted, at least i can't ge it to sound good

The guitar was set up ok. as you may have heard, the input jack is doomed to break (so get yourself a soldering iron ad do a better job than the poor factory worker). after i soldered it it has not bothered me since. the toggle switch is klunky, but i refuse to use it anyway. I heard other reviews that the tuners were really good, but i found mine less than satisfactory, noticably getting out of tune after about thirty minutes of string bending. maybe i got a dud, o well. the only flaw in the finish is my fault, which is a ding on the headstock.

This guitar broke about two months after i bought it. I am very clumsy with my guitars, so it is probably my fault it broke. The select-o-matic went out, but the toggle switch still worked. the problem was easy to fix, it took me about five minutes afte i located the problem (four minutes to fire up the soldering iron and thirty seconds to fix it). Still, often this guitar seems cheaply made. Now i think i can depend on it. most gigs i go on this guitar is my backup and i use my friends epi LP. its much closer to the sound want. If i were playing something clean and warm, i would use this guitar, but i would probably still keep a backup, its just a good idea.

it came with a one year warranty, but i didn't want to worry about it, so I fixed it myself (and did a damn good job if i may say so myself) and it works fine now.

i have been playing seriously on a regular basis for 3 years. I was able to strum power chords for abot two years before that. I also had a squire Strat which i upgraded with a seymore duncan distortion humbucker myself and added newer better machine heads. I wish i had not bought the Dano at all, i really wasn't good enough back then, and i kind of destroyed a lot of the tone by dropping it and stuff. I wish i had bought a cheaper ibanez or something cause i could have gotten more of what i wanted. This guitar just isn't the rage right now, its got a vintage sound that i can't use. It is a very cool guitar for someone that might be able to use it. if it were stolen, i would be angry because i would have wanted to sell it. i cant bash this guitar.

If anyone wants to buy a Dano, e-mail me below.

This is a recent Korean made Dano. It has an adjustable bridge, Gotoh tuners, three lipstick single coil pickups, volume, tone, a "Select-o-matic" six position switch, and a "Blow" switch to get all pickups at once. The body is made of plywood and masonite finished in a great Black Metalflake. For what I paid, I also got a high quality Dano gigbag, practice amp, and two sets of strings shipped to my door (shipping included!) The select-o-matic switch is the big feature here, alot of Vintage jangle. The Dano practice amp is junk however but the gigbag is top notch heavy duty vinyl with funky 50's squiggles on it. The guitar is a nice size and weight, but has an odd blocky feeling to it, and the strap buttons are plastic. (Yikes!)

This guitar is a jangle factory. Being hollow, it has a certain resonance to it even un-plugged. It sounds like a cross between a Tele and a Strat, although the output of the pickups seems a little weaker than either and lead tones aren't as fat as I would like them to be. The guitar is bright and clear and is perfect for rhythm playing. The smaller scale is easy to navigate and the guitar is alot of fun to play- The different settings allow you to channel alot of Buddy Holly stratiness or grab a "ticket to ride" and catch up with George Harrison or get some Kieth Richards mojo workin'. It is actually a very quiet guitar for having all single coils. I think the "Select-omatic" switch may have some humbucking wiring schemes working under the hood. Overall, lots of fun, lots of tone!

As I mentioned, the guitar feels "blocky" slabbed together as it were.
But, despite that, it is VERY playable and was setup by the dealer to be a great player "out-of-the-box". The finish is absolutely fantastic Black Metalflake. This is definitely a stage guitar, although I'll probably keep it sheltered in my home studio.

Since I'm not going to use this thing for gigging, I plan on my guitar surviving for quite awhile, but this thing is actually quite solid. I am impressed with the overall quality, but I am not going to trust those strap buttons for anything. The finish seems to be very durable as well. Like a surfboard!

Never tried

I've been playing for 17 years, generally as a bass player, but sometimes as an acoustic guitarist. I bought this guitar to use in my home studio and maybe do a few gigs. I wanted a guitar that was inexpensive, had some sex appeal, and had a versatile tone selection. This guitar delivered all of that- I always want to pick it up! It's a great guitar for the acoustic player that wants an electric with a similar feel. It's jangly and loud enough to strum unplugged on the couch. For alot less than 300.00 you can be Retro cool and sound fantastic.

See other submissions for specs and features. My guitar is silver sparkle -- very shiny, and many compliments by jealous players have been paid. As others have noted, the input jack has needed repair, and eventually replacement.

I've had this guitar for about 15 months, and I'm still surprised and delighted by the versatility of the select-o-matic pick ups. You can get a very crisp Tele-like tone on the neck pickup, and then switch over to thicker Strat tones, or to a position that takes advantage of the semi-hollow body. The general "twanginess" of the guitar may turn off some players who prefer to RAWK, but with the distortion piled up you can fairly wail on this baby.

I've been told that the Danelectro reissues tend to come with slightly off-balanced necks, but mine came playable off the rack. After a year from purchase I had it professionally set-up, which made a big difference in regard to string height. Otherwise, this guitar simply feels great: very light, fast neck, and the Gotoh tuners prevent notable slippage, even after heavy bends (and with the U3 56, you'll want to bend strings.)

I play for my own enjoyment, so I can't vouch for it under live conditions. My guess, however, is that it will withstand considerable abuse. Unlike some reviewers, the strap buttons on my U3 56 have yet to fall out.

I e-mailed the company once with a questiion regarding the bridge, and they got back to me with in 24 hours.

I love this guitar, and I see it as a great bargain and proof that you don't need to shell out $1000 for a high quality player's axe. I had a Squire Strat years ago, and this blows that guitar away. If it were lost, I'd absolutely pick up another one. And plus, it sparkles...