Danelectro 3021

this is black 1965 shorthorn, double-cutaway 2 pickup model 3021 (i think the 3021 number implies vibrato, i'm not sure). this model differs slightly from the more often-seen 4021's (the jimmy page model) in that it has a whammy bar & different tailpiece. it also has a larger, different-shaped pickguard that extends further up under the strings than the usual "seal" shaped pickguard. being a '65, it has the "bat-wing" headstock with a raised silver danelectro logo instead of the more familiar "coke bottle" headstock w/ logo decal. it has an original string tree to hold down the e and b strings just above the nut.
other features are what you'd expect from vintage dano shorthorns, the rosewood saddle & fingerboard, the oddly-situated strap peg just behind the neck joint, a short-scale neck, two lipstick-tube pickups, and a masonite body with the hollow cavity in the center. also familiar are the stacked, concentric-style volume/tone knobs (one for each pickup), and a three-way toggle switch allowing either/or/both pickups to be engaged. as with most of his guitars, the neck is wide and thin with the fingerboard being flatter than you would find on a fender or rickenbacker. the tuners are original and seem to work fine. the cord jack is mounted to the pickguard on the front of the guitar.

the sound of these guitars is like the music of the gods. but the first thing i had to do was to remove the scary, unbelievably primitive whammy-bar apparatus. these guitars have a bad enough reputation for going out of tune as it is. that being done, this guitar is a dream. i've always loved vintage dano's, i've owned a few of the disappointing reissues and i've got an early 90's jerry jones custom shop version of the 4021 jimmy page model. when i got the jerry jones, it quickly became my favorite guitar. after a while i figured: as much as i love this sound, i need to buck up and get the real thing. i found this one in mint condition, and it is immaculate. it's everything i'd hoped for soundwise, with great bite and midrange.
but this one being true vintage, it has an extra magical ingredient that the reissues and the jerry jones copies don't quite capture. besides saying that it has a warm personality and has many stories to tell, it's a difficult quality to describe. it's like an a extra ballsy roughness and raw tonal open-ness that gets under my skin. it's what rock'n'roll is supposed to sound like.
it's a very versatile guitar, too. with a vintage tube amp, depending on your pickup choice and how hard you hit the input, it can sound like link wray, hubert sumlin, syd barrett, dave davies, and just about anything between. (NOTE TO SELF: probably shouldn't sell this guitar to joe satriani or yngwie malmstein. it just dosen't seem like their cup of tea.)
i am glad to say that i have been able to put my fears to rest concerning these guitars' ability to stay in tune. this one holds up fine. in my experience, it is only the dano reissues that can't hold tuning.
it's amazing, nathan daniel is a genius. this guitar sounds particularly great through my 64 selmer thunderbird twin 50, it is also great matched with any 60's danelectro split-chassis class-A tube amp (natch).
the most brilliant thing about nathan daniel's design genius is that the great, characteristic tone is actually a direct by-product of using cost-cutting materials (masonite bodies and lipstick tube covers) and labor-saving assembly methods. believe me, these guitars would just not sound as good if they were made out of solid, expensive, quality wood and had fancy up-market high-gain pickups.
the only thing that i can say negative about the sound is that it just dosen't have super-long sustain like a strat or a tele (to compare it to other guitars that it sounds a little similar to). but duane allman ain't exactly my style, i prefer a scrappier, more jagged style of lead playing. it has tons of definition, though, and it feels alive.

these guitars have no truss rods and this one's forty years old, but the neck's still perfectly straight. it plays beautifully and is unbelievably lightweight.
one bad issue that these guitars have is that the short-scale neck is inset into the body so far that it is impossible to play coherently above the 17th fret. but anyone that is used to danos knows that and probably has adjusted their playing accordingly.
the black finish looks brand new, as does the pebble-grained white tape "binding" that adheres to the edge of the body. but as i said, besides looking like one of tim burton's nightmares, the whammy bar apparatus was completly useless and was a definate liability. i can't believe old nathan ever even thought it might hold tune. i'm not kidding. the whole tailpiece concept was so primitive and simple as to be archaic, and the single spring that the whole thing pivoted on looked like something from some kid's rusty 1950's skate! but i was able to use the existing screws to solidly mount a vintage dano rosewood tailpiece without drilling or changing anything. it looks dano-normal, and now you can't tell it ever had a whammy tailpiece (of course, i saved all parts).

i've only had it for a few months. i've been using it regularly at practice, and it stays in tune and has held up well. we're working up new material for an upcoming release and when touring starts again after that, i'm sure i'll be dragging it across the fruited plain and then probably around the the rest of the world, too. hell, it's handled forty years so far, i think it can handle me! i always tour with a few danelectro DC's, so i have ample backup if this one was to meet with an accident. but i'd be crying, though!

mr. daniel has shuffled off this mortal coil. i wouldn't mind taking this guitar with me when i die, maybe he could help me if i need help at that time. let's just say customer support N/A.

i've been playing professionally since '68 or so, writin' checks and breakin' necks... i've have had more success than i would have ever dreamed. i've collected too much stuff to catalog, and i'm still rock'n'rolling around the world like an idiot.
ain't life grand?
this guitar's everything i'd hoped a vintage danelectro DC shorthorn would be. easily its best feature is its unique, great sound, with comfort and ease of playing running a close second. the fact that it looks mighty cool isn't to be taken lightly, either.

OK, SO SINCE I'VE SEEN NO REVIEWS OF ORIGINAL VINTAGE DANO DC'S, I THOUGHT I'D REVIEW MINE. AS FAR AS FEATURES, IT IS TYPICAL DANELECTRO; MASONITE TOP, AND BACK, POPLAR FRAME, AND A POPLAR, YES POPLAR NECK! BLACK FINISH, WITH ALMOST NO GLOSS AT THIS POINT. NECK HAS THE FINISH WORN OFF ON THE SIDES. OBVIOUSLY A FORMER BLUESMAN'S PRIDE. ROSEWOOD FRETBOARD WITH 21 MEDIUM FRETS ON A 25" SCALE LENGTH. 2 ORIGINAL LIPSTICK TUBE PICKUPS, THAT, AFTER 44 YEARS, STILL READ ALMOST 4K OHMS! STEEL BRIDGE WITH ROSEWOOD SADDLE. DUAL CONCENTRIC VOLUME/TONE POTS FOR EACH PICKUP, 3-WAY TOGGLE SWITCH, AND REALLY COOL KIDNEY SHAPED PICKGUARD INSTEAD OF THE TYPICAL JIMMY PAGE SEAL SHAPED PICKGUARD. (THAT'S WHY I'M GUESSING ABOUT IT BEING A MODEL 3021, BECAUSE EVEN IN MY DANO BOOK, I CAN'T FIND THIS EXACT MODEL LOOKING LIKE THIS. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS GUITAR AND THE 3021, IS THE PICKGUARD, AND THE FACT THAT THE JACK IS ON THE SIDE, INSTEAD OF THE PICKGUARD.) CREAM VINYL MATERIAL COVERING THE SIDE ALL THE WAY AROUND THE BODY. ALUMINUM NUT. MOTHER OF PEARL DOTS ON TOP, AND ALUMINUM DOTS ON THE SIDE OF THE FRETBOARD. AND FINALLY, A FORMER OWNER HAD ALREADY UPGRADED THE TUNERS TO A MUCH BETTER SET THAT HAD TO BE MADE BY SCHALLER BECAUSE THEY SAY MADE IN W. GERMANY, ON THE BACK, AS WELL AS HAVING A GRETCH STYLE "G" IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BACK. I'M ASSUMING THEY WERE MADE FOR GRETCH WAY BACK WHEN BY SCHALLER. OH, AND THE COOL THING ABOUT THEM IS THEY HAVE A SPLIT SHAFT IN EACH LIKE VINTAGE TUNERS, AND PEARL BUTTONS. CLASSY.

THE TONE IS AMAZING, AND REALLY SOUNDS WAY BETTER THAN ANY REISSUE I'VE PLAYED. OF COURSE, SOMETHING LIKE THIS ONLY GETS BETTER WITH AGE. YOU JUST CAN'T GET 40 YEARS OUT OF A KOREAN REISSUE. SORRY GUYS. IT IS JUST SO FUN TO PLAY THIS THING. AND IT REALLY HAS A VERSATILE SOUND. THE CLEAN TONES SOUND VERY ACOUSTIC, THANKS TO THE HOLLOW BODY. AND IT JUST GETS SO DIRTY WHEN OVERDRIVEN. GREAT BLUES MACHINE HERE. IT GOES FROM BRIGHT AND JANGLY, TO FAT AND CREAMY, IN NO TIME. I PLAY THROUGH A FENDER ROC PRO 1000 MOST OF THE TIME, AND THIS GUITAR JUST SINGS WHEN PLUGGED IN. OF COURSE, I ALSO USE A 1971 FENDER BANDMASTER REVERB, AND TOGETHER, THIS GUITAR, AND THAT AMP KNOCK DOWN THE WALLS!! AS FAR AS EFFECTS, CRYBABY, DOD CHORUS, DELAY, AND AN IBANEZ TUBESCREAMER. I ALSO USE AN OLD BIG MUFF, AND A NEW DANO COOL CAT CHORUS. OOH, SHIMMERS...... AS FAR AS LIKES, I JUST TOTALLY DIG THIS GUITAR. I WAS VERY FORTUNATE WHEN I FOUND IT. I WAS IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME. IT NEEDED A LITTLE WORK TO GET IT BACK UP TO SPEED; I.E.-MISSING THE KNOBS, STRINGS, MINOR STUFF. ANYWAY, I LOOKED AT THE NECK, TESTED THE PICKUPS, AND KNEW THAT THIS WAS DYNAMITE. AFTER PUTTING ON A MATCHED SET OF CHROME DUAL CONCENTRIC KNOBS, THIS THING LOOKS AND SOUNDS WAY RETRO COOL.

NOW THE NECK IS VERY COMFORTABLE, AND STRAIGHT AS AN ARROW, NOT BAD FOR BEING OVER 40 YEARS OLD WITHOUT AN ADJUSTABLE TRUSS ROD!! ACTION IS BUTTERY. BEING A LUTHIER MYSELF, AND BUILDING GUITARS FOR OVER 15 YEARS, I ALWAYS STRIVE TO BUILD SOMETHING THAT IS AS SUPERIOR IN QUALITY TO WHAT'S OUT THERE. HOWEVER, IT IS AMAZING THAT THIS GUITAR, WITH SUCH A CRUDE CONSTRUCTION CONCEPT, HAS STOOD THE TEST OF TIME WITHOUT A HITCH. I MEAN IT IS JUST SO COOL TO PLAY. IF YOU EVER HAVE THE CHANCE TO BUY A REAL VINTAGE DANO, NOT A REISSUE, OF COURSE CHECK IT THOROUGHLY FOR CONSISTENCY, BUT ONCE YOU CHECK IT, AND IT PLAYS LIKE BUTTER, AND SOUNDS LIKE A BEAST, BUY IT. YOU OWE IT TO YOURSELF. I FIND SO MANY VARIOUS TONAL APPLICATIONS FOR THIS THING. NOW, THE ONE THING I ALWAYS RECOMMEND IS WHAT THIS HAD WHEN I GOT IT, TAKE A FILE, AND COMPENSATE THE ROSEWOOD SADDLE TO MATCH THE TYPICAL INTONATION ON ANY ELECTRIC. A PREVIOUS OWNER DID THAT, AND MY INTONATION IS PERFECT ALL THE WAY TO THE 21ST FRET. ALSO, CHANGE OUT THE TUNERS. USUALLY, THE ORIGINAL DANO TUNERS LEAVE QUITE A BIT TO BE DESIRED. THE TUNING IS SO STABLE ON THIS GUITAR BECAUSE OF THE SCHALLERS, THAT IF I DON'T PICK IT UP FOR WEEKS, IT STILL HOLDS ITS TUNING. AND FINALLY, TAKE A SMALL NEEDLE FILE, AND DEEPEN THE SLOTS IN THE BACK OF THE BRIDGE WHERE THE BALL END SITS. WHEN YOU CHANGE STRINGS, YOU FIND THAT USUALLY, THE BALL ENDS HAVE A TOUGH TIME STAYING IN THE SLOTS, BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT DEEP ENOUGH. SAME GOES FOR THE REISSUES.

RELIABLE, DURABLE? AFTER 44 YEARS? STILL ROCKING!! OH, AND THE 3-WAY SWITCH IS THE MOST RUGGED I'VE EVER SEEN!! MUCH MORE SO THAN ANY GIBSON EVER USED. THE ONE ON THIS GUITAR HAD TO BE MADE FOR INDUSTRIAL USE, BECAUSE I'VE NEVER SEEN ANY OTHER GUITAR COMPANY USE SUCH A SWITCH. THE REISSUES DON'T EVEN COMPARE. I'VE USED THIS ON COUNTLESS GIGS, AND NEVER HAD A PROBLEM. THIS IS JUST ONE SOLIDLY BUILT GUITAR. I HAVE A LINE OF GUITARS THAT I HAVE BEEN BUILDING WITH A UNIQUE, PATENTED, BODY SHAPE. AND THE NEXT ONE I AM BUILDING WILL BE THAT SHAPE, WITH A COMPLETELY DANO-INSPIRED CONSTRUCTION;MASONITE TOP AND BACK, ETC.

HAHAHA, WELL, I WOULD TRY TO CALL NATHAN DANIELS TO ASK HIM FOR SOME SUPPORT, AND TO PRAISE HIM ON HIS CREATION, BUT OUIJA BOARD IS AT THE CLEANERS. (FOR THOSE THAT DON'T KNOW, MR. DANIELS FOUNDED DANELECTRO IN THE 40'S, AND PASSED AWAY IN 1994. SHAME TOO, BUT, HE LEFT QUITE A LEGACY.)

WELL, I HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOR OVER 15 YEARS NOW, AND HAVE OWNED OVER 100 GUITARS IN MY CAREER. I BUILT MY FIRST ELECTRIC IN WOODSHOP IN NINTH GRADE, AND NEVER LOOKED BACK. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN FASCINATED BY THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE INSTRUMENT, AND THE VARIOUS TONAL DIFFERENCES IN EVERY BREED OF WOOD OUT THERE. AT MY PEAK, I OWNED 54 GUITARS. CURRENTLY, I OWN 22 GUITARS, HALF OF WHICH I BUILT, OTHERS I HAVE BOUGHT, AND EITHER MODIFIED, OR SIMPLY DIG THE WAY THEY ARE, LIKE THIS DANO OF MINE. IF IT WERE STOLEN, I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'D DO. I HAVE PLAYED MANY OF THE REISSUES, AND WELL, AS MUCH AS I CAN APPRECIATE THE EFFORT IN REKINDLING THE MYSTIQUE, THEY JUST DON'T COMPARE. THE NECKS JUST DON'T FEEL RIGHT. TONALLY, THEY ARE REALLY CLOSE, BUT THEY JUST DON'T FEEL VINTAGE. OTHER THAN THE FACT THE THIS HAS NO VIBRATO, WHICH IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF MY PLAYING STYLE, AND ALSO WHY THIS IS USUALLY A BACKUP ON STAGE, I PRETTY MUCH HAVE NO GRIPES. IT IS WHAT IT IS. A REAL DANELECTRO IS, LIKE THE BOOK SAYS, THE VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE OF GUITARS; RUGGED AND DEPENDABLE, WITH A CHARM ALL ITS OWN. SO, YOU'LL EITHER LOVE IT, OR HATE IT. I PERSONALLY LOVE IT, AND CAN'T WAIT TO HAVE A WALL OF OLDIE GOLDIE DANOS. ANYONE GOT ONE FOR SALE, EMAIL ME AT DORON63@NETZERO.NET.