Danelectro 59 DC

Bought new in March 2009 (so I'm assuming that this is a 2009 model) and this is really a first impression review. Made in China. All black satin finish with yellowed side tape and pickguard and "aged" matt hardware. I think these are still limited edition each year, but who knows? A black on black Dano DC 59 was always on my radar as a guitar I'd like to have one day and these seemed like a great price (under ??200) and cool specs (Black neck and headstock was a real selling point for the perfect Jimmy Page vibe).

Two lipstick pickups, rosewood fretboard, tone & volume. I like the look of the original stacked knobs better but I'm sure they must have been a bit fiddly and a pain to wire up. I may give it a go in future if I can figure out the wiring diagram as independant tone and volume for each pickup would be a bonus. The switch is a bit flimsy but relocating the jack plate seems like it was a good idea. Frets are on the medium to smal side, but are excellent.

No extras to speak off as it was bought straight off a guitar shop wall and they threw in a gig bag, but then it's not a custom shop Gibson we're buying here.

I expected a basic guitar, and that's exactly what I got, but it's far from a cheap and nasty guitar.

I am a Led Zep freak so was initally looking for that whole White Summer (Live), Kashmir, In My Time of Dying, live sound and messing about with slide or DADGAD tuning and you can pretty much get all of this by plugging into a decent tube amp with some gain. I'm not really one for effects and pedals so I can get clean and bright sounds up to the sort of low-fi metallic crunch that Jimmy Page gets. The bridge pickup is as you would expect quite bright but is not overly harsh and with the neck pickup thing fatten up a bit. The middle position is a bit tamer, but overall very impressive and a great, unique sound. I'm sure things would get a bit out of hand at silly volumes but I haven't been there yet.

Unplugged the guitar has a nice resonance and a good amount of sustain. Although I initially bought this with the one-trick Zeppelin thing in mind, I have found myself using standard tuning a lot and it makes a good guitar for just having around the house or whatever to play unplugged. I had expected it to sound like a plastic ukelele unplugged but it sounds fantastic!

Never really paid much attention to Danelectros as a brand but the first thing that struck me when I saw loads of the new ones lined up in the shop was - they do look cheap - but I was never in the market for a green one or whatever so was pleased that the black looked the best to my eye. Grabbed it and plugged it in and the next surprise was that they feel and play like a guitar far superior to the price or the toy-town looks would have you believe.

Despite being hollow (with a centre block running under the bridge) and made of chip-board, or whatever masonite is, they don't feel very hollow or fragile. There's some weight there and they are very well balanced and feel sturdy. I was also surprised by the neck as I have big hands and would avoid super skinny necks buy these are chunkier than I thought they'd be and very, very comfortable.

I can't say much for factory set up, as I'm not sure how long is was in the shop or what they did to it if anything. The setup intially wasn't bad, but wasn't fantastic either although the intonation seemed ok. The finish was absolutely flawless. It is unlike any other finish I've experienced. It feels plasticy but is very smooth and although it seems thick is actually fairly thin. They've used a sort of cloudy clear coat to get that matt finish. The tuners seem pretty good and stay in tune ok.

I added some graphite to the nut and saddles which helped tuning after putting on new strings and setting her up. I had no idea how to set up a Dano so went searching for tips online (of which there aren't many) but the first thing was to give some radius to the saddles of the adjustable bridge so they matched the fingerboard as they were all completely flat when I got it. Next I sorted out the overall string height and finally made sure the end screw was screwed all the way down to the body which improved the resonance. Intonation was a bit difficult becuase of the location of the screws to move the saddles but it just takes a bit of patience. Sorted out the pickup heaight too. It now plays like a dream and I'm actually really amazed at how good it plays and feels. I was expecting the action to have to be a lot higher and was worried about excessive relief in the neck but I can have the action much lower than I thought I'd be able to. I think there is meant to be a truss rod in these new one but haven't had the neck off yet. Anyway, I cannot believe a guitar at this price can play this good!

I don't really care for the yellow dye stuff on the pickguard and binding tape but I understand where they were going with this as the whole guitar has a pseudo-aged vibe without being relic'd.

I play mainly Heavy Rock & Blues. I play a lot at home although I would not hesitiate to take the Dano to gigs. I would say that it is not a guitar that I would use as my main axe or workhorse but I'm not saying it's not possible. I just see it as something to add a different flavour to songs or for playing slide and alterate tunings which it does very well. I also think that at this price it is exceptionally good for someone looking for a first electric - I wish they'd had these when I was a kid! I have no doubt that it would stand up as a main axe if that's your thing. As long as it's setup up correctly it's a dream to play. I have no doubt that it would take a beating and seems far less likely to break if it fell over than a Les Paul.

My main reson I would not use this all the time over other guitars is upper fret access (Well the main reason is I have a 58 Reissue Les Paul, but even so...) Though it's a double cutaway, there's not much access past fret 12 and the smaller frets don't really lend themselves to lots of upper fret - widdly,widdly,widdly - lead playing although I doubt many are buying these with that in mind.

Not needed it.

I've been playing for around 12 years and have owned all sorts of Gibsons, Fenders and Epiphone including my beloved Gibson custom shop Les Paul which is my main axe. My main amps are a fender blues junior and a Marshall half-stack, the Dano sounds great through both.

There's nothing more I could ask of the DC 59 as it fulfilled all my expectations and then wildy surpassed them in terms of the build quality, playability and amazing sound. My favorite parts of the guitar ar e the sound, cool looks and overall playability. I really can't put it down at the moment, even just strumming along to the stereo over breakfast.

I would have no problems buying another one if mine were destroyed at this price you can't go wrong and I don't think that I would have much trouble finding another just as good given the build quality of them.

you can find the specs elsewhere. it's a hard tail electric for you to hone your skills and work the sound out with rather than flick switches all day.

neck pickup is very versatile. you can get almost any sound you want out of it but remember that lipsticks are single coils so for pure crunch you'd be better off with humbuckers. excellent clean tones in the middle setting.

bridge pickup is that danelectro sound and gives you a great, different sound to through in sometimes. it's a very bridght sound, fresh and clean. right on the edge of being jangly but not quite... the sound is quite distinct from a rickenbacker but equally usable.

both pickups sound great with distortion and it's series wiring make the middle setting (both pickups) deep and full and perfect for changing your sound drastically, qucikly.

there was one flaw that impacted the sound upon arrival but it is EASILY SOLVABLE and i don't want it to put anyone off buying the guitar. i had to file the hole the G string passes through on the bridge as it was hampering restringing and most importantly flattening the sound of the g and basically ruinging the sound of a great guitar. 3 PASSES WITH A FILE AND IT WAS PERFECT but i wanted to mention it.

action could have been better out of the box but hey, you just spent 160 quid on a quitar, it aint gonna turn up like a custom shop gibson.

easily adjustable for string height and although the intonation was practically perfect anyway, it's easy enough to change it if you need to. (not as easy as a strat but still easy enough)

everything else was perfect. i don't think you will ever get a super low action on it but i dont think it demands one either. i have a medium action as i think this guitar was made to alternate between fingers and slide.

definately gig with it. everything will last. strap buttons are solid.

great guitar... great for a beginner but probably better to widen the tonal range of a guitar collection.

great sound whether picked, fingerpicked, strummed like an acoustic... whatever.

highly recommended

My DANELECTRO 59 Dc is from 2008 and in black. It has two of the classic lipstick-pickups, one volume knob and one tone knob, along with a pickup-switch (neck, both, bridge). The pickup-switch is slightly angled, so that the switching motion required fits well with the normal stroke motion. The tone control changes the tone massively. The volume control works like you would expect.

The body is made from masonite, and I'm pretty sure it's hollow inside. The sustain isn't extreme, but it's good enough for what I'm going to use this particular guitar for.

It has an adjustable bridge. I've heard that made a huge difference over past models, but I personally wouldn't know. The guitar intonated almost correctly right out of the factory though.

Tuners are fine. To begin with they slipped more than on my gibson, but after the strings settled in it's fine.

The finish had one flaw - it's nothing major, but in a small spot (the size of half a pea) it looks like it's been scratched or something. It looks like someting you could just wipe off, but you can't. (completely flat though)

21 frets - but the cutaway doesn't allow for proper access to 3 of them.

Considering its $ 340 price tag (in Denmark) it's not bad. Not bad at all. You get a more than decent guitar for very little money, and I'm actually playing it less than I'm playing the les paul I have at the moment. I give it 8 for the lack of dedicated tone/volume controls and the small finish flaw.

The sound. It has a very bright attack, with a mellow sound following. Dare I say, dull? It's not lifeless, it's just very full and mellow. It's a bit like a single coil (it has the glassy sounding elements), but more mellow and dull. You can get some really creamy and extremely lively distortion, which is what I like it for.

The pickups are relatively low output, but that doesn't mean they can't be nicely distorted. They have some hum to them when distorted (like single coils), but it's not audible while playing.

I have trouble deciding which pickup selection I like best. They are all unique and great sounding.

I'm not sure how much I like it on low gain settings. I mean, the sound is fine, but it could have done with some more sustain. But it doesn't need a whole bucket of gain to have loads of sustain.

It's a nice guitar with a nice sound. First when I was buying a guitar with lipstick pickups I wasn't sure what to expect, but I've been pleasantly suprised. And priced like it is I think that's a 9. It's really good for things like queens of the stone age actually. For some it might be an 8 depending on what they play.

The action was setup with the action slightly higher the closer to the bridge you get. Of course this is easily fixed, but I have decided not to tamper with anything that works just fine. Pickups where a bit uneven, but I fixed that. Very easy to fix.

The neck is actually really good. It's the same finish as the rest of the body, and it's just really smooth and and nice. Your hands never stick to it and it all feels very natural. It's not too thin. Maybe I would have like it a tiny bit fatter, but I like it how it is.

All screws were tightened the way they should be. The nut and washer at the input jack fell off after a couple of days though. I forgot to check that as the only thing initially, but it's nice and tight now.

The only thing I have to complain about it that you can't reach as far up as you want to. First of all, there's the one less fret it has compared to the les paul, but I just couldn't reach as high notes as I could on the les paul. I waste 1 fret with the les paul, 3 or something like that with the 59 dc. It's not as playable really high up as the les paul is. I guess that forces you to be creative and find other notes to play than those you normally would have gone for. Aside from that I really enjoy the playability of this guitar.

The neck isn't very strong though, the pitch is easily changed. Nothing you can't prevent from just playing it right though.

Based on these things it gets a 9.

This guitar will definitely withstand live playing. The guitar feels a little "plastic", but I actually think it's quite well made. Another person mentioned the pickup selector feels a little weak. I don't know what I think of that. I think it's just the very light weight that makes it feel a little fragile. It's definitely not as solid as my gibson though, so it's only getting an 8. I would use it live with no backup though.

The template also suggests I talk about the strap buttons. They're quite pick. I had to cut my trap up to make it fit on the guitar, and I'm sure it's going to stay there.

Never talked to them.

I'm 19 and have been playing for... 6 years? I'm pretty good and creative. I play a lot of queens of the stone age - all of it, not just the old stuff.

I have two guitars this far. A 2004 les paul studio and now this. My next buy is going to be an epiphone dot in cherry. Not because Josh has one, cause I had my eyes on it before he started using it, but because of all the good things I've heard about it.

If it was stolen or lost would I buy another... I don't know, I can't really picture the situation, but I really like the guitar. It's a lot of guitar for the money. Seriously.

The very creamy and lively (and aggressive, but at the same time mellow... well you really have to hear it I guess) distortion you can get out of it is what I love the most about it. What I hate the most is that you can't reach all the way up the neck. But **** that.

Something I wish I had asked before buying the guitar... Not really. The final score is given based on the price relative to what you get.

2007 issue Danelectro DC59 in Black. This is the reissue of the classic Danelctro closely associated with Jimmy Page (amongst others). "Improved" tuners and bridge, revised pickups, simplified controls, aged tape binding and guard etc. Nothing included or offered other than a pair of allen keys. I've used a friends 90's reissue 56 Dano and the improved features on this are a definite bonus. Fully adjustable bridge and modern tuners make a difference.

I teach guitar full time as well as live playing and this guitar can cover anything I've thrown at it. Live, I run it through a 50 Watt Marshall JCM800 into a 70's Basketweave cab live through maybe a MXR Phase 90 and a bit of Delay. At work, any old amp from the smallest Crate Practise amp, Pod XT, Pocket Pod, Vox Valvetronix and so on. It can do most styles with clarity and character although I find the bridge pickup harsh in comparison to the neck (and vice versa the neck pickup dull if you tame the bridge). The concentric controls would easily cure this problem. This guitar can be very noisy. My switch has an audible clunk. The volume control has no taper. Not good at cleaning up a sound or reducing volume and even when fully off there's still some signal going through!? The tone control is more an on/off affair than what one would expect. Howeverthis guitar is cheap! I'd previously considered shelling out up to ??500 or ??600 for a 90's one of ebay before this came out for ??150.!For another ??50 I'm going to get a professional to put in superior quality pots and a switch and I'm also toying with going back to the old concentric setup (vol and tone for each pickup)

The guitar played great from the get-go. Really comfy and skinny neck. Better fret job than guitars I've paid ??700 for! I've done very little to this other than tweak the high E and reset the intonation. There is an imbalance with the pickups for certain styles but I haven't tinkered enough with it to get the best out of it yet. There is some tuning issues though. Yhe plain strings are prone to slippage and the high E breaks easily. I'm considering fitting locking tuners to see if it might solve part of the problem.

I can totally depend on this guitar. It's comfy, easy to travel with and looks as cool as fudge! Mines has picked up a few nicks easily but it kind of adds to the vintage vibe and I don't plan on selling it. For it's flaws it's still a keeper. I've used this day to day and apart from busting strings and being a bit noisy it's great. Live I only use it for alternate tunings on a few numbers but it works well and the weight is a nice relief from my other electrics.

Not a clue, no information came with it and there's nothing on their website bar a product list. It's a piece of wood (well masonite) with some metal on it! What can go wrong?

The tuning stability isn't great so I'm thinking of buying another one so I can use 2 or 3 tunings without it pulling back to the other tuning. For this price that doesn't even bother me. It's not the worlds best made guitar but has bags of character and for this price you can't go wrong.

This is the 2007 reissue of the 59 Danelectro DC. Improvements to the older reissues apparently include the adjustable bridge (instead of rosewood), better tuning machines, and improved "warmer" lipstick pickups. I had been avoiding the older ('90s) reissues because of tuning issues and reports that the pickups sounded bad with distortion, but this new version has fixed all of those problems.

First thing you notice is how light the guitar is. The classic hollow cavity combined with the Masonite front and back makes this thing a dream to play on stage.

I got the burgundy matte finish, which is really closer to brown. There is aging applied to the side tape and pickguard to make them appear vintage. The tuners are a matte silver (Gotoh tuners if I'm not mistaken). The classic seal pickguard adds character (someone at a recent show said my guitar looked like a yin-yang symbol). Overall, it's a very pretty guitar, but not overly flashy.

This is not the Pro version, so there are only two knobs, volume and tone. These control both of the single coil pickups- one setting for both. I am probably going to buy the concentric pots and knobs to give each pickup its own volume and tone controls.

The 3-way pickup selector switch is slightly in the way of the strumming hand if you're rocking out, but I'm getting used to it. Since the pickups are wired in series, the center position (both pickups) is louder than either of the two by themselves.

I play a wide range of music, including blues, funk, rock, "alternative" , metal, and even some jazz. This guitar is able to pull off every sound I throw at it. Clean tones ring and chime, with pretty decent sustain. The guitar responds well to reverb and delay effects. Distorted, it sounds just as good and retains clarity even in the low register without getting muddy.

My signal chain is: 59 Danelectro > Ernie Ball Volume (secondary out to Planetwaves tuner) > Fulltone Fatboost (always on at medium settings for all knobs) > Sovtek Big Muff Pi > RMC Picture Wah > Rocktron Short Timer Delay > EH Holy Grail Reverb > Startouch A/B/Y pedal > modified '73 Fender Bassman 100 (left channel is Marshall JTM 45 values, right channel is Blackface Fender Bassman values) into custom 2x12 cab with EH speakers.

My other guitars include a Les Paul clone by Vantage, an Ibanez Artcore hollowbody, and an old Washburn. None of these have sounded as good in all settings as my new Dano. It really is a chameleon. Go from Steeley Dan to AC/DC to Metallica to Nirvana to Smashing Pumpkins, back to Eric Clapton, Hendrix, and Zeppelin, do a little Blue Bossa... I can get all the tones I want.

The tone controls are responsive, I tend to roll back the treble a bit as my Fulltone Fatboost is adjusted to not cut treble and tends to be bright. The volume is also easily used to clean up tube overdrive, just roll it back for clean, crank it for some bark.

The only downside of this single-coil guitar is the noise. If I'm standing near my amp, or near my computer, or any other source of electricity, there is an audible hum. Luckily, on stage the noise is nonexistent.

In fact, live playing is where the guitar shines. It has replaced my other guitars and holds up to a long show with little tuning needed (except maybe after a very bendy solo on the high strings).

The action from the factory was set fairly low, where I like it, while not so low that it makes slide guitar hard to pull off.

The intonation, which I thought was off when I played in the store, turned out to be perfect. I just had to put a fresh set of 10's on and the guitar intonated beautifully.

The neck is basic, nothing fancy, but is smooth and very playable.

There was not a single flaw on this guitar's finish, and it looks like it will take a beating.

The pickup selector nut seems to loosen easily- I don't know if I need to add a washer or something, but for now I just tighten it manually every once in awhile. The volume and tone knobs don't have this problem.

This guitar, even as light as it is, seems very durable. Maybe it's the no-frills approach, but I am not too worried about this thing. The matte finish helps, as does the tape on the side and the giant seal pickguard.

The nut is made of metal! It's not going anywhere. The adjustable bridge will probably outlive the classic rosewood saddle of older Danos.

I feel like I can depend on this guitar, and for such a low price and sound quality, it's already become my main gigging guitar. I play it without a backup.

I have not had to deal with the company's customer support.

I've been playing for about 17 years in various bands, and also do home recording and songwriting (playing guitar, bass, vocals, and some keyboard). I'm always looking for things to inspire me, whether it's new toys or new ideas.

Sometimes, the toys make you have new ideas. I brought this guitar home and immediately started coming up with interesting new songs, breaking out of the rut I was in. That's the best endorsement any guitar needs, in my opinion. The '59 Dano begged me to play it and try out different combinations of effects- and since they all sounded good, I kept coming up with more!

I would definitely buy another Dano, whether or not this one is stolen or lost. I could save up for a single Les Paul or a Martin acoustic, or I could buy an army of cheap Danos and keep getting cool sounds. It seems obvious to me. While it's not a tuxedo guitar like the ones I just mentioned, it's an every day player and extremely versatile.

Remember, it's not how much you spend on a guitar, it's what you do with it. If you can't squeeze the rock out of a Dano, you might consider picking up flute instead.

This is one of the brand new 2007 reissues of the 59 DC. They are nearly the same as the last set of reissues with a few important changes. It is still a Chambered, masonite body with a symetrical double cutaway, a 13" lower bout and an 8" waist. The neck is a bolt-on and joins the body at the 14th fret. Very comfortable body shape to play.

The neck is 21 medium-jumbo frets and is made of mystery wood (I have been unable to find out what it is; doesn't feel heavy enough to be maple, so my guiss would be mahogany or something cheeper, but what do I know). The fretboard is a very nice looking piece of rosewood with super-cheap dot inlays. It also has the classic metal nut (1 and 5/8"), which looks pretty well cut. Cheapish feeling tuners, but they hold tune nicely. The back shape on the neck is fairly thin, reminicent of a Gibson 60's slim taper neck. It feels wonderful. The headstock is almost the same as the classic "coke-bottle" shape, with a little asymmetry at the top. Actually looks pretty cool.

The pickups are two danelectro single-coil lipstick pickups, and are probably your reason for buying this guitar. There is a simple three-way switch and two knob (volume and tone) setup for the electronics, which i like very much. The knobs on my dano turn clockwise in order to raise the volume or tone, instead of counter-clockwise like every other guitar I can remember playing. I didn't even know you could get pots that did this. Took a little getting used to, but I don't even notice it now. The bridge is indeed fully adjustable and all-metal.

The finish on my guitar is Burgundy. It looks very nice. It is quite dark, and looks very classic. A good choice for someone who wants a classic looking finish without getting the all-too-common black. No matter how much I read about it, I wasn't quite prepaired for how weird the vinyl tape on the sides of this guitar is. It and the pickguard are an aged white colour that looks great. Exactly what someone buying a retro guitar like this is probably looking for, and a very smart call by Dano.

All in all, for $250, this guitar has some pretty wonderful features.

I play jazz almost exclusively now, but that sometimes includes a necessity to produce more traditional rock, funk, blues and country tones. I play an Eastman T160 (highly recommended) for the straight ahead jazz stuff, and got this guitar to fill in the gaps. I needed something solid bodied or preferably chambered to get the more modern Bill Frisell/John Scofield/ Marc Ribot/ Nels Cline sounds. This guitar is exactly what I was looking for. I have not been as happy with a guitar's sound since I got the Eastman. I'm beginning to sell off all my other guitars.

The pickups, as advertised, are wound warmer than previously by Dano, and while I have never played an original Dano, and therefore could not speak to how they compare with those lipsticks, these are certainly warmer than the last set of reissues. I found the last set extremely thin, and while they did do a very nice jangly, rhythm sound, the pickups were pretty much a one-trick and didn't seem very practical to me. These new pickups are significantly fuller and richer, and are therefore much more versitile. In fact, this has become my most versitile guitar. Still quite bright, but now its in a good way instead of an annoying way.

My favorite thing about these pickups is how touch sensitive they are. Without changing any of the settings on the guitar or the amp, a wide range of tones, volumes and distortion levels can be controlled just with how you touch the strings. This is very important to me in my playing, and I was thrilled to find just how subtle and versitile the famous lipstick pickups really are.

The jazz sound clean is very full with lots of bite. It does a great Rockabilly tone with the pickups mixed, as well as the same classic rhythm sound I mentioned before. Its a fantastic slide guitar, clean or distorted. Even does a nice tele impression in the bridge pickup for country stuff.

The pickups are pretty noisy, but anyone who plays single-coils will be used to this by now. I play this guitar through a '65 blackface fender bassman and a 1x15" cab. This gives the the guitar some added girth, and i feel the pickups may not respond as well to a brighter amp.

All in all, I love the sound of this guitar. It does everything, but doesn't really sound like anything else. It really is its own animal.

This guitar is certainly considered a budget instrument, but came setup well and looking great. The finish is flawless on the neck and the body. Frets were clean and look/feel great. Nut was pretty well cut and the action was surprisingly low, with little to no buzzing. The bridge looks pretty solid, and its a good thing they introduced the saddles, because I put a set of .012 guage flatwound strings on it, which through the intonation off. Fixing the problem was a breeze, and I don't know what I would have done if it had had the old bridge.

Some of the screws and the nut on the input jack needed tightening.

The bridge pickup was set much weaker than the neck pickup, so I had to lower the neck a bit and raise up the bridge, but after that the pickups were very even sounding.

All in all, a well made and comfortable guitar with a few sloppy little things that were fixed within 5 minutes each.

The guitar itself feels very solid. It has that feeling of road-ready toughness reminicent of a tele or strat. I don't know how much I trust the pots, switches and jacks and I feel like I may need to replace them eventually.

Finish looks pretty hard to damage. If you're looking for a guitar thats going to age quickly, you may have to take some hand tools to this guitar to speed up the process, since I don't think it'll happen naturally for another 20 years or so.

I feel thoroughly comfortable taking this guitar to a gig without a backup as long as i've got extra strings. Very solid strap buttons and a simple, trustworthy setup.

Never dealt with Dano, but judging by the quixotic nature of their company's existence, I wouldn't plan on having constant support from them. Maybe I'm wrong and they'll make a great comeback. These guitars are certainly good enough to do that for them, and they seem to be getting a lot of attention.

Luckily I really can't anticipate any problems with this guitar that I would need to contact dano to get fixed.

I'm a student in the Jazz guitar program at a music conservatory in the mid-west and have been playing for about 7 years now. I've owned a couple of Ibanez hollow and semi-hollow bodies, a telecaster, a Hagstrom Swede, a junky acoustic guitar and the Eastman T160 archtop I mentioned earlier. Since getting this guitar I have sold both of the Ibanez guitars and the telecaster as I no longer have any need for them. The Hagstrom I am keeping for sentimental reasons, or I would have sold it too. Between this guitar and the Eastman I have all my bases covered.

I ordered this guitar on the internet without having played one before, but remembering what I liked and didn't like about the last set of Danelectro reissues. They seemed to have addressed all of the problems I had with the last ones, so I gave it a shot. I was extremely satisfied with my purchase. For $250 I don't think you can get a better sounding, more unique guitar (except perhaps the odd-ball Dano Pro that was reissued along with this guitar).

I love the sound, the look and the feel of this guitar. Just the neck is worth the price, it feels incredible! I would replace it immediately if lost or stolen. I wasn't expecting to like this guitar nearly as much as I did. It really was something I bought on a whim and thought might be cool to have around. I certainly didn't expect it to replace all my other solid and semi-hollow guitars.

The additions of the vintage colouring, the warmer pickups and more reliable hardware have made these guitars a delight to play. They've already gone up in cost from when I bought mine a few months ago, so snap them up while you can!

I gave this guitar a 10 overall because while it certainly not a "10" guitar when compared to all other instruments, for the money it easily earns a top rating. Congratulations Danelectro on a job well done. I think your company can look forward to a successful future.

I bought this new a few weeks ago. This is aug. 2007, if you buy one new youll get on like the one i have (if i understood right they change a lot, quality wise, year to year). Keep in mind, ive never played any other danelectro guitar.

Everything is a sleek satin finish. The paint, the neck, the hardware, even the pickups. The pickguard is a weird aged bubbled thing (youd have too see it to understand, kinda looks like clear coat that is yellowed and bubbled, in a good way, lol). 1 volume, 1 tone. 3 way switching. 2 Lipstick pickups, of course. semi-hollow, i think. Cool double cut away (hence the name, dc). Im not sure about the woods used. If its the same as the old ones, you dont wanna know. Made in korea. O- and it has a metal nut, very odd.

I play a little of everything, thats kind of the reason i got this guitar, it has a one of a kind sound. I was hoping for a bluesy slide sound out of it, but i didnt know what to expect. I bought this on-line without every hearing one played, i figured if its good enough for jimmy...

Well the sound... lets see. Take a single coil, turn up the treble, and use a metal slide (to simulate the metal nut), and thats pretty close. These pickups are BRIGHT sounding. Like punch you in the face bright, thank god for the tone knob. If the tone knob was numbered, i keep it at about a 3 (out of ten). At this setting, it sounds very good, but still very different. If this section was only on variety, this would get a 1 out of 10, however youd never get this sound out of any other pickup, so its ok. It dosent respond well to distortion, you really have to crank the gain to get it to respond, but once it does, very cool sound. O- and very quiet for a single coil. Idk im a little torn, i love the sound, but very unpratical. Works well for off the wall stuff. Well as a final thought for this, play one before you buy it.

This guitar plays very well! 97% setup from the factory. The only problem was the bridge pickup is a little to low. very easy fix. Flawless finish. The retarded tape- whatever on the sides really cheapens the whole thing, but its replacable, so its ok. No real complaints, exept the tape. I was about to give it a 10 to, lol.

Oh, id suggest getting black. Mines Keen Green, and its looks cool in pics, the neck is satin black/rosewood. It almost clashes with the rest of the guitar (well the keen part anyway, lol, sorry for the corny joke). Black would look fantastic though. Just a word of advice.

It seems pretty solid. Stays in tune well, but im not a string masher (normally ^^). The only thing i dont trust is the pickup selector switch. Very loose feeling. Its not the outside part, its the inside, and its a sealed selector switch. Makes me nervous. Hasnt failed yet, but its still very new ('bout 2 weeks old). For that reason alone i wouldnt gig alone with it stock, but id probably just change the switch. fyi- dont try to take off the back cover youll get nowhere. Everything is under the pickguard, trust me.

I havent delt with danelectro, although if there web site is anything like there Customer Support, im scared. Im giving the place i bought it from the 10. That guy rocks. Very personal, and very quick to respond.

I have been playing about 9 years. I own a lp copy (very nice lp copy^^), a strat, and a few acoustics. My only regret buying this guitar is not having played it first. Im sure i still would have bought it, but i dont like those kind so suprises.

If it was lost i dont think id buy it again, id just get a lipstick pickup and put it in the center of my strat.

I wish it had at least one different pickup, the neck and bridge sound almost identical, the bridge is a little brighter... its hard to believe thats possible. also independent volume/tone controls.

All in all, its an awsome looking guitar. Prefect show piece, and good to play, if you can find something to play on it.

After owning and playing this guitar for about two years, I'd say that most of what you get with this guitar is what you pay for. There's nothing really horrible about it, but nothing really incredible, excepting maybe the lipstick pickups. Made in Korea in 99 if I'm reading the SN right. Bought it NOS for about $250. Mine's got the Commie Red finish, which really looks slick. I like that its not a goopy polyurethane like the one that used to be on my Epi Les Paul. The bridge is pretty mediocre, but it works well for what it is (flat piece of metal with a rosewood strip held on with string tension). Tuners are also pretty cheesy, look around for some good Gotoh replacements and you should be set. As far as electronics go, two single-coil lipstick PUs, with concentric tone/volume knobs for each and a pretty solid-feeling 3 way switch. Built with a masonite top and back, plywood braces, and weird vinyl tape around the sides. I believe the neck is maple, and the fretboard is rosewood. There are no fret markers above the 12th fret, so I took some paint-on whiteout and made my own; they work just fine and only I can see em. Overall, it'll never be up to par with a Gibson or Fender, but as a cheap (not getting to be anymore) guitar it's better than most guitars you'll get for the price.

This guitar suits my style (blues, blues-rock, rock) just fine. It's a great guitar to set up for slide, and its very easy to get a good Hound-Dog Taylor slide tone out of it. I generally run mine through a Fender 25W Frontman amp, with mids pretty high up, lows down and highs about midway. This guitar is kinda noisy in general, the pickups aren't reversed so there is a buzz. I've noticed that the buzz is a lot worse when I'm not touching a metal piece, like the strings, tuners or bridge. Maybe a grounding problem, but I dunno. The one thing about this guitar that make it worth buying are the pickups. They're pretty open and jangly, and respond to light and moderate distortion pretty well. Guitar can go from a light jazzy tone to a Rolling Stones/early Who sound pretty easily, definitely a versatile guitar if you know how to use it and your amp. Only thing I dont really like is the drop in volume when only one pickup is on. Volume is fine with both, but there is a slight drop when just the rhythm PU is on, and a noticeable drop when the treble PU is on. It's really not a huge deal, but more something I would see as something to incorporate into your playing style. The construction of the guitar also makes for a very resonant sound, as there are hollow chambers inside the guitar. This makes for a very loud unplugged sound for an electric guitar. Overall, very good sound.

Guitar came from the supplier pretty well set up. Not much tinkering had to be done to get it playing well, this guitar just plays well in general. Pickups were adjusted fine, there isnt much you can do with a lipstick pickup since it's made with just one big bar magnet. Guitar came pretty well finished and set up, no real flaws or bugs to work out.

Despite what I would call pretty light construction, this guitar will (and has) stood up to live gigs and jams. Pretty much all of the hardware is just fine if you're just using the guitar as a backup or one to just set on a stand in the living room. However, if it's a main axe I'd probably replace the bridge with an all metal one with adjustable saddles) and tuners with something a little less cheap. Gotoh tuners seem to be the thing to put on this, they're nothing like Grovers, but they're priced about right for this guitar. Only thing I'd worry about would be the knobs (seem kinda cheap to me) and the strap buttons (definitely pretty cheap). The finish on this guitar seems pretty solid, and has resisted banging into tables, chairs and door jambs pretty well. Based on prior experience, this guitar is pretty dependable and doesn't eat strings like my Les Paul. I'd play a gig without a backup with this guitar, but I would definitely feel more comfortable with a better bridge and upgraded tuners.

I've been playing for about 5 years now, and currently own an Epi LP Standard, the Dano, and a Seagull S-6. I played all except the Dano extensively in the store before buying, this was the only one I ever have or probably will buy without playing it first. I have not been let down and wouldn't do anything different a second time. I really love this guitar, but honestly, if something were to happen to it, I think I'd go for something a little easier to find without going all over the place to find parts and accessories for. I love the sound, the playability, and the light weight of this guitar, and only really dislike some of the cheesy or mediocre parts for it. I didn't really compare this with other guitars, it was the only one I wanted at the time and was happy with the result. I really like this guitar, its not the 59 Pro, but I love it and doubt that a Pro would be a much better buy than this one.

This guitar was given to me in 98 or 99 new... I think it listed for around 200...its a cool retro look with the lipstick pickups and the funky colors..(mine is cool copper)... the bridge is mahogany on metal... non intonating...so tuning up the neck is sometimes an issue.. but i found an intonating bridge online for about 40 bucks.. it would probably be worth the upgrade...Its a Dano.. so the features are plastic knobs...plastic pegs... plastic everything...well there is wood...plywood... but the amazing thing is that a company can make such a reliable instrument out of cheap materials and keep the price low...

It has a good jingly jangly sound when i play it through my Dano Dirty Thirty amp... Distortion is OK but its not a Les Paul..My guitar has issues with the selection swith..there seems to be some sound bleeding from one pickup to another..but the bottom pickup has a good mellow sound... and the top has a tight top end sound..when combined it is really a cool sound..sounds almost like its player through a shifter..

I have never had this guitar set up so it is set at factory settings now... and its ok.. I am sure that if i had it set up it would be even better..everything on this guitar seems to be pretty tight.. i will mention that the side tape is buckling a little around the neck..(I've heard that this is common) and the bottom strap peg came out... I just glued it back in... the pickup selector is a little noisy...it seems to be cheap.. but that's the creedo of Dano...

This guitar is light...don't beat on it or it will go out of tune..lots of plastic.. if you drop it something will break... but it just looks great hanging around the waist...I would not use it as a primary instrument... so have a telecaster hanging in the wings..

N/A

This is a great beginner guitar that will go to the stage...and since Danelectro is no longer making it.. it is becoming collectable.. I have seen them sold on eBay for up to 400..and Jimmy Page plays one that is similar.. so you have the cool factor..
get this guitar if you want the funky vibe that dano offers.. I enjoy finding matching items ie.. pedals, amps, gig bags etc.. on eBay and having a complete Dano setup... they make cool looking stuff and if you shop around they can be had cheap
These guitars will never be as good as Fender, Gibsons and the like but for a first electric guitar one could do a lot worse than picking up a Danelectro..

This is actually a 59 DC Pro. I have no idea when or where it was made, literally the only markings on it are "Danelectro". There are two volume and two tone controls with a three-way selector switch to two lipstick pickups. I'm pretty sure the neck is maple but I can't tell with the body. The finish is Black/Gold Pearl. Double cutaway body. Calssic Danelectro bridge. Gotoh locking tuners. Fat acoustic-style neck, but unbelievably perfect action. The strings are practically touching the frets and there is no buzz at all. I bought it off of ebay and the only thing it came with was a gig-bag....I hate gig bags, they don't really do anything for the guitar. I'm on the road a lot so, I don't take anything with if it isn't in a hardshell case. If anybody knows where to find one, nathanjdubois@gmail.com, please. Thanks.

The only reason that I bought this guitar was because I watched the new Led Zeppelin DVD and saw Page playing one. I thought, "This guy has all of those other guitars but he picks this one for the stage on 'Black Mountain Side'." I assumed it must be pretty special, but didn't think too much of it really until I plugged her in. Man, was I in for a shock. I play classic rock style originals and a lot of blues, and for some reason this guitar fits me like a glove. I play it throug:

Vox V847 Wah
Old old old Maestro Fuzz(not the fuzzface)
Dunlop Crybaby Wah (yea, two wahs can be pretty fun)
Boss Chorus Ensemble
Sometimes I add: The Ibanez TS-9 tubescreamer, a Danelectro Tuna Melt, or the Big Muff Distortion (russain).

to

Two Fender amps, a Deluxe Reverb Reissue and a Blues Junior.

The guitar isn't at all noisy. I also have an American Strat, a Gretsch Duo Jet, and an old unnamed from the 60s, and this Danelectro beats them all. The sound is much more full and a lot brighter than any other guitar I've played yet. The guitar is pretty effective when using feedback(although a tremolo would've been pretty cool).

There isn't anything I don't like about this guitar.

I have no idea how the guitar was set up at the factory, as I bought it used. Whoever had it before me, or the factory, set it up perfectyl. I had to do some fine tuning on the pickups, they're never just right though, no matter what you buy. The finish is amazing, I love it. From one angle it looks green, another brown, another gold, and then when the light hits it just right it's the blackest guitar you've ever seen. I was surprised at the lack of finish flaws on it since it was used. Whoever had it before took very very good care of it. I love the nut on this guitar, What is it? Is it brass? I don't know, all I know is that the sustain on this baby is beautiful. Nothing on this thing is noisy at all until I kick on that fuzz pedal.

I'm pretty sure that this will be my main guitar for live shows, it feels pretty solid. The hardware is tough. The finish feels thick. The strap buttons....errr....I'm always nervous about strap buttons and you can blame that on Gretsch(hopefully you know what I mean). I would, but won't, play this guitar at a gig without a backup. I wouldn't need it. I usually use .011-.046 strings, but this one has .009s .... I haven't broken a single string yet, I always break .009s. But, with some many guitars (three strats a gretsch and this one) I would never want to not take them all to a gig. The only thing is the body binding Tape. But if it ever came off it would only mean a weekend of tearing the rest of and cleaning it up.

I haven't dealt with Danelectro. They stopped making these (but they do still make guitars).

This guitar suits me, and like I say, fits me like a glove. It doesn't feel like any other guitar, and why should it? It doesn't sound like any other guitar, and why should it? It has it's flaws, but nobody's perfect. This guitar is my favorite, I love it. I want to play it just sitting here writing about it. Beautiful guitar, wonderful guitar. Good job Danelectro. Stay classy.