Danelectro Baritone

Purchased from Danelectro as part of my artist endorsement. Made in Korea, finished in Aquaburst (a light green to cream finish). Instrument is tuned a 5th below guitar but with same intervals. Hence you need to transpose to play with other folks. Capo at 5th fret and it becomes a very thick stringed guitar! Body made of plywood and masonite. Cheap but cool. The dual lipstick pickups are great and also kinda cheapo but the work. Tuners have plastic caps but stay put. Plastic strap buttons. Rosewood fingerboard on maple neck. Dual concentric tone and volume controls with 3-way pickup selector switch.

Ah, WHAT A SOUND!!! This guitar rules. When I first picked up this instrument, I knew I'd found something very fresh and new. Has great potential in many areas: leads that drop below guitar range, solo live work as an alternative to acoustic guitar and as a rhythm guitar for Chuck Berry or blues it's truly awesome. First time I used it on stage, people were amazed. Sort of noisy but Boss noise gate will fix this. I play this direct to record thru Line 6 POD and live thru a Line 6 Flextone HD/2x12 Cab setup. Pushing 150 watts into 4 ohms this thing is like a thunder clap. Like Duane Eddy on steroids. I play a lot of surf music with this and also use it as a session tool for low-down lead type licks.

Guitar was set up perfect from factory but this was for my endorsement so I'm sure they tried real hard to make it right. But I've played others and they all seem similar. Finish is just fine (perhaps it's most attractive feature). The pickup selector gives quite a clonk at loud volume though.

The Baritone does fine live. Strap buttons are very marginal and need to be glued better. I suppose it's dependable but the string guages (014/018/026/044/056/068) are hard to get. But treated right and gently, I'd use it without backup. But it's so cheap that purchasing another is no big deal.

Company is wonderful to me but I endorse 'em! No repairs needed yet.

I've been playing 35 years and own a Rickenbacker 12-String, a couple of Fender Strats (with GR-Ready electronics) and a Danelectro U-2 as well as a Longhorn bass. The Baritone is a very distinctive and, for me, important instrument in my arsenal. Although I'm just beginning to explore it's sonic potential, I don't regret owning it.

Got a brand new one of these very recently, July 99. Shipped in from Korea - It has the finish they call Commie Red, a very sexy dark red with a high gloss that sets off the creamy 2 tone side panels well - Find the sunburst finishes a little TOO 50's for my taste but this looks gorgeous, Headstock a beautifully finished Coke bottle style stock on a neck both slender and yet dead solid feeling, with a nice rosewootd fret board and frets acommodating to alot of different styles of play, given how heavy guage the strings are. Alot of guitarists I know seemed interested in it but thought you might have to learn new tuning voicings. No. The Dano is tuned in Guitar style intrevals, just a 5th down from guitar. Capo it at the 5th fret and it's "just" a guitar with hugely thick strings! You just have to learn to transpose guitar chording a 5th in your head to communicate to others what you're playing in. As everyone knows from above, Danos have hardboard tops/bottoms, ply wood frames, etc. I found this unpleasantly affected sustain and deep tone in the Dano guitars I (admittedly breifly) tried, but with the baritone, it works as a plus and also makes a pleasant enough sound without an amp for practice. Impressive Maple neck nicely finished to match the body. The Lipstick pickups + fat roundwound strings + just a smidge of chorus and some slapback punched trough a '77 Hiwatt Head and 4x12 - heaven, with thunder. Tuners seem substantial. Take a bit of cranking (and they're so far away down that long neck you'd need to take the guitar off to get a good look at 'em) but I'd guess they need to be tight. Holds tune quite well unless you get radical with the neck.

I write my own stuff and I've long fallen to being a guitar tone collector - I can't just have an effect that sounds like something - I love 60's guitar tones and have a 66 Gibson ES 330 (that I bought because it was like the Beatles Epi Casinos), a 69 Vox Starstream Teardrop 12 string electric, new Tak acoustic, '78 Rick bass and half a dozen other things. I play alot of different stuff, but 60's influences tend to surface in whatever I do. If you want a woody bass like bottom end, the Bari can give it to you under your fingers, but then turn around and pick like a guitar. The tone is very bright. I found I wanted to roll off abit of top on almost everything when I ran it through the multieffects presets I usually use on my Strat or Gibson. I use a Dod Tec 4, the 98 version, not the one they sell now. Slapback echo, a sheen of Fender amp style reverb, a warming chorus with the bottom punched and the top trimmed, and of course the classic twangy vintage amp tremelo all sound great. But I had interesting priliminary fun wailing on a fat Brian May style distortion preset I've built. Obvious riff potential there I've yet to explore as much as the clean tones, if only cause they're so mesmerising. I have a feeling wah should be neat, too. I'm actually a little hesitant to define the sound because this instrument begs for new players to show people what it can do. I'd consider swapping the bridge pickup if the aftermarket "aged" ones are warmer and less trebly, though, as while I like what it adds to the middle setting, bridge alone is really too tinny for me. But I usually feel that way, so judge for yourself. The jack is on the frame on the bottom, which only sucks when you're trying to sit on the couch and play, but it seems sturdy enough. I don't find it any noisier than a single coil Strat (and I don't consider that very noisy, next to the P90's on my Gibson). Actual output is a little lower in volume than my other guitars, but not punatatively so.

I got this moments after it came into the store, and the owner commented that noone had tried it so it would likely need tuning. In actual fact, one string needed adjusting and it was otherwise perfectly in tune out of the box. So either the Dano legends of unshockability climate wise are true and this thing arrived in tune from Korea recently, or the nice folks at Danelectro give these things a nice preshipment once over. The intonation is gorgeous for such a deep heavy set of strings. I find the plush harmonic richness of the baritone and can create a less cliched alternative to the things you might use an electric 12 drone for. But you can also use it to create great solo voice/guitar versions of things, giving yourself bass lines. That is especially effective if you fingerpick. No doubt, the Bari requires some muscle in the fingers (altough it's more forgiving than you'd think, and has both solidity and play in the tension, depending on what you want. Bends fine but forget much beyond a semitone. These are bloody heavy strings, but that's what makes it sound great - a fat, viceral, burring tone or almost nylon like response. I bought this to try in my band but I'm seriously going to try using it at solo gigs I do as an great interesting alternative to an acoustic. I never liked solo gigs with a normal electric, but the Bari, while clearly electric in tone, has a warmth and top end shine when picked that nicely fills that warm acoustic void while still giving the option of some punch underneath. Pickups respond to low bass line/high jangly arpeggio playing with distict tones almost like 2 guitars were playing. And nothing rattles, which I thought was against the laws of physics given those strings, that body, and all those ugly screws sticking out the back of it. This is one well put together and impeccably finished device, which manages to convey a sense of more delicate retro splendor like, say, a Rickenbacker, over top of what is actually a bloody sturdy chunk of rock maple and rosewood on a resonating body. Sad that it doesn't have a "real" bridge. I'll have to change string one at a time to try to keep the chunk of wood from moving. No sound complaints about the wood bridge though - in fact, intonation seems superb given the relative lack of adjustability. You have to watch not to shake the neck to radically back and forth when you play, though - it's sturdy, but maybe the body isn't as much. On the other hand, if whang on the neck vibrato is your thing, it would work great here, I guess. I just don't know what that kind of thing does to your permanent intonation and structural integrity. One thing that's kind of a pain - the volume of the middle (both pickups) position is very much louder than putting it in either neck or bridge position. So much so that I found i needed to turn the amp up or down between positions. This is a minor nuisance, but it would be nice if the volume balanced better. Actually, I find bridge pickup too tinny for much serious work, other than sending Spock out for a mindmeld (I think a Bari is played on that sountrack bit in the classic TV show) but the fatter neck tone and lustrous middle position provide many options. This is not some weird guitar, nor is it a bass. It is another thing all together which becons the player who likes a heavier set of strings already or more acoustic like action, to explore what new territories it could enter well past the Spaghetti Western type things people are familiar with. Preliminary use suggests playing with lots of distortion works great too and opes whole other vistas. This guitar totally inspires you to come up with your own way of making the most of it and surprises you alot in the process. It's a fantastic fresh alternative souce for clean-and-droney, a texture I use alot. It's a good thing the factory setup is so good, since there isn't too much you can change, except bridge height and where you put the wood.

My experience with all things Dano have been that they look very fragile but are actually quite robust, if treated with some modicum of respect. The lightness of body (they weigh nothing) totally is in opposite to the bottom end tone. Again, no rattles even at top apartment volume, though I haven't gigged with it yet. Through the Hiwatt with 4 Fane 12"s to handle the bottom it sounds like god's Harley. I'll be curios to see how it plays in smaller amps - though the new Vox Pathfinder at the store seemed to handle it remarkably well and it's tiny (but superb). You need an amp with some serious bottom end room to take full advantage here. I feel like I must be murdering my tubes with all that spank, though. It will be interesting to see how tightly it hold together. I love it so much, I could totally imagine buying a second, perhaps kitted out with Dano's aftermarket "aged magnet" pickups (anyone tried them? on a Bari?) if I was gigging regularly. It's a fresh sound and I'd like to use it wherever applicable The finish on these guitars is very sweet, although the large number of shiny steel screws on the back plate are a little aesthetically unpleasing. Most people couldn't care less what the back looks like, though.

It took longer to get the Bari I ordered than the store anticipated, but I still had it within a month, in the colour of my choice. I understand Dano is renowned for next day shipment but response to the new Baritone has been so overwhelming, they can be a little scarce on the ground, especially 'cause they have to cross the CDN border to reach me here in the best country on earth. Damage was $499 Canadian before punitive taxes. Fair price since the website lists 379 US I think, list. I deal with the great folks at Macaulay Music in Cambridge, and Dano was most accomodating to my requests through them for updates on when I might be secured my Bari and whether there were cases and such. (Yeah - for 169 Cdn before tax.(!) Just get your retailer to show you his smallest bass case instead. Mine fits snug in one of those. Make sure the colour of the plush sets off the sexy finish of the guitar... but then you knew that.) As soon as the distributor had it, It was off to me by 10 am the next day. All that and it comes out of the box almost in tune. Danelectro also hosts the coolest manufacturer website on the net, with sound samples of all their stuff that are tiny to download and hear. I hear there's no spare parts, etc. available though, beyond pickups, but that could change if enough people buy them. Hopefully popularity might also get them to expand the available 5 colours to more of the dozen or so in their other guitar lines - they're the same bodies, after all. Charcoal metal flake like the U3 would be awsome - though so is Commie red. Fixed adjustable bridge might be a nice aftermarket option, too. The construction begs for that kind of interchangability. Sadly, fine print on the warranty reveals I dont deserve the one year warranty because the country I live in celebrates it's birthday at the front end of the weekend theirs does at the other end. Seriously. No warranties for Canadians. This may not actally be true as I'm certain the store wasn't aware of it when they sold it to me, or already knew coverage had been extended to Canada. If it is true (and it is according to the registration card itself) then that would be a coplaint, I guess. Anyone can get an off guitar and it isn't always even the mfg's fault. You are entitled to some help.

I've been playing guitar for 25 years, maybe more often acoustic than electric, just because I've often been in a place where I didn't have a band to jam with, though I do play electrics with amps at moderate volumes at home. I mean, I own a Hiwatt, I'm not that shy. I love the Bari because it can give you beautiful retro tones that sound vintage and yet arent as cliched and overdone as 12 string electric can be at this point, and dish that up just as the apetizer to what is actually an instrument well open to exploration vasly beyond it's established trademarks. I love the ring of open strings and often use a capo to keep the allure of 1st position voicings in places more accomodating to my voice when playing normal guitar. That makes the Bari right up my alley - fresh keys for the familiar shapes. Given that, the alt tuning plushness of Baritone/someone else on acoustic in a duo would probably work fantastic too. I have to give it a 9 overall, and it would have been a ten if not for the no warranty for Canucks thing and my fears about the stability of an unfixed wooden brige. Given how much I love this, I'd like to see who else has made Baritones I could try. Is there an acoustic Bari somewhere? the neck load would be tremendous, I guess. At any rate, I'm sure no other company has been able to put out one so affordable and immediately appealing that guitar shops can take a chance on them even in smaller cities like the one I live in. If it were stolen, I'd have to hunt down the bastard who did it and murder him, really. And while I hunted for him I'd have them Purolator me anothe one to tide me over. Frosty Mint next time, i think (they call it Aqua - full out, not the burst.)

Danelectro Baritone is made of the same space-age materials used in kitchen counter tops: masonite and plywood; just like the 50's - 60's vintage originals. Comes in some of the same colors, too!
The bolt-on maple neck has a rosewood fingerboard equipped with 24 nicely finished frets. In fact, the fret work is considerably better than what I observed on the Dano U2 and DC reissues of a year ago. Apparently there were some substantial quality improvements across the entire Danelectro product line since last year. I tried everything but the Long Horn bass the day I bought the Baritone, and was very pleased with the fretwork, and the set-ups in general.
The electronics consist of two lipstick pick-ups, each with volume and tone control and a three way selector switch. The concentric tone/volume knobs are convenient and compliment the elegant simplicity of the design. The selector switch is near the tone and volume controls - handy.
The bridge and tuners -- the critical user adjustment and control points -- are adequate. The tuners are a tight but operate smoothly. Apart from being a tad stiff - which is probably a good thing - they hold nicely. I've had no problems with de-tuning while playing. Because of the materials and construction, the Baritone (or any Dano, for that matter) is virtually unaffected by humidity and temperature; it can hold tune for days.
The bridge is height adjustable, but does not offer true independent string intonation adjustment. Limited adjustment of intonation can be accomplished by pivoting a chunk of rosewood trapped against the "metal plate" bridge by the strings. Frankly speaking, the only thing that keeps the Baritone from being a truly great guitar is the lack of independent string intonation adjustment. (The DC3 and U3 are each equipped a fully intonatable bridge. So such a thing does exist for Danelectro guitars.)

In regards to sound, everything said here applies to the rest of the Dano product line. In form, the baritone appears to be U2 with a really long neck. With the possible exception of the Convertible, the design and construction of all Dano guitars are fundamentally the same. (The Convertible is a real surprise, acoustically speaking.) The sustain is remarkable, all things considered. The sustain is a bit shy what you would expect from anything made by, or copied from, Fender. The acoustic sound (un-amplified) has adequate volume for practice. Actually, there is substantially more volume than would be produced by a solid or chambered hardwood body. Of course, the sound is a bit thin compared to an acoustic guitar - but the Dano is less than two inches thick, has no acoustic port, and has a large chunk of plywood inside (onto which the pick-ups, bridge and neck are mounted). Again, all things considered, its surprisingly acoustic. The amplified electric sound is .... AMAZING! Like how can something so cheap sound so good? .... and have such an impressive range of tonal color? Ever wonder why the originals were sooo popular and were used in sooo many recordings. Oh sure "they" use an impressively expensive Les Paul on stage, but have you ever gotten those tones out of your Les Paul?, or anything with humbuckers for that matter?
Its really something you have to experience for yourself, because no amount of the psuedo-techno-speak that the guitar magazine writers feed us could adequately convey the spectrum of sonic capability the Dano offers. (When I want chunky and crunchy, its time for Fritos!)

The scale length is approximately 30"; about the same as a short-scale bass guitar. The as-shipped string set is 0.014 to 0.068, and the neck is sized to handle the string tension. The string spacing at the nut is tight, roughly equivalent to a strat-o-copy and typical of other Dano guitars. Independent of the set up, its not an easy transition for anyone whose only other guitar is a strat-o-copy. The baritone is clearly not an instrument for anyone with short arms, small hands or sausage fingers.
The from-the-box set up was very good and the overall intonation was adequate. As advertised, it truly does play like a standard guitar. Chord or melody play are equally well accommodated.
From the factory, the Baritone is tuned B-to-B. That's a perfect fifth lower than a standard guitar (remember up a fourth, is down a fifth). That means if you place a capo at the fifth fret, you can play it like an open-tuned standard guitar. This is especially nifty, 'cause it means you can get a sort-of-two-for-one. Capo-On - standard guitar, Capo-Off baritone guitar. Gee, and wouldn't one of those nifty capos that promise one-hand-operation be cool?
This, of course, was how I rationalized my purchase. "No Honey, its not like any of my other guitars. It goes lower. (play descending bebop line here ... pause at E below the staff ... then play "big foot steps" down to B.) See!?! (It worked. Honest!) .... And it doesn't cost very much." (For you youngsters living at home, just substitute "Mom" or "Dad" for "Honey"; practice it in front of a mirror a couple of times - or until you look and sound really convincing.)
Another way to look at it is, it goes as low as a seven-string guitar - kind of Korny. Not that I believe that it would entirely replace a seven-string. On the contrary, I believe that the expanded and enlightened player should own a 7-string, too. (I just haven't refined the rationalization sufficiently to purchase mine, yet. Though I have been laying the ground work: "Honey, as much as I like the baritone, I know I'm going to love a seven-string." This might need to be repeated frequently - without overdoing it - for two or three months. Young guys: patience!)

Clearly, its not designed to batter down a door, but its not exactly frail, either. No big worry about the finish - the body is plastic. In fact, the pick guard is strictly ornamentation, the whole face of the body is a just one big pick guard (Gee I wonder where the Godin folks got the idea for their Radiator?)
Gigging without a backup is ill-advised, at best, with any guitar. But, with a Dano its an entirely different issue, because you can buy a couple of them for about the same amount of cash you'd lay out for anything even remotely equivalent.

Danelectro responded promptly to my questions via email. They provided alternate string set specifications that permit the baritone to be tuned down to a bass (the baritone could be played as a six-sting bass and chorded like a standard guitar). And, I've noticed that this information is now available at their web site, though the 'tween sizes are missing - so, if you need the data....
Baritone B to B This is what your Bari will come with.
1-B .014 Plain 2-F# .018 Plain 3-D .026 Wound 4-A .044 Wound 5-E .056 Wound 6-B .068 Wound
6 String Bass E to E (octave lower than guitar)
E .024 Wound B .034 Wound G .044 Wound D .056 Wound A .072 Wound E .084 Wound
However, two important things to consider are (1) Parts are not available for the Danelectro products, and (2) the warranty is twelve months from the date of purchase and for at-the-factory repair only - you pay the shipping. Considering the price, the warranty is understandable. But if your tuner wears out or is damaged, no direct replacement is currently available. This needs to be changed.
I have recommended that they consider providing parts through an established third-party vendor with a web site - a matter of convenience and preference to anyone reading this. They, again, responded promptly that the recommendation would be referred to the boss.

A great value. An interesting machine. An excellent compliment to my set that includes an acoustic, a slim-line archtop, a strat-o-copy and an acoustic/electric bass.
Closing notes: I'm really hoping that the Dano folks will make the intonable bridge available, both as an option and as an after market part. First, being able to fine tune the intonation would be excellent. The adjustable bridge would also facilitate the transition to a set of flat wound strings - a good move for those interested in Jazz. Drop tuning to B-flat and A-flat would make it excellent for jazz improv with sax or clarinet, and would ultimately justify owning a few of these.
If not, I'll probably spend the extra bucks for a Jerry Jones Baritone with the fully intonatable Neptune bridge.

Here's new one from Danelectro. It's built like their other wonderful new entries into the guitar market. Internal core with masonite top and bottom, nice smooth, slim maple neck with rosewood fingerboard. It has two lipstick tupe pickups, and the normal three way switch, and stacked volume and tone knobs. This came right out of the box, tuned up and ready to play. This is made in Korea, but going by my initial experience with this guitar, it'll be a keeper(I'm usually a real snob about import stuff).

The lipstick tube pickups aren't the greatest pickups I've ever used, but they don't sound too bad for the price. One of the coolest sounds I've gotten so far is through a Prescription Electronics Experience pedal into a Super Champ fed into a Leslie rig, wild!

Very nice, well set up, all bolts tight and no slop anywhere. Mines got the copper burst finish, and it's surprisingly well done.

Don't know yet, but so far so good. It really holds it's tuning well.

Excellent so far. I had a few questions that I put to them over the internet. I had my answers the very next day. Gotta love that.

Here's a way to add a real workhorse to your arsenal, and for a minimum of expense. This is a song writing machine too. I think the fact that it's midway between guitar and bass, it just makes you think on multiple levels. Right off the bat I went through my rather limited repertoire of western theamed guitar instrumentals, and then the experimentation began. This comes from Danelectro strung up for B tuning. 1-B .014 plain 2-F# .018 plain 3-D .026 wound 4-A .044 wound 5-E .056 wound 6-B .068 wound. The nut and bridge is set up so you can change the gauges too. You can set it up for A or even (E)6 string bass tuning just by swapping strings. Ever since I saw Fenders very cool Custom Shop Baritone the Bajo Sexto, I've wanted one real bad. Needless to say, finances have forbid that from happening. This Danelectro Baritone is a real answer to my dreams. Now I want to find an Acoustic Baritone, it's that addictive. For this amount of money, you can't go wrong. And even if it's not your cup of tea, I'm real sure these are gonna retain a real good resale value, so you ain't gonna get stuck with a big loss.