Danelectro Baritone

I'm reviewing a black dano '63 baritone reissue purchased new 8/08.
It's Dano's latest bari in a long line of plywood body guitars as listed below. This may be the first Chinese-made in their line. As with my other CIC guitars, I have no complaints with the fit and finish.

The upgrades from earlier Danos include individual adjustable brass saddles and an aluminum nut.

The neck scale is 29.7" and I have it tuned the standard bari B-E-A-D-F#-B. I've restrung it with D'Addario baritone light gauge 13s and they sound/feel fine. The string hole on the bottom 'B'tuning peg won't accept any larger string than .062, so your limited to 13s. You could attempt to drill out the string hole for larger diameter strings but I wouldn't. Maybe just get pegs with larger string holes.

Like most Dano Baries, the lightness of the body and long neck contribute to diving headstock syndrome (dhs) when standing to play. Not a problem in the studio. Not too annoying since the guitar is so damn light anyway.

A bari is a specialty guitar but yet so versatile. I play instro rock and use it mostly for leads or backing up guitar leads. Just awesome tic-tac Fender VI sounds.

I only play it thru a Fender '63 reverb ri tank. This combo just kills thru a clean amp. I have no idea how the Dano sounds dirty... probably not good.

The action was good right out of the cardbrd box. It came with 10s. To accommodate the larger strings, I adjusted the truss rod. This means pulling the neck as the screw head is hidden under the neck at the body. The neck fits tightly in the pocket.

I find the all the hardware to meet my standards for a budget guitar, which Dano has always been. Typical cheap Chinese wiring. I can see replacing the pickup switch at some point. But its fine for now as are the pots. I wish the jack was located on top of the body instead of LP-style, but its serviceable.

As you may know, some of the early batches of this model were apparently returned to China due to finishing problems, including poorly glued decorative tape that surrounds the body. Too bad. I've read that the '63 Bari may be discontinued. Maybe I have a collectors item, LOL.

I musta lucked out and got a good one. The tape glue is still holding on mine.

Used mostly for studio work, but it'd probably be ok to gig. Needs a case, tho.

The zero-gloss hardware is a nice touch.

I don't expect any support.

Honestly, the only thing missing is a whammy bar. That'd be sweet.

I love this guitar and would buy another. It reminds me of bygone days walking through the Sears store and thumbing my nose at those same-shaped, cheap *** Silvertone guitars, now getting big $$$.

Funny guitar, great sound. Looks like mother of toilet seat . The neck is great and the guitar is easy to intonate. I agree the bridge is not a great design, but it does the job and is easy to set up.

The sound, well a baritone is tuned to B rather than an E on a standard guitar. To do that they add thicker gauge strings, and a longer neck. Playing this thing reminds me of hugging a giraffe.But what a magical register it brings you into. Some say spaghetti western sounds. It is that and more, I can't wait to use it to overdub a simple lead. You have to use a difeerent approach with this thing though, it is really hard to do string bends. So, I don't. But, it can sound like a piano almost. Add a normally tuned guitar to the recording mix and man you've got something.

I'm a tele player so i like to do volume swells. Well the tone and volume control are a little too close together for me to put my finger between them on the fly. takes a bit of practice. The finish is nice, not outstanding. the guitar is balanced which is saying something when you consider the lenght of the neck. It actually surprises me that it wirks at all. But man, what a sound....More of a moaner than a screamer.

I don't think it replaces a regular guitar. I don't think it's meant to. But run it through a voc amp into a genz benz ported 2-12 with no effects and you'll find yourself lying on the floor just to hear the rich resonating sounds. A baritone, never thought about them. Now? I would not be without one, and this one is not expensive.

Bought second hand.

It ain't a 56 strat, or a 72 tele. But it is a great option for those guitars looking for a fundamentally different sound, it is a baritone. Serviceable, easy to set up, easy to play, sounds great. Get one if you record or do sessions. I'd use it live for a song or two also. But it ain't no regular six string, it is a six string with a big bottom. Doesn't like to break dance, likes to do the two step.

It was around the time that I had heard the DC-12 on the DANELECTRO website that I saw the Baritone model. It took a while for me to look at the photos & notice the difference. Needless to say--I KNEW there was a difference in the tone! In fact, when I went to get the DC-12 was when I actually played one. I liked it & put it on lay away. That low 'B' tuning SURE SOUNDS SWEET!!!!!!! The srings are heavier. The neck is a challenge--even for MY BIG LEFT HAND! some chords are QUITE A REACH! We used to tune our guitars low, but HATED the intonation & floppy string problems with it! The Baritone--Someone was finally THINKING WITH THEIR HEAD!!!!!!! I also got THIS one from Atlanta Discount Music in Chamblee, Ga. GREAT FOLKS!!!!!!!

This guitar has a really warm tone! Even with just the bridge pickup, as "twangy" as it is--it's still QUITE WARM! I've not heard a lot of FENDER Telecasters that get this! I like the bridge pickup, but I also like both pickups together. The BEST of BOTH worlds! Now, if you like to play a "spiff riff" or a "slick lick" THIS MAY NOT BE YOUR AXE! However, if you like the full, rich, warm sound of low tuning--Look no farther. YOU'VE ARRIVED! I've only had it a month or two & really enjoy it!

As I stated earlier, I purchased this one from Atlanta Discount Music in Chamblee, Ga. They did all the setting up on it. This is why I don't care to order directly. Like most 'DANO' models, this one is rather "Plain Jane" as well. Mine is the "Butterscotch" color. That's fine. It makes up for it in performance! I've received a number of compliments on it! I've ordered strings for it via. music123.com. They've arrived in 2 or 3 days--at the most. Even though I'm giving it a 9--it's because there's no 91/2!

As I've also stated before, I play mainly at church. I'm 52 yrs. old & TOO OLD to be acting like the late Jimi Hendrix! Even in my younger years, I've NEVER understood destroying ANY EQUIPMENT!!!!!!! WHAT DOES IT PROVE? Taking care of your equipment isn't hard to do--but it DOES require some effort! If you wouldn't endure it yourself--Why subject your equipment to it??????? Keep THIS in mind & practice it--IT'LL LAST!!!!!!!

I've not had to use it, but I KNOW I can depend on Atlanta Discount Music!!!!!!!

Been playing since 1966. I've had a HAGSTROM {didn't care much for it}, a UNIVOX {MOSRITE sunburst copy}, a Custom GIBSON Les Paul, a Mexican FENDER Jazz bass, a 'Dano' DC-12, An acoustic SEAGULL 12 string, a HAMMOND B3 with 2 LESLIE 145's, and a YAMAHA M-206 console piano. My amp is a FENDER DeVille. OH! and a ZVEX electric 6 string. Only 40 of these built. Mine's #33. It has onboard wah & preamp. Each one of these is special to me in it's own unique way!

The Bridge is supposed to convex, my old silvertone bridge is the same way and that guitar intonates perfectly. THe necks also look to be propelled from the top of the headstock but again they were designed that way, so don't worry about that. Worry about where your going to get your next set of strings as most shops don't carry them.

'99, Korean Commie Red Dano Baritone reissue. As stated before this a Masonite (peg board wood) and plywood semi-hollowbody guitar. the fingerboards are alomst 1/4" thick slabs of rosewood,as appossed to the old thin 50's/60's dano's. I'm giving a high feature rating, because the independant t/v controls offer more than enough range for an instrument of this caliber, the tuners however are shite. I bought this guitar from a pawnshop that I was doing repairs for, and when I saw it I grabbed it to test it out, when I noticed that someone had replace the input jack, with a Coaxil male jack (why?). I knew that I had to steal it. That and after playing around with it acoustically (remember no input jack), I knew it would make an interesting addition the harem.

I play an eclectic blend of metal, surf, protopunk, no-wave, noise wave, and at times synth-pop, and childish nonsense regression. I also dig the Ennio Marconi sound (i.e spagetti western motif) that this thing has in spades.

amps: Vox Crapfinder, Lab Series L5, Lab Series L2 (slaved from the Crapfinder), D.I.

I like the deep almost chorusy, chim of this tonebox it accentuates chords and single notes passages quite well. Perhaps my favorite part is the fact that nothing else sounds like it and it's still reletivly cheap on the used market.

THIS THING SOUNDS INCREDIBLE WITH A GOOD OD?FUZZ PEDAL. Someone else mentioned that it also sounds great with modulation effects (chorus, phase, flanger), this is true, but even a cheap DOD 250 overdrive preamp can make my Crapfinder sing with this guitar. Add a little Trem adn you've got a fulll fledged psychadellic freak out, mannnnnn.

it does have a little bit of on the single pickup selections, but if that bugs you buy a noise gate, that's what the eighties were for anyways.

I'm hoping that in twenty years it'll start to sound a little closer to my '61 Silvertone U-1, crosses fingers.

The action is kinda high but it sounds good and the intonation is really close (yeah, you'd have to shave the wood to dial it out so it's best to just play it). I've been playing bass. guitar, synths for years so i'm used to switching instruments, but this guitar takes a little practice to get used to the tension and action of the strings.

ASS i sadi before someone replaced the input jack with a coaxil jack so I had to solder in a new jack. I think the jacks were dirty, but I sprayed those out with contact cleaner

My drunk buddy fell onto my guitar rack, and for some odd reason he didn't knick The '65 Teisco bass, Dano U2. Silvertone U1 , or the Baritone. So I'm just gong to assume that they're in fact quite indestructable.

The finish is really thick in comparison to my silvertone (Made by Dano NJ)
I'm waiting for the strap buttons to pop out, waiting, waiting.

I gig without a backup all the time, even when I'm playing thrash-punk. I'm pretty sure that If I did take this guitar out it'd be for one or two songs then I'd throw my Fender Jaguar back on.

I wonder if they can send me a jack plate? or the N.O.S coaxil jack and cord set.

I've been 'playing' constantly for five or so years. I own probably 12 or so guitars, all have their purpose and place, some I like more than others; I'll list them in order of importance. Guitars, Fender Jaguar, Silvertone U1, Epi Genesis, Dano Baritone, Dano U2, Fender Tele, Harmony Archtop. Basses Ric 4003, Ibanez '78 PJ, '65 Teisco shortscaled bass. I knwo I listed less then 12 but the rest are in states of disrepair.

If it were stoen I'd try to find another because I really dig that Spagetti Western sound and it does the Cure pretty well to.

I wish it wasn't as muddy, i'm hoping that changes with time. Oh and the tuners suck ass.

I wish it had a Jaguar Trem or a Bigsby that would rawk.

Not much variety, but what it does it does well.
Lipstick PU's with individual tone and volume, 3-way selector switch. Open up the panel in the back and you'll see that there's a lot of hollow space in the body.

Great spaghetti western lead sound. Also great for rhythm parts, instead of a regular guitar. The strumming sound is more "clack clack," like a 10-speed deraileur, instead of the usual "chick chick."

I tried several at the store and bought the only one that didn't have major buzzes, which ruin the clean spaghetti western sound. The intonation isn't adjustable and the truss rod doesn't have any accessible adjustment. It's been stable for 4 1/2 years, except the bridge problem (see next).

Yes, "I'm afraid it's gonna fall apart": the bridge is coming off. The front two screws that hold the bridge to the body are leaning and only holding the bridge by their back edges. There's an open crescent behind each screw shaft where it meets the body. The back screw is only leaning a little, so far. *sigh* BTW, I've had it tuned down to A-A instead of B-B since I got it, and it's never left my home studio. Maybe I can replace the back screw with a through bolt?

Hopefully I can fix it before it breaks. Otherwise, when it breaks, I'll replace it with something more durable, if I can get the same great sound.

Korean, '00 commie red model. Identical in looks and specs to the one on www.danelectro.com/Baritone.htm. Has basically got all you need, IMHO the 2-stack volume/tone pots are a wonderful feature, allowing a library of sounds.

Exellent though cheapo Kent Armstrong lipstick pups. Incredible, warm but clear tone. For the price, very, very good sound. "Plastic", hollow-like body sounds surprisingly good, acoustic too. Used through a vintage Twin, it's heaven. The pickups really are the best thing in this guitar.

Reasonable playability + action, but then again bought it used. The sordid part is the BRIDGE. !!! BENDING THE STRINGS WILL EAT THE BRIDGE WOOD UP, AND IT'S CHROME BASE WILL GET CROOKED TO A C-SHAPE WITH TIME !!! CRITICAL FLAW : ( Will mess you up. Basically can be fixed by a guitar tech, but fix messed up the previously nice action and possibly caused other problems, w/ neck. (Read on) THE BRIDGE MATERIALS ARE WAY TOO CHEAP & WON'T LAST

THE NECK WON'T LAST THE STRING TENSION. IT WILL GET CROOKED. The problem started as a fret buzz on the 2nd fret, couldn't be removed. It just got worse with time. After a setup I tried to stop the buzz with tunings and tech-setup, but the previously good action got very, very high-strung and choking. The sound got thin, the neck got more and more crooked & the whole ship sank. I sold the guitar for spare parts to a friend (get the pickups!). Remember I told you: IT'S GONNA FALL APART. Greetings to Korea..!

..Bought it used, should I sue them..? ; )

Wonderful sound, very good PUPs, body OK.. BUT!!!! THE BRIDGE & NECK MATERIALS ARE A TOTAL LETDOWN!!! Stay away, I wouldn't buy a Korean one again. Would a Burns Barracuda do better?
..I really fell in love with baritone-playing, but GIVE ME A GUITAR THAT LASTS A LIFETIME..! This one was like a paper mug.. Durability 0.0

Features, simplistic, 2 double decker tone/volume knobs, 2 lipstick pickups, fixed tail piece, 3 way selector switch, long scale length.

Ok, this is where this guitar get's its praise. I cannot believe soemthing that looks this cheap can sound this great. This guitar has one of the most unique tones I have ever heard. Ballsy deep full lush tones and alot of sustain probably because of the semihollow body. you hit a chord on this thing and the room shakes, but in a toneful way. The three way selector is pretty useless, my opinion set it to the middle both pickups on position and forget it, the same with the tone knobs find a place you like em and leave em.

It's cheap, but it stays in tune well, the binding around the guitar looks like crap, the selector switch is pretty worthless as are the tone knobs, basically it's a one trick pony, but what a trick.

Iffy strap buttons, and it's made out of the same stuff countertops are made out of. I would'nt jump on it and ride it like a surfboard like jimmi and stevie did to their guitars. Finish seems solid, again though the binding and the knobs seem likely to break if abused. You could gig with it but I wouldn't just throw it around it probably would'nt stand the pounding.

never dealt with em.

Overall, a great guitar for the money. Awesome TONE! If stolen I would buy another, a great songwriting and creative tool for a great price.

30" scale
2 volume, 2 tone
3 way P/U selector
metal nut

I'm more of a bass player than I am a guitarist, but I picked this up to "bridge the gap" between the two. I'm gigging with it with my Balkan (Bulgarian/Gypsy) Dance band, but I've been playing along with all sorts of styles with it - Patsy Cline to Stevie Wonder to Greek bouzouki music.

I have played it through bass and guitar amps, and it sounds great through both. Through a Fender '63 Vibroverb with the reverb below 2 and a splash of vibrato, I can get an increadible sound that I'm just really starting to explore. Through an Eden World tour 800 head and 1x12 Aguilar cabinet, I can get a really great bass tone on it. The clicky sound of picking basslines on it can range from cool and retro to edgy and aggressive.

The neck pickup is kinda useless on its own, but the two pickups together sound great. The neck pickup sounds good on its own for single note picking - either towards the bass or further up the neck

I had to tweak the neck a bit, and it's still funky up around the 15th fret, but I don't go there too often anyway. I did raise the bridge a bit, and that helped.

You can adjust the pickup height with a screwdriver really easily, but I haven't experimented with that too much.

It seems pretty sturdy, thus far. The tuners are pretty cheap and may need replacing, but that's about it.

It doesn't seem too prone to injuries

Kinda confused about Danelectro's status. Something about a lawsuit and not being allowed to continue this style of guitar... Anyway, I don't know what they offer for support.

This is becoming the first instrument at my house that I pick up, and that says a lot. It brings out creativity like no other bass or guitar, because it is't either! I've been really blown away by how much instrument I got for such little money.

I love gigging with it, and I love practicing with it.

Alas, I haven't yet seen an ad saying "Wanted: Baritone guitar player"... So it's a bit of a niche, but a great writing or practicing tool.

Simple, the way I like it. Two pichups, two volumes, two tones, one switch. I've had it about 5 years (as long as they've been out) and it's still cool.

It sound like a Danelectro Baritone guitar. It sound great on country and roots/americana stuff. It's a really cheap way to sound different and have fun.

For a cheap guitar, this thing is tough to beat. It is very stable and stays in tune fantastically. I've never had to touch it.

Again, it's a cheap guitar but very solid. At the price I don't worry about it and it would be easy to replace, but I feel I can still trust it.

At $250 the Dano baritone is hard to pass up. It's not an instrument that gets used all the time but it's seriously cool every time I do use it. It's really cheap guitar fun.

2002 model Baritone made wherever Danelectro makes them. Mine has a hard black finish that cleans up very well. Part of the plywood -- yes, I said plywood -- body is hollow, so it's a good practice guitar even without an amp. Volume and tone are there for each lipstick pickup and there's a three-way switch. It has a single cutaway, kind of Les Paul style body, but it's thinner. The neck seems very nice and it has the classic Danelectro head. Tuners are good. It's got a long neck and if you capo it at fret 5, you have a standard tuned guitar with limited frets. It has the basics which are what I like. My one dislike is the bridge.

I use this mainly for practice and songwriting, but I gig with it sometimes. I limit my work on it to chordwork, because there is virtually no string bending and vibrato is limited. I play mostly Christian rock on it, but I love to fingerpick blues and jazz tunes on it. I play it through a pair of Roland amps (JC77 and JC 60) and it gets a wide variety of sounds, the best being a low thunking bass with a thumb pick.

The guitar was set up very well with the exception of the bridge which I had to pull off and rework to make it marginally acceptable.

It handles well for me at a gig, but I have to have a standard guitar for my leadwork. Hardware seems good as most. The finish took a small hit on one of the edges and lost the black veneer to the tune of about 1/16 of an inch. But, hey, it's repairable with a black permanent marker! The guitar is light, so the strap buttons should hold for years.

I haven't dealt with Danelectro, but they've got a great website.

I've been musically active for 38 years. I play lap steel, autoharp, and guitar, have two Roland amps. I would probably replace it if it was stolen because I love the sound of a baritone guitar. I only wish it had a tune-o-matic bridge.

Other folks have described the features... most important is that it is a very light instrument, with reasonably solid one-piece bridge (easily adjustable) and good tuners.

I play solo Delta blues and R&B, in a blues duo same material, and in a guitar band doing classic rock. My sound is greasy and my style is aimed above all at making asses move (otherwise known as dancing, but sometimes it's hard to tell). I use this instrument mainly tuned to open A (with the bottom A at the same tonality as the A string on a bass). Instead of packing a bass to a gig, I bring this. In a duo setting it is incredible (you do want a regular 6 around if you're doing a whole evening). The midrange chords sound like a piano, the extremely long neck brings me up into regular guitar range, and the bottom strings have an excellent bass sound. I do not use the treble setting much -- but then I never do on any axe, because a slide plus a treble pickup can hurt your ears, and I am meanwhile trying to keep the bass moving with my thumb. (You can't imagine what a Robert Johnson tune sounds like on one of these axes till you've done it.) The neck and bridge pickups together have the best definition, I find. I have been using this with a Fender Champ 110 on which I replaced the absurdly lamentable speaker (with a French-made Fenton, very strong on bass and mid frequencies). The amp is not great, but it's light and relatively powerful, and that's good enough. I ran it with a DOD Ice Box chorus and a Peavey Dirty Dog preamp on my last gig, and that's about all the tone twisters I require for juke joint music.
A main attraction of this axe is that it sounds good all the way up the neck, and it has one very long neck. The sound is also excellent when you capo -- I capo on the third, fifth and seventh frets with no trouble and a fairly uniform response.

I had this set up when I bought it at Rudy's Music in NYC (Rudy himself helped, and he is a very sweet guy who clearly loves guitars). I raised the action slightly to use a slide (try this with a bass and weep). There were and are no evident flaws with the instrument. It's a cheesy-looking box, but hey, folks, the last bari I saw before this one cost $1600, and it was NOT five times better, though it was several times prettier. But the guys who invented the music I play were using cigar box guitars, so who cares?

I play the hell out of this thing and it holds up. I have gone to gigs without a backup and had no problem. My opinion is that if you have a problem with a guitar on a gig, you should get rid of the guitar or get it fixed. However, I repeat, you may not want this to be your only axe, unless you devise an entire repertoire. It makes a lot more sense to pull it out when you want to change the sound radically, and believe me, it will do that. As for strap buttoms, they're barely OK, and badly placed; the one on the neck is just ludicrous.

Never dealt with them and can't recall how long the warranty runs. Never had to repair it, either.

I've been playing since I was 13, and that's 37 years ago. The best guiars I have ever played are the Fine Resophonics made by Mike Lewis in Paris -- his electric resophonics are unbelievably good, and I think I've played 'em all -- but I have to wait on that. Meanwhile, I own a top of the line Washburn (double humbucker), a Supro Airliner resophonic with a barcus-berry humbucker I put on it, a Charvel P-bass, a Fender Bassman 100 head (as of last week), a Pignose carry amp, and a Park shoebox amp. (In amps, I go for all sizes, matched to room size and audience). I also have various stomp boxes. I've owned other stuff, including a Les Paul standard (Gibson), easily the best electric six I ever possessed, an Ibanez Roadstar (great little axe for the price), a lap steel (sold -- you can't do everything, and lap work is outside my skill set), Fender P, T and J basses.... I mean, the years go by and you try a lot of stuff, and sometimes you sell it when you need the bread. My method for buying gear is simple: I get it to fill a hole in my current needs, and I look around for ages until I find the right thing, cheap. I do NOT buy gear at new or list prices. If this axe were stolen, I'd buy another, which is more than I'd say for some axes I've owned. (I mean, you can get a P-bass sound without buying Fender.) I wish the bari had lips so I could kiss it after the gig, but then my wife would be even more jealous of the time I spend caressing my guitars. And that's enough madness to share for the day.

It sounds very good , I'm a slide player and I tuned it to an open A
A E A C# E A And it sounds very cool ! nice full sound .
I tryed it out with a champ style amp and the low strings really sound like a bass ! So I'm sure it will scream through a Bassman !
Or Super Reverb !

The Bridge can always be better then a cheap slab of wood !
But so far so good and I wish it had better tuners but it does stay in tune !
The pickup switch seems to wiggle a bit and probably won't last as long as the guitar !

I will use this playing out , the finish is good ,and other then the switch I hope it will last !

Never had to call ,I just bought it .

I have been playing for 15 years ,
I own Gibson's Dobro's, Nationals & Silvertone/ Danelectro's ETC .
A friend had one and said it was good ! If it were lost or stolen I would buy another one .
Once again I am a slide player and I am happy with the guitar for
$ 200.00

There aren't any!

I bought this guitar as my first. So i didn't know anything about guitars then. I play alternative rock, heavy metal, etc. If you do too, just buy an ibanez or a jackson. It sucks!

This and the durability are the only good qualities of this guitar. It looks nice and I didn't detect anything wrong with it. I've had it for two years and nothing has gone wrong.

This is the most durable guitar ever. I've bumped it on almost everything in my room. Not even a scratch!

Ok I guess

This is a very sturdy guitar. But it just doesn't sute what i want.

Looks like a piece of crap. In my opinion ugly headstock with way too small knobs on the tuning machines. Aluminuim Nut. Body is made of masonite and plywood. Mine came in what they call Limo Black. I'd prefer commie red, but the guy on ebay was selling a black one. Anyway, the side of the guitar is covered buy some kind of creamwhite tape.
Two lipstick PUs are installed. It has very cheap (looking?) tone and vol knobs and a 3-way selector (neck, both, bridge).
Well, considering the price its not too bad...

I play whatever I get. Rock, Metal, Blues, Alt.
I use the baritone only for recording (at home). It's a great way to keep ideas for basslines when the bassist is drunk again... :)
You can detune it easily to E-E, although I've tuned it A-A most time.

You plug that ugly thing into your amp and you go "UUUAAAAAHHAHH"!
It sounds amazing! Singlenotes are very twangy and have a full sound. The bass notes really sound like bass notes!
Chords sound just great aswell! In the middle position (PUs), they sound so rich and warm and have plenty of bass.

Action was fine from the first day and I'm glad it is. You had to screw off the neck to adjust it. Finish looks ok. The tape on the guitar sides looks crappy and could fall off easily I think. As well as the Tone/Volume knobs. But until now, everything's fine.

Well, I don't intend to use it live.
I would suggest having a backup. It might take a beating, but it might not. And the Tone/Vol knobs are gone in no time, I could imagine...
To be fair, I didn't have any problems so far.

never dealt with

I wanted a baritone guitar and this one is by far the best deal! It costs very little and gives incredible tone! It really looks like a piece of crap (and a very ugly one) in my eyes, but I don't care. It sounds great! The knobs on the tuning machines are too small. Tuning that guitar is a pain in the ass. Lucky me, it stays in tune very well. :)
If it got lost, id get a new one in no time. A Commie-red one next time...

Danelecto Baritone Features:

Semi-hollow single cutaway body and bolt-on maple neck with rosewood fingerboard.

Made in Korea.

Dot inlays on on non-bound fingerboard, medium frets and 30" scale.

Dual "Lipstick" pickups (height adjustable) with selector switch (neck only, both in series and bridge only) and individual tone and volume controls (stacked).

Enclosed tuning machines and Alumninum nut. Bridge adjustable for height. Rosewood bridge adjustable for coarse overall intonation.

Choice of solid color finishes (black, aqua & red) and "burst" finishes (black-burst, aqua-burst and copper-burst).

This was an impulse purchase. I had no intentions of buying anything at all when I picked this instrument up and played it. I just fell in love with the deep, throbbing sound of chords and the snappy (tic-tac)sounds of single notes.

I've been playing guitar for 30 years and I morphed into a style that draws a lot from jazz, blues and rockabilly. I occasionally play bass when there are too many guitar players in the room and this instrument is perfect for those situations. The added effort of transposing bass lines to an instrument that's tuned to "A" is well made up for in the lack of wear and tear that a guitar player gets from wrestling a 34" scale bass with fat strings.

Jazz chords (the $10 chords, as I call them) take on a whole new dimension when played on a Baritone. "Lush" is the word that comes to mind. Reverb and a touch of Tremelo is mandatory, of course to get the full effect. The "Dano" delivers pure sonic bliss especially when you shift into the "surf" or "spaghetti western" leitmotifs.
A pretty good B-3 imitation can be conjured on this puppy as well, using the neck pickup with the highs rolled off, a little reverb and some fine tuned tremelo.

The best tone is delivered with both pickups enabled. The output increases and the tone expands. As expected, using one pickup boosts either the bass (neck) or treble (bridge) but either sound thin compared to the tone of both pickups working in unison.

My only criticism is the tone and volume pots can't be easily turned without unintentionally turning the other. The plastic knobs rub on each other so turning the large one (volume) turns the smaller concentric one (tone) in the same direction. As a result, I set them and forget them while actually playing. I haven't been motivated to remove the top knob and sand the bottom of it to increase more clearance.

This guitar craves "clean" effects like chorus, flange and delay. It's great for creating sound textures as well as laying down a groove.

As an added bonus, a capo at the 5th fret turns it back into a decent rhythm guitar. I've even tried a slide on this bad boy and it moans loud and deep 'euff to wake Elmore James.

If I would have to use an original Dano as a starting point to compare, I'd have to say this beats an original to a pulp.

The finish is like glass, the body and neck show no rough edges or finish flaws whatsoever. I noticed a few sharp edges on the philips head screws from some over zealous tightening. The tape around the edge of the body seems to "want" to come off easily compared to the original but so far is hasn't. Original Dano's were simple, reasonably well made instruments but they were not elegant in any way. The new Dano's seem to deliver more aesthetics for a modest investment as well as performance. Both are made of Masonite but the new ones don't rub your nose in it like the old ones do.

I have not made any adjustments to the guitar as it is perfect right out of the box. The fretwork is good, actually better that new Gibsons of the 70's and 80's. Gibson didn't bother to polish the frets.

I wouldn't use this as my only axe on a world tour but I think it's pretty durable if you can refrain from tossing it about like on the cover of "London Calling" by the Clash.

As I don't play this guitar exclusively, I can't say if the finish and the hardware are bullet proof. In over a year of occasion play, I haven't seen any pitting of the chrome on the bridge or wear on the face.

I'm not afraid to transport it in a soft case but I'm mindfull that it's still a hollow body instrument and a good impact could damage the "fine compressed wood pulp" material.

Like most Dano things, you get a years worth of warranty. I've contacted the company via the website and they seem ready and able to address any problems. I haven't experienced any with either the Baritone guitar or any of their Mini-effects. They work and they do not cost a fortune.

The only thing I wished I had before I bought this guitar was a crystal ball to let me know that the very same guitar (1 only) would be on sale at Guitar Center during one of their "blowouts" for $100 six months later!! Even that hardly detracts from the fun I've had with it. If I lost it, I'd get another...Heck!, I almost bought the $100 one just to have a spare!

Danelectro always seems to keep surprising me with their new line of crazy, but good guitars, and the Baritone is definitely no exception. I guess the idea is pretty old as these things were popular back in the 50's and 60's (according to Dano,widely used in spaghetti westerns) Normally tuned low to high - B E A D F# B, but I keep mine tuned a step down to A. Cheap looking tone, vol knobs, but they do they job. :-)

II play a variety of stuff from hard rock, to funk, to jazz and classical. Usually run it through a Fender Ultimate Chorus Amp with out too much effects. This guitar looks so cheap, but the sound is jsut awesome. Even though it only has 3 pickup settings, they all sound great. My fav. is definitely the neck pickup for full clean sounds wth a little bit of chorusing. On the flipside, however, the soapbar pickups are awfully noisy when using distortion. I ran it through an RP-7 processor, and there was a lot of noise on any pickup setting. But at the same time, this guitar sounds GREAT with distortion. Clean or dirty, the Baritone puts out a PHAT sound.

I got this one straight from E-bay, supposedly unused, so I really did have no idea what to expect. Thankfully, I was completely impressed by the playability of the guitar. While it took some use getting used to the heavier strings and longer neck scale at first, I have never had any problems with tuning, buzzing, or intonation. The finish and the overall design of the guitar is pretty cheap, but everything does its job!

Sure doesn't seem like it would stand up to much. I definitely wouldn't consider tossing this axe up in the air after a great concert, cuz I don't think it would survive the fall. Mine's been bumped a few times with out a scratch. I'd say the first things to go would be the volume, tone knobs. I'd definitely have a backup at a gig.

Haven't had to deal with them, and don't think I will anytime soon!

I remember coming into the music store when my friend who works there showed me the Dano and said "You gotta try this thing out." Within minutes, I was completely set on buying one and started looking on E-bay for a good deal.
I have been playing guitar for about 6 years and bass for 5..and the Baritone definitely gives me the flexibility of playing both in one guitar. It sure looks like a hunk of junk, but the sound is absolutely amazing both clean and distorted. I'm not a big fan of Danelectro's "hip" color options, but the Limo Black definitely just looks tough as hell on stage! I would definitely buy another one if mine were stolen, except maybe a different model. I once saw an Alvarez Acous/Elec. Baritone on Ebay that I am kicking myself at the moment for letting slip by. For the money, the Bartione is a sweet deal that you cannot pass up.

assumadly a 2000 or 2001 Danelectro baritone, made in korea like the rest, black finish, two pickups, 2 volume/tone controls...little plastic pieces of shit :-). a very minimalist guitar, it's made of masonite (yes, like the countertops) and plywood. it's the guitar of the future...at least it was in the 50's. mine has a rosewood fingerboard, god only knows what the neck is made of. a five, because you get what you pay for.

this is why i bought this baritone over any other; i was in town for my grandfather's funeral, i stopped at a guitar center on my way to the airport, played this guitar and fell for it. a really nice, full sound with some balls, it pulls a convincing sound no matter your amp, very origional. i guess you really have to play it to really get it. but do yourself a favor and try one if you see it sitting around.

action was low when i got it, to the point that the strings buzzed a bit. a quick turn of a screwdriver fixed that, and i had no problems. i would have liked an adjustable bridge (i know. i'm acting like a little girl, but everyone else wants one!) but this does fine. i still get the occasional string buzz, but nothing terrible.

the finish? paint on what might be wood. feels nice though. shows what i know. i didn't open up the guitar, because that's just *asking* for trouble with a cheap guitar.

will it stand up? it's made of what you make countertops of. ever break a countertop? the hardware is fine, save the shitty little plastic rings that function as knobs. i know they'll be the first thing to go, if they do. would i gig without a backup? i'd bring another guitar, but it would be a real guitar.

hell if i know. never called them. any luck, and i'll never have to.

i've been playing for five years, and i'm by and large self taught. as such, i really don't have a preference for eqipment so long as it sounds right, and this just sounds right. it's a fucking awesome value for 250 dollars...no other guitar in its range compares, let alone a baritone.

One of the new Danos made in Korea, this is the single-cutaway 2-pickup Baritone model (as opposed to the new Hodad Baritone). 24 frets, 2 concentric controls (one tone/volume knob for each pickup) - the concentric knobs are run opposite from the way Parker does it for the piezo pickup so I had to get used to this (on the Dano the inside knob is tone and the outside ring is volume). Only other control is a 3-way selector switch. Pickups are lipstick-tube style. Electronics are passive. God only knows what wood this thing is made of - mother of chipboard? Bridge is very simple - just a piece of metal to hold the strings and a slice of wood to set intonation. Tuners are retro-looking, non-locking. Metal nut. Neck scale is longer than your typical guitar - about 29.5". No accessories come with mine, not even a cheap gigbag for protection during shipping.
I can't give the guitar very high marks in this category as it's built to a very low price target and materials are very cheap.

The sound is the surprising part of this guitar. It sounds really great. I suppose if you put strings this size on anything it would sound good but I have to say the tone is very nice. I mostly play this guitar through an old '58 Supro Holiday amp which may be part of that, however I've also played it through my modern Carvin AG100D and BOSS VF-1 processor and it still sounds cool. I sometimes kick in a Dunlop Univibe on the Supro for more of that retro vibe. The bridge pickup is the brightest, and not surprisingly, the thinnest. It has its uses though as it's not a bad bright/thin sound. I can't decide if I like the middle position (both pickups) or the rhythm position the best. I think my mind changes depending on my mood. The neck pickup is a little darker than both together, but both settings are very rich and have plenty of bass-ey twang.
Single note playing sounds great with this guitar - very twangy, with a full, round sound. The lowest strings sound really cool - almost like a bass, but tighter sounding. Where this guitar really shines is chordal playing. Because it's tuned with the same spacings as standard tuning (just in B - B/E/A/D/F#/B) you play the same fingering you normally do. They sound much more lush and full though in this tuning. Really cool sound.
The volume and tone controls do some sound-shaping, but not nearly as much as, say, a PRS. You're pretty much stuck with three sounds, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, as all three sounds are musical.

This is where the guitar gets beat up. Danelectro has expert marketers, not expert guitar makers. Although action, intonation, and overall finish were good; the fretwork was the worst I have ever seen. I literally couldn't play this guitar without cutting up my hands. I bought it via mail order so I couldn't have known this prior to buying. Out of fairness to a very unique instrument however, I waited until I had a fret job done before writing this up. Spending $30 with the local luthier was well worth it. It now has better frets than some of my very high-end guitars and feels great.
The frets are really my main gripe with the instrument. The horrible fretwork made it almost unplayable. Other than that - although the materials are cheap, everything works fine and it's a really neat guitar. Now that the frets are fixed I love it. The finish is surprisingly good (no faults that I can find). I have the mint-burst finish (I don't know the real name - it goes from an ivory white in the center to a mint green on the sides. Very 50s looking.)
Since the guitar doesn't come with any sort of protection it got scratched on the back during shipping. If it was an expensive guitar it would have been returned. Since it was cheap, I chalked it up to experience.

I doubt that this guitar would take much abuse. It's hollow with cheap wood on top and bottom. Cheap electronics, cheap strap buttons. It looks like tape holds it together around the sides. ;-)
The finish though is good and looks to be fairly scratch resistant (under normal duress). I wouldn't rely on this guitar as much more than a neat bedroom noise-maker. If you're serious about gigging with a baritone, maybe a Jerry Jones would be a better choice. For what I wanted it for though, the extra cost of the JJ didn't make sense. I can't imagine that it sounds much better than the Dano. Oh, the Dano stays in tune very well.

Customer support seems good. I called to find out how to properly tune this thing and they got right back to me, both via e-mail and phone. Like I said, this company knows how to market and that's what they seem expert at. Good customer service is important in that type of organization and they don't seem to have dropped the ball.

I've been playing for a long time (at least 20 years) and own some of the best guitars out there (Parker, PRS, Brian Moore, etc.) as well as some excellent mid-level guitars (Fender, G&L, Carvin, Samick, etc.). I know what I like by this time and I know what feels good to my hands and ears. This guitar is definitely worth owning. It's different from anything else that I have and has a sound/feel all its own. Now that the frets are fixed, it's a great guitar, especially considering the price.
To be honest though, I doubt I would buy another Danelectro model. Although they're cool-looking, they just don't have the quality that I'm used to. If I wanted a less expensive but high quality 6- or 12- string I'd look elsewhere (like Carvin). The Baritone though is fairly unique in the guitar world. I would definitely buy another one if this were stolen or lost. I kind of wish the Hodad Baritone were available when I bought this as I probably would have opted for that model. I don't see the point in owning two Baritone guitars so I'll be happy with what I have.
If you think you'd like to own a Baritone guitar, you can buy a Dano and get a really cool, different instrument. It's pretty nice for $250! I'd say you really can't go wrong with it.

Danelectro Baritone 1999 model. Made in Korea. Single cutaway "les paul" type body. "Aqua" finish thats like a bright mint green. Im not absolutley sure waht this is made of exactly, but it seems like 2 plywood boards for the front and back, and its hollow inside except for blocks of plywood to mount pickups and controls. Maple bolt-on neck with rosewood fingerboard, i think the scale is 30', its the eqivalent of a short scale bass neck. 6 strings tuned a 5th below a standard guitar (B, E, A, D, F#, B) really fat strings but i dont remember the gauges. 2 lipstick pickups with 2 concentric tone/volume pots. I looked inside the control cavity and it doesn't look super high quality but then again what is at this price.

I really dont konw how to describe this tone, but it was really the thing that suprised me. when i saw this guitar, i was thinking that 50's style single coil pickups on a cheap guitar were going to be super thin and trebly but i was really suprised with the life of this tone. i wouldn't say its "fat" like a les paul or anything but its just got alot of life. It sounds really good clean, its got some nice deep warm sound to it wit hthe neck pickup and the tone about half way, and it has a biting, jangly treble tone on the bridge. It also sounds good distorted, i play pop/punk and it suits my style perfectly. It does make some noise but nothing worse than my strat, actually maybe even a little quieter.

I bought a display model (not my first choise, they didn't have any that werent on display) when i bought it, i was so impressed that i didn't give it a very thrurough lookover. Im very happy with it, there are no major flaws, the finish is fine, intonation is good, and action is perfect. Only problem is that some kid must have pulled the strap peg off of the bottom of the guitar, but thats alright i'll figure something out to fix it. i love the color of the paint finish, its just crazy!

I dont know about this, i havne't had it for long so i cant say, but it doesn't really look like something that could take a beating like my strat. Its not a solid guitar, the insides are hollow and its extrmeley light so i doubt it could take a thrashing. On the other hand i think any guitar will last a long time with proper guitar, and no guitar will survive constant abuse and neglect. On thing is that the volume pot on the bridge pickup is faulty, it only works if its tunred all the way up, if i turn it down even alittle, the pickup just drops out. This wont be a problem for me, but when you buy one of these check all the little thigns like that because if you use the volume pots alot that would be a problem for you. Im giving it a 2 for the volume pot, even though it doens't matter to me, that is something that shoudl be caught at the factory, and its no tank.

I've only been playing for 2 years, but this thing is just loads of fun. I was looking to get a bass, but hte salesman at guitar center showed me this and i just fell in love. The tone is just perfect for me, its got its own little sound thats pretty hard to describe but its great. I think i will get a ton of use out of this. By the way i play it though a Crate VC 508 tube amp which i also highly recomend.

Made in Korea, 1999, 24 frets, two single coil lipstick pick ups w/tone and vol. for each (plastic knobs on top of each other, kind of wierd and cheap feeling), 3 way pickup selector with the dual pickups louder than either one by itself, passive electronics, non-adjustable bridge (also a minus) nice tuners, nice fret size. 28" scale, closer to a guitar than a bass. Six strings, fairly close together, but can be played with a pick or fingers, even a little slap and pop. I got mine used with the protective plastic on the outer edge removed.

I put dano 6 string bass strings on it and tuned it E - E an octive below a guitar. It sounds great as a bass and is easier play quickly since the scale is shorter and there's less tension in the strings. The neck pickup is more bassy and the bridge more guitar like, but the combination of the two is all I use since it's a good balance. I play bass in a trio so it's great to be able to fill up more space with the extra strings and play guitar like parts when needed.

The bridge is fixed and from what I've read the neck has to be removed to be adjusted, but considering the non stanadard strings and tuning I'm fairly happy with the intonation. High up the neck on the low E sounds out and so do most of the frets past 18 or so on the high strings, but I'm not planning on using them too often and the greater versitility and ease of playing down the neck makes it a worthy trade off. I imagine with the adjustable bridge on the real 6 string bass this problem could be cleared up.

It's light and there's a tiny crack where the strap lock was installed which I will keep a close eye on, but it seems fairly durable, I suppose only time will tell.

I tried to track down a Six String Bass but was told they wouldn't be available for 2 months, so when I e-mailed them and got word a Baritone could be tuned E - E and get the job done. That's been all my contact with Dano.

The adjustable bridge and metal (rather than plastic) knobs and strap pegs would be nice, but it's great to be able to play guitar parts a full octive lower and have this big deep sound out of something easier to play than a conventional bass. I'm a guitarist who got bumped down to playing bass and I love the access to more and higher strings and the feel of the shorter scale. I really wanted a Fender Bass VI like Jack Bruce used in Cream, but even the 90's reissues cost $1,200 so the $200 Dano Baritone with the Six String Bass strings is a great compromise. It's probably worth the extra hundred or so to get the Dano six string bass with the adjustable bridge, but they don't seem to be making a lot of them or everyone else has ordered them, so I went with the immediate satisfaction of the Bari.

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.