Danelectro Convertible

The guitar from Mars. Formica body, wood neck, plastic strap holders and tuners, Satin malt white, made in Korea, floating bridge (I flipped it around 'cos I'm a lefty), 21 frets, 1 lipstick pick up, piggyback tone/volume control.
Basic little tool - but punches way above its weight soundwise - and it don't weigh much - 6lbs.

I play alt C&W - usually a Tele/Ric man, but bought the Dano out of curiosity. What a little gem. Through the Marshall with cranked up reverb and contour can get some really dreamy almost psychadelic wobbly sounds. It has a tone that takes me in another direction - fragile surf meets cowpoke with a hangover...Love it.

Low, easy action for which Danos are renowned. Great finish on the body and neck. Electrics are fine. Stays in tune. Everything fits tight. Tone and volume don't get in the way when flipped lefty. Neither does the lead because the jack goes in the strap button at the base of the body, instead of near the controls. A dream guitar to flip lefty. Just change strings round and angle floating bridge accordinlgy. Don't even need to flip nut for correct intonation.

Seems pretty robust to me. I'd always have a backup - and I've just bought another convertible to be one!

Never needed any so far.

I like this so much I bought another. Can't say more than that. i'll still play Tele and Ric - but they're much more substantial guitars. The Dano is a 'take anywhere, it's my mate' player. Cool.

real vintagey, at first it reminded me of a ukelele or somthing, but the more i mucked around with it finding its sweet spots with my amp and all that, i realised this things actually pretty cool, wouldnt be somthing id use all that often, only because i play alot of rock and metal, but it definitly has its place, i put it to good use, it actually made me want to start playing more of the older kind of stuff that its suited for. overall its got this real unique quality about it and thats what i like about it.

it was given to me by a freind, in exchange that i write her a good using it. when i first seen it i thaught it was some kind of cheap and nasty cheap as you can get kind of thing, but when i had a good look at it i wasnt sure because it looked like a pretty well built and set up guitar, except the intonation was way out, but i wasnt expecting much from it, after setting the intonation properly, and had a play i was impressed, its got the wide frets but their not as high as most jumbo frets, your fingers glide over em nicely, its got a real nice feel overall, action was perfect, very slight buzz on the 6th string second fret but.

doesnt look like the most heavy duty guitar, but reliability comes with the simplicity of it, and i recon it would survive being dropped more than most guitars because its so light, it would probably bounce back into your hands.

i really enjoy playing this guitar, and like i said it definitly has its place in my arsenal.

Mine is a reissue Made in Korea .Serial 0299028XX.I guess it means year 2000 or 2002.Bought it of Ebay at a reasonable price.You have to find the sweet spot for the floating bridge and then you're in business.This one came from the second batch of reissues they made and the tuners are way better,allowing the guitar to stay in tune as long as your floating bridge is in the right spot.There is not much to say about the features.It is quite simple.One lipstick pickup,one tone,one volume.

If you know JJ Cale,well,that's the guitar he uses most of the time on stage.I have seen him 3 times in live concert.Sometimes he plays with an old one(vintage),sometime with a reissue.This guitar is a nice mix between acoustic and electric and it fit my style.

Like most guitars,they come out of the factory with high action.You may want to adjust the action to fit your playing style.That means installing the right gauge of strings and raise or lower the action.I installed 10-46 electic strings and did all the setings myself.Now it plays without buzz at a medium-low action.I just love this guitar.The neck is not too beeffy,yet not too slim.

I've been looking for that kind of acoustic/electric guitar for a while and no other brand that I know offers that low price/quality ratio.

You've heard it all before - mine's GREEN.

I have to say that I hardly plug this guitar in. When I did I played it through my Dano amp and another time through one of those bigger Peavey transtube combos. Wasn't exactly blown away and you can't really mix the tone up much but it was ok.
This guitar is at it's best when you play it unplugged. It has a really crappy, trashy, cheap sound to it and I love Gomez - just check out songs like "Here Comes The Breeze", particularly the middle section, to hear what kind of sound I'm talking about. I can't put it down. The day I got it I wrote and recorded a song, it inspired me that much.
In terms of what you would typically call a "good" sound, ie. balanced from top to bottom, clear etc, it is rubbish. But that's not what this guitar is about. It has a sound all it's own and maybe that should count for more.

The finish is good on this guitar. I'm worried I'll play through it soon simply because I play the guitar so much but it's nice as it is at the moment. All the parts are good and I've had no probelms with strap buttons, bridges, any of that stuff mentioned in other reviews. My only minor quibble is that the pickup is badly positioned so I end up hitting it whilst strumming sometimes. No biggie though.
Action is also also pretty good. I use 10s on it at the moment and while you would say not incredible for an electric, you would say pretty good for an acoustic.

I would happily gig this guitar and plan to in the future - will let you know how it goes. Have got great results recording with it (www.myspace.com/actualboy - song "Don't Play") and while I am worried about wearing the finish away I'm sure it won't happen for a long time. It may be slightly susceptable to hard playing but a lot of guitars are and I think for the nature of this instrument it's not going to cause a major problem - only and idiot punk-rocker would buy this for their Blink 182 shenannigans.

Recently got a Dano U2 for just ?100 recently which was an absolute bargain and that's pretty cool too, though this is my favourite of all my guitars. In terms of acoustics, I have three very different ones - an old Fender solid top which has matured over the years and sounds great on records, an Epi J200 which just sounds big and cool and this, which sounds weedy and lofi. This is my favourite of the three just for how you can pick it up and play it for hours on end. THIS GUITAR IS FUN!!! Took a long time to track one down but I wouldn't hesitate to buy another.

The first thing you need to understand about this (or any) Danelectro is that it sucks. It sounds like crap. It has terrible intonation, no acoustic tone to speak of, it goes out of tune frequently, the pickup is wimpy, the electronics are crackly, and the plastic strip around the sides peels up over time.

But, the second thing you need to know is that it really cool looking and fun to play.

Twangy, wimpy

The action is really the one strength of the guitar. It actually plays really well and has a decent neck. It's much better than most cheap-o guitars. The fit and finish is fine,.. uh.. for a body that was popped out of a plastic mold.

This is a guitar for messing around with--the intonation and tuners are so bad, you will be hard pressed to get through more than a song or two with out having to retune. You'd look pretty cool playing this guitar on stage--no question about that. You'd also get points with other players for being brave enough to risk your live sound on this guitar. If you are in a punk/noise band--you'll be fine. Anyone else beware.

I now have 9 Danelectro Convetibles (both vintage and re-issue).

Let me start wti the Vintage. I have 3 of these. A '59, '67 & '68. The '59 & '67 have been in my family since new, and will stay that way for generations to come. I am always buying these in both re-issue and Vintage form.

Let's atlak about the guitar itself. What makes it so appealing, so uniwue, so great sounding when looking to step back into that cool era of the 50's and 60's? Well of course it's the simplicity of it all. Hollow-body lamininated plywood, bolt on one-peice neck, trapaese tailpiece with floating bridge. and an aluminum screw-on nut. Tuners, as simple as it gets. Gear tuners with metal (and plastic) knowbs, depending on year.

For those Convertibles that have been converted, you'll find yourself with a single lipstick pickup, Volume control knob, Tone Control Knob and female RCA recepticle. Simple? You Bet? Great sounding? You Bet!

For waht it is and what it does with what it has, this area gets a 10!

If you want to bring your sound and listeners on ajournary back to the simple times of rock and roll with much class, then here is where you need to be. The Bright and sometimes twangy sounds are just the ticket for retro cool rhythms and leads.

With the sounds produced, what's not to like?

This is not a private stock PRS by any stretch. Nor does it try to be. What it is is an honest to goodness guitar that makes playing guitar fun and rewarding!

The floating brdige and trapeze set-up is not for everyone, but it works for everyone if you just want to play and be cool with old time designs that work!

The neck is narrow, fast and great for the design at hand.

Simple gets it done! Another 10? You bet!

C'mon, I own an original '59 that just celebrated it's 45th Birthday this year! Now that's reliablity! The re-issues I'm sure will do just as well.

45 years and counting on my '59. Yeah, this area gets a 10 with ease.

45 years and never needed a warranty call. But they can be conmtacted online if you wish, so access is there is simple. so even for lack of ever dealing with Dano personally, they get a 10 for product and access

These, in my opinion, are must have's in anyone's collection!

If I could only have one guitar in life, even if given the choice of more expensivve guitars, I'd take the Danelectro Convertible every sigle time.

If you want to talk more about Danoelectro guitars go to the Danoelectroguitarclub on Yahoo! at this URL: http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/danelectroguitarclub/

See you there!

I have a late 50's Convertible.
I bought it from a Junk shop in Ely Minnesota ( Just before you fall off the end of the earth) for $50 and spent another $5 on a new tuning peg. I also had to fab a replacement bridge, and while it works, I'm looking for a real replacement....

It's the real deal and sounds that way. Play it on a clean amp with a little reverb and Buddy Holly songs sound great!
The neck is straight and plays well. I did have to lower the pickup but that was easy, it's just held in by a piece of soft aluminum.

Compared to my DiMarzio pickuped Les Paul it's quiet and acustical sounding with a dash of bad. But compared to my full size acoustic there is no compare, the Dano is what to play for classic rock. (stairway to heaven sounds great on it)

It looks like it might have been uguly and cheap looking in the 50's but now it is so cheap looking it's cool. Kinda like a '61 Vespa, so stupid looking it's cool!

NOTHING high tech about this machine. Just bare bones 4 speed and drum brakes. It'll sound great plaed on an AM radio :-)

Its lasted 40+ years so far!

Um Yea

Well its a semi-acoustic gutiar. It has one lipstick style pickup across the soundhole. It has a volume and tone pot, both stacked on top of each other.

The plug in is bulit into the strap button.

A wonderful slim neck.

Unplugged it sounds great, it has a nice bluesy sound, not clean like most acoustics but has a little bite.

Plugged in it sounds just the same but with more bite.

The action is brilliant, low and a joy to play. There is not a fault I can find on it. Everything was perfect and needed adjusting.

It is a solid construction, it is made of a plastic material. It stays in tune for ages.

This guitar is built to last and the finish will never scratch.

Never had to call them.

A fun guitar, light and a joy to play with. I have owned several guitars, over 150+ and I still have 100+ of them in my house.

I wish it had a EQ on it, but thats just to adjust the tone, I like a light sound, you know plenty of treble, a little middle and a tiny bit of bass.

If this was stolen I would definetly by another its like no other acoustic I have owned.

I choose this due to its slim design, I am rather a large person and a large guitar makes it difficult to play, this is easy.

If you want a guitar with a nice bluesy sound, a little bit of bite and a wonderful slim neck, that sounds great plugged or unplugged this is the one, it is nice and loud in acoustic form and is great for those moments of inspiration.

This is one weird guitar. It's a Korean re-issue of a 1950s acoustic/electric thing. The original idea was that kids could buy it as an acoustic and add a pickup later, hence the "Convertible" name. The body is a double cutaway acoustic thing with a plywood frame and a compressed fibreboard (hardboard in the UK) back and top. The top and back are sprayed with a nice shiny polyester finish, but the sides are covered with a very tacky strip of PVC type material! The neck is maple with a rosewood fingerboard and it is superb! very smooth, very playable and nicely set up right from new.

It has cheap tuners, a single pickup just accross the soundhole, stacked volume and tone controls (with VERY tacky knobs) and a floating bridge/trapeze tailpiece. This guitar is beyond cool!

Unplugged it is very, VERY boxy sounding. Ok for quiet practice, but very quiet and a really crap acoustic sound. I mean, it's got a hardboard top, for Pete's sake, what can you expect?

Plugged in it is pretty quiet when compared to my Strat, but it has a nice jangly sound, but kinda warm also. I loved it.

Beautiful neck, well-finished but tacky body, cheap hardware. Well made considering the materials its made from. Lets not forget that it's not the Koreans deciding to do it this way. These are copies of old 50s US models, and considering that they're well made.

Never had a problem. The finish was very hard and durable, which probably helps to explain why the acoustic sound was so crap! The 'tronics help up fine.

Never contacted them.

I've been playing for 20 years, and this is one of the most fun guitars I ever had. Sadly, in a fit of insanity, I traded it so I don't have it any more. I'll probably buy another if I ever get the chance.

Not bad for a plywood body, single pickup combo. What a great feeling neck! very smooth and fast. Lipstick pickup produces great vintage sound. I like the steel tailpiece much more than the more common threaded-into-body pegged string holders on most acoustics.

It's a terrific practice guitar, I'm passing it on to my son to learn on. with reverb pedal it sounds full thru a practice amp; haven't really amped it up but I expect it can handle some shredding. Very bright and jangly. it's not as LOUD unplugged as even a classical body acoustic can be but that's probably due to its size and materials, but it certainly can carry across a room for informal acoustic playing.

Right off the wall, it sounded great... in tune, set up/adjusted well (if indeed anything had been done to it, other than tuning) but the bridge had some uneven leather padding underneath it that indicates a bit of shoddiness in the finish/quality control department -- but other than that, it all looks and feels right.

Very durable and solid. And it sounds great for the way it's constructed. The volume/tone control may be its weakest point; haven't tried out the strap pegs or put much wear on the tuners yet...

Went looking for a cheap used Strat and walked out with this... lacking a decent acoustic and my electric being out on loan, I *needed* this without even knowing it. Not my color of choice (blue burst) but the price was right and it sounded great, real simple, with a jangly vintage sound. Sounds good with a Dano reverb pedal although I don't think this guitar is really built for distortion or much "pushing". I'd buy another if I lost or damaged this one although it looks damn near indestructible.