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.

I reckon it's a Korean reissue from '99 - now sure though. It's about as elemental as they come. A cigar box with a neck. Terrible bridge.

Great for what I use it for: lo-fi pop and experimental. I almost never use it plugged in because it sounds dead and kind of pinched. Unplugged, it has a kind of resonator tone, real snappy.

I like the action fine -could be higher, actually. That unattached bridge is the bozak, though!

I have taken this thing everywhere - what could you possibly do to it? In the 4+ years I've had it, it's been in studios and on stage and fallen over a million times. No worries.

Never dealt with Dano.

Because of the bridge, I give it an 8. Elsewise, I dig it totally.

This is an old Dano Convertible, I'm guessing by the headstock, early 1960's. It has the original single lipstick pickup, and a tone and volume control. The body is classic space race kitchen table design.

These Danos have such a great snap. Acoustic, I love the sound - great for blues. Electric, with an amp that has some darkness, you can get a GREAT sound. I've even recorded with guitar this doing feedback through a Marshall half-stack and it was NUTS! It was screaming like a '59 LP in an arena! The pickups are not too noisy at all, but if you get near a neon sign, watch out! Bzzzzzzz.

This guitar appears to have been sat on by a large, large person and even though its got a big sag in the middle of it, it remains, despite all logic, in pretty good tune and intonation. Even though these guitars were made with somewhat questionable materials, the necks are extremely strong and very good. They feel so natural. I've got a bunch of other guitars ('66 Fender Mustang, Gibson ES-125, '68 Melody Maker SG, LP JR Custom Shop, 71 Tele) that I've paid more than 10 TIMES what I paid for this and the neck on this is still one of my favorites. Go figure...

I could drop this off a mountain and the neck would survive but there'd be no trace of the body. This is NOT a gigging guitar, but for recording and just hacking around, it's a nice treat.

The Dano that made this guitar is long gone...

I've been playing around 20 years. I've got a bunch of different amps, mostly I use a silverface Deluxe Reverb, a Magnatone, an Ampeg Gemini I. I've also had some solid state amps too, like Fender Sidekick 25, a Roland Cube (great amp!) and a Tech 21 too.

The "new" Danos are nice enough, but they aren't the same - and I've got to wonder aloud if there is a shoe-factory like sweatshop environment that keeps these new Danos so cheap.

Since the new Danos came along, the now vintage ones have dropped a lot in price. I'd say, stick with the classic and pay the same for a piece of guitar history.

If this guitar were stolen, the book value would be a couple hundred bucks. But I'd pay double that for this excellent, underrated guitar.

Features? We doan need no stinkin' features!! It's a Danelectro fer chrissake! It's a stick, a Formica box, a pickup, some strings, and a couple o'knobs. Made circa 1964 in the USA.

I can't say as i would want this as my only guitar, but if someone broke into my house I'd want him to take the others first 'cuz i can replace them easier. In all my fiddling about with electrics and amps and stomp boxes i have never found a way to get the Danelectro sound except with a Danelectro. Obviously that's not the sound others are looking for, but it works for me. And yes, the floating bridge is a drag, but since this guitar has been around for nigh on 40 years, i'll just let that be. Played through a Fender Princeton Reverb II, it sounds great; plenty of mid, weak on the treble end (but that may be the aging pickup). I use reverb and some compression, but otherwise no effects. They don't add a thing to the sound.

The action isn't bad for what this thing is, and the plastic knobs are crap (they are also in a baggie stored away while the Danelectro wears nickel-plated knobs from a long-gone Vox. Sharp!). The bookmatching of the Formica isn't perfect, but i can live with it. The feel of the neck is quite good, and i find it a very easy guitar to play. I would loan it to my niece to learn on if i were a nice guy, but i'm not.

Perhaps i am overstating the case here, but this thing is VERY OLD as cheap pieces of crap go, and all that's really wrong with it is a worn spot on the back from the previous owner's belt buckle, and some wear on the aluminum (!?!) nut. Considering that even the originals were built to a price,and were not generally treated well until they reached the hands of wackos like myself, that's pretty impressive.

I dunno.....I bought this thing about 20 years after Danelectro folded and about 10 years before they unfolded. I have bought a Fab Tone, though, so i guess i'll find out.

Despite what many reviews have said, the success of Danelectro II is proof of the charm of these Weird Alice devices. I have had this guitar for 17 of the 30 years i have been playing, and i would but another even if this one wasn't stolen or lost. I will always have other guitars around, but there's nothing like this thing, for good or bad. (I haven't gotten up close to the reissues yet.)

Ok, for all you that are complaining about the buzzing and the sound of the convertible here are some mods that you can do to improve and really start enjoying these low quality but unique guitars. Read below-

Ok, you know that buzzing? I notice most of it came from two main sources: The lipstick pickup rattling in its cutout on the top of the guitar; and the bridge saddle. There is also some rattling that comes from the springs that are used to support the pickups but it not that noticible once you these few mods. First, lets correct the rattling pickup. This is a simple, reversible mod. You simply want to line the pickup cutout area with some that will absorb the vibrations of the pickup so it won't rattle. I used rubberband to create a type of gasket around the sides of the pickup where it makes contact with the top. This will make a significant difference in the tone and will allow you to really hear the guitar acoustically.
Ok, the next part, dealing with the saddle. This is an irreversible mod and is to be performed at your own risk. Also, I am pretty sure it void your warranty. Well, if you are still interested, here it is. Ok, so danelectro wanted to stay true to the original design, but the problem is, is that the original design was flawed to begin with. That piece of fret wire stuck in a block of rosewood (I think its rosewood) serves as a saddle but sure rattles and buzzes like a bad fret job on a guitar neck. So what I did was replace the fret wire with a bone saddle (you can also use artificial bone but I would stay away from plastic.) This created a much more clearer and acoustical tone. I did this by carefully pulling out the fret wire from the saddle block with some pliers, then used a hacksaw to carefully widen deepen the slot. I shaped the saddle, sanding down the height, then made sure it fit into the saddle block. Once it fit and I was pleased with it, I glued it in and installed it back under the strings, adjusted the height for action, and maximum playability, intoned it and voila! Talk about enjoying this guitar now! Although its no Martin or Guild acoustically, it sure is a night and day difference than the original saddle.

Some other non-tone affecting mods I would recommend would be to change the tuners (although I believe the newer models now come with gotoh tuners) and the strap pins, although I have had no problems with the stock ones on my convertible so far.

If you have any questions about any of this procedures or would like clarification, email me. I can also email pictures if you need. Have fun and don't despair! This can get a great and fun sound guitar to play.

Made in 1999. Laminate formica top (reddish), maple neck. 22 frets, I think, Tone and volume control, single lipstick pickup. Promoted as an acoustic/electric. At least you can set your drink on it and it won't leave a stain. As a "Convertible", Acoustically, I don't think it's anything other than a toy. As an electric, its better, but not very impressive IMHO, but what do you expect for $200? It's perfect for whom I bought it - a 12 year old boy who wants to posture and thrash the hell out of it.

One major complaint I have are the tuners - they are plain and simple, useless and cheap. Frustrating to use and have zero linearity. I have a set of machines (no-name) that are far better than the trash on there now - very soon I will be upgrading them for my kid sake (well, mine too).

Another griping point is the floating bridge. It's a PITA if it's not set up right, and it requires a fair amount of fiddling before it's "on". Hard to keep in tune. Maybe these are the type of gutar that are sooooo sloppy to play and use, they gain a cult audience who gives them undying love.

Then again, maybe not.

Acoustic-wise, nothing more than an alternate way to play when the neighbors yell to turn down the noise. Devoid of the things you look for in an acoustic guitar (except the "sound" hole).

Better as an electric than an acoustic, and not all that impressed with that either. Can distort the living hell out of it - I will give it that - great for that 12 year old that wants to trash any 3 chord song.

Actually, action is quite good, a saving grace. Pickup is fairly sensitive. The finish is fine for the price. There is some wide stripping going along the perimiter (side) of the guitar that pulls away at the cutaway area. Take out the heat gun, heat it up, and it goes back into place, for a while. Controls are ordinary, appropriate quality for an inexpensive "axe" (if you dare call this one).

I've read the other reviews on this unit, Unfortunately, Id use this as a back-up to my back up. In otherwords, I wouldn't play it. BUT, for a 12 year old, It's acceptable first string axe for garage band/disturbing the peace use.

No experience. Don't know em, Don't want to know em, and don't really care to talk to them. Ever.

I've been playing for 30+ years, mainly mid-priced acoustics, boutiques, different styles. If my kid had this axe stolen? - I wouldn't cry (he might, but not me). I would try to steer him to a acoustic - plenty of better instruments for the dollar out there that will give him far better enjoyment. Unfortunately on an adult level, I hold Danelectros in distain. But My kid seems to like it enough not to have thrown it out the window...just yet, (but I'm working on that).

Mine was in 1999 in Korea. It is an acoustic/electric with a lipstick(Dipstick) pickup. You can read the above reviews for more details on the standard features, I traded this puppy pretty quickly. I think the guitar is wood, but it feels almost like plastic. It is a very thin guitar, it resembles Callista Flockhart.

You know what Britney Spears and this guitar have in common? They both look good but sound like crap. Unplugged, the guitar has the power of a mime, I can fart twice as loud. If you plug it into an amp, it actually sounds decent. Unplugged, it sounds very weak, no remotely deep sound, no twang, no personality. Plugged in, yeah with a decent amp you can make it sound alright. But this won't impress any chicks around a campfire.

Poor, pathetic pegs are suppose to hold your strap to this guitar, mine were crap. They fell out within the first 10 minutes or playing it. They need fixadent or something to hold them in place. The round tuners came out quicker than Ellen DeGeneres. This guitar, or at least mine, was just not put together well.

I only kept it for a week. But if I had to take a guess, my best estimate would be that this guitar would last about as long as Debbie Gibson and Tiffany's careers. For what I paid, you can't expect the world, but you can expect Uranus.

Didn't deal with them. In all fairness, I think that DanElectro makes some fine guitars, this just isn't one of them.

OK, straight up, this thing eats goats. I think mine particularly, was really bad. I had just start playing when I bought it, and didn't know how to pick out a guitar. I actually traded it in to Bethesda Music for full price, which was cool. I can't recomend this to anyone, I bought it brand new, had it for a week and it began to fall apart. Now I play a Fender Strat, De Armond S-65 and Fender DG10CE. I will soon have a SG Special. My mom always said that you get what you pay for, in this case, she was right.

Reissue, close out before new model with upgraded tuners. Got package with funky gig bag and cool cheezy practice amp.

Main features that sold me: wicked cheap, funky look, writeups on this
web page. Did I say wicked cheap.

I wanted something I could leave at work in my office to noodle on when the urge presented itself. Didn't want to worry about if it got stolen.

Acoustic sound is part Ukelele part Dobro, electric actually isn't half bad. I've played it through a few house PAs in the city and people thought is sounded good. (I did feed it through a Tech21 Bass Compactor though).

It's a real hoot to play acoustically. It's tough to rate in that the sound "sucks" if I wanted to match my F65E, but I don't. I love this alternative sound.

This was a 'mail-order' purchase. Out of the box, the volume/tone pot was loose. Easy fix, just tightend the nut. Tuned it, took the wrapper of the battery for the amp and cranked it up and haven't looked back. Bridge buzz isn't as prominent as I expected from other writeups. Very playable, no imperfections - good old off-shore automated assembly.

Though light, it seems solid. Tuners are the weak link (and have been upgraded on the new model) I've gigged it already a couple of times. I'd probably get a hard case if I were going to do it regularly, as well as upgrade the tuners.

N/A

I've been playing since the 60's. Current stable has a cheepo Yamaha electric bass (another bargain) a late 60's Yamaha acoustic (origninal owner), an Alvarez-Yari 12 string bought used in '76 (sweet), a 1980 Carvin DC150 solid body (my token electric - again original owner) and a brandy new Guild F65CE (my killer recording and play out guitar). The Danelectro fits in a nitch all by itself. I originally bought it as a throwaway, but it's so funky that I CARE about it now.

Mine is the regular convertible model in aqua colur. I bought it used in 2001, but it seems to be new old stock, as I can tell that it hadn't been played before. These only come one way, so there's no use in explaining how it is configured. It is a regular convertible, so it has the cheap plastic tuners. This is a short scale guitar, so it's easy and fast to play, especially if you have small hands like I do.

Well, it's fun to play acoustically, because I live in an apartment and I can't disturb the neighbours when I practice at 1AM. It has a nice sound, because it puts out more sound than you would think that it could. I bought it because I usually play a Japanes fat Strat, but I needed a cheap acoustic for some group lessons that I'm taking, yet I wanted it to be easy to play like my strat. I have a Peavey Triumph 60 tube head and Eminence 12" speaker. I have to turn down the treble and turn up the bass to get an acceptable clean sound with this guitar. The lipstick pickup does not have nearly as much output as my Fender strat, even when I have the strat switched on to its single coil pickups. If you crank up the reverb or use a chorus pedal, the sound is quite surfy. When I use the overdrive or distortion channel, the tone of the guitar is not too bad, it's just that the output is quite low. If you have some old 60's tube amp, or a cheap practice amp, this guitar might be quiet, and you won't get much , if any overdrive of the amp. To be honest, I was expecting better tone from this guitar - I was expecting a fuller sound.

This is a low priced guitar, so of course you get what you pay for. However, it seems like it will probably last, because I haven't noticed much wear of the cosmetics since I've owned it, and I play it about 3 or 4 days a week. People have been complaining about the cheap bridge, and I agree, it really does 'jangle'; it vibrates really badly. It is also wearing out, you can see the grooves starting to wear into it , from bending my notes, it must be made from cheap metal. A good thing about this guitar is that the guitar keeps its tune, even after playing for a few hours. At one point in time I had a Korean Squire Strat that would go out of tune if you strummed too hard, so this guitar is way better than that. I can depend on it, for that reason, and I will even use it on a gig when I get up to doing that again. The main thing for me , is that it keeps in tune and it looks cool because of its retro look; you can adjust the tone on your amp to compensate. I would bring my strat to a gig anyway, just in case I needed a heavier sound with a heavier output.

no comment. I bought this used

As much as I've been complaining about it, it works out OK for me , because like I was saying, I needed something cheap that can play acoustic. It's a good addition to your collection as a novelty item. I think it would be great for playing a gig, because it's so much different for the audience than having a strat or a les paul. I wish it had more output, better metal on the adjustable part of the bridge that the strings rest on, and I wish that the bridge didn't 'jangle.'

see above for features

Purchased as a first guitar for my son. I was at Guitar Center with the local Guitar God from my church. We looked at everything and almost purchased a $299 Telecaster. He noticed this convertible sitting in a corner (he has a Danelectro Bass), picked it up and started playing acoustically. Sounded nice, played well ... so we plugged it in and started playing. COOL ... my style is bluesy country and warm and it sounded really neat. We went and found the cheapest Crate Practice Amp we could find ... and it still sounded good. I'm not a guitar player (yet) but I'm a very accomplished vocalist, trumpet player, and I've been blessed with a great set of ears. This little rig sounds really nice right out of the box.

After playing a while I noticed the buz that others have mentioned. Most is due to my poor skills, but as an engineer I also noticed the funky bridge that seems to be designed specifically for buzzing. Everything else seems good and you can't beat the price.

We've only had it for 1 week. It seems pretty light and if my 15 year old breaks it he'll have to use his own money to replace / repair. The neck is too light for wild gymnastic style lead, but it's great for me because I have small hands

My price was real low ... it might have been mislabeled by the store, but what the hey ... their loss.
I'd buy another because I really like the way it sounds and plays. It's much easier than the crummy old acoustic I had at college.
Normally I figure that combo's combine the worst of both worlds, but in this case I like the way it sounds both acoustic and electric. I haven't tried a big amp and volume so I can't comment on the feedback issue.

Pretty straight forward and simple, a concentric tone/volume control.
Tuners not the greatest, but decent for the price.
Neck is good, frets nicely finished, no hand-rippers to be found.
The floating bridge is a pain to keep adjusting, but can be raised to work on slide work, would like one just set up with higher action for slide, but as is, can slide small sheet of paper/plastic/whatever is avail instead of using allen wrenches to adjust the 3 screws in the bridge itself.

Fits the Tulsa sound great, a little blues/country/roadhouse style rock, turn the tone almost all the way to the bass side and its great for power chord blues/rock, dial the tone back to the treble side and you get to the banjo/dobro, can't quite put your finger on it tone unique to this when plugged in.
If you are not a loud singer, unplugged this guitar has a nice, balanced tone that you can sing over, if you are in a duo with a dreadnaught, you better plug in or have your partner pull back on the volume.
I don't have the amp problems others wrote about, I have a solid state Carvin 100w and a solid state Carvin 100w acoustic/electric combo amp with a xlr for vocals, this guitar has no problem with feedback as long as you do not face the amp, also ok going right into a mixer/board.

No flaws, tuners have a cheesy plastic look, but in keeping with the retro tone of the guitar, the vinylette/naugahide around the body is cool, as long as your cats have no claws. Basic black finish shines up well, fingerprints make you shine it often.
Action as expected on this $$$ range, better than a friends Alvarez, plays more like an electric than an acoustic, easy to barre chord on for beginners.

Play in a contemporary christian band, no problems on stage so far, strap buttons look like same cheesy plastic of tuner knobs, but no problems yet(6 months).
I play rhythm guitar, not a lot of bending or stress on the instrument, but I have had no quality problems, popping of pots or any kind of structural failure , I take it alone.

never had to try, don't know warrenty, trust the shop I bought it from to make it right, they don't sell what they dont back up themselves.

Own a Epiphone acoustic electric, and a Memphis telecaster copy with a Les Paul at the neck and a Seymour Duncan Bluesblaster at the bridge. Have been playing about 6 yrs. I would buy another, is a perfect match for my voice unplugged, and cool tone plugged in that doesn't sound like the others with lots of shaping available at the instrument control.
For price, is a cool guitar to add to the collection as long as you are not replacing a PRS, or expecting a Parker Fly equivilent.
Would be a good starter instrument as neck is on the smallish side and would fit smaller hands well, also the different finishes avail make it stand out.

1999 model made in Korea. 22 fret neck and double cut-away hollow plywood body. Volume and tone controls. Single "LipStick" pickup. Gloss two-tone finish. 'Floating' bridge and stop tailpiece. Non-locking DANELECTRO tuners with dust covers. Fat neck with satin finish. Hardside simulated tweed case.

Sounds best unplugged or through a tube amp. I sounds like shit through a solid state amp. Effects processors make it sound great. The cheap holo body and single "LipStick" pick up produces a distictive warm sustain that is noticable when played side-by-side with a non-acoustic DANELECTRO. Clean, chorus, and phasers sound the best. Fret heights are pretty uniform, however due to the 'floating' bridge and the solid metal tailpiece, there is a lot of fret buzz. DANELECTRO says it makes the guitar 'jangly.' I say it is annoying. I haven't tried this yet, but I plan to put some plastic or other non-metalic material between the ball-ends of the strings and the tailpiece to reduce the buzz.

Fit and finish are great. The action sucks. It was a little too high for me at first, but any lower would greatly increase the fret buzz. So I left it at the factory setting. The satin finish neck and the Rosewood neck are FLAWLESS. The finish was, and still is flawless (one year later). Neck fits snugly and evenly into the body. Minimal hardware, however very tight and sturdy.

This guitar is VERY light, and could get damaged when thrashing around, however there is no need to be overly carefull either. Neck strap button is plastic. Mine hasn't come out or broken yet.

Havent had to use it yet. I did have to E-mail DANELECTRO to get the instruction manual that I guess comes with it. They never sent it.

THE BRIDGE SUCKS. I E-mailed DANELECTRO and asked why the retarded design. They said that it is the original design and complimented the simplicity of the guitar. OK....... However, they did thank me for my opinion on the design and taking the trouble to advise them. It is a great knock-around, pick-it-up-and-play-it-when-you-are-bored guitar. Very light and compact.

This as basic as it gets. I bout it for ther great acoustic sould out of it. it is the basic Dano, made of plywood and masonite.

I play mainly blues and classic rock. It sounds great unplugged, but the minuate you plug it in, you've lost it. The lipstick pickup gives off tons of feedback.

The action is horrible. The floating bridge is the worst idea. It was fine until I have people "Try" to fix is because they didn't like the angle of the bridge. After that i could never get it right.

As long as nobldy touches the bridge it will be fine. The finish seems like it will last. If it is run through a good amp it might not have as much feed back. I think it should last a long time is maintained.

never used it

This is a pretty simple guitar, similar in feel to the Kramer Farrington hollow body. Korean made. Maple neck, rosewood fingerboard. Single lipstick P.U. Tailpiece style bridge. Standard tuners. Mine came with a case. Pretty basic. Some things need help, but we'll get there later...

I do a lot of accoustic/electric kinda bluesy, funky jazz. I got this guitar initially because of the great cheap Dobro-meets-banjo sound. Unplugged, it'll get drowned out in an empty room (just like any thinline accoustic), but plugged in, it yielded some surprises. The picked tone was pretty funky, but kinda died a little too fast for my taste; but the fingerpicked tone was pretty good. Actually sounded pretty "woodsy" and satisfying (note, either get an accoustic amp or a tube amp: this thing sounds like DEATH thru a standard solid state). After I jammed on it for a while, I started making modifications to improve on it. For instance, I plan to add a soundpost to increase response from the table to the back of the guitar.

Workmanship seems sound, and the finish is flawless. Only real flaw here is the bridge, which by design, kills the tone and buzzes like a motherf***er. This prompted my first modification, which was to swipe the tune'o'matic bridge from my Epiphone and put it on the Dan-o! The improvement was astounding! NOW, this guitar sounds a lot beefier plugged in, and sustains a lot more like a hollowbody should. I'll probably try some other bridge designs before I settle, though... Downside is, it makes the dan-o sound more electric. I may drop a fishman in it to counteract that effect, or swipe a bridge from a Harmony Rocket.

Seems to be pretty sound. Stays in tune pretty well, too. Finish seems good and thick (hardboard is one of the easiest things in the world to paint. Vinyl tape on the edge seems a little cheap, but it's holding on so far. Knobs seem a little delicate.

Haven't had to call them, yet.

I've played guitar for 8 years. I originally bought this guitar as a possible stand-by until I can afford a serious hollowbody. I have seen the poor quality of the Epiphones I've tried, and given the fact that no one in my town carries De'Armonds yet, I am unwilling to buy a guitar that I haven't played. Dan-o's seem to be pretty decent, given the price, and I hope to be playing this for a while. Only thing I would improve on is that bridge, which makes this instrument sound a lot worse than it is.

See other reviews for features

i just did an acoustic gig with this guitar through a rockman acoustic pedal into a PA. It sounded cool. a bright sound which was well adjusted with tone control. Not noisy. Twangy.

Action was fine out of the box. Limousine Black-real nice.

I'll be careful. Doen't seem very sturdy. But good for the price.

I've been playing a long time. my style is bluesy country.

You know what this looks like. You know what the features are. Mine is new, aqua. For the price you can't get a better value. This guitar really is a hoot! And the tone control works better than on your average American Standard Tele (which I know isn't saying much). Love the cheesiness of the plastic body. It's light. Durable. And I don't care if my two labs slobber all over it. The bridge is surprisingly easy to adjust for intonation. I give it a 9, because what more can you want at this price?

Forget your fuzz or distortion. The convertible sounds best clean, or with a little phaser going. It's got a very funky hollow sound plugged in. Unplugged, it has a cheap blues thing going on. I'm using it w/a Trademark 60 from Tech 21 and pedals from Way Huge, Fulltone, Snarling Dog, etc...The pickups aren't noisy. And while this isn't an all purpose guitar, it certainly adds a new sound to your repertoire. I love it!

You definitely have to tweak the setup, move the bridge a little, y'know. The neck is decent, fast enough with a satin finish. Though it's NOT made for fast leads. Everything else seems fine...again for the price. (If I'd paid $1000 for this guitar I'd be mad as hell!) But for $200, it's a steal...the kind of guitar that can't help but make you smile. (Again, my rating is based on it's overall cost.)

Haven't had it long enough, but it seems pretty tough. C'mon, the body is plastic! And we all know plastic lasts forever.

I own a '59 musicmaster, a G&L S-500, and an American Std. Tele (should have a mid-60's Mustang soon). This convertible is just a perfect fit...a different sound. Unlike the other three, I have this one tuned to an open D. I'd buy a new one tomorrow if it were stolen. Buy it, love it, just have fun. Like I said, this guitar can't help but make you smile!

This is one of the new reissues from Korea. I'm guessing it's made at least partially by Cort, the company that makes guitars for Ibanez, Epiphone, and others because of the neck construction. Speaking of the neck, its a satin finish with rosewood fretboard, and is pretty fast until you get to the neck joint which is kind of bulky. But its a real basic guitar with stacked volume and tone one pickup and a soundhole. The tuners aren't the best and you might want to replace them, but they'll do. Also, change the strings on the guitar to acoustic bronze (mine are Martin Marquis) and it'll sound ten times better than with nickels. I do have one real gripe, and that's about the truss rod. It appears that the truss rod is adjustable from the headstock with a phillips head screwdriver, however, you have to take the neck off (like on old and some of the reissue fenders) to adjust it. Which sucks because you can never adjust it with tension on the neck.

As I stated above, you have to change to bronze strings for this guitar to sound great. I have yet to plug it into my rig, and yet can't put it down. It doesn't have the same acoustic tone as a Taylor or Martin, but if you're looking for a cheapo acoustic, it should definitely be considered.

The finish is pretty good, although is smells like nail polish for a few days. also, the contact paper around the guitar was coming up a little, but I easily smoothed it out. Again, the neck is great. I can't find a single high fret or anything (which is more than I can say for my Gibson SG Special) even out of the box with the original strings on it, it didn't buzz. You will have to set the intonation, and the bridge is not bolted down to the body. Over time, you may actually wear out the finish because of the 3 hex screws that adjust height. But when you finally get the intonation set, mark the body of the guitar with a permanent marker. This way if the bridge moves you can put it back quickly without losing too much time.

This is a Danelectro, with a body made out of glued and compressed sawdust. Pete Townshend would have trouble breaking it. As for the strap button, glue it in because it will come out.

I will probably be buying another for alternate tunings, and am now very interested in the rest of the Dan-0 line.

Bought this abominable piece of Formica in 64, along with a Univox 1x12 Tremolo amp. It is quite honestly a useless guitar shaped box made of Formica with a lipstick PU, 1/4 RCA phono jack in, and a pair of white puffy nobs Volume and TOne. THis guitar had a decent acoustic tone, for just a "throw around" guitar. It was a useless sounding piece of junk (for even slide applications) with the lipstick pickup, fed-back easily, and that poor excuse of a bridge would float all over the body with the vibration of the instrument eventually dropping of the guitar. I really can't believe that this useless thing has been reissued :(

FOrmica with strings

The action was tolerable, the neck was eratic, for an acoustic waterproof "throw around" guitar, it was so-so, never found, or heard any other guitar that made this look good. THis is the "bottom-of-the-line"

This guitar won't withstand an amplifier, it just screaches and feedsback... Once you get an audible level out of your amp, there is NO sustain, warmth, tone or anything worth bothering with..THis is a humiliating object to be seen with

THey were defunct when I bought it, THe best support they could give the music world is to cease attempting to make guitars. Their pedals work, there guitars are pieces of garbage.. I had a collection of better Lafayette electrics

I couldn't find anyone who'd even take this joke of an instrument, so I threw it in my college dumpster in 1978. Probably still there :/

This is one of the new Dano re-issues. It's a double-cutaway body, with one lipstick pickup straddling a soundhole. I think it's supposed to emulate an acoustic. I tested it at a music store. Hollow body. One volume, one tone control, stacked. No pickup selector, since only one pickup. Cord input is through the strap button on the butt of the body, like some acoustics. Giving it a 7 rating because it's kind of limited in use. I actually own two of the double cutaway DC models, and love them.

Like all the Danelectros, the tone was definitely like nothing else. It had the bright, hollow-sounding tone of my other two, but more "acoustic", which is what they were after, I guess. HOWEVER, it was a very weird tone, in fact when picked sounded almost like a BANJO. No kidding. Kind of twangy. Unique, though. I didn't like it, and I love the Danelectro products.

This was all fine. Set up great. Construction, like all these guitars, is fantastic for the price.

Unique guitar, unique sound. Not sure who would find a use for it.