Danelectro Hodad Baritone

Many of the features have been detailed in other reviews -or can be found at the Danelectro website. I won't elaborate too much on the standard features. The Gotoh tuners are of very good quality, and the nut is metal (as opposed to plastic). It has 3 Danelectro lipstick pickups, wired in series. There is a 6-position 'Select-O-Matic' rotary position switch, and a toggle switch. A concentric vol/tone knob combo. The bridge is metal, and adjustable (with individual string saddles not unlike a hardtail Strat bridge). Hard maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, and standard frets.

I mainly submitted this review to point out to readers that I don't have the troubles indicated in other reviews regarding the sounds. The complaints I read had to do with the different pickup combinations not being distinct - or just muddy. It may have a lot to do with amps. I ran my Dano into a Carvin Vintage 50 head and 4x12 Celestion cabinet. I could hear each pickup selection cleany and clearly. Even having all 3 pickups at once had bite, and not that boomy. So then I ran it into my Rockman X100 headphone amp, and the results were similar. Perhaps I got a model with improved electronics or better quality control. If you overdrive it or distort it, the tone does fatten for the worse. The baritone is best utilized clean and with reverb, for that retro low twang ala 3rd Rock From The Sun theme - or Spaghetti Westerns. The toggle switch is a 2-way, and functions as the "7th position" to the Select-O-Matic. Up is bypass (i.e. selector switch active) and Down is for all 3 pickups at once (overriding the selector).

The guitar was shipped UPS in the standard trapezoidal cardboard box, with styrofoam support blocks. My first mail order instrument. The strings were not slack - but not tight either. The action was set up at the factory, and I had it tuned up in a couple of minutes. The pickups and bridge were set up just fine for my tastes. The neck was extremely smooth, and the frets were ultra clean. Like I said, it was ready to go right out of the box after just a tune! The strap buttons were okay. There were no dings or scratches to the finish. I ordered the White w/Violet Pearl overspray. It has a tendency to look cream in poor apartment lighting. In the sunlight, it looks almost irridescent! They put a deep brown tape on the body edge, so it has the look of a Les Paul Goldtop. I don't know if it is to hide the cheap wood used, or serves as added protection. There are screws on the back, as others noted... but that's because the lipstick pickups adjust from behind. The control plate is polished like a mirror. The input jack was fine.

I believe this guitar would withstand live playing, as much as anything else I have. It is VERY light, and would not be uncomfortable on stage. The finish almost seems acrylic, and should hold up well.

Comments here would be the same as other reviwers have noted. I cruise their website occasionally. I don't anticipate any malfunctions or cheesy parts dying on me anytime soon. As the guitar did not arrive DOA, there is no reason for me to sweat over a $150 purchase! I am the type of tinkerer who will upgrade or replace components if need be anyway.

I have always wanted a baritone, and the I like the Hodad version a lot more than the standard. It has that Mosrite look to it, which adds to the retro allure. The multi-tone pickup combinations was another of the reasons I chose it. I'm basically a bells-and-whistles kinda guy. I am very pleased with the purchase, since it retails for 3 times as much. If it were lost or stolen - I would get another if still on sale. The only thing I'd be happier about, were if the headstock matched the body color... but that's really just nit picking. I will be deciding on a gig bag or case in the near future. It did come with a small allen wrench for bridge adjustments.

Recent Korean-made cheapster, $150 from Musicians Friend, probably a sale price and not a regular price. I've noticed some of their Danelectro prices go up and down. Nothing but the instrument for that price. Mind you, the price effect all ratings in their review! Three lipstick tubes in a goofy wiring set up.. 6 position rotary switch which gives various single-dual pickup combinations plus a large two pole switch which puts all three lipstick tubes in series.
Overall tone and sustain probably would be better if the strings went through the body, they don't; it's a top mount bridge sitting on three skinny bolts. But it's adjustable and the Gotoh heads seem solid. For this price, I figure I'll play it until it falls apart.. then transfer the pickups and hardware onto a homemade warmoth or wd.

As others have notices, it's got a lot of sounds, what with that 6 position rotary switch and two-pole "Blower". But all of the combination settings are in series, which seems the sound muds up if you have your amp/effects set for a good single pickup sound, and the switch to a combination. Or if you've dialed in a cool multi-pickup tone, it whisps out when you switch to a single pickup. This wouldn't be a problem if the thing just had a 5-position strat-style switch, although it would certainly be less "original". The series wiring is a plus if you twang around the low registers on one pickup, then switch to series as you move up the fretboard and to the higher strings. Once I got the sound I liked (through a Tubeworks tube driver with light overdrive, an old Boss RV-2 into a '64 Fender Bassman with a presence knob driving a standard Fender-style 2x12 cab with Eminence speakers), I just let it be. Twang twang. The "sound" rating is further explained in "Action, Fit & Finish".

FRET BUZZ, fret buzz, fret buzz, fret buzz, fret buzz. Mute it at the bridge with with your palm, the rattle and clang goes away. Maybe that's more of a a design problem, instead of a set-up problem. The pickups were way too close to the large strings 'Had to move them back a little to keep the strings from crashing into the pickups. Everything else pretty good. Will probably have to grease the nut with graphite. Once you figure out the quirks, though, playing it is alright.

It'll probably stand-up to time. There are plenty of Danelectros out there from the '50's and '60's, with the same basic construction (masonite tops/backs over plywood frames). And those instruments don't even have truss rods (the new ones do)! The finish seems okay, the strap buttons are a little too big, I had to wrestle the strap on there! Will probably find some old Schaller straplocks to stick on there. I owned for three minutes and bonked it into a door jamb accidently, it's just fine. Would I use it on a gig without a backup? I dunno, at $149.99 maybe I'll get a half-dozen.

n/a

Been playing for 25 years. I mainly play teles, my current pair are super custom warmoths with Joe Barden pickups, very player-specific guitars. You know, you get old and you know what you like. But these Danelectros are fun diversions. The weasely lipstick tube tone is fun. There are not a lot of guitars out there to compare it to.. they're listed in another review, along with the other's list prices. This is a "what the hell" kind of deal.. (not quite a "helluva" deal.. that's the Mod6 which I also bought for the same price at MF). For very little money I've seriously expanded my sound horizons. I sure wouldn't recommend anyone pay LIST for a current Danelectro. But there are lots of deals out there, not just at the dealer I dealt with.

IMO the top feature here is the price, only $150 direct from Musician's Friend. The second best feature is the 30" scale.
Also you can't miss with the Mosrite inspired body shape.

Check out your other baritone options, and then write a thank you letter to the generous citizens of Danelectro land.
Tom Anderson Baritom - 28.5" scale - $2500 and up
Fender Sub-Sonic - 27" scale - $1000 and up
Vintage Bass VI - 30" scale - $2000 and up
Reissue Bass VI - 30" scale - $1250 and up

The long scale length provides for amazingly rich tones. The low end notes are crisp and full of detail, no seven string floppiness here.

Now for the bad news. While the lipstick pickups compliment this instrument very well, enabling more than one pickup at a time sounds like ass. Danelectro made the mistake of wiring the pickups in series and not reverse winding the middle pickup. All multiple pickup sounds are way to dark, and the strat middle position quack sounds are unattainable.

The iridescent finish is perfect. Very subtle yet stunning. Just one really tiny finish bubble.

Amazingly, the truss rod was set perfectly at the factory. Not something that happens to often with Asian guitars.

The fret work is a little sketchy but even.

The guitar feels solid, but seems easily destructible.
My only consolation is that the constuction is superior to vintage Danelectros and those are still playable.

If it were to spotaneously combust, a new one is only $150 away.

For the price, simply unbeatable.
I will never spend $150, any better than this.

This is not the regular Baritone that's already been reviewed on harmonycentral.com. I couldn't find a review of the Hodad baritone guitar so I figured it's time ya'll had something to read about this affordable instrument.

The Hodad baritone from Danelectro includes an adjustable bridge, Ghoto type tuners, 3 single coil "lipstick" pu's and a double cutaway body.

Many features for a baritone under $300 street price. 7 position selector switch and adjustable bridge/truss rod.

Great value, me thinks!

I like the bridge pick-up but if you switch to any of the other combinations it's too muddy. By re-adjust the amp settings you can get useable tones in other positions but you lose the bridge pick-up tone.

One of those damned if ya' do, damned if ya' don't things!

I adjusted the pick-up height and that helped but I would prefer more "balance" between the settings.

Bottom line: Good sound but only one-at-a-time!

They're doing a good job here, for the money. Frets were finished well and the truss rod seems to keep things straight. Mine has the silver sparkle finish. Up close it's kind of strange to me but it looks great on stage or from a distance. Not your usual thick, high gloss finish but very cool.

Neck joint is tight and so far the switches and controls work good. Not a great bridge but still better than a strip of rosewood.

Oh yeah, for me at least. I don't get very crazy but it's plenty solid for my work. I always use StrapLok's so those have been changed. I have no idea how well the finish or plating will hold up over the long run. That depends on the player and how they play.

Played from a standing position it feels balanced and not real neck heavy. No buzzes from my set-up. The factory set-up seemed ok to start but I've since re-adjusted a few things to better suite my needs.

Never thought about calling 'em for anything. I do like the price (About 1/3 the price of name brands.) of their replacement strings for baritone guitar. I'm not too picky about strings 'cause I figure there's only so many ways to wrap wire around wire and nobody's currently giving me an endorsement deal?

Still, I like that this company sells affordable strings for their not-too-common instrument.

I've been playing for a very long time and I work steady on stage and in the studio. The Hodad Baritone supplied me with a baritone guitar for cheep that works and sounds like you'd expect for a "retro" thang.

Tic Tac or old T.V. western genres are my fave on this axe and it's very convincing. For the money, it's hard to beat and I've been thinking of trying a 12-string and/or 6-string Hodad guitar because of the "pro" features included in the Hodad line.

Nice job Dano!