Danelectro Hodad

Model 2000, purchased off Ebay for $217.00 Bright Blue Metalflake with Bigsby tremelo. Used but in absolutely perfect condition throughout. Solid body, light weight, well balanced. 2 sets of Dano lipstick pickups with coil tap and phase push-pull on the control knobs. Good tuners, straight neck, polished frets, stable tremelo. Roller bridge, wide flat comfortable neck.

Unique sounds, nothing like a stratocaster (I have a 73). Sounds much more resonant (due to the hollow body style). Lots of tone settings when selecting pickup combinations, I never use the tone controls. Medium gain pickups, nothing like humbuckers. This guitar actually sounds almost exactly like an Old Silvertone 2-pickup guitar I used to have many moons ago but looks much nicer and plays better as well.

Action/intonation needed to be set up by guitar technician. I'm currently using this guitar for slide work so I had medium gauge strings put on and the bridge adjusted. Works just fine now, all the way up the neck. Originally, only the G string was not intonated properly (being a little flat). The fit and finish of this guitar is first-rate.

As long as it's not dropped out a window or smashed up, should last for many years.

None that I've needed.

I give this guitar a 99 out of 100. I just love it although it won't replace my Stratocaster, now or ever. But as a 2nd guitar it's the best. It looks good, sounds good, both recording direct and live, is comfortable to play, has lots of tone variations, and is a smashing value overall. I also have the Hodad 12 string which I love equally as much. Buy one of these puppies...

2000 New Hodad, 4 lipstick, blue metalflake, with tremolo. Cheap plywood body but surprisingly good sound. Great hardware. Maple neck.

I play everything but go through a Zoom GFX 707. Sounds perfect with or without. Great sounds! Rich sound, bright and even. Good in or out of phase.

Great finish no flaws. Perfect layout good action.

Great quality. I would use it anywhere.

No comment, and probably will never need it.

What can I say? It is perfect and matches my style. I will keep this for life. Anybody steals this and I will hound them for eternity.

Pearl red 1999 Korean made Danelectro. Has 21 frets on 25' scale neck. There is a separate volume knob for each set of lipstick (humbucking) pickups. There are two push/pull tone knobs that act as coil tap and phase controls. My guitar has a Bigsby style tremelo, gotoh tuners, and real metal strap buttons (halleluah!), Maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, and shiny heavy fretwire. Oh and a three way pickup selector. The masonite and plywood body is bound with vinyl contact paper.

My playing style ranges from industrial metal to new wave and blues to ethereal goth.This guitar falls short in the metal department. However, it fits in fine with just about everything else. The middle nontapped mode sounds real close to a telecaster. The neck position tapped sounds just like my Jaguar neck pickup which is excellent for ska and surf. The neck pickup is great for getting bluesy classic rock tones.
I gig and record with a Line 6 Ax2. This amp is quite versatile enough to dive into whatever music style you are into. As far as clean tones, this guitar is crystal. Using my heaviest distortion setting, I achieved the "smells like teen spirit" guitar sound. There is not much sustain. While practicing I plugged into my 30 watt Gorilla bass amp and got the most beautiful classical guitar and acoustic archtop sounds.

I suppose that some tweeking could fix the wimpy distortion but I will mess with it later. For now I am satisfied with the incredible clean tones.

This guitar was a pawnshop find and was setup to perfection. There was no string buzz anywhere. The pickups don't appear to be adjustable. It does appear to have been dropped by the previous owner. There is a gouge in the vinyl binding and the jackplate was smashed in.

I had checked out the Dano U2 and 59 DC and was turned of by the cheap tuners, cheap plastic strap buttons, and peeling body binding. This guitar is deluxe and quality with upgraded quality hardware. It had to have been dropped pretty hard to smash in the jackplate like that. So it must be one tough little bugger to have sustained no other damage. One of my biggest fear about owning a Dano was that is woul shatter into little pieces if dropped.
I always gig with a backup. I break string often. This guitar sounds close enough to my Jaguar that they could easily interchange.

never dealt with them

I have been playing guitar for 3 year and bass for 14. I have a 62 Reissue Jaguar, Schecter A7, Washburn 5 string bass, and my baby (custom handmade guitar with a mosrite style body from a local luthier).
I came across this guitar while looking to trade my Squier SuperSonic in for a practice guitar that was acually useful. I was attracted by it's cool looks, hooked by it's comfort, and sold on getting an even trade for a guitar that I really wanted to get rid of.
If something happened to this guitar I would be on Ebay in a heartbeat looking for another. New these guitars can be found for 250, for the versatility you can't beat the value.

'99 Black w/ Gold Sparkle Hodad, 21 jumbo fret neck, volume, 2 tone knobs (1 w/ phase and 1 w/ coil tap), 3 way pickup selector switch (which is really kinda in the way...), 2 dano lipstick humbuckers, bridge w/ bigsby style tremolo system, awesome gotoh tuners...
I love the tuners and really prefer bigsby to floyd rose tremolos, it rarely ever detunes strings, even when they are right out of the package and unstretched...

great for surf/ska/punk, and i've even got some metal sounds out of it with the right pedals. usually use a peavey pro studio 112 amp, with either a nobels fuzz pedal or a morley rock n' verb (overdrive/reverb pedal, sounds damn sweet and really unique, highly recommended if you can find one). i've never gotten a bad noise out of this guitar, sounds clean on every setting. the bridge pickup (lower setting on the 3 way switch) has a really thin ska sound to it, the neck pickup (lower setting) has a bassy sound, the middle position has an extremely rich sound... great for everything i've ever wanted to play...

action, pickups, bridge, necj, tuners, etc were all perfect straight from factory. didn't have to mess with it at all...

this guitar withstands a helluva lot, only 1 minor dent because i was dumb and accidentally dropped it... strap buttons and knobs and such are a-ok and could hold up to just about anything...

never had to deal with them...

been playing 3 years, i also have a peavey horizon II than doesnt even come close to the hodaddy... i think i would seriously cry if it was ever stolen, the whole guitar is perfect for me, wouldn't think of changing a thing about it...

Same specs as already listed. My finish was red, although it still looks ok.

I play different variations of rock music and the Hodad is a much better guitar than my previous one (sorry Squier). I'm a bit of a vintage reissue fanatic. I run the guitar through a Crybaby, Big Muff, Danelectro Fab Tone, and sometimes a Pandora's box into my Crate. I use the Crate's clean channel and add distortion through my effects. This guitar can sound great. The Out of Phase effect is nice when you strum and then turn the knob back and forth. It sounds like a mild chorus. The coil taps don't quite sound like a Fender, but I bought a Danelectro so that's kind of the point. Separate volume knobs for each pickup can be used if you want to use the pickup selector as a kill switch, if you were doing any Rage Against the Machine cover songs. The guitar is very light but it can sound huge. A great tonal diversity from one instrument.

The only complaints I have is that my low E string buzzes when I'm unplugged. I don't know exactly how to fix it, but if anyone has any ideas I'm all ears. I changed the strings when I bought it. The action can be adjusted using a screwdriver. It's all very straighforward.

I've had it a little while and it seems to be doing fine. The strap buttons look a little sketchy but I bet they'll hold up. I would definitely gig with it. All guitars players should gig with a backup just in case, but the Hodad seems sturdy enough.

N/A

I've been playing guitar for about three years so I still have a lot to learn. It's a great guitar for the money. I would cry for a long time if it was stolen, and then I'd go to work and try to earn up enough money to buy another one. If you have a sound in your head it can probably be translated through this guitar with a little tweaking. I wish I could have found one with a sparkle finish, but I'm happy with what I got. It's a great guitar.

New, probably built in '99. Blowout sale at Guitar Center in Salt Lake ($199 plus tax) plus a $10 cheap-o gig bag. Set up was fine as is. Intonated fine, played true up & down the neck. Just a really cool cheap-o axe. Stays in tune fine (my doesn't have the "bigsby" on it). Gotoh tuners. Black/Gold pearl finish, rosewood board, I think it's a 25-1/2" scale. Made of plywood glued over a center block (I think). Body style reminds me of a Mosrite, which is too cool.

Surprisingly good. The humbucker-wired dual lipsticks are able to be phase- and coil-tapped. When played in 'bucker mode, it sounds nasty but just a 'little' mushy. Hey, I've played Gibson Les Pauls that had muddy sounding buckers, so that's no crime. I play rock (Led Zep, Stones, Everclear, etc). Is a little noisy, and I did notice some sort of 'clucking' sound as I would touch the body sometimes, not sure what's up with that.

Again, surprisingly good. Frets appeared fine, it was set up okay, hard to believe you can buy a brand new guit for $200-$300 and it plays this well right off the rack.

Hard to know, I guess we'll start hearing about Dano reliability in the coming years. I think it'll hold up fine, tho it's light as a feather.

No idea.

My high rating is taking into account the price, which it should. What a great 2nd or 3rd guitar for an experienced guitarist, and a great 1st guitar for anyone else. These Dano's are too cool, go out and buy 3 or 4.

2000 model from Dano. This big-daddy is something I've never even thought of before. Two sets of lipstick-tube's wired like humbuckers. Coil-tap feature AND phase-tap. Bigsby-style tremolo system is excellent, no tuning problems whatsoever. 21 frets on a maple neck w/rosewood fingerboard make playability great, action is good. Adjustable bridge piece allows for the strings to be "rolled" into your preferred position. It was a mother for me to string up see as how this is my first guitar like it.

My music style is blues, jazz, rock, funk, and basically all of the above SAVE that punk/ska/thrash crap. I use a Pres. Elec. Dual-Tone and a Boss BD-2, sounds great, the coil tap allows for rhythm/solo mode of its own. The pickups are not noisy at all. (humbucker unless tapped.) It gives a very fat sound regardless of tapped or un-tapped, it's a lip-stick tube for gosh sakes! I've found a Les-Paul tone, fat strat, and even a tele bridge tone with both pickup's tapped and out-of-phase...LOCO.

blue........sparkle........vinyl on the side. CHEESE. But..good cheese! I liked everything, action could use a touch of work, but JUST a touch.

This guitar is LITE, but after playing it through a few sets of strings, I'm convinced that it's as sturdy as any other. Very solid hardware all around. I'd use a backup only cause I'm prone to breaking strings.

No need yet.

I'm experienced enough to know a good guitar when I see it. It's cheesy, but a little bad-ass. I'm 18 years old, but have watched and helped my father build/customize guitars for years now. I know what quality is. This guitar passes very nicely.

2000 issue from Danny with 3 lipstick pickups and a selector switch and rotary dial for pickup tone selection. Body is made of? Well maybe masonite or something of the "Near Wood" family. Maple neck with rosewood fingerboard. This guitar is different from the previous issue of the old Les Paul body. This is a Mosrite style and is meticulously finished. The frets are very well finished and this model has a roller bridge and is fully adjustable for intonation. The tuners are very heavy in construction but I am unsure of who made them. Although made in Korea, this guitar is very well made and is very light. The finish is black metal flake appearing and would put a 57 Chevy to shame.COmes without a case, but the guy at Todds Guitars, Etc (888)GTRS-ETC in Longmont Colorado was great about making me an offer I couldn't refuse. The Guitar was $299 and he was having a $50 off sale so it was $249 - unbeatable. Soft shell case for $24 - good case not a cheapo one.

New venture for me as I usually play a Les Paul or a Strat. I played this guitar through a Fender VIbro King and it kicked butt. I normally play through a Peavey Renoun or a 53 Bandmaster w/3-10's. This guitar has such cool sound that I couldn't put it down. I played this guitar for about an hour straight at the store. Sounds are very variable and with the switches and the rotary dial, you are in 7th heaven. This guitar rocks!

Well put together although I had to adjust the neck as it had a positive bow in the neck - but that requires removing the neck to adjust the truss rod. No big deal. Just like a Fender.

This is the ultimate RETRO with a sound that knocks off your socks.
Having grown up in the 50's and 60's these guitars by Danelectro are no comparison as far as features. These new ones are put together well and for the money, kicks Fender Squires butt. Everyone should have a Danny.

As with any guitar, you have to be careful. The longer neck makes it less stable when standing beside your amp and the body body contour makes it roll when standing. Put it on and you're in another world.

And so what if you ding it up - at least it doesn't cost $700 plus. THis guitar is made to be used, not put on a shelf or up on display.

1 year warranty. You should be able to do all the maintainence by yourself. This is a no brainer and a great guitar to learn basic guitar care and maintenence on.

I've been looking for another new thing to try and these Danelectros are outstanding. (I'm also going to buy the Hodad 12 as it has a wonderful wide neck and great sounds. For those of you who have contemplated a Ricky - take my word, the neck is very narrow and difficult to play for us fat fingered people.) Therre are reissue guitars every where, but these ones are great and even improved to make them tons better than the 60's ones.

I picked up this puppy about three weeks ago, and so far the only complaint I have, is that I can't get it out of my mind. It has the distinctive Bigsby trem, lipstick pick-ups, and a beautiful sparkling blue finish. If a guitar could survive on looks, this one would definatelt have a long life. There's also a couple of knobs that pull out on the guitar. One gives you a "twangy" kinda feel, the other a little psychadelic. I don't see myself using them that much.

Sound quality is sweet. My other guitar is a Fender Strat. I think in the longrun I like the strat better for chords and stuff, but the Hodad screams on the leads. Of course with a humbucker sound you'll have that. Also, many are calling this (including Danelectro) a "surf" guitar. I find it to be great in other areas. I'm a Rock fan with influences in blues and punk.

Again, this guitar looks sweet. I'm the envy of all my friends.

No problems yet. It looks better than a loy of other Danelectro guitars. Some of their stuff tends to be a little "plastic" looking. This looks like a nicely made guitar.

no problems yet.

I gotta say, I like this guitar. The only concern I have is whether it will stay in tune. I play hard live. When I strike a chord, sometimes I do it with a lot of force. I've noticed a little note slipping. I bought it as a back-up guitar. I was going to get one of those Mexican Telecasters. You know cheap, but reliable. Then this caught my eye. I haven't played out with it yet, but I'm not worried. I'm sure when I do, my Fender Hot Rod Delux will keep everything in line. Who knows, I may even play eenie meanie to decide who bats first my Strat or my Hodad. In the 15 years I've been playing, I've owned about a dozen guitars. I couldn't even tell you what half of them were. I won't forget this guitar, and if for some reason it should fall into the wrong hands, I'd buy another.

This is a brand new, 1999 model with the Bigsby tremelo, made in Korea if I'm not mistaken. I bought it about a month ago. It has all the same specs as listed below. The hodad has 4 lipstick pickups, like all the danelectros. These, however, are wired like two humbuckers, giving it a lot more power and sound than a U-2, U-3, or DC-3. A 3 way pickup selector switch. Two volume controls, and two tone controls for each pickup set. The tone knobs have the pull out features (see Sound). My only complaint is that it gets a little crowded down there with all the switches and the bigsby bar. It would have been nice to have the pickup selector mounted on the upper bout, but its easily overlooked.
The finish is a black/gold metal flake, with cream colored vinyl binding. Let me tell you this, its beautiful. In some lights it has this shiny irridescent black look, others it looks sparkly green, and some lights make it look like a subtly psychadelic copper.
I got the tremelo model. The unit is basically an exact bigsby reprodcution. Solid chrome too. It looks stunning, and sounds great. This was my main reason for buying. Most guitars with a Bigsby are about $800 and up brand new. To find it on a guitar of this price is almost unheard of. Not to mention that the damn thing works like a charm. I pound on it and never once did I hear the body crack.
Oh yeah, if you heard of Danelectro's cheesy plastic strap buttons, don't worry. The Hodad has solid metal, screwed in buttons, with the top one mounted on the tip of the upper bout.

I predominatly play Rockabilly (50's, Stray Cats, Brian Setzer, etc.). This guitar absolutely definitely suits me for this. The semi hollow body sound is wonderful for this style. Don't get me wrong, if I could afford a Gretsch 6120, I'd buy one. But since I'm a struggling college student, this is a nice alternative. All my equipment is Danelectro (wish they had an IPO). I play through a Dan-Echo delay pedal, Cool-cat Chorus, and into either a Danelectro Nifty Fifty Amp or Danelectro Honeytone (LOVE that little amp). Sounds beautiful through everything. No noise or buzzing, especially when I switch pickups.
As you've probably heard, the hodad has pull up tone nobs for some distinct tone variations. The rhythm pickup knob is a "Pull for Tap", and the bridge pickup knob is a "Pull for Pause". Now don't ask me exactly what this means but I do know that this makes the Hodad increadibly versatile. Pulling on the pause gives you a jangly sorta hot rod kinda sound, especially when you kick in just the bridge pick up (try playing the James Bond or Peter Gunne themes and you'll know what I mean). Or if you like a more clean sound, tap the pickups. Danelectro claims you can get about 12 different tone variations. I'm not sure about that, but definitely at least 6-9 distinct tones. Bottom line is I can go from playing Rock this Town, to Sleepwalk, to Stray Cat Strut without hassle, and with total ease with the tone controls.

Factory set up was great, although I replaced the strings with D'Adario 10's, mainly because I just overall prefer them. You may stick with the ones already on. The action and fit was fine. I saw no noticable flaws in anything. Like I said, the finish in increadible. The bigsby was in perfect working order, and still is after being subjected to my pounding.

I've done informal gigs with it, and it impressed everyone. Just make sure your strings are set in for a while, because the bigsby tends to stretch out new strings just a bit to make the pitch slightly flat. But after a couple of hours of playing its fine. Everything seems like it lasts, plus Danelectro has a one year warrenty on it. Strap buttons are great, and finish has withstood some serious scratches from my ring. I even accidently knocked it over its stand onto a hard floor (the sound of chrome hitting floor is not good), and it came out fine...not a dent on it. However, this is a danelectro, and I wouldn't recommend getting excessivly rough with it. Hey, that price comes from somewhere.

never dealt with them on the phone, although they've always replied to my emails, and my guitar shop always had an easy time contacting their techs. The seem to have pretty good customer service, haven't heard any complaints (listen up Fred Gretsch!).

Let me tell you, I think this guitar rocks. I know it may seem like I'm a Danelectro employee, but let me assure you I'm just an enthusiastic guitarist who knows what he likes. The guys at the guitar shop knew I was interested in this guitar and as soon as it came in, they handed it right to me to try out. Speaking of which, if you are ever in Ithaca, NY, check out Ithaca Guitar Works. Best damn customer service I've ever had in a guitar shop. Those cats don't have the requirement of having to play guitar for 50 years in order to be treated right. They know what customer service is.
In anycase, for anyone who is on a slight budget, but still wants to play a guitar with a bigsby (or likes the look of one), you found your match. And even if you have copious amounts of money, take a look at this axe and try it out in the shop. You can't really understand how increadibly awesome the tone variations are until you experience them. This is by far Danelectro's best guitar to date. I own a ton of equipment from them its pretty damn reliable.