Danelectro Pro-1

Mine is a 1963 dark chocolate brown with silver metalflakes in it. It is built like all of the older danelectros. It has the laminated top and bottom with a small wood block center and the white binding tape around the edges, (which actually is in good shape, the tape on the older danos seems to be more durable than the reissues). It has a one of a kind bridge and the legendary single danelectro lipstick single coil pickup that is about 4.5 ohms output on it. These are easy to set up since the only real adjustment you have is the neck pitch. This is done by using an allen wrench or screwdriver in that very small hole in the back of the body...loosen the strings turn a screw and retighten the strings for the action...Very simple and very effective. The bridge is fixed and seems to be well intonated just where it is. This also has a real Brazilian rosewood fretboard that looks great after being steel wooled down and treated with bore oil...

I play this with an orange ad15/12 (jensen alnico) and a fender Deluxe black face tube amp...It sounds very midrangy and hollowbody like dirty or clean. It is a little bridge, so I roll the tone back a notch and get a beautiful clean tone that is very musical. It has a nice bottom end on it too due to its large hollowbody cavity. It also is very sensitive and articulate when playing complex licks...When played dirty, it sounds mean and cuts through with a nice chime...I have alot of nice guitars and I can honestly say that I like the tone of this better than any of them...It just doesn't make sense how this can sound so good and be considered a cheap guitar in the 60's. This combination of the lipstick pickup combined with the hollowness of the body and the metal bridge and nut really create a unique and great tone..I have other danelectros also, and really think this one sound the best. I think the larger hollowness shape of the body has something to do with it...I would buy another one of these if I could find one..

this guitar is basic, simple, effective. It works incredibly well and is very simple. i think this is an example of how all of the new guitars now are over engineered. This guitar is the kind of guitar you just work on yourself and get good results with. I would never have to take this in for a setup. I can tune it, set string ht and intonation in 2 minutes and it will play top notch..i love this thing. mine is 43 years old and looks perfect..so i guess it is fit and finished as good as it could be...: )

I use this live each Sunday morning along with another silvertone/danelectro 1448 (restored)...and it is wonderful...I always use 2 electrics when i gig, but this never lets me down. Since I use 12's on it (due to its 3/4 scale), I never break stings..The bridge can be hard on strings where they connect if you dont keep the slots smooth...same with the nut..have to keep them smooth and lubed with some soap or graphic or pencil lead to keep strings from wearing through...12's really bring out the tone on this guitar though..

Wouldn't know who to call and I'm sure they wouldn't know what a Pro 1 is...

been playing 10 years and own obscure gear for the most part. I have a Gretsch Rancher acoustic, Silvertone/Dano 1448, Orance AD15/12 and a Fender blackface 65 deluxe. I used lots of effects, so I have a POD XT Live/ board with many individual pedals as well. I really like the fact that it is shaped funny and that it only has the one pickup. I like the 3/4 scale also, it only has 18 frets, but the frets are not small, so an adult can play it easily. It is very light, which is a nice bonus on the shoulder and it gets more attention from guys at my shows than anything I've ever owned...I've heard it is called the flinstone guitar before....and the Jetson guitar...

1964 Dano Pro-1 in brown with sliver sparkle. It has the usual Dano light weight body construction and a short scale neck (18 frets). It is amazing to play and the sound is just out there on its own. These guitars are quite hard to find and much sort after. Mine is a bit beat up, but that just adds to its absolute coolness. The shape is fantastic and the single lipstick pickup is incredible. None of the hardware is top quality, but it all does exactly what it should. Not many features, but who needs features when a guitar is this much fun. I give it a 10 anyway.

My Pro-1 is one of the nicest sounding guitars I have ever heard. Full rich bluesy growl when the volume is to the top, but back it off slightly and turn your amp up and you have a beautiful mellow sound. Dano tone controls are simply brilliant, there's none of this turning it half way to make any difference. Each slight twist alters the sound and I find backing the tone off slightly also enhances the guitars performance. I play mainly rhythm, so the 18 frets are good for me. I use a Line 6 Duoverb amp with all line 6 pedals. I try to only use Dano guitars these days as they just produce the dirty and clean noises I need.

This guitar is over 40 years old and it plays like a dream. The action is perfect. I found that using 11 gauge strings just pulls the guitars action to the perfect spot for me. If you want a higher action, try 9's or 10's. Adjusting the action yourself is something I haven't tried, I'm not even sure if you can. But the string gauge thing works (don't ask me how). The intonation on mine is great, I'm not sure if this is luck or not, I can't find a way of intonating it either. I haven't owned a Dano yet that I would say has 1st class 'Action, Fit & Finish', they just don't need it. I dock a couple of points here for the strange bridge.

I use my Pro-1 on every gig (along with my Dano Silvertone's). The Pro-1 lives up to it's name, it certainly is a Pro guitar. Don't make the mistake of comparing these guitars with the re-issue Dano's (which are also good in their own right, I have owned a couple), my Pro-1 just leaves them standing. It is as reliable as any other guitar I've owned.

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I use a short scale Dano Sivertone with single lipstick, a full scale Dano Silvertone with 2 lipsticks and a vintage Fender Telecaster. The Pro-1 sits in there and does it's job. I will buy another if I ever see one for sale. They also sound great just played acoustically, great for strumming on and working things out without your amp. Overall a great fun guitar with a fantastic sound. I know that I paid lots for this guitar, but it's worth it.

The brown with silver sparkles must be standard for the Pro 1. I think it's beautiful. Came with a brown tweed cheap old case. I have played for 30 years, owned literally over 100 guitars, including, Teles, Strats, Pauls, SGsand the Squire line and many weird guitars. This is my favorite.

The sound is huge, woody, beautiful. It has appeared on all 5 of my cd's. I play a mix of styles, psychedelic, blues, jazz, metal and good hard rock and roll. It compliments all my music.

The guitar cost little in the early 60's, so no complaints. I actually paid 30 bucks at a yard sale for it.

I would treat it withreasonable care befitting an instrument of it's age.

Who needs it?

I love this guitar. Wish I had a house full of them.

Dano pro doesnt have many features which in my opinion is good-one tone, one volume. Someone added a toggle to mine somewhere in its history probably to use for a kill switch. The Pro seems a little smaller than other guitars- maybe 3/4s the size. It is very light, and unique to other dano models. In my opinion the slickest looking in dano's history. My dano pro is the standard brown speck finish. It included an original soft bag and a small dano tube amp. I purchased it off ebay.

This is a very versatile guitar. I like the low register sound I can get with it. I love Tom morrello, Vernon reid, jimmy page, and the Deleos. I can get a similar tone to their setup with my pro. The pro looks like something a collector would hang on their wall but not playing this guitar would be a real waiste because it is the best sounding guitar I have owned. Ive had a les spec and tele but I love the way this particular guitar feels and sounds. It sounds good crunchy or clean and through solid state or tube, blues to metal. I use no effects other than a wah to kick out solos. The fret board is very comfy and feels similar to a tele but not quit as thick.

The action is perfect, just right for hammers and pulloffs. I can't see that there are any flaws for the price of what these went for 40 yrs ago this thing has great quality. I found this particular one for less than $200 in 2001 cant beat that considering a les special would run $800. The kneck is set no bolt on here. No noise on any knobs.

This axe seems to be as reliable as any I have owned. Ive never played live so I dont know the rigors a guitar must with stand but If I was playing live this would be a large portion of the set list. The only thing that is lacking is the tuners. the gearing is high so the slightest move of a peg and youve gone from d to e. But that is an easy fix and you can just save the original tuners in case you sell it which you probably wont.

I read the other review and would have to agree that if you asked dano for some support they probably wouldn't know what the pro was. The electronics are simple so any work that would need done could be accomplished by the owner, even if you dont know what your doing.

Ive been playing 8 yrs mostly old blues stuff-johnson, elemor james, winter, etc. Like I said this is my favorite guitar I would take it over a custom. Hope this helps out someone.

There are no comments on any VINTAGE Dano's, so I thought I'd place one... This is a Pro-1 model, mid 60's, made in Red Bank, New Jersey. There are 18 frets and it is the usual construction of ply-wood, laminate, etc. It has a brown sparkle finish, and the body is a weird bow-tie shape with white pick-guard. It has one lip-stick pick-up(passive), a cheap metal(chrome) brigde that "similates" intonation, and has a knob for tone and one for volume. The tuners are cheap plastic key, three per side. This is a fairly hard to find Dano. It had no case.

The sound is amazing. I play blues, alternative, classic rock, new rock, and the style fits great. I use it with everything from a small Gretch tube amp with 5 or so watts, a '59 Fender Tremolux, to a "63 Fender Bassman, and it sounds like doom! I've played a few Danos/Silvertones, but this is the hottest wound lip-stick I've ever heard, probably close to a humbucker. I know these old pick-ups were wound inconsistantly, but this one sounds unbelievable! And it's original. It is pretty quiet for a single coil (there's a little sticker on the head that says: "Totally Sheilded"-what a gas), sounds kinda mellow. It strums well when clean with a nice full sound, can sound full and "bush-like" when overdriven-and sounds great with a fuzzbox. It ihas an all-around great sound with good sustain. It sounds pretty good acoustic, probably since it is semi-hollow.

This was bought used from Gruhn, and was set up great. It is 30 years old, so keep that in mind... Everything was set pretty well, there are a few scratches on the body-the headstock is nicked up and one of the tuning poles is a replacement. The bridge is a riot-it's a bent piece of metal with no way of adjusting intonation, etc--but that's just it--you have to appreciate what level of guitar this really is. By the way, the intonation is pretty good as long as you don't play up at the last few frets (which you can't anyway). The frets are pretty small (I don't know the scale). It has a rosewood fingerboard and a metal nut. The odd body shape prevents any playing past the 13th fret or so. Did I mention the body is pretty odd-I've heard it called "Flintsone" looking, which is a pretty accurate statement.

Well, it's lasted 30 years before I got it... Otherwise, it seems pretty solid, but I'd probably have a back-up anyway... It is pretty much made the way the new ones are.

Yeah, right...
I don't know if the new Dano company would even know what it was.

I've been playing since 8th grade (I'm now 30). I love this guitar for what it is. It was a cheap guitar, but sounds and plays great. I love the clean as well as the overdrive sound. The small frets are very playable for my shorter fingers (they're not that short, though...) I would cry if this guitar were stolen. The only other time I've ever seen another Pro-1 is in an article on the guy from Dinosaur Jr. They are not a dime a dozen, so if you see one and you like Danos, get it! It's really fun to play...