1958 Danelectro Guitarlin-price check?

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Squirrel
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1958 Danelectro Guitarlin-price check?

Post by Squirrel » Fri Oct 06, 2017 5:01 am

Hey all,

So I'm planning on selling two or three of my guitars in order to buy a much more expensive one, and I'm kind of in two minds about whether I want to get rid of this one. It was kind of crappily refinished fairly early on in its life (with glitter glue on the headstock :fp: ) and the finish is pretty badly worn now. It's also got two repaired cracks, one on either side of the nut. All of the hardware is original except for a couple of screws. I do like it quite a lot and if it isn't worth much I'll probably keep it, but if it's worth a reasonable amount I think I'd rather have the money to put towards my next purchase. Any ideas as to roughly what this thing would be worth? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Also, sorry for the shitty phone pics.

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jeff m.
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Re: 1958 Danelectro Guitarlin-price check?

Post by jeff m. » Fri Oct 06, 2017 12:15 pm

According to Danelectro expert Steve Soest, only 200 or so Guitarlins were made between 1958- 1968, so they are definitely among the rarest of the thousands of truckloads of other models Danelectro produced under a variety of names ( Silvertone, Coral etc.).

Apparently, if you pop the neck, you'll find a 3 or 4-digit serial # that allows you to date it..the last digit being the year, i.e;
1088= 10 (month-Oct)
- 8 (mystery digit)
-8 (1958)

Squirrel, I'd definitely ask around a bit more before deciding..yes, there are 'vintage Danelectro nuts' out there, & this is a particularly desirable model.
The original case is a big plus, but the re-fin is an obvious minus..sometimes not such a big deal if the guitar is rare enough & not otherwise 'boogered with' too much :) !

Very cool guitar..good luck whatever you decide !
Best,
Jeff.

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Re: 1958 Danelectro Guitarlin-price check?

Post by Squirrel » Fri Oct 06, 2017 1:00 pm

Thanks for the info! I did take the neck off when I first bought it and found 4108 on the neck heel. I remember reading at the time that the first two digits meant the 41st week, not the month, so I think that places it in October 1958. I knew they were kinda rare but I didn't know that only around 200 were made! It's certainly a difficult one to figure out how much it's worth, on the one hand it's pretty rare (which doesn't always equal valuable, I know) and pretty cool looking, but on the other hand it's still a Danelectro, and a refinished one at that. Can't find any that have sold recently either, so who knows.

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Re: 1958 Danelectro Guitarlin-price check?

Post by Unicorn Warrior » Fri Oct 06, 2017 1:38 pm

Gonna go out on a limb and say that I bet this guitar is worth more than you might think. Considering the condition isn't too molested, it appears to be a good restoration project too.

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Re: 1958 Danelectro Guitarlin-price check?

Post by jeff m. » Fri Oct 06, 2017 2:20 pm

And I'm inclined to agree with Unicorn !

I think the only certainty with the serial # is that the last digit is the year..so it appears yours is a 1st year model (1958).

Keep in mind that these were 'cheap' guitars* in the day, & many weren't looked after, trashed, discarded etc., which often makes some rarer models hard to find in in ANY condition !

Obviously, it's not a '59 Burst or something..but I have a feeling that if you persevere & ask around a bit, you may be surprised !

*The Guitarlin was $150 in '58..a bit over $50 more than any other Danelectro in the catalog at the time..which, along with its innate 'weirdness', meant it was a pretty poor seller..which, of course, somewhat contributes to its rarity 8) !

Again, its really cool..keep us posted !
Best,
Jeff.

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Re: 1958 Danelectro Guitarlin-price check?

Post by mgeek » Fri Oct 06, 2017 4:10 pm

Gonna disagree with all the above- danelectros don't really sell for loads more than the current reissue prices in my exp, and even in the UK, a refin with cracks isn't gonna be a lottery win type thing.

I'd see this going for maybe 250-350 on uk ebay? only you know whether that'd suit

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Re: 1958 Danelectro Guitarlin-price check?

Post by Squirrel » Mon Oct 09, 2017 5:24 am

Thanks for the input everyone! I think I'm going to hang on to it until another one sells on ebay and I can guesstimate its value from that. If it does turn out to be worth about £350 I'd rather have the guitar than the money, so I'll probably end up keeping it.

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Re: 1958 Danelectro Guitarlin-price check?

Post by mgeek » Mon Oct 09, 2017 10:52 am

Squirrel wrote:Thanks for the input everyone! I think I'm going to hang on to it until another one sells on ebay and I can guesstimate its value from that. If it does turn out to be worth about £350 I'd rather have the guitar than the money, so I'll probably end up keeping it.

hmm...I think I may have been a *little* pessimistic, but I did see a stripped og Dano twelve string sell for £100 a while back- remember kicking myself for not buying it.

Is the original finish still under there? does seem to be showing through a bit... If it could be peeled back (I've done this before) that would certainly improve it's chances of making a £decent. Still- if this was mine, I'd keep it. So cool!

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Re: 1958 Danelectro Guitarlin-price check?

Post by Squirrel » Thu Oct 12, 2017 12:11 pm

Man, for £100 I would have bought it too! I can see bits of the original finish peeking through in places, but exactly how much of it is still under there is anyone's guess. I'm sure the headstock would have to be refinished at the very least, as the glitter glue probably won't go without a fight. But yeah, I've pretty much decided on keeping it and maybe getting the finish sorted out if I ever find a competent local place to do it. It's just too cool, plus selling guitars is a pain in the ass anyway haha!

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Re: 1958 Danelectro Guitarlin-price check?

Post by PorkyPrimeCut » Thu Oct 12, 2017 5:09 pm

I'll be honest. I hate these Danos with a passion (the shape, not the sound) but I for one would keep it & do it up, if you can find the right guy to do it. From what I've read from everyone else it's a bit of a quirky & rare bird. Definitely worth the TLC, bringing it back to its former fugly glory.

;)
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Re: 1958 Danelectro Guitarlin-price check?

Post by mgeek » Fri Oct 13, 2017 2:15 am

Squirrel wrote:Man, for £100 I would have bought it too! I can see bits of the original finish peeking through in places, but exactly how much of it is still under there is anyone's guess. I'm sure the headstock would have to be refinished at the very least, as the glitter glue probably won't go without a fight. But yeah, I've pretty much decided on keeping it and maybe getting the finish sorted out if I ever find a competent local place to do it. It's just too cool, plus selling guitars is a pain in the ass anyway haha!
Oh I wouldn't be so sure about the glitter...it's really amazing what can come off in terms of overspray without showing much sign if you're careful and patient. On the last one I did, I wetsanded with a block and like, 800grit as a starting point, and after a bit I realised the overspray was just flaking away from the original paint. Took about half an hour to do the top of the body and once buffed out it was impossible to tell.

I've seen a lot of people go in with like, acetone and strippers etc, (and I tried that myself the first time) but it's way messier and in my experience less effective than just a spot of cautious wetsanding. Most of the time the overspray never really got on with the og finish anyway ;)

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