What are the best Dano style guitars?

[mediocreplayer]

I have one of the bridges on my U2 and so far so good.

[gringopig]

I have 2 of these, bought in the 1990's:





That wooden saddle one is a stinker!!! I had to buy a replacement because the original had bent under the string pressure and notes were buzzing out.
The metal version on the DC3 doesn't suffer as much and although I bought a replacement too, I haven't used it yet. I will have to keep an eye out for those sturdier replacements as these guitars sound really unique!

[sirspens]

The first electric guitar I ever played was a vintage Silvertone 1449, amp in case and all. The day my friend got his drivers license we went to this crappy used guitar shack (and I mean SHACK) in my home town. I had learned on and only played acoustic up to that point. My Ramones-loving-ass fell in love with it. But I was a sophomore in high school and the guy wanted like $800 for it.

Over the years I've owned a Danelectro U2 Reissue and a 59 Reissue. I had a love/hate relationship with both of them and parted with them.

Last year I bought a Dead On. No hate in that relationship. It's fun as hell to play.

For live use I prefer the Silvertones. They are solid mahogany which adds a little LP Special/Jr to the sound and have individually adjustable saddles. Also, the pickups are reverse wound, so no hum in the middle position. These can sometimes be found cheap used if you’re patient.

I think I need to try one of these.

[sirspens]

I own two Silvertone 1303/U2 “reissues”, and gen 1 Dano U1 and U2 reissues.

First off, you are right, you can find REALLY good deals on these.

Second, is the body a bit smaller than the Danelectro U2? It seems to have less behind the bridge than the Danelectro.

[marqueemoon]

I own two Silvertone 1303/U2 “reissues”, and gen 1 Dano U1 and U2 reissues.

First off, you are right, you can find REALLY good deals on these.

Second, is the body a bit smaller than the Danelectro U2? It seems to have less behind the bridge than the Danelectro.

Yes, it’s a slightly smaller body than the U1/U2. The strap button is not in that silly neck heel position like the Danos and they are better on a strap as a result. Also, the strap buttons aren’t those dumb plastic plugs.

I prefer the necks on the Danos (chunkier at the nut and satin), but it’s workable.

Quality issues:

The string ferrules are falling out. I should put some glue on em’ next time I change strings.

The break angle at the nut is pretty shallow, so between that and the crappy plastic nut there’s some buzz at the nut. I’ve mitigated this for now by slipping some hair bands over the headstocks as a mute.

Pots are meh, and the concentric bits bind in places sometimes.

Still, for the price it’s pretty hard to beat.

[raindog13]

Fuck whoever designed this bridge. It's a nice guitar, but I'll never buy another guitar with this bridge system.

Excuse my ignorance, but not having ever played on that style of bridge, what makes it so unbearable? I mean, on first glace, it doesn't seem like it be awful...

[helvetg]

Fuck whoever designed this bridge. It's a nice guitar, but I'll never buy another guitar with this bridge system.

Excuse my ignorance, but not having ever played on that style of bridge, what makes it so unbearable? I mean, on first glace, it doesn't seem like it be awful...

It's a bit of a pain in the ass to work with in general, but my biggest gripe is changing strings with it. It's an ungodly torture just to replace them because you have to shove the string under the bridge and hope it comes out the correct hole on the other side. It also just looks stupid, IMO.

[Maggieo]

The Tele-Star is really good, but you'll want to swap out the pots, which are shite. Everything else is great.

My Fatdog Dano/Silvertone is pretty much one of the most amazing guitars I've ever owned. Fatdawg is, like a lot of boutique builders (he really isn't one, though) cranky, idiosyncratic, and occasionally difficult to deal with.But he does great work, that's clever as fuck and solid as it can be.

Oh, and if you buy a new-ish Danelectro, consider replacing the bridge with a top-loader like I've got on Fatdog.


Fatdog Danelectro, November, 2009 by Maggie Osterberg, on Flickr

Fatdog's Dano page.

[DeathJag]

Also Hondo made a Guitarlin copy in the '70s but a) it has a humbucker and b) it's a Hondo so fuck that.

Hey I got one of those Hondos as a gift and it sounds badass. Compared the the jags and strats it growls out its notes...

[s_mcsleazy]

i love the convertables.

[UlricvonCatalyst]

i love the convertables.

Yeah, I occasionally kick myself for not having bought the <£100 MIK Convertible that hung in Victor Morris's window for months on end a few years back.

[s_mcsleazy]

i love the convertables.

Yeah, I occasionally kick myself for not having bought the <£100 MIK Convertible that hung in Victor Morris's window for months on end a few years back.

was that the white one they had for a period?

[UlricvonCatalyst]

i love the convertables.

Yeah, I occasionally kick myself for not having bought the <£100 MIK Convertible that hung in Victor Morris's window for months on end a few years back.

was that the white one they had for a period?

Could've been white. In my memory it was 'natural' (i.e. beige), but I'm not sure they ever actually came in that shade. Maybe it was a creamy white?

[simonhpieman]

Oh my god, my Convertible. I had a seafoam green one which I sold back in March. Idiot. Had a flamed maple neck on the back, mint condition, my favourite acoustic guitar sound ever! I really miss it. Such an idiot.

They came in maltshop creme (beige) and the convertible pro came in pearl white. The white one should have had all metal tuners while the beige one will have had plastic buttons and the "D" stamped tuner casings on the back.

Used to have a U2, late 90s reissue. Really liked the sound of that. Can't really remember what I did with that. Someone had installed a midi pickup in it so it had two big extra screws near the bridge.

Bloody convertible. I want it back!!

[simonhpieman]

Also Hondo made a Guitarlin copy in the '70s but a) it has a humbucker and b) it's a Hondo so fuck that.

Hey I got one of those Hondos as a gift and it sounds badass. Compared the the jags and strats it growls out its notes...

I'm digressing a bit here but Hondo were merely an importer. The Dano copy was part of their professional series which were made in Japan. The Fender copies were done by Tokai and the rest by Matsumoku. This Dano copy is probably pretty decent. MMK pickups, the lot.

Granted, their early 70s stuff and some of thier later 80s stuff was pretty junky.