Electric Guitars

Danelectro began manufacturing electric guitars and amplifiers in early 50s. Focusing on the entry level instruments, the US based manufacturer became famous for their budget built guitars that were often branded with the Silvertone and Airline names. The latest Dano ’63 is based on the 1963 Silvertone 1457 guitar, which at the time did not make the transition to the bass world, mainly because of the ongoing success of Danelectro’s Longhorn model. Apart from the long scale bass that we have discussed in this review, the Dano ’63 is also available as a short-scale bass with a 29.5″ neck guitar and baritone guitar. Though it might not be quite as distinctive as the aforementioned Longhorn design, but the Dano ’63 bass remains refreshingly retro in today’s market. So, let us see if this blast from the past has what it takes to cut it in the modern stage.

Body:

Danelectro Dano 63′ Electric Guitar (Aqua, Black, Burgundy) has paired a plywood frame with a pressed wood front and back. Though the body is mostly hollow, it feels surprisingly durable and, despite lacking any contouring, it is remarkably comfortable on the strap. The smooth body surface is just the perfect match for the range of finishings available. The finishing has been neatly applied, but we were not really keen on the vinyl strips that runs around the edge of the body. The vinyl strips intends to give the guitar more of a vintage look, but the rougher surface is prone to collecting dirt and can get even a little grubby in use. The guitar is available in a range of finishings including aqua blue, black, burgundy, gold, keen green, peach, red burst and tangerine. This Chinese-made instrument is finished well.

Neck:

With the deep double cut away design, it means that the heel joint is totally clear of the body, with the neck meeting the body at the 21st fret on the bass side. This gives a great deal of access to the higher register. The neck itself is bolted onto the body of the guitar through four large screws. You will not be finding any metal plates or collets supporting the join, but it certainly feels reassuringly tight and secure nonetheless. Its mapel neck has a narrow C shaped profile that makes the guitar instantly playble. The profile is slightly chunky giving the Dano 63 a proper vintage feel.

Frets and Fretboard:

The dark rosewood fretboard is close grained and smooth and the Fret markers are large traditional dots in abalone. The medium-large frets are nicely rounded and well-polished.

Pickguard:

The thick single-ply scratchplate has a very idiosyncratic shape which adds much to the visual appeal of the instrument. I particularly like the oval hole cut for the neck pickup. The surface of the pickguard has been aged with nicotine-style yellow staining.

Hardware:

To maintain the vintage feel, the Dano ’63′s chrome hardware has been provided with an aged look which retains the aesthetic of the company’s original silverstone guitar. However, there are two important updates that are worth mentioning. A steel plate bridge design, with induvidual saddles can be used to adjust both the height of the string and, its intonnation has replaced the saddle bridges that are found on the original Danelectro instruments. To adjust the intonation, you have to first remove the strings, as the screws lie directly beneath then at the base of each saddle.

Tuners:

The second noticeable upgrade is the improved tuning pegs. Though this is a re-issue of an old Danelectro design, the tuners have been upgraded to sealed mini-tuners. This makes sense, there is simply no point in slavishly following vintage specs when hardware upgrades will produce a better performing instrument. They are still essentially guitar sized tuners, but their grover style design makes them reassuringly sturdy and durable in use. The finish is flat nickel.

Controls:

In the 1960s, Danelectro’s lipstick tube pickups were literally made from spare lipstick tubes that would house the entire pickup mechanism. The single coil pickups in this model are keeping with the original design and are wired to a three way pickup selector switch with single volume and tone controls, each of the pickups is anchored in place with a “cup-cake” style vintage knobs that enter through the rear of the body. The electronics can also be accessed on the rear side of the body, beneath a circular cavity cover fastened by a single screw in its center.

Sound and Action:

Coming to the part of the all important sound, the lightweight hollow body of the guitar lends the Dano ’63 a defenite acsoustic edge, and there are heaps of tonal variation on offer from altrenating your playing position. There is an impressive degree of clarity to be had across all four strings, with a well-rounded low end, a slightly thinner mid range and almost jangly highs. The fundamental bass sound is well suited to the traditional fingerstyles, but the core tone remains versatile enough to cope with more diverse generes too. The rounded lipstick pickups may take a little gettig used to for those more used to a flat surface to rest your thumb, but there is still plenty of room to manoevere your musical hands.

With the selection of neck pickup, the bass has a much fuller mid range and more rounded tone that will lend itself well to a range of mordern rock rock and pop styles. Soloing, the bridge pickup produces a thinner bass sound that lacks presence in the mid range, but this serves to add extra punch to the low and high end frequencies. Blending both of the pickups together really brings the Dano 63 to life and produces a range of suitabe retro tones that respond well while playing with a pick, or palm muting the strings for some authentic tic tac style basslines. There is also a slight increase in output with both pickups selected together. Furthur variations can be had through the single tone control, which lends the Dano ’63 much more of an articulate edge while turned clockwise fully.

The quiality factory pickup when paired up with a slender neck profile and lightweight body, makes the Dano ’63 great fun to play and you will be able to really dig in with some low register bass lines. There are no buzzes to be had from the neck, or any unwanted fret noise, even while picking hard or playing with a pelctrum.

Verdict:

A big thanks to its quirky looks and sturdy design, the Danelectro Dano ’63 is immediately likable from the moment it is taken out of the box. Retro styles are well in fashion at the moment and the do not come more retro than this. Everything from the range of fashionabel finishing to the chick body styling and lipstick pickup oozes retro cool. Keeping the looks aside, the Dano 63 remains a very playable instrument that is capable of producing a range of responsive and workable bass sounds to back up its charecterful looks. And, at under 300 pounds, Danelectro has once again succeeded in their quest to produce both affordable and quality instruments.

Check other Danelectro Electric Guitar Reviews in this website.

Danelectro ’63 Electric Guitar – Technical Specification Table

Other Electric Guitars

• Vintage AV6PLB Laguna Blue Electric Guitar Review
• Encore EPB-KC3R Red Electric Guitar Package
• Epiphone Les Paul Custom Electric Guitar Alpine White
• Fender Squier Fat Stratocaster Electric Guitar
• Jaxville Special Edition Electric Guitar