Danelectro’s 59-DC guitar has gone through several different incarnations, each a bit different from the others.  The 50th Anniversary 1959 DC Reissue Original Factory Spec Electric Guitar rolls back all those changes and additions.  Danelectro actually made four different anniversary editions, including this six-string electric guitar.

This original Dano 59-DC is set up exactly like it was 50 years ago when it first debuted.  This anniversary edition is 100% correct to the original factory design, including the original bottle headstock, side edge tape, and rosewood saddle bridge.  It has a double cutaway body design with a rosewood fretboard.  You’ll find 21 frets on the instrument, along with lipstick single coil pickups and a wrap around bridge with a rosewood saddle.  Kluson style tuners are also included, just like the original model.  Gold hardware, a white pickguard, and a bottle headstock wrap up this relic’s features. Read more

The Danelectro 56-U3 features the Select-O-Matic switch that Danelectro is known for, plus much more.  The Select-O-Matic allows you to change how the guitar sounds, making it like seven guitars in one.  This is the main selling point of the U3, and it makes the guitar so versatile you can use it for just about any type of music.  You’re able to select from neck, bridge, or middle alone, or the three in any combination.  Then there’s the U3’s seventh setting.  Called the blow switch, it is what allows players to override the rotary switch that is used for pickup selection and activate all three pickups at once.  This gives you a major blast of tone that is perfect for lead riffs.  The pickups, which are Danelectro Lipsticks, sound incredible when allowed to go full blast together.

The U3 also comes with Gotoh tuners, a fully adjustable bridge, and a hollow body with Masonite top.  The bolted-on neck is made from solid maple, and the guitar uses rosewood for the fingerboard.  It has 21 medium jumbo frets.  The hollow body makes it very light and easy to play for hours.

The Danelectro 56-U3 comes in several different finishes, including blue suede, black metal-flake, commie red, and turquoise metal-flake.  A U3 in top condition generally sells for around $300, although you can find some that need a bit of repair for less. Read more

The Danelectro 56-U1 is a great guitar that Danelectro produced to imitate the single pickup sound that was very popular during the 50s and 60s.  The 56-U1 was also created with the beginner in mind.  While all serious, professional players usually go for a 56-U2, the 56-U1 is a cheaper model that everyone can afford.  However, just because it’s cheaper doesn’t mean that it’s of a lesser quality.  It uses the same angled Listick pickup that produces incredible single-coil tone.  This single pickup is very warm and the relic’s concentric volume/tone control is very sensitive—even the most subtle adjustment is picked up.

The Danelectro 56-U1 features the same great hollow body that the 56-U2 uses, and it also features much of the same type of hardware and style.  The guitar comes in a variety of finishes, all of which look great.  Typically, a 56-U1 retails for around $250.

Danelectro has created the Danelectro 59-DC ‘O’ Psychedelic guitar based upon one of Eric Clapton’s go-to guitars.  The 59-DC ‘O’, like the other Danelectro guitars, features their simplistic design.  The guitar sounds more like a Stratocaster than anything else, so you won’t find incredibly fat tones here.  That’s OK, though, because you will find tones that sound totally retro.  The 59-DC ‘O’ also has something of an old sound, giving it a very unique, different kind of tone than you might get from another instrument.

The Danelectro 59-DC ‘O’ Psychedelic guitar features a masonite semi-hollow body with a plywood frame.  The neck is made from maple and is bolted on.  It has a rosewood fingerboard with a 14 inch radius, an aluminum nut, and 19 medium frets.  The guitar uses vintage Kluson-style tuners and has a hard-tail bridge with rosewood saddle.  It has volume and tone controls plus a three-way selector switch.  There are a number of different options you can select for your 59-DC ‘O’.  The unpainted version is a bit less vintage but is cheaper, while the fully decked out guitar is upwards of 399 pounds.  As far as the finish goes, each Danelectro 59-DC ‘O’ Psychedelic is hand painted in various psychedelic colors and patterns, so you’ll have a unique instrument that looks just as crazy as it sounds.

The Danelectro Guitars 59-DC is one of two reissues of the Danelectro 3021 that was produced in 1998.  It was then later reissued in 2007, although this run of the 59-DC was very limited and was a bit different from the 1998 version, which is what is described here.  In fact, many players consider both the original and the 1998 reissue far superior to the 2007 version.  Just like the original 3021, both reissues come in a variety of different colors, including yellow, red, black, burgundy, copper, purple, and peach.

The 59-DC is a double cutaway guitar that features a seal pickguard, hollow inner cavity, and lipstick pickups.  The hollow cavity creates a very unique, very identifiable Dano sound that few other instruments have.  The body of the Danelectro 59-DC features a hardboard top and bottom and has a plywood frame.  The neck is made from maple and has a rosewood fingerboard.  It uses 50’s style Alnico magnet pickups, a Dano D stamped vintage tuner, and a bridge made from chrome with a rosewood saddle.  The instrument has a volume and tone control and a three-way pickup switch for neck, bridge, or both.  The Danelectro Guitars 59-DC 1998 reissue is a cool guitar for a fairly low price.

Danelectro has a number of great guitars available on their website, and one of their newest relic guitars is the Danelectro 2009 DC-12.  This new guitar is very affordable, which is one of the things Danelectro is known for.  Their relic guitars don’t cost thousands of dollars, so even amateur players can often afford one of these beautiful instruments. Read more

The ’67 Hornet Guitar by Danelectro Guitars is a great relic guitar that was reissued in a very limited run by Danelectro. The guitar was also a limited model back when it was originally released, so Danelectro is staying faithful to the history of this great relic guitar. Just like the original, the company expects these reissues to sell out very quickly and to become a collector’s item. The ’67 Hornet Guitar is available in a number of different colors, all of which were available in 1967 when the Hornet was first produced. They include red, orange, black, limey (green), cobalt blue, and butterscotch.

The Hornet relic guitar features a solid basswood body and is done in the classic Dano construction style. The maple neck features an adjustable truss rod located at the headstock, and the tremolo is an original Danelectro. Both the bridge and the fingerboard are made from swivel rosewood, and the guitar also features some neat souped-up lipstick pickups. An aluminum nut, plastic knobs, and 10 gauge strings finish up the stats on this great relic. Danelectro actually recommends changing those strings out for an 11 gauge because of the tremolo bar. One of the great things about the ’67 Hornet is that the company has done their best to make it completely affordable to everyone—the guitar is only $399 if bought directly from Danelectro.

The 63 Dano Guitar is one of the classic guitars created by Danelectro.  It was first produced back in 1963 as one of the company’s main guitars, and now it’s made a come-back as a great relic guitar.  The 63 Dano released today features many of the classic features that it originally did.  This includes a masonite body with plywood core with chambered sides.  The neck is done in maple in a classic C shape and has a double acting truss rod.  There are 19 frets on the guitar, and the fretboard itself is made from rosewood with a pearloid inlay.  The nut is aluminum.

In addition to this, the 63 Dano also features high ration tuners with sealed gears, a bridge with adjustable saddles and lipstick single coil pickups.  It features one single volume control and a three way toggle pickup selector.  Everything, of course, has been aged so that it looks like the guitar has been around since the 60s.  The original guitars came in a variety of colors, including aqua, black, peach, burgundy, redburst, keen green, tangerine, and gold.  The current relic guitars recreate these colors, although not all colors are always available.  All in all, the 63 Dano relic guitar is a great recreation of an amazing classic that has been played for years.