Recent additions to the Danelectro range include a 6-string blessed with more bling than most that bear this classic. budget brand name. Paul Dixon goes for gold...

Danelectro was a prominent US guitar brand during the ’50s and ’60s, catering mainly for the less expensive end of the electric market via instruments that employed novel ideas on construction and components that helped keep manufacturing costs to a minimum.

The company finally went under in 1970, but the name resurfaced in the late ’90s and guitar production resumed in 1998, this time sourced from Korea rather than America. This new range expanded rapidly over the following five years, with revivals of the most popular US oldies partnered by numerous updated interpretations and some all-new designs.

The company then opted to concentrate solely on its successful stompboxes, but staged another 6-string comeback in 2005, initially again employing Korean manufacture before subsequently switching to China. Design-wise, looking backwards remained a priority, but learning from previous experience, Danelectro kept the selection smaller, with various models offered only as limited editions.

More recently the range has been reduced still further and the remaining Danos have since been joined by some new additions. These include a more accurate version of the original U2 6-string, along with three variations on this vintage theme. This foursome makes up the ’56 Single Cutaway series, and while all share the same namesake body shape, each can be identified by differences in finish, pickups or headstock.

Body & Neck

Back in the ’50s Danelectro devised a simple, semi-solid body that was light in weight and on the wallet. The components comprised a simple wooden frame sandwiched between front and back sections made of Masonite (hardboard to us Limeys). This distinctive construction is still employed across much of the range and the ’56 Single Cutaway is no exception, with the end result contributing to a very shoulder-friendly 3kg. Also, as in the old days, the body sides are faced with an embossed-pattern vinyl tape, its cream colour contrasting the otherwise overall high-shine white livery that is unique to this particular Dano Single Cutaway.

Firmly anchored via five screws, the maple neck features a heel that’s chamfered to match the width of the narrower partner body platform. This reduction in mass should make reaching the upper frets easier, but any such benefit tends to be somewhat negated when a strap is attached to the inconveniently sited upper strap button.

Oldie Danos boasted a roughly finished and virtually flat rosewood fingerboard, but the modern equivalent has a more finger-friendly 356mm (14”) radius and the playing surface is decidedly smoother, the latter attribute matched by all 21 medium-gauge frets. Neck proportions contribute to easy playability via a modern-feeling C-shaped profile, while the 635mm (25”) scale length maintains another link with this maker’s past.

Like the albino colour scheme, the headstock is another aspect specific to this version of the ’56 Single Cutaway. Here thecompany’s more usual ‘Coke Bottle’ shape has been replaced by a strongly flared earlier alternative known as the ‘Full Bell’. This broad-bottomed outline first appeared on mid-’50s Danos and the face is equally accurate for that era, sporting a scroll design and angled brand logo in gold.

Hardware & Parts

The metal-buttoned machineheads are copies of the familiar old-style Kluson design and their gold plating matches the other metalwork. This Midas touch tends to contradict the brand’s cost-conscious image, but provides another very obvious clue to this Single Cutaway’s identity. The same luxury look even adorns the screw-fixed metal nut that’s another typical Danelectro feature. This material is far from friction-free and so slots require careful attention to help minimise potential string snagging.

The thin, clear, plastic scratchplate is another characteristic component, located alongside two of the company’s classic ‘lipstick case’-clad pickups. These ultra-distinctive-looking single-coils are equipped with Alnico magnets plus true-to-tradition, rear-mounted height adjustment screws.

Unlike some Danelectros seen in the past five years, the ’56 Single Cutaway’s control layout echoes the past by combining a chunky and clunky three-way metal toggle selector with a pair of stacked pots. Topped with two-tier, contrasting, colour plastic knobs, each of the latter governs volume and tone per pickup.

The bridge/tailpiece is another example of the brand’s basic but effective design. Strings anchor in slots along the back edge of an angled metal baseplate that rests on two height-adjustable screws at the front, while a third anchors the rear and alters downward tension. Many modern Danos have employed six metal bridge saddles, but the ’56 Single Cutaway reverts to vintage tradition via a single wooden section. Although this cost-effective component offers very limited intonation adjustment, the review guitar is surprisingly in tune.

Sounds

The typical Dano semi-solid construction adds an airy resonance to a somewhat steely-sounding acoustic response. This contributes to an inherently bright tonality when the ’56 Single Cutaway is plugged in, enhancing the essentially toppy character of the company’s single-coils, although the wooden bridge certainly helps to smooth out the upper frequencies.

The neck pickup supplies a blues-friendly blend of honky bass and open, twangy treble, while the bridge position lipstick is distinctly leaner and meaner, with a cut-through quality that adds attack to lead lines and some extra clank on chords. Switching both on significantly boosts performance, because the two are then combined as a series humbucker, rather than a pair operating in parallel. This circuitry trick dates back to the original Danos and offers the dual benefits of more beef plus less noise.

Graduating from clean to gain-laden conditions provides progressively crunchy chords, while single-note work becomes increasingly snarly and gnarly. Taking overdrive too far tends to blur delivery and induce pickup squeal, so the ’56 Single Cutaway is best suited to retro-orientated playing styles, in keeping with its looks.

The smooth-taper volume pots contribute to surprising aural flexibility, especially in twin-pickup mode, but the tone controls are very much on or off, having little effect until their final quarter turn, when they abruptly go from full treble to a dull bass.

Conclusion

This is the first Danelectro to feature gold-plated hardware and such a deluxe touch initially seems somewhat incongruous on a brand that made its name catering for beginners on a limited budget. However, the posh plating actually works well with the white livery and the end result is undeniably quite attractive, while serving to visually set this version apart from its ’56 Single Cutaway siblings.

Cosmetic differences aside, this model is certainly on equal terms concerning impressive aural attributes and easy playability, offering the same combination of character and good value that goes hand in hand with the Danelectro brand. Such an imposing menu should ensure that this comparatively inexpensive and distinctively retro 6-string appeals to a wide variety of wallets and guitarists of all age groups, which these days is what Danelectro is all about. GB