Danelectro facts for kids
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| Private (1947–1969) Brand (1969–present) |
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| Industry | Musical instruments |
| Fate | Company defunct in 1969; brand acquired by MCA Inc. |
| Founded | 1947 Red Bank, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Founder | Nathan Daniel |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Electric and resonator guitars, basses, electric sitars, amplifiers, pickups, effects units |
| Owner | Evets Corporation |
Danelectro is a famous brand of musical instruments. It started in 1947 in Red Bank, New Jersey. The company is well-known for its unique string instruments. These instruments had special designs and were made in clever ways.
Danelectro was sold to a company called Music Corporation of America (MCA) in 1966. It moved to a bigger factory and had over 500 workers. However, just three years later, in 1969, Danelectro closed its doors.
In the late 1990s, a company called Evets Corporation began selling instruments and accessories again under the Danelectro name. In 2016, Danelectro even brought out new models, including a special resonator guitar.
Some of the cool products Danelectro has made include electric and resonator guitars, basses, electric sitars, amplifiers, pickups, and effects units.
Contents
The Story of Danelectro
How Danelectro Started
Danelectro was founded by a person named Nathan Daniel in 1947. In its early years, the company made amplifiers. These amplifiers were for big stores like Sears, Roebuck and Company and Montgomery Ward. They were sold under brand names like Silvertone and Airline.
Unique Guitar Designs
Later, Danelectro started making hollow-bodied guitars. They used materials like Masonite and poplar wood. This helped them save money and make guitars faster. The goal was to create simple, good-sounding guitars that were not too expensive.
These guitars were sold as Danelectro or Silvertone. Silvertone guitars often had a maroon vinyl covering. Danelectro guitars usually had a light-colored tweed covering. Many of their two-pickup guitars had special stacked knobs for tone and volume.
"Lipstick-Tube" Pickups
A very famous part of Danelectro guitars was their "lipstick-tube" pickups. These pickups held the guitar's sound parts inside metal tubes. They looked just like the lipstick containers that were popular back then!
The Six-String Bass Guitar
In 1956, Danelectro introduced something new: the six-string bass guitar. This instrument was not super popular everywhere. However, it found a special place in music studios in Nashville and Los Angeles. Musicians used it to play "tic-tac" bass lines. This meant the electric bass would play the same notes as an upright acoustic bass, making the sound fuller.
Changes and Closure
In 1966, Danelectro was sold to the Music Corporation of America. A year later, in 1967, they launched a new line of instruments called Coral. These were known for their hollow-bodied guitars and electric sitars.
Sadly, in 1969, Danelectro closed down. MCA had tried to sell their guitars to small guitar shops. This was different from Danelectro's usual way of selling to big department stores, and it caused problems for the company.
Danelectro's Return
In the late 1990s, a company called The Evets Corporation bought the Danelectro brand name. They started making new versions of old Silvertone and Danelectro guitars. They also made new effects pedals and small amplifiers in China.
At first, the guitars sold well. But then sales slowed down. After 2001 (or 2004 on their official website), Danelectro stopped selling guitars for a while. They focused more on their effects pedals. In 2006 (or 2005 on their official site), new owners at Evets decided to try a different plan for guitars. They started selling a limited number of guitars each year.
Cool Danelectro Guitars
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Danelectro C Model
The Danelectro C guitar was made from 1954 to 1955. It was then replaced by the Danelectro U model. Unlike many later Danelectro guitars, the C model was a solid body guitar. It was made of poplar wood and had a unique peanut-like shape.
Danelectro U2 Model
The Danelectro U2 is a very popular guitar. It has two pickups and a hollow body made of Masonite. Its shape is similar to a Les Paul style guitar. The U2 was the most popular of the U-series guitars.
There was also a U1 with one pickup and a U3 with three pickups. These guitars were first made from 1956 to 1958. The U2 was brought back in the late 1990s. It was reissued again in 2006 as the '56 Pro and in 2010 as the '56 Single Cutaway.
Danelectro Shorthorn
The Danelectro Shorthorn guitars have a special look. They have a dual cutaway design and a hollow body. These guitars are made from Masonite and poplar wood. The first Shorthorn models came out in 1959.
Danelectro Dano Pro
The Danelectro Dano Pro was a beginner electric guitar. Danelectro made it in 1963 and 1964. It was brought back in 2007 and again in 2012. The original Dano Pro was a smaller, 3/4-scale guitar with one lipstick tube pickup. The newer versions have two pickups instead of one.
Awesome Effects Pedals
Danelectro also makes many cool effects pedals for guitars. These pedals change the sound of the guitar in different ways.
FAB Series Pedals
The FAB series of guitar effect pedals are budget-friendly pedals. They are made in China. This series started in 2005 with the FAB Distortion, FAB Overdrive, and FAB Metal pedals. There are currently eight pedals in this series. They all have a unique plastic casing and a blue LED light. You can power them with a nine-volt battery or a power adapter.
Different Pedal Lines
Danelectro sells eight different lines of pedals. These include original effects, FAB effects, mini effects, vintage effects, Wasabi effects, Paisley effects, Cool Cat effects, and other special effects. All of them use nine-volt batteries or power adapters.
- Original effects had metal cases and special FET switches.
- Cool Cat models were designed with metal cases and "true-bypass" switching. This means the pedal doesn't affect your sound when it's turned off.
- Mini effects pedals are smaller and compact. They have similar sounds to the original and FAB effects.
- Vintage effects include larger pedals like the Spring King and Reel Echo.
- The discontinued Paisley series had cool paisley patterns on their drive effects.
- The Wasabi series features large, futuristic-looking metal cases.
- FAB effects are the cheapest. They have plastic cases that are a bit bigger than the Mini effects.
Pedal Carrying Cases
In 2006, Danelectro sold a carrying case for up to five mini effects pedals. You could remove the top, and the bottom part would act as a pedal board. This case was stopped shortly after. Later, another carrying case was made to fit five FAB or Cool Cat pedals, also working as a pedal board.
Even though mini effects are less expensive, FAB effects are more common. The plastic design of the mini effects can make them a bit fragile.
More to Explore
- List of Danelectro players (famous musicians who played Danelectro guitars)
See also
In Spanish: Danelectro para niños
