Editing Danelectro

{{short description|Brand of guitars and accessories since 1947}}
{{Infobox company
| name              = Danelectro
| logo              = Danelectro red logo.png
| logo_size         = 250px
| type              = [[privately held company|Private]] (1947–1969)<br /> [[Brand]] (1969–present)
| fate =  Company defunct in 1969; brand acquired by [[MCA Inc.]]
| genre             =  
| foundation        = {{Start date and age|1947}}<br />[[Red Bank, New Jersey|Red Bank]], [[New Jersey]], U.S.
| defunct           =  
| founder           = Nathan Daniel<ref name="chasing">[https://chasingguitars.com/danelectro-history/ Danelectro history] on ChasingGuitars website</ref>
| location_city     = [[Camarillo, California]]
|location_country   = [[United States]]
| origins           =
| key_people        =
| area_served       =
| industry          = [[Musical instrument]]s
| products          = [[Electric guitar|Electric]] and [[resonator guitar|resonator]] guitars, [[Bass guitars|basses]], [[electric sitar]]s, [[guitar amplifiers|amplifiers]], [[guitar pickup|pickups]], [[effects units]]
| revenue           =
| operating_income  =
| net_income        =
| num_employees     =
| parent            = 
| subsid            =
| owner             = Evets Corporation
| homepage          = {{URL|danelectro.com}}
| footnotes         =
}}

'''Danelectro''' is a [[brand]] of [[musical instrument]]s and accessories that was founded in Red Bank, New Jersey, in 1947. The company is known primarily for its [[string instrument]]s that employed unique designs and manufacturing processes. The Danelectro company was sold to the [[MCA Inc.|Music Corporation of America]] (MCA) in 1966, moved to a much larger plant in [[Neptune City, New Jersey]], and employed more than 500 people. Nevertheless, three years later Danelectro closed its plant.<ref name=chasing/>

In the late 1990s, the Evets Corporation started selling instruments and accessories under the Danelectro name. In 2016, Danelectro introduced new models, including a [[resonator guitar]].<ref name=chasing/>

Some of the products manufactured by Danelectro include [[electric guitar|electric]] and [[resonator guitar|resonator]] guitars, [[bass guitars|basses]], [[electric sitar]]s, [[guitar amplifiers|amplifiers]], [[guitar pickup|pickups]], and [[effects units]].<ref>[http://danelectro.com/all-guitars/ All Guitars] on Danelectro website, 22 Oct 2019</ref>

==History==
{{multiple image
|perrow = 
|align = right
|direction = horizontal
|total_width = 300
|header =  
|image1 = Danelectro Twin Twelve.jpg 
|caption1 = Twin Twelve amplifier, {{circa|1953}}
|image2 = Lipstick2.jpg
|caption2 = [[lipstick pickup|"lipstick-tube" pickups]]
|footer =
}}
Danelectro was founded by {{interlanguage link|Nathan Daniel|fr|Nathan "Nat" Daniel}} in 1947. Throughout the late 1940s, the company produced [[instrument amplifier|amplifiers]] for [[Sears, Roebuck and Company]] and [[Montgomery Ward]], branded [[Silvertone (instruments)|Silvertone]] and [[Airline (guitar)|Airline]] respectively.

Later, Danelectro added hollow-bodied guitars, constructed of [[Masonite]] and poplar to save costs and increase production speed, intending to produce no-frills guitars of reasonably good tone at low cost. These instruments were branded either as Danelectro or (for Sears) Silvertone, distinguished by the Silvertone [[maroon (color)|maroon]] [[Polyvinyl chloride|vinyl]] covering, and the Danelectro light-colored [[tweed (cloth)|tweed]] covering. The guitars used [[concentric]] stacked tone/volume knobs on the two-[[pick up (music technology)|pickup]] models of both series and [[lipstick pickup|"lipstick-tube" pickups]], which contained the pickup components inside metal tubes that resembled [[lipstick]] containers of the era. 

In 1956, Danelectro introduced the six-string [[bass guitar]]. Though the model never became widely popular, it found an enduring niche in Nashville and Los Angeles for "tic-tac" bass lines, where the electric instrument doubled the line played by an upright acoustic bass.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bassplayer.com/article/1962-supro-pocket/feb-07/25446 |title=1962 Supro Pocket Bass |access-date=2008-01-07 |last=Pomeroy |first=Dave |date=February 2007 |work=Bass Player}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jerryjonesguitars.com/NLHbass6.htm |title=Neptune Longhorn Bass6 |access-date=2008-01-07 |work=Jerry Jones guitars |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071214151220/http://www.jerryjonesguitars.com/NLHbass6.htm |archive-date=2007-12-14 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 

In 1966, Danelectro was sold to the [[MCA Inc.|Music Corporation of America]].<ref>{{cite web|title=A Brief (Revised) History of Danelectro|date=January 30, 2017|first=James M.|last=Brill|url=https://reverb.com/news/a-brief-revised-history-of-danelectro|website=Reverb}}</ref> A year later, in 1967, they introduced the Coral line, known for its hollow-bodies and [[electric sitar]]s.<ref name="VintageDanelectro.com_Sitar">{{Cite web |url=http://vintagedanelectro.com/sitar.html |title=Danelectro Bellzouki, Hawaiian Lapsteel, and The Electric Sitar |work=VintageDanelectro.com}}</ref><ref name=VintageGuitar_June2015>{{Cite magazine |last1=Gruhn |first1=George |last2=Jones |first2=Sarah Rose |title=Coral Electric Sitar |url=http://www.vintageguitar.com/23062/coral-electric-sitar/ |department=Classic Instruments |magazine=[[Vintage Guitar (magazine)|Vintage Guitar]] |<!-- issue -->publication-date=June 2015}}</ref>

In 1969, Danelectro closed down, burdened by MCA's attempt to market their guitars to small guitar shops rather than large department stores.

In the late 1990s, importer The Evets Corporation purchased the Danelectro brand name, marketing recreations of old [[Silvertone (instruments)|Silvertone]] and Danelectro guitars and newly designed [[effects pedals]] and small amplifiers made in China.<ref name=VingageGuitar_January1999>{{Cite magazine |last=Moseley |first=Willie G. |title=Danelectro Guitars - The Return of Danelectro |url=http://www.vintageguitar.com/1918/danelectro-guitars/ |department=Classic Instruments |magazine=[[Vintage Guitar (magazine)|Vintage Guitar]] |<!-- issue -->publication-date=January 1999 |quote=The introduction of effects pedals at the January '97 NAMM show ... The new 56-U2 made its debut at the January '98 [[NAMM Show]] in Los Angeles. ... the first week of October '98, when the company announced four new instruments ... The 59-DC is a reissue of the double-cutaway "shorthorn" guitar ... The 56-Ul ... is a single-pickup version of the 56-U2 ... the new 56-U2 Lefty is exactly what its name implies; ... the 58 Longhorn, a four-string reissue of the unusual-looking shortscale bass ...}}</ref> After initially selling well, guitar sales slowed and Danelectro stopped selling guitars after 2001 (2004 on the official site{{efn|Although several sources seem to say that it was stopped after 2001, the guitar pages on the official site (Danelectro.com) seem to had disappeared between [https://web.archive.org/web/20031213134847/http://danelectro.com:80/ 2003-12-13] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20040126170033/http://www.danelectro.com:80/ 2004-01-26] as for the menu item on the top page, or between [https://web.archive.org/web/20040409153027/http://www.danelectro.com:80/guitars.htm ] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20040409153027/http://www.danelectro.com/guitars.htm 2004-06-03] as for the guitar page itself, according to the archives on archive.com.}}) to concentrate on effects pedals. In 2006 (2005 on official site{{efn|Although several sources seem to say that the decision was in 2006, the guitar pages on the official site (Danelectro.com) seem to have resurrected between [https://web.archive.org/web/20050209013449/http://www.danelectro.com:80/ 2005-02-09] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20050219073936/http://www.danelectro.com:80/guitars1.htm 2005-02-19], according to the archives on archive.com.}}), new owners of Evets decided on a new marketing model for guitars, selling a limited number each year.<ref name="VintageGuitar_June2005">{{Cite magazine |last=Feser |first=Phil |title=Danelectro 56 Pro - More Solid Vibe |url=http://www.vintageguitar.com/3176/danelectro-56-pro/ |format=review |department=VG Approved Gear |magazine=[[Vintage Guitar (magazine)|Vintage Guitar]] |publication-date=June 2005}}</ref>

==Guitars==
[[File:Danelectro 56 U2, Guitarlin, 58 Longhorn Bass, Convertible, 56 U2 Lefty (by Enrico Di Pierro).jpg|thumb|300px|A selection of Danelectro Guitars]]
===Danelectro C===
The [[Danelectro C]] was put into production and retailed from 1954 to 1955<ref name="vintage">{{Cite web |title=Vintage Guitar Info: Danelectro, Silvertone, Coral |url=http://www.provide.net/~cfh/dano.html |access-date=2 July 2009}},</ref> until being replaced by the [[Danelectro U2|Danelectro U]] model in 1956. Unlike most of the later Danelectro instruments, the C model was a [[solid body]] construction made of [[Populus|poplar]] and came in a peanut-like body shape.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vintage Guitar Pro: Danelectro Vintage Guitars |url=http://vintageguitarpro.com/delectro.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090721001420/http://vintageguitarpro.com/delectro.shtml |archive-date=21 July 2009 |access-date=2 July 2009}}</ref>

===Danelectro U2===
The [[Danelectro U2]] is a dual-pickup [[Hollow-body|hollow-bodied]] guitar made of Masonite and shaped similar to a [[Les Paul]] style guitar. It was the most enduringly popular of the U-series. A single-pickup version (the U1) and triple-pickup version (the U3) were manufactured and sold alongside the U2. They were originally made from the years 1956 to 1958. It was reissued in the late 1990s, in 2006 in a slightly modified form as the '56 Pro, and again in 2010 as the '56 Single Cutaway.

===Danelectro Shorthorn===
The [[Danelectro Shorthorn]] line of guitars are a dual cutaway hollow-bodied design made of Masonite and poplar. The original models were introduced in 1959.

===Danelectro Dano Pro===
The [[Danelectro Dano Pro]] is a beginner electric guitar made by Danelectro in 1963 and 1964; it was reissued in 2007 and again in 2012. The original was a 3/4-scale guitar with a single lipstick tube pickup.<ref name="Danelectro Dano Pro">{{Cite web |title=Danelectro Dano Pro |url=http://www.wanamakermusic.com/servlet/the-2772/Danelectro-Dano-Pro-2012/Detail |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130205215529/http://www.wanamakermusic.com/servlet/the-2772/Danelectro-Dano-Pro-2012/Detail |archive-date=2013-02-05 |access-date=2012-06-25}}</ref> The reissue features two pickups rather than one.<ref name="Danelectro Dano Pro Reissue">{{Cite web |title=Danelectro Dano Pro Reissue |url=http://www.thatnewsound.com/product_p/danelectro_dano_pro-peach.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081004051445/http://www.thatnewsound.com/product_p/danelectro_dano_pro-peach.htm |archive-date=2008-10-04 |access-date=2008-10-05}}</ref>

==Effects pedals==
[[File:Danelectro guitar effects - side of Gibson Guitar Robot V1.jpg|thumb|300px|{{nowrap|Dan-Echo}} simulated tape echo, {{nowrap|Cool Cat}} chorus, {{nowrap|FAB Tone}} distortion, {{nowrap|Daddy O.}} overdrive, Dan-O-Matic tuner]]
The FAB series of guitar effect pedals is a budget range of pedals made by the Danelectro company that are manufactured in China. The series was launched in 2005 with the release of the FAB Distortion, FAB Overdrive, and FAB Metal pedals. Currently, eight pedals share the same distinctive injection moulded plastic casing and blue LED light. Each has a mains power DC9 socket or can be powered by a nine-volt battery. They market eight pedals lines: original effects, FAB effects, mini effects, vintage effects, Wasabi effects, Paisley effects, Cool Cat effects, and other miscellaneous effects. All run on nine-volt batteries or power adapters. The original effects featured metal enclosures and [[field effect transistor|FET]] switching. Cool Cat models were designed with metal enclosures and true-bypass switching. Danelectro began rolling out Cool Cat V2 pedals, featuring extra "under the hood" features. Mini effects pedals are smaller,<ref name=VintageGuitar_September2001>{{Cite magazine |last=Patt |first=Setphen |title=Danelectro dano Minis - More Tasty Treats |url=http://www.vintageguitar.com/3043/danelectro-dano-minis/ |department=VG Approved Gear |magazine=[[Vintage Guitar (magazine)|Vintage Guitar]] |<!-- issue -->publication-date=September 2001}} Also published as {{Cite web |title=Danelectro Minis - More Tasty Treats |url=http://www.vintageguitar.com/3073/danelectro-minis/}}</ref> compact pedals with effects resembling those of the original effects and the FAB effects. Vintage effects include the large, rectangular Spring King and Reel Echo effect pedals.<ref name="Danelectro.com2007_Other">{{cite web |website=Danelectro.com |date=2007 |url=http://www.danelectro.com:80/danomisc.htm |title=Other Danelectro Products|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011003220/http://www.danelectro.com:80/danomisc.htm |archive-date=2007-10-11 }}</ref> The discontinued Paisley series featured paisley-patterned drive effects in original style enclosures. The Wasabi series features large, futuristic-looking metal enclosures. FAB effects are the cheapest of the brand's lineup and feature plastic enclosures somewhat larger than the Mini effects series.

In 2006, Danelectro sold a carrying case that holds up to five mini effects. When the player is ready to play, the top could be removed and the bottom acts as a pedals board. It was shortly discontinued.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-07-10 |title=Danelectro Mini Case &#124; Musician's Friend |url=http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/danelectro-mini-case |access-date=2014-07-15 |publisher=Musiciansfriend.com}}</ref> Not long after, another carrying case was developed to fit five FAB or Cool Cat pedals as well as serve as a pedal board.<ref name="CoolCatTone.com_Products">{{Cite web |website=CoolCatTone.com |title=Products |url=http://www.coolcattone.com/product_pedal.html |access-date=2014-07-15}}</ref>

Despite the advantages of the mini effects, FAB effects are more common. The Mini effects are less expensive, but the plastic construction makes them fragile.

==See also==
* [[List of Danelectro players]] (historic musicians that played Danelectro guitars)
<!-- Danelectro not mentioned at destination, which is where this trivia belongs: * [[Dan Armstrong]] — the another guitar brand starting with "''Dan''", known to had assembled the "''Dan Armstrong Modified Danelectro''" guitars using the leftover parts from closed Danelectro factory in 1969<ref>
  {{Cite web |last=Wright |first=Michael |date=2010-09-01 |title=A Missing Link? (1969 Dan Armstrong Modified Danelectro Electric Guitar) |url=http://www.myrareguitars.com/1969-dan-armstrong-modified-danelectro-electric-guitar |website=MyRareGuitars.com}}<div style="line-height:110%;">{{smaller|"''The rest of the story is a little murky. Some sources say that Armstrong purchased a bunch of leftover parts from the closed Danelectro factory and assembled between 650-700 guitars outfitted with his epoxy-potted pickups.''"}}</div></ref> 
-->

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book
   | last1      = Tulloch
   | first1     = Paul
   | last2     = Bechtoldt
   | first2    = Douglas
   | title     = Guitars From Neptune: A Definitive Journey Into DANELECTRO-MANIA
   | publisher = Backporch Publications
   | publication-date = 1995
   | asin      = B000MT7OZ8
  }}
* {{cite book
   | last      = Tulloch
   | first     = Doug
   | others    = <!-- Vincent Bell (foreword). Howard Daniel (introduction) -->
   | date      = November 2008
   | title     = Neptune Bound: The Ultimate Danelectro Guitar Guide
   | publisher = Centerstream 
   | publication-date = 2008
   | isbn      = 978-1-57424-239-3
  }}
* {{cite web
   | last      = Fjestad
   | first     = Zachary R.
   | title     = Blue Book of Electric Guitar Values
   | url       = http://www.bluebookofguitarvalues.com/Electric_Guitar_Values/
   | website   = BlueBookOfGuitarValues.com
   | publisher = Blue Book Publications, Inc
   | access-date = 2017-11-14
   | archive-date = 2017-12-24
   | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171224023920/http://bluebookofguitarvalues.com/Electric_Guitar_Values
   | url-status = dead
  }}
* {{cite web
   | title     = DanGuitars.com
   | url       = http://thevault.danguitars.com/CATALOGS_BB6U.html
   | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171231190650/http://thevault.danguitars.com/CATALOGS_BB6U.html
   | archivedate=2017-12-31
  }}
* {{cite web
   | title     = VintAxe.com
   | url       = http://www.vintaxe.com/catalogs_main/catalogs_american_danelectro.php
  }}
* {{cite web
   | title     = MusicManSteve.com
   | url       = http://www.musicmansteve.com/catalogs/DanelectroCatalogsEnew.htm
  }}
* {{cite web
   | title     = VintageDanelectro.com
   | url       = http://vintagedanelectro.com/catalogs.html
  }}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Danelectro}}
* [http://danelectro.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.pen4rent.com/pen4rent/tribute.aspx Tribute to Danelectro founder Nathan I. Daniel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611131755/http://www.pen4rent.com/pen4rent/tribute.aspx |date=2015-06-11 }}

{{Guitar brands}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1947 establishments in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Electronics companies established in 1947]]
[[Category:Guitar amplifier manufacturers]]
[[Category:Guitar effects manufacturing companies]]
[[Category:Guitar manufacturing companies of the United States]]