Jump to content

Danelectro

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by MahavishnuChris (talk | contribs) at 03:03, 2 July 2009. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Danelectro
Company typePrivate
IndustryMusical instruments
Founded1947
FounderNathan Daniel
Headquartersoriginal: Redbank New Jersey, United States of America / modern: Camarillo California, United States of America
OwnerEvets Corporation
Websitedanelectro.com

Danelectro is a manufacturer of musical instruments and accessories, specializing in rock instruments such as guitars, bass guitars, amplifiers and effects units. Danelectro was founded by Nathan Daniel in 1947; throughout the late forties, the company produced amplifiers for Sears, Roebuck and Company and Montgomery Ward. In 1954, Danelectro started producing the Danelectro lines of solidbody electric guitars and amplifiers, and also working as a "jobber", that is producing guitars and amps by contract, that were branded not with the Danelectro name, but with the names of various store brands, such as Silvertone and Airline. Later hollow-bodied guitars (constructed out of Masonite and plywood to save costs and increase production speed,) distinguished by Silvertones' maroon vinyl covering, Danelectros' light tweed covering, the concentric stacked tone/volume knobs used on the two-pickup models of both series, and the "lipstick-tube" pickups--invented by placing the entire mechanism into spare lipstick tubes--these lines aimed to produce no-frills guitars of reasonably good tone at low cost. In 1956, Danelectro introduced the six-string electric bass, which would be adopted by other companies such as Fender with the Fender VI. The six string bass never proved especially popular but found an enduring niche in Nashville as the instrument of choice for "tick-tack" bass lines. In 1966, Danelectro was sold to MCA. A year later, the Coral line was introduced, known for its hollow-bodies and electric sitars. In 1969, the Danelectro plant was closed, due to MCA's attempt to market Danelectros to small guitar shops, rather than large department stores.

In the late 1990s, the Evets Corporation started selling primarily copies of old Silvertone and Danelectro guitars and newly designed effects pedals, and small amplifiers. After initially selling well, guitar sales slowed down to the point where Danelectro stopped selling guitars after 2001, opting to concentrate on effects pedals. In 2006, the new owners of Evets decided on a new marketing model for the guitars, selling a limited number of guitars each year.[1]

Amplifiers

Guitars

1954-1969

File:Danelectropro.jpg
2007 Danelectro Pro reissue
Standard models (Single Pickup: 3011,3012; Dual Pickups: 3021,3022,5025)
Deluxe models (Dual Pickups: 6026,6027,6028; Treble Pickups: 6036, 6037, 6038)
Vibrato models (Single Pickup: 4011; Dual Pickups: 4021;)

1998-2001

2006-current

Effects pedals

Today, Danelectro primarily produces effect pedals. There are eight main runs of pedals: original effects, FAB effects, mini effects, vintage effects, Wasabi effects, Paisley effects, Cool Cat effects and other miscellaneous effects. All run on 9V batteries or may be equipped with a power adapter. The original effects featured metal enclosures and FET switching. Cool Cat models are the most recent pedals, designed with metal enclosures and true-bypass switching. Mini effects pedals are smaller, 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. 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 bunch, and feature plastic enclosures somewhat larger than the Mini effects series.

Recently, a carrying case was developed to hold up to five mini effects in it. When the player is ready to play, the top may be removed and the bottom acts as a pedals board. Despite the many advantages of the mini effects, FAB effects are the ones primarily seen today. The Mini effects are often praised for their high quality tones, but the plastic construction makes them fragile.

Original effects

  • Daddy O. Overdrive
  • Cool Cat Chorus
  • FAB Tone Distortion
  • Dan-Echo Simulated Tape Echo
  • Dan-O-Matic Tuner

FAB effects

  • FAB Overdrive
  • FAB Distortion
  • FAB Metal
  • FAB Chorus
  • FAB Flanger
  • FAB Echo

Mini effects

  • Pastrami Overdrive
  • T-Bone Distortion
  • BLT Slap Echo
  • Corned Beef Reverb
  • Tuna Melt Tremolo
  • Hash Browns Flanger
  • Pepperoni Phaser
  • Milkshake Chorus
  • Surf and Turf Compressor
  • Grilled Cheese Distortion
  • Pedal Tuner
  • Chili Dog Octave
  • Fish and Chips 7 Band EQ
  • Chicken Salad Vibrato
  • French Toast Octave Distortion
  • PB&J Delay
  • Rocky Road Spinning Speaker
  • Black Coffee Metal Distortion
  • French Fries Auto-Wah
  • Black Licorice Beyond Metal

Vintage effects

  • Reel Echo
  • Spring King

Paisley effects (discontinued)

  • Blue Paisley PureDrive
  • Black Paisley Liquid Metal

Wasabi effects

  • Wasabi Overdrive
  • Wasabi Distortion
  • Wasabi Rock-A-Bye
  • Wasabi Forward-Reverse Delay
  • Wasabi Chorus-Trem

Miscellaneous effects

  • Shift Daddy
  • Trip-L Wah
  • Dan-O-Wah
  • Free Speech Talk Box
  • Psycho Flanger
  • Sitar Swami
  • Back Talk Reverse Delay

Cool Cat effects

  • Tremolo
  • Vibe
  • Metal
  • Fuzz
  • Drive
  • Transparent Overdrive
  • Distortion
  • Metal II
  • Chorus

Artists notable for their use of Danelectro equipment

Main article: List of Danelectro players

References

  1. ^ Danelectro 56 Pro at Vintage Guitar Magazine
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Danelectro&oldid=299818248"