The Last Days Of Danelectro, Part 2

Instruments from the final years of the original Danelectro company may be less familiar than the Shorthorns, Longhorns, and Amp-in-Case Silvertones, but they’re equally interesting. Nathan Daniel’s products always manifested a utilitarian philosophy, untethered to traditional guitar making. After selling a controlling interest to MCA in 1966, he remained president as MCA/Danelectro began aiming more at the professional market. In late 1966, a new line replaced most previous models; in the summer of ’67, it was split in two. Perceiving the Danelectro name as associated with budget product, MCA aggressively promoted a new “prestige” Coral brand. Until the company’s 1969 demise, a variety of mostly new instruments appeared. Even before the sale, Danelectro’s business with Sears was declining. The ’66 Dano/Silvertone catalog retired the masonite Amp-in-Case Models 1448 and 1447 in favor of offset “selected hardwood” solidbodies – the Model 1450 (which debuted at the end of ’65), followed by the single pickup 1451 and two-pickup 1452 with vibrato. The ’67 Model 1452 sported a red/black sunburst body, poplar neck with rosewood fretboard, single-sided headstock and “skate key” tuners. The white-topped masonite pickguard held two lipstick pickups, a three-way switch, and individual Volume and Tone controls. The flat-plate/rosewood saddle bridge includes Daniels’ ingeniously cheap vibrato, a three-point unit re-engineered into a system by incorporating a large coil spring under the rear screw. The design is dead simple but works well enough. The 1452 complete with amp-case sold for $109.95, while the single-pickup 1451 set was $77.95. The Silvertone 1442 bass used the same body mated to a poplar neck with the traditional Dano short scale of 291/2,” a rosewood fretboard, and single-sided headstock. This $79.95 bass replaced the Model 1444 “Dolphin nose” semi-hollow bass in ’66. The upscale Model 1443 offered two pickups and (a first for Danelectro) a full 331/2″ scale. It and the similar Dane Model E/Coral Deluxe were Danelectro’s first long-scale basses. With two “lipstick” pickups and large Kluson tuners, the 1443 was the most serious bass Sears ever offered, and an excellent bargain at $114.95. All of these were phased out in mid ’68, as Sears switched to a mostly imported Silvertone line. The Danelectro and Coral-branded lines from 1966 to ’69 comprised a variety of solid, semi-solid, and hollow instruments, the last with bodies sourced from Japan. The low-budget series were originally called Dane A models, renamed the Hawk series in ’67. These were available in six-, 12-string and bass formats built on a boxy asymmetrical body descended from the Pro 1, with a short-scale 18-fret neck and stamped metal one-piece bridge. Vibrato-equipped Hawks used a version called the “Flexbridge” with a handle that simply bent the piece of metal upwards. Dane A/Hawk models were offered in a wide range of colors. The Hawk 1N12 in Panther Black ($74.98) and two-pickup 2N12 in black/blue crinkle lacquer ($89.98) were the top of that line. The 2N12’s two pickups are controlled by a three-way switch and concentric pots, offering a lot of tone for the price. “No greater value in popular priced electric guitars” claimed Danelectro. While fairly rare, it’s remembered (in NYC at least) as used by Skronk maven Arto Lindsay. The cheapest Danelectro was still the Convertible Model 5015, a holdover from the pre-MCA line offered until the end. This round-hole/fully hollow Formica-covered Masonite guitar was sold with or without the pickup, available separately so you could “convert” it after purchase. In ’67-’68 it had a single-sided headstock with a snazzy chrome plastic logo in place of the “Coke bottle” shape, but the rest of the instrument is unchanged. The 1967 list price with pickup was $65 ($45 without). Although omitted from the ’67 catalog, the $150 Longhorn four- and six-string basses and Guitarlin returned to the line through ’69. The ink stamp on the neck heel of the Model 4623 Longhorn six-string bass shown here indicates that part was fabricated in ’64, but the metal neck plate, skate-key tuners, brass nut, and round, white knobs in place of wooden flippers on the split-shaft pots suggest assembly in 1967-’68, likely one of the last built. The four-screw control plate is installed over holes previously drilled for the two-screw setup. The ’66 Dane D series was the new deluxe line of solidbody six- and 12-string guitars and four- and six-string basses. Described as “Vincent Bell Signature Designs” they bore a strong Fender influence. The Dane D3V was the top six-string model listing at $140 plus $30 for the Masonite case. The body had a Fender offset feel but tapered very thin at the rim. The pickguard was a pearlescent swirl 3-D plastic, perfect for reflecting psychedelic lights, with a smaller raised clear plastic finger rest below the strings. The matching neck is a standard Danelectro blank with spliced-on pieces forming a single-sided headstock carrying skate-key tuners, chrome plastic Danelectro logo, and the ubiquitous aluminum nut. This guitar mounts “lipstick” pickups with an unusual control array on the sweeping chrome panel. Each has a Volume knob, with a master Volume and three on/off slide switches. There are no Tone controls; pickups were pre-wired bass-heavy on the neck, flat on the middle, with the bridge in super twang mode. They can be mixed with the three Volumes or quickly selected via the switches. While this sounds quizzical, it offers a range of sounds, especially when the pickups are blended. These were available in a variety of finishes; the cool matching D2B4 you see here is a 291/2″-scale bass offering a full two-octave neck on the same light body; a D2B6 six-string bass was also offered, though very few were apparently sold. The neck is a 24-fret Longhorn blank with the single-sided headstock, four skate-key tuners, plastic Danelectro logo and aluminum nut. The two lipstick pickups also have a quirky control scheme – two individual Volumes, a master Volume and four slide switches. Three activate the neck pickup in progressively darker preset modes, the fourth adds the bridge pickup preset. The range is considerable from a fairly deep thump to a very bright twang, all for a $120 list price! The Dane D series were short-lived, as after summer ’67 they were re-branded as Coral models – Hornet six-string, Scorpion 12-string guitars and Wasp four- and six-string basses. Slightly more expensive, they brought several upgrades including brass nut, Kluson Deluxe tuners, and solid natural-finished Brazilian rosewood headstocks spliced to Dano’s poplar neck blanks. Otherwise, they were unchanged including the lipstick pickups and flat-plate bridge. Most Corals have a silver foil sticker on the back of the headstock with a serial number, something Danelectro never bothered with. The six-digit numbers start with 7, 8, or 9, likely a year indicator for ’67-’69. Some have peeled off and been lost, and occasional early models have a brown DymoTape label reading “Pat. Pend.” The Dane D2B4 became the Coral Wasp W2B4, with controls subtly altered. The Volumes and switches look the same but were wired differently – two switches for pickup on/off and two as tone modifiers. The finish shown on page 34 is a standout – a luminous Candy Apple Red similar to a ’60s Fender spec. Coral solidbodies were available in “22 Custom Colors” at a five percent upcharge. All are rare today, but especially in custom finishes. Coral eventually fielded an extensive line of hollowbodies with arched/laminated spruce tops and flamey “English maple” backs. The bodies were sourced from Kawai, in Japan, mated to U.S.-made necks and hardware in Neptune. The first and most common is the Firefly, a sort of ES-330/Dano hybrid. This double-cutaway thinline was practically ubiquitous in the mid/late ’60s, used by nearly everyone (even Fender’s Coronado). The Firefly was first offered in six-string format in several finishes with or without vibrato before 12-string and bass versions appeared by ’68. This sunburst Vincent Bell Firefly F2N6 dates to ’67, when it listed for $139 (Bell was credited as designer). The poplar neck and single-sided Brazilian rosewood Coral-logo headstock were shared with the solidbodies. Two lipstick-tube pickups were mounted in metal surrounds controlled with Gibson-style wiring, though the Tone knob on the treble pickup acts as a bass roll-off instead of the conventional high cut. The elevated pickguard is an oddly half-frosted piece of clear Acrylic with “Vincent Bell Signature Design” script logo. The early Firefly had the floating rosewood bridge, and there were several variations of its bridge and tailpiece. The model must have been deemed a success, as it was followed in ’68 with a series of out-there ideas including a hollowbody teardrop guitar, violin-shaped “fiddle bass” and a fully hollow version of Danelectro’s own Longhorn, all using bodies made in Japan (Kawai was already building similar pattern bodies for the Japanese market). The new Longhorns were described as “Great new sound, original body design by Coral… a professional instrument in every way.” This hollowbody L2N6 was intended as a fancier (and pricier) guitar than the original Masonite Danelectro, a mutant re-casting of Nathan Daniel’s 1958 Longhorn design with more-conventional construction. The hollow “English maple” body is 15″ wide and slightly less than 2″ deep, with a four-ply laminated spruce top and single binding on the top and sound holes. The neck is the standard poplar Dano blank with a bound rosewood fretboard – an almost invisible combination. The spliced-on rosewood headstock is a new (for ’68) double-sided center-peak design with the raised chrome Coral logo and individual Kluson tuners. The two Danelectro pickups in thin metal rings are mated to a five-knob/one switch wiring rig (the fifth knob is a master Volume). The elevated pickguard is grey pearloid with black binding. The floating rosewood bridge is adjusted by three screws – a holdover from the Convertible model mated to a short C-logo metal tailpiece. The L2N6 is yet another rare Coral, first appearing in 1968. Its list price was $199 – $49 more than the original. Matching bass models with long- or short-scale necks were listed at $215. Large quantities of the Kawai-made bodies remained unused after the Danelectro factory’s sudden shuttering in ’69; instruments have been assembled from leftover parts over the decades since, in almost endless variations. Of all the Coral instruments of the ’60s, the Vincent Bell Electric Sitar is the best remembered, having moved beyond novelty status as a practical, sonically unique and surprisingly timeless creation. Needing the newly hip sitar sound for sessions but not wanting to grapple with the complex Indian instrument, Bell developed a graduated Sitarmatic bridge that combines the genuine instrument’s traditional buzzing, twangy tonality with the playability of an electric guitar. Bell also added an array of drone strings across the upper bout. Designed to vibrate sympathetically with the notes being played, they can also be used for special effects. Three lipstick pickups with individual Tone and Volume controls allow the sounds to be easily blended. The eccentrically shaped semi-hollow Masonite/pine body is quite comfortable to play, evolved from Bell’s earlier Bellzouki pattern. The crackle lacquer finish was a Dano specialty dubbed Bombay Red. The Electric Sitar was launched in a blaze of publicity in mid ’67, but was in production for only two years before Danelectro’s demise. Numerous studios and session players acquired one, and its distinctive sound appeared on many prominent recordings through the late ’60s, ’70s, and beyond in every genre from country to R&B. They were a must in every session guitarist’s arsenal, and modern reissues still offer the sound. The last new Dano of the ’60s was a low-budget Electric Sitar offered under the Danelectro brand in ’68. The Baby Sitar reduced the design to its basic essentials, eliminating the semi-hollow body, extra pickups, and drone strings. Its Sitarmatic bridge was mounted to a vaguely gourd-shaped thin solid body with a single bridge pickup (all that’s needed for the sitar sound) with Tone and Volume controls. The pickguard is silver-sparkle Lucite with a scroll design around the perimeter, painted black on back. The small oval body is not particularly ergonomic, so a chromed leg rest bar was fitted along the bottom edge. The standard Danelectro neck ends in an enlarged “blob” headstock vaguely suggesting the gourd head of an Indian sitar, with a silver Danelectro logo across the face. It mounts Kluson Deluxe tuners, upscale for a budget Danelectro. This instrument was in production less than a year (only a hundred or so may ever have been made), so they’re rare today, even compared to the Coral. Shown in the Coral/Danelectro catalog dated 1969-’70, it was priced less than half of the $295 Coral model. “At $139, shouldn’t you be a sitarnick?” the write-up queried. Long after the Danelectro’s demise, these instruments and many more survive as the legacy of the incredibly creative (if sometimes eccentric) genius of Vincent Bell and Nathan Daniel. Players who love them still marvel at the unique sounds, ingenuity, and variety offered by these “Guitars from Neptune!” This article originally appeared in VG’s November 2025 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.