![]() ![]() It is quite close to the sound of the originals.” The instruments, he added, have a master Tone, master Volume, and a three-way pickup switch. Moseley.Īs for the electronics and controls, Ridinger noted, “Our engineer, who used to work with Seymour Duncan, did a great job analyzing the lipstick-tube pickups from the ’50s, and coming up with a ‘new’ – meaning old – design that has really great tone. Hallmark Custom Series Swept-Wing in Transparent Blue. The necks are made from Canadian maple, the nut is aluminum, and the much-improved bridge offers individual string intonation. Ridinger says the plywood frame offers better tone than pine or poplar frames, which his company had tested. Sears didn’t market a corresponding bass, so the new basses and baritone guitar are definitive of something that gives only a cosmetic tip of the hat to the past.Īll Dano ’63 instruments – guitars, basses, and baritones – use the same body, with pressboard/Masonite-style top and back over a plywood frame. The newest incarnation is the Dano ’63 series, based on the early-’60s two-pickup Silvertone 1457L. So we now make one model per year, discontinue it, then offer a new model.” It doesn’t make sense to make 50 models and expect dealers to hang all of them on the walls. “We’re a niche brand known for tone, coolness, and affordability. “The first thing we had to learn is that we aren’t Fender!” he explained. More recently, Danelectro has taken to offering models for a limited time before moving to another. Basses introduced in the ensuing years included a long-scale Shorthorn bass (the original was short-scale), and Mosrite-shaped instruments such as the Hodad and Rumor, the latter being a solidbody guitar with built-in effects. The company quickly diversified and improved the quality of specific parts. “Non-adjustable rosewood saddle bridge, stacked pots… The tuners were enclosed, but were only marginally better than the originals.” “The very first Danelectro reissues we introduced were pretty much dead-on with the originals,” recalled Evets president Steve Ridinger. The 58 Longhorn was a fairly accurate copy of its short-scale progenitor, with improvements such as an adjustable truss rod and an improved bridge/tailpiece. Their first guitar was marketed in ’98, and first bass (the 58 Longhorn) debuted in ’99. More often than not, these bore the Silvertone brand name (which was sold by catalog retailer Sears) on their headstocks, but were made by the Danelectro company of New Jersey.įans of these entry-level classics had reason to rejoice in 1996, when the Evets Corporation purchased the Danelectro name and began making new instruments based on classic “Dano” models. In the ’50s and ’60s, many aspiring guitarists and bassists began their musical sojourn with inexpensive Masonite-over-wood-frame instruments that had pickups made from lipstick tubes. True, nearly all are imported but it’s also true their materials and build quality are superior to the original. There’s a) the contemporary bass that references (but doesn’t exactly copy) an original model b) the bass that looks like something from the 1950s or ’60s, even if no such instrument was made then, and c) a bass that references an original and has unique features found on other guitars or basses.Ī number of brands and models today are exploiting the “time warp” factor, and they are as diverse and fascinating as the originals. Other retro basses may not have had an exact progenitor, but can be classified in one of several ways. It certainly has a following amongst players and collectors, but the modern version offers a vastly improved bridge. One example is the Ampeg Plexiglas bass, which was initially made from 1969 through ’71. But some are accurate reproductions of the originals, often refined in terms of hardware or construction. Babyboomers might wistfully recall their strange silhouettes, while younger players think they’re simply cool and different.Īre they “reissues?” Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps more than that, though, these basses appeal to the nostalgic side of anyone who followed music, even casually, in decades past, or has since acquired an appreciation for that music. ![]() Photos courtesy of Eastwood.Īs with fashion, cars, motorcycles, music, and many other elements of current pop culture, today’s electric bass market is chock full of instruments designed to look, sound, and play like classics from decades past. ![]()
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