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Topic: Danelectro lap steel |
Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Posted 13 Dec 2006 1:04 am |
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Spotted on eBay. 1950’s Danelectro lap steel. There weren’t many of these made.
I really like the cheesy, plain look of this lap steel. Unfortunately the seller’s opening bid is nearly triple the current value.
It’s gonna be a long week. click
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My Site - Instruction [This message was edited by Doug Beaumier on 13 December 2006 at 01:13 AM.] |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 13 Dec 2006 3:20 am
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| 'Never seen a Danelectro steel. Hmmmm. This one looks homemade. I was imagining a clear lucite steel with see-through electronics. THen I clicked. Sigh. |
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Gerald Ross
From:
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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Keith Cordell
From:
San Diego
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Posted 13 Dec 2006 5:55 am
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| I have seen at least 3 of these and it is the real deal. They are not worth that much though. |
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Randy Cordle
From:
Illinois, USA
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Posted 13 Dec 2006 6:16 am
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...And if you bid at the $950 opening bid you get to pay an additional $39 shipping!
That's one ugly board, truly a face only a mother could love... |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Posted 13 Dec 2006 9:51 am
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Rest assured... it's a Danelectro. Here's what Vintage Guitar Magazine says about them: Known mainly for guitars and amps, Danelectro did offer a few lap steels in the mid-50s. VGM shows the current value at $250-350.
Another one like this was posted here on the forum earlier this year. Yes, it certainly does look homemade... by a kid using his dad's tools! Danelectro guitars were about as 'low end' as 'low end' can get. I can't imagine this lap steel sounds very good or has much sustain, but it would be of interest to a Danelectro collector.
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My Site - Instruction |
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Bill Creller
From:
Saginaw, Michigan, USA (deceased)
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Posted 13 Dec 2006 6:13 pm
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| GB I think you are wrong about the 8th grader, they could have done a better job! |
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George Keoki Lake
From:
Edmonton, AB., Canada
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Posted 13 Dec 2006 10:29 pm
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I took woodworking in Gr. 8, made a stool...it looked far better than that piece of lumber !  |
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Gary Anwyl
From:
Palo Alto, CA
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Posted 13 Dec 2006 11:04 pm
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| It was interesting checking out the eBay page. The seller has lots of nice high res pictures of the item. I noticed that it has a extremely simple "wrap around bridge" that is kind of novel. |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Posted 14 Dec 2006 12:58 am
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'extremely simple' is how Danelectro guitars were made too. The bridges on their regular guitars were not adjustable. There was no way to set the intonation. Most of them had no truss rod, and the bodies were just a poplar frame covered with masonite! Yuck. It doesn't get much worse IMHO. The guitars were inferior, even for a "student guitar". I guess we can't expect much more from their lap steels. Most Danelectro instruments were sold by Sears & Roebuck. This would be like buying your lap steel from WalMart today. Danelectro also built Silvertone guitars for Sears.
This lap steel features Danelecto’s famous "lipstick tube" pickup. The guts of the pickup were housed in surplus, chrome plated, lipstick tubes! I guess cutting costs was the main priority of this company. If I were a collector I’d like to have this oddball in my collection.
Back in the 60's Eric Clapton owed a Danelectro guitar. It must have been the drugs.
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My Site - Instruction |
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Roman Sonnleitner
From:
Vienna, Austria
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Posted 14 Dec 2006 1:48 am
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| Well, simple construction or not, but the Danelectros sounded great (I'm talking about regular guitars, not the lap style, which I don't know) - whenever I want to play surf style stuff, I reach for my Dano, two of those lipstick pickups wired in series give a great, twangy, but also chimey sound that is hard to replicate with any other guitar. |
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Denny Turner
From:
Oahu, Hawaii USA
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Posted 14 Dec 2006 6:31 am
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Well, I don't think Nate (Daniels) was trying to win any awards with that $29 lap Steel!
But regarding his electric guitars, I guess some of us just got some sacreligious loose screws:
About 15 years ago I finally found the exact electric guitar sound I had been looking for long and hard for the previous 26 years; Highly dynamic and broadly versatile, ...something that could cover allot of territory in allot of styles of music yet centered close to the Telecaster I had been mainly playing for those 26 years but had to have several other guitars to reach out into territory the Tele wouldn't. I can't even imagine (just tried and couldn't) how many guitars, pickups and wiring schemes I tried in looking for the magic bullet (sound familiar?). But of course, being the x-spurt I was, there never was any reason to even think about those old "cheap" Danelectros.
Since that day 15 years ago, I have had several hundred other different brands / kinds of guitars to choose from (in my shop inventory) but NOTHING is as satisfying as my '64 Silvertone Danelectro 1457. And that's not just my opinion; I've consitently gotten excited remarks (quite similar to the tone description said above) from many professional Guitarists about my 1457 and a number of other Danos I've taken to gigs, ...no matter what the genre of music being played. And I've casually sold over 100 Danelectros in the last 8 years; mostly the 1998-2003 reissues which were remarkably true to the originals (the more-recent resurrected "reissues" are NOT).
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| Most of them had no truss rod.... |
I'm not aware of models without truss rods; But I'd be very interested in knowing what models didn't. The first Danelectro guitars' neck was a gargantua metal truss itself ...from the headstock to the bridge; with wood along it's sides to form the neck, ...exposed flat metal on the back of the neck and uglier'n sin ...strange-feeling but playable (but again not award winning). In 1956 Nate changed to conventional wood necks which had TWO truss rods; Remarkably stable twin I-beams imbedded under the fretboard; Not visibly obvious because there was no need for adjustment / access.
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But what would a Dano nut-case like me know  ...................
Aloha,
DT~
[This message was edited by Denny Turner on 14 December 2006 at 07:25 AM.] |
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Keith Cordell
From:
San Diego
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Posted 14 Dec 2006 7:24 am
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| I have to stand with Denny on this one. Danelectros may not be luthiery's proudest moment but they sound and- with work- play GREAT. I love them dearly and would take a good Dano over any Les Paul, any day. |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Posted 14 Dec 2006 10:30 am
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Wow, I guess Danelectro has it's supporters! I have played several Danelectro and Silvertone guitars over the years, although I've never owned one. I've been teaching 4 days a week at a large musical instrument store for 27 years, and I've played every major brand of guitar.
Yes, Danelectros do have a certain sound, and some people like it. They were Student guitars according to George Gruhn, although we don’t need him to tell us that
I stand corrected on the truss rods, most of them did have truss rods, however some of the early models didn't have truss rods but had a 3/4" square aluminum tube beginning at the peghead and through the body to the bridge. I have never seen one with an adjustable bridge for setting intonation, but there may have been some.
I have a friend who still plays his 1964 Silvertone guitar that his parents bought for him at Sears when he was 14 years old. He has been a full time musician his entire life, never done anything else, and he has played his battered '64 on thousands of gigs. That guitar will probably be buried with him! If you find a sound you like, stick with it and enjoy!
The reason I brought up Danelectro guitars and their inferior construction was to point out that the company built low end student instruments to be sold in Department stores. Hence the cheesy construction of their lap steel.
Happy Holidays to all Forum members!
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My Site - Instruction
[This message was edited by Doug Beaumier on 14 December 2006 at 10:50 AM.] |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Posted 14 Dec 2006 10:54 pm
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The price has been lowered twice. It's down to $685 now. Come on... you know you want it!
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My Site - Instruction |
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 14 Dec 2006 11:41 pm
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Yeah, I have to chime in here too. Danos aren't fancy and they have their own tone and vibe. But let me get to the good part.
Honestly, it's hard to get a bad sound out of my mid-60s Model 1457, which I've had longer than any other guitar I own right now, and that's quite a while. I wish I could say that about all the 70s-early 80s Fenders and Gibsons I've owned. It plays just fine and pretty well stays in tune. Right now, it's set up with some ultra-heavy strings as a baritone guitar (B to B), with no neck issues whatever.
The cheesy rosewood bridge saddle intonates better than a typical acoustic guitar bridge saddle does. It pivots around its centroid and moves front-to-back, so one can at least make a reasonable average intonation adjustment. If that's not good enough, it's not difficult to either make an intonated rosewood saddle insert, or find an upgraded, intonatable bridge, as used on some of the reissues.
I was a Dano reissue dealer when they hit 8 years ago. We sold tons and tons of these because they were very good and unbelievably inexpensive. In some ways, they were an improvement over the old ones - adjustable truss rod plus generally better quality control.
Of course, the Cadillac of Dano-style guitars is the Jerry Jones. He refined all the rough aspects of the design and they are really fine guitars in every respect, by any standard. IMO, of course.
It also seems to me that David Lindley sounded pretty good through his old Silvertone Danos.
I have to agree, this is no bargain even at the lowered price, but $950? Yikes, somebody's out fishin'. But maybe an "investor" will latch onto this one (somehow I doubt it.) |
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Gary Lynch
From:
Creston, California, USA
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Posted 15 Dec 2006 6:34 am
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| A person needs two of these. One to cover the other up with. |
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Marc Weller
From:
Upland, Ca. 91784
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Posted 15 Dec 2006 6:53 am
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| Great post Danny. I also have the priviledge of owning a 1457 and I couldn't agree more with your comments. Danelectro makes a great case study for any student of industrial design. They are wonderfully functional instruments constructed from cheap, surplus (lipstick tubes) materials. Mine is strung with 12-52 round wounds (wound G string), has action that rivals my Custom Shop Fenders, and a tone all its own. Stevie Ray Vaughn used Danelectro pickups on his Strat. Jimmie Page played a shorthorn. In addition to my 1457 I have a Baritone Shorthorn and a Longhorn Bass. They are all super guitars. |
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Gary Lynch
From:
Creston, California, USA
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Posted 15 Dec 2006 7:53 pm
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| Link Wray played a Longhorn. MOOOOOOOOOOO [This message was edited by Gary Lynch on 18 December 2006 at 05:24 PM.] |
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Denny Turner
From:
Oahu, Hawaii USA
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Roman Sonnleitner
From:
Vienna, Austria
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Posted 17 Dec 2006 8:51 am
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| Also consider that Danelectros are some of the favorite guitars of slide guitar players, so those lipsticks should make good lap steel pickups, as well. They do have a very low output and sound a bit thin (but with an angelic chime) used by themselves, the secret to the great Dano sound is using two wired in series (not in parallel, like most twin-pickup guitars). |
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Darrell Urbien
From:
Echo Park, California
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Posted 18 Dec 2006 1:32 pm
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Cindy Cashdollar mentions in Andy Volk's book that she loves playing her Dano baritone set up with a high nut for slide. I have a dano bari; gotta try that one of these days.
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Posted 18 Dec 2006 2:26 pm
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Dano baritones are cool.
That lap steel is just plain butt ugly.
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Mark
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Denny Turner
From:
Oahu, Hawaii USA
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Posted 18 Dec 2006 6:37 pm
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I would not chime in here so much were it not for dearly loving Danelectro guitars and pickups ....with good cause.
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| ...so those lipsticks should make good lap steel pickups, as well. They do have a very low output and sound a bit thin (but with an angelic chime) used by themselves, the secret to the great Dano sound is using two wired in series... |
A quite accurate assessment; But allow me to expound:
The info below is generally speaking, ...because many factors are at issue in a pickup and it's sound, and there are many differences between makers and models, and usually to a lessor degree even between same make and model pickups; Illustrating the research a person might want to do in searching for a Steel Guitar pickup (said to keep the thread on this bb):
Many Steelers desire clean, clear, narrow and stable (low dynamic response to picking techniques) signal from a pickup, ...and are "spooked" by higher dynamics (as are a majority of Guitar Players who as a whole historically search for a certain sound they like that remains near that sound over a broad range of picking attack); But if a person likes higher dynamics at their fingertips (sine slopes, attack wow / dwell / deformation, compression, saturation, etc), then Dano lipsticks are the ticket (or GENERALLY most pickups below about 6K where stability and dynamics are about compromisingly balanced ...nothwithstanding different henry values in different pickups that, with a bit of comparative research, are also a decent gauge in SWAG'ing how a pickup will sound). ~~~ 1998-2003 Reissue Dano lipsticks (quality control) are dead-on 4K ohms while it was not unusual for Vintage Dano lipsticks' tolerances to vary about .3 or more either side of their 4.7K target. 2ea. x 4.7K in series = 9.4K ...and a pretty darn strong signal and excellent tone for a 6 string by any standard. Compare those numbers against a medium 7K for Fenders, and 1K for some of DeArmond's pickups famous for low impedence high dynamics. ~~~ Dano / Evets says their NEW pickups are "improved" (NOT ...imho), meaning less dynamic / more stable; But I have had no compelling interest in acquiring / measuring them. Maybe some other Fo'Bro has and can provide some numbers / reports.
High dynamics in a pickup GENERALLY comes at the expense of output voltage (generally a winding and wire size vs magnet type and strength thang); BUT, don't forget what the knobs on an amp are for. I have no problem at all calling up a freight train of tone and volume with a Dano, ...especially with a decent tube amp capable of the volume I desire, ...and into a JBL K140 (above about a 7-10 watt full-tone floor limit for a big JBL instrument speaker, but increasingly gargantua above about 30 watts, less for class A outputs).
Also, the closer the pickup is to the strings, the more dynamics will be produced along with a stronger signal; Conversely meaning that even a single Dano lipstick pickup can indeed produce a very good quality & balance of median dynamic / stable signal if backed off to the factory setting of about 1/4" from the strings ....while again remembering what the amp knobs are for ...and/or use 2 or more in series backed away from the strings for more stable stronger signal.
Aloha,
DT~
[This message was edited by Denny Turner on 18 December 2006 at 06:53 PM.] |
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Todd Weger
From:
Safety Harbor, FLAUSA
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Posted 18 Dec 2006 7:25 pm
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| Back in the 60's Eric Clapton owed a Danelectro guitar. It must have been the drugs. |
That would explain the outfit, too, I suppose... 
I like Danos. They have a tone and vibe all their own.
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Todd James Weger --
1956 Fender Stringmaster T-8 (C6, A6, B11); 1960 Fender Stringmaster D-8 (C6, B11/A6); Regal resonator (C6); 1938 Epiphone Electar (A6); assorted ukuleles; upright bass
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. That leads me to believe that Dan Armstrong's and Vinnie Bell's hand in R&D had allot to do with translating Nates engineering into Danos' sound and playability; Which also coincides with the radical improvements and spectrum of models in Dano's guitar designs from about 1956 onward, until new philosophies (mostly marketing) by new owners MCA (1965), proved fatal by the end of the 1960's.
