A Brief History
The unique designs, innovation and history behind Danelectro and its now legendary products are as interesting as any music story can be. The story of Nathan “Nat” Daniel and his passion to get quality electric guitars and amps into the hands of as many people as possible is truly incredible. The fact that many guitar aficionados aren't aware of him while his contemporaries are highly lauded for their accomplishments during the same time period is even more remarkable.
Mr. Daniel's own innovative ideas, as well as working with musicians like world famous session guitarist Vincent Bell, resulted in unique instruments like the Baritone guitar, or six string bass (where would country music be without it?), various electric 12 string guitars like the Bellzouki, the electric Sitar (remember the Sixties)? developing vibrato in amplifiers as well as echo effects and many different, simple easy to operate electric guitars even a child could play, lead to a 2 decade plus run in the musical instrument business leaving novice and professional guitarists and collectors alike in awe. In particular, the simple construction of their guitars, many with the familiar “coke bottle” headstock, white vinyl siding and now iconic single coil “lipstick tube” pickups characteristic of all Danelectro made guitars including the legendary “amp-in-case” models marketed by department store Sears Roebuck under the Silvertone brand name, continue to fascinate players and collectors alike.
The amount of wanna-be, soon to be and genuine rock-stars learning to play guitar on these $50 wonders is incalculable. It is estimated the Danelectro Company shipped out a semi-truck full of these instruments alone everyday for many years during their peak production days when they employed as many as 500 people. Poplar wood frames capped front and back with masonite (think 50's kitchen table top surfaces) coupled with slim, flat radius necks with either a square aluminum tube or double truss rod system running through it and topped with a beautiful, Brazilian rosewood fret-board guarantees a straight neck and made for a light, sturdy and resonant semi-solid bodied guitar that had a unique and great sound.
There's got to be a reason some of the greatest guitar players and collectors alike still care about these instruments 40 plus years after they ceased production. Plug one into your favorite amps or into one of the Silvertone amp-in-cases and relive the past. You'll get the same feeling many before have experienced. AHHH….