danelectro guitars
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 1940s, 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
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 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 Tic-tac bass lines. In 1966, Danelectro was sold to MCA. A year later, in 1967, 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 1990's, 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.
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.