DanelectroStock '59 Electric Guitar - Black

How to even talk about this guitar, where to even begin. If you are steeped in dano folklore and history with instrument will both be like an Early Birthday and Twilight Zone. So I will cut to the chase: value 3.5/5, sound: 4.5/5. Looks: either 5/5 or 2.5 outta five.Ultimately what the last two decades of reissued Danos has accomplished is raising the price for eclectic student range gear which, in the right circumstances, will outperform similar priced gear. Yet because of the lineage and 'baggage' may introduce flaws not seen in less expensive gear.Verdict: ride or die Dano fan, watts and all. I love the silly thing to death

As someone who's been playing for 40 years, I can tall you, the Danelectro Stock '59 is a great guitar, and it's fun because it's something different, and a piece of guitar history. I've had mine for a year now, and it's always a pleasure to play. It's good enough to be one of my "desert island" guitars. Initially I was afraid the straight wood bridge would present intonation issues, so I bought an aftermarket adjustable one. As it turned out, the intonation was perfect, but I put the adjustable one on anyway, just because I had it. Well, it screwed up the tone. It turns out the wood bridge saddle adds a significant warmth to the guitar's tone. (Who would have thought?) So I went back to the stock bridge. The guitar's neck is very comfortable and playable. According to Danelectro's site, the fretboard radius is 14", so it's pretty flat. That's usually not my preference, but in this case, it feels good. Probably because the frets are fairly tall. I have fat fingers, and the strings are just far enough apart to make it very nice for me. The action couldn't be better: perfectly low, yet still allows aggressive playing. The back of the neck has a smooth finish that feels like bare wood. The break angle of the strings over the nut is almost non-existent (less friction, good for staying in tune), but the nut is designed such that you won't have to worry about the strings popping out. Also great on that front is, all the string paths, from nut slot to tuner, are perfectly straight. (A superb design.) The lipstick pickups sound great, and the guitar is surprisingly loud unplugged. Note, the middle position is not humbucking and, I think, is wired in series. It increases both the signal strength and the 60-cycle hum. I play at home, and have a good noise gate (TC Electronic Sentry), so it hasn't been a bother. Last thing to say is, it sounds really great playing along with Kashmir!