Danelectro Model 4021 Hand Vibrato Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar
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Danelectro Model 4021 Hand Vibrato Model Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar, made in Neptune, NJ, black lacquer finish, masonite and pine body, poplar neck with rosewood fingerboard, original brown alligator chipboard case.
One of the rarer curios among original vintage Danelectros (which is saying something), this Model 4021 was added to the company's line in the early 1960s. The reason for its existence is revealed by its rather prosaic name: the "Hand Vibrato Guitar." The popularity of Fender guitars with their smooth trem arms, and Gibson and Gretsch guitars with a Bigsby, must have made Nathan Daniel realize this feature was becoming a necessity in the growing teenage market.
Daniel simply re-engineered his standard 3-point bridge into a functional vibrato by incorporating a large coil spring underneath the rear screw, accessed by a press-on plate in the back. The simple metal handle is pinned to the back edge, and for no obvious reason can be attached to either side of the bridge. The design is very basic, but it works surprisingly well; certainly good enough for surfy twang, though we don't advise dive bombing on this one!
This two-pickup Model 4921 does not carry any easily legible date codes bit the "Skate Key" in-house Danno-made tuners indicate it was made around to 1965-5. The 4021 uses the same black-finished double-cutaway body as the celebrated contemporary "Jimmy Page" model, with a larger proprietary pickguard surrounding the pickups. This is mated to the standard style Danelectro neck but topped off with an eccentric flaring 2-sided headstock shared with the Bellzouki 12-string, nicknamed the "duckfoot" in years since.
The black and white "Tuxedo" livery makes the Masonite-and-pine body look relatively classy, offset by the regular pebbled white vinyl siding used on all Dannos. The neck has a thick rosewood fingerboard while the black-finished headstock mounts Waverly strip tuners with plastic buttons and a cool chrome plastic "Danelectro" logo on the face.
The electronics circuit is the same as the Standard Shorthorn model, with two Danelectro "lipstick" pickups controlled by concentric pots for tone and volume, as well as a 3-way switch, all mounted to the enlarged white Masonite pickguard. The strap buttons on this guitar (including a third one mounted inexplicably to the TOP of the headstock, and a fourth employed behind the nut as a string tree) are the one-piece screwed-in type used by 1964.
The "Hand Vibrato" model was offered in single and double pickup format up through 1967 but is not nearly as common as the more affordable "Standard" model (at all of $20.00 less), which seems to have outsold it by a large margin. Nonetheless this is a great-sounding if less-seen piece of Neptune cool, and a nice playing example of this model.
Overall length is 38 7/8 in. (98.7 cm.), 13 1/8 in. (33.3 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 in. (635 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
Overall this is a nice-playing, original example of this medium-rare Nathan Daniel creation. The ebony finish shows very heavy checking on the body; at first we thought it might have had an overspray added but a closer inspection indicates it was just a sloppy day at the factory, with the finish applied a but heavier than usual on the body and subsequently checked more than usual. (Folks who refinished oversprayed Danelectros traditionally used rattlecans anyway!) Overall it is still shiny with only fairly minor play wear. There is some light finish chipping off the back edge of the bridge from it rocking back and forth.
All finish and hardware remains original and unaltered. Oft-missing pieces like the vibrato arm and back snap-on cover are still present. The neck is nice and straight, the frets not much worn and this old Dann-o still plays well; the trem actually works as well as they ever did, and the guitar itself sounds great. It still resides in the original brown chipboard case, a bit battered but functional. Overall Excellent - Condition.
One of the rarer curios among original vintage Danelectros (which is saying something), this Model 4021 was added to the company's line in the early 1960s. The reason for its existence is revealed by its rather prosaic name: the "Hand Vibrato Guitar." The popularity of Fender guitars with their smooth trem arms, and Gibson and Gretsch guitars with a Bigsby, must have made Nathan Daniel realize this feature was becoming a necessity in the growing teenage market.
Daniel simply re-engineered his standard 3-point bridge into a functional vibrato by incorporating a large coil spring underneath the rear screw, accessed by a press-on plate in the back. The simple metal handle is pinned to the back edge, and for no obvious reason can be attached to either side of the bridge. The design is very basic, but it works surprisingly well; certainly good enough for surfy twang, though we don't advise dive bombing on this one!
This two-pickup Model 4921 does not carry any easily legible date codes bit the "Skate Key" in-house Danno-made tuners indicate it was made around to 1965-5. The 4021 uses the same black-finished double-cutaway body as the celebrated contemporary "Jimmy Page" model, with a larger proprietary pickguard surrounding the pickups. This is mated to the standard style Danelectro neck but topped off with an eccentric flaring 2-sided headstock shared with the Bellzouki 12-string, nicknamed the "duckfoot" in years since.
The black and white "Tuxedo" livery makes the Masonite-and-pine body look relatively classy, offset by the regular pebbled white vinyl siding used on all Dannos. The neck has a thick rosewood fingerboard while the black-finished headstock mounts Waverly strip tuners with plastic buttons and a cool chrome plastic "Danelectro" logo on the face.
The electronics circuit is the same as the Standard Shorthorn model, with two Danelectro "lipstick" pickups controlled by concentric pots for tone and volume, as well as a 3-way switch, all mounted to the enlarged white Masonite pickguard. The strap buttons on this guitar (including a third one mounted inexplicably to the TOP of the headstock, and a fourth employed behind the nut as a string tree) are the one-piece screwed-in type used by 1964.
The "Hand Vibrato" model was offered in single and double pickup format up through 1967 but is not nearly as common as the more affordable "Standard" model (at all of $20.00 less), which seems to have outsold it by a large margin. Nonetheless this is a great-sounding if less-seen piece of Neptune cool, and a nice playing example of this model.
Overall length is 38 7/8 in. (98.7 cm.), 13 1/8 in. (33.3 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 in. (635 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
Overall this is a nice-playing, original example of this medium-rare Nathan Daniel creation. The ebony finish shows very heavy checking on the body; at first we thought it might have had an overspray added but a closer inspection indicates it was just a sloppy day at the factory, with the finish applied a but heavier than usual on the body and subsequently checked more than usual. (Folks who refinished oversprayed Danelectros traditionally used rattlecans anyway!) Overall it is still shiny with only fairly minor play wear. There is some light finish chipping off the back edge of the bridge from it rocking back and forth.
All finish and hardware remains original and unaltered. Oft-missing pieces like the vibrato arm and back snap-on cover are still present. The neck is nice and straight, the frets not much worn and this old Dann-o still plays well; the trem actually works as well as they ever did, and the guitar itself sounds great. It still resides in the original brown chipboard case, a bit battered but functional. Overall Excellent - Condition.