Danelectro U-2 Solid Body Electric Guitar (1957)
LOADING IMAGES
Danelectro U-2 Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1957), made in Neptune, NJ, serial # 2077, black lacquer with vinyl edging finish, masonite and pine body, poplar neck with rosewood fingerboard, black tolex hard shell case.
This is a mid-1957 example of the classic original Danelectro U-2, the company's earliest signature instrument, in a striking black lacquer finish. With the original single-cutaway Masonite-and-pine body loaded with two celebrated "lipstick" pickups, concentric tone-and-volume control rig and the metal plate bridge, this is a great-sounding guitar that set the standard for the many thousands of Danelectros to follow. The neck is slimmer than later examples and more comfortable to play; in fact, the entire guitar feels more carefully made than the far more common examples from the late '50s and 1960s.
With its gleaming black-and-chrome livery it is a very sharp-looking guitar, the epitome of '50s Populuxe culture in a 6-string mode. The small clear pickguard has a snazzy "D" logo, and the body edging is the earlier thinner white plastic with a swirly pattern. Danelectro initially offered the "U" line in a variety of striking colors, but within less than two years had pared back to only black or copper for most models. This example carries pots dated to mid-1957 and the batch number indicates fabrication of the body in the 20th week of that year when (compared to the 1960s) the company was still producing only a limited number of guitars.
This U-2 was the instrument that put Danelectro guitars on the map in the 1950s, an eminently practical and playable design. Despite this, they were only in production for a few years before being superseded by newer designs starting in 1958. Clean examples of these early model Danelectros are comparatively rare today; this ebony two-pickup U-2 is the nicest one we have had.
Overall length is 38 3/4 in. (98.4 cm.), 13 1/4 in. (33.7 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 5/8 in. (4.1 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.).
This is a superb all-original example, with really very little wear for 65+ years on the planet and no repairs or alterations. The finish has some really tiny dings, dents and scrapes but no heavy wear and still gleams with ebony delight. All appears to be as it left Neptune (New Jersey, that is) in 1957.
The only oddity is all four of the little pins which are usually fitted into holes into the knobs acting as markers are missing; you actually have to look fairly closely to notice this. We have seen several guitars like this now so have come to think that sometimes the pins were simply never fitted, the little hole acting just as effectively as a position mark! As with many older Danelectros the closed-back selector switch is sometimes reluctant to turn off the requisite pickup even after extensive cleaning; the individual volume controls work fine so all sounds are fully available. This guitar has a nicely straight neck and only minor fretwear and plays very well, with the typical great Danno twang. It is a lovely playable piece of Dann-O history and includes a modern HSC. Overall Excellent Condition.
This is a mid-1957 example of the classic original Danelectro U-2, the company's earliest signature instrument, in a striking black lacquer finish. With the original single-cutaway Masonite-and-pine body loaded with two celebrated "lipstick" pickups, concentric tone-and-volume control rig and the metal plate bridge, this is a great-sounding guitar that set the standard for the many thousands of Danelectros to follow. The neck is slimmer than later examples and more comfortable to play; in fact, the entire guitar feels more carefully made than the far more common examples from the late '50s and 1960s.
With its gleaming black-and-chrome livery it is a very sharp-looking guitar, the epitome of '50s Populuxe culture in a 6-string mode. The small clear pickguard has a snazzy "D" logo, and the body edging is the earlier thinner white plastic with a swirly pattern. Danelectro initially offered the "U" line in a variety of striking colors, but within less than two years had pared back to only black or copper for most models. This example carries pots dated to mid-1957 and the batch number indicates fabrication of the body in the 20th week of that year when (compared to the 1960s) the company was still producing only a limited number of guitars.
This U-2 was the instrument that put Danelectro guitars on the map in the 1950s, an eminently practical and playable design. Despite this, they were only in production for a few years before being superseded by newer designs starting in 1958. Clean examples of these early model Danelectros are comparatively rare today; this ebony two-pickup U-2 is the nicest one we have had.
Overall length is 38 3/4 in. (98.4 cm.), 13 1/4 in. (33.7 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 5/8 in. (4.1 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.).
This is a superb all-original example, with really very little wear for 65+ years on the planet and no repairs or alterations. The finish has some really tiny dings, dents and scrapes but no heavy wear and still gleams with ebony delight. All appears to be as it left Neptune (New Jersey, that is) in 1957.
The only oddity is all four of the little pins which are usually fitted into holes into the knobs acting as markers are missing; you actually have to look fairly closely to notice this. We have seen several guitars like this now so have come to think that sometimes the pins were simply never fitted, the little hole acting just as effectively as a position mark! As with many older Danelectros the closed-back selector switch is sometimes reluctant to turn off the requisite pickup even after extensive cleaning; the individual volume controls work fine so all sounds are fully available. This guitar has a nicely straight neck and only minor fretwear and plays very well, with the typical great Danno twang. It is a lovely playable piece of Dann-O history and includes a modern HSC. Overall Excellent Condition.