Stuffed Danno ?

PapaBeef · January 2nd, 2007, 11:22 PM

My daughter's boyfriend received an old Danelectro from his uncle, which needed a new jack & plate installed.
When I removed the access cover on the back, I discovered the whole body of the guitar was stuffed with napkins!
Now, since this is the first Danno I've ever worked on, I'm wondering if there's some logical explanation for this.
I'm pretty sure they're after market napkins, not factory ones, since they have a print of some sort. And the first one I pulled out appeared to have barbeque residue on it.
I stuck it back inside and plan to act like I didn't notice anything odd.
But since I did, I'm wondering if anyone else out there has encountered this phenomenon.

JohnnyCrash · January 2nd, 2007, 11:31 PM

Probably an attempt to counteract feedback.

It's a chromyte (balsa wood) center block! HAHAHA

Cyrithicus · January 3rd, 2007, 01:18 AM

Yup, I heard of 335's getting stuffed with cottonballs for the same reason.

aznrambo481 · January 3rd, 2007, 01:32 AM

"after-market napkins"?

E.D. Patton · January 3rd, 2007, 01:39 AM

I've encountered this before.

I just keep a box of Wet Ones on my amp so I can clean up after eating BBQ on the gig.

Never thought to try napkins in the control cavity, though.

RomanS · January 3rd, 2007, 06:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aznrambo481

"after-market napkins"?

Maybe Glendale should get into this business - and sell them for 20 bucks a piece...

Ed Miller · January 3rd, 2007, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyrithicus

Yup, I heard of 335's getting stuffed with cottonballs for the same reason.

Yeah, I once spent two hours with a long pair of tweezers pulling packing peanuts out of a Gibson Johnny Smith. It wasn't fun.

PraiseCaster · January 3rd, 2007, 06:35 AM

I've heard of some stuffing rags into 335's and 330's, though I myself have never seen it. The only thing I could think of was, that maybe it lessens vibrations along the top and back archtops, bnut I dont think it would act like a block of wood behind the pups?

Disastercaster · January 3rd, 2007, 08:12 AM

Sounds like a perfectly logical place to keep napkins to me.

markothefish · January 3rd, 2007, 08:30 AM

some people used to stuff Styrofoam pieces into Epiphone Casinos , to cut down on feedback because they are hollow. But Old dirty napkins thats new to me ...

PapaBeef · January 3rd, 2007, 10:14 AM

I guess it could be an attempt to control feedback. I didn't think of it as a hollow body because it doesn't have holes. But it's the cheesiest guitar I've ever had apart, including a few 1960's imports...Aside from the Masonite top & back over a plywood frame & balsa block with the plastic binding tape,
1 screw holds the bridge plate to the guitar. And the strings fit into slots at the bottom of the plate, putting all the tension on that single screw.
3 neck bolts, running in a straight line down the center of the neck, which doesn't really fit into a pocket like most guitars. And it seems to me like the bolts could actually cause the neck to split. ..Worst damn tuners ever. And it has an aluminum nut that's never been trimmed down & holds the strings about 1/4" at the first fret. The intonation is a beast, too. That's adjusted by angling a rosewood bridge saddle that's secured to the bride plate with 1 screw in the center.
All in all, it does seem like the type of guitar that would benefit from being stuffed with old napkins.
Amazingly, it still sounds nice!

quackerz · January 3rd, 2007, 10:25 AM

I have stuffed two Danos in the past with sound-proofing material and it does eliminate feedback. Not sure if napkins would have a similar effect. These were hollow Convertible models and I had to cut a pickguard to cover the sound hole. This was necessary if you wanted to play the things at any considerable volume. They had different tuner sets and one was worse than the others - the 6 inline ones in an enclosed steel box. No hope for those. The others can be coaxed to work with silicon grease on the gears and light machine oil in the post bushings. No hope for that aluminum nut and I replace those horrible bridges with cheap Tune-O-Matic knock-offs which have a similar height and spacing to what's needed. It's all worth it for that sound though!

January 2nd, 2007, 11:22 PM	#1 (permalink)
PapaBeef Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: EN JAY Posts: 412	Stuffed Danno ? My daughter's boyfriend received an old Danelectro from his uncle, which needed a new jack & plate installed. When I removed the access cover on the back, I discovered the whole body of the guitar was stuffed with napkins! Now, since this is the first Danno I've ever worked on, I'm wondering if there's some logical explanation for this. I'm pretty sure they're after market napkins, not factory ones, since they have a print of some sort. And the first one I pulled out appeared to have barbeque residue on it. I stuck it back inside and plan to act like I didn't notice anything odd. But since I did, I'm wondering if anyone else out there has encountered this phenomenon. __________________ What I mean is, sometimes I just don't know what I mean. Ya know what I mean?

January 3rd, 2007, 01:18 AM	#3 (permalink)
Cyrithicus Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Oklahoma Age: 31 Posts: 1,020 4 Photos	Yup, I heard of 335's getting stuffed with cottonballs for the same reason. __________________ "When I was young, I could remember anything, whether it happened or not." --Mark Twain

January 3rd, 2007, 01:32 AM	#4 (permalink)
aznrambo481 Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: La Jolla, California Age: 17 Posts: 2,885 6 Photos	"after-market napkins"? __________________ Check out my bands, and feel free to PM me comments on them! The Eclectics (guitar/vocals) SLIP (bass)

January 3rd, 2007, 06:35 AM	#8 (permalink)
PraiseCaster Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Whittier, California Posts: 4,436 16 Photos	I've heard of some stuffing rags into 335's and 330's, though I myself have never seen it. The only thing I could think of was, that maybe it lessens vibrations along the top and back archtops, bnut I dont think it would act like a block of wood behind the pups? __________________ Later! PraiseCaster Visit Guitarists Praise and Worship Forum!! Dance Like David, MySpace

January 3rd, 2007, 08:12 AM	#9 (permalink)
Disastercaster Tele-Holic Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Dublin, Ireland Age: 20 Posts: 781	Sounds like a perfectly logical place to keep napkins to me. __________________ Mighty Atomics, Garage Rock N Roll!!!

January 2nd, 2007, 11:31 PM	#2 (permalink)
JohnnyCrash Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Lost Angeles and Orange County Posts: 7,128	Probably an attempt to counteract feedback. It's a chromyte (balsa wood) center block! HAHAHA

January 3rd, 2007, 01:39 AM	#5 (permalink)
E.D. Patton Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 942	I've encountered this before. I just keep a box of Wet Ones on my amp so I can clean up after eating BBQ on the gig. Never thought to try napkins in the control cavity, though.

January 3rd, 2007, 08:30 AM	#10 (permalink)
markothefish Friend of Leo's Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Greenville, Rhode Island Age: 42 Posts: 2,116 7 Photos	some people used to stuff Styrofoam pieces into Epiphone Casinos , to cut down on feedback because they are hollow. But Old dirty napkins thats new to me ... __________________ Quote me as saying I was mis-quoted. Groucho Marx

January 3rd, 2007, 10:14 AM	#11 (permalink)
PapaBeef Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: EN JAY Posts: 412	I guess it could be an attempt to control feedback. I didn't think of it as a hollow body because it doesn't have holes. But it's the cheesiest guitar I've ever had apart, including a few 1960's imports...Aside from the Masonite top & back over a plywood frame & balsa block with the plastic binding tape, 1 screw holds the bridge plate to the guitar. And the strings fit into slots at the bottom of the plate, putting all the tension on that single screw. 3 neck bolts, running in a straight line down the center of the neck, which doesn't really fit into a pocket like most guitars. And it seems to me like the bolts could actually cause the neck to split. ..Worst damn tuners ever. And it has an aluminum nut that's never been trimmed down & holds the strings about 1/4" at the first fret. The intonation is a beast, too. That's adjusted by angling a rosewood bridge saddle that's secured to the bride plate with 1 screw in the center. All in all, it does seem like the type of guitar that would benefit from being stuffed with old napkins. Amazingly, it still sounds nice! __________________ What I mean is, sometimes I just don't know what I mean. Ya know what I mean?

January 3rd, 2007, 10:25 AM	#12 (permalink)
quackerz Tele-Holic Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: New Jersey Age: 46 Posts: 924 8 Photos	I have stuffed two Danos in the past with sound-proofing material and it does eliminate feedback. Not sure if napkins would have a similar effect. These were hollow Convertible models and I had to cut a pickguard to cover the sound hole. This was necessary if you wanted to play the things at any considerable volume. They had different tuner sets and one was worse than the others - the 6 inline ones in an enclosed steel box. No hope for those. The others can be coaxed to work with silicon grease on the gears and light machine oil in the post bushings. No hope for that aluminum nut and I replace those horrible bridges with cheap Tune-O-Matic knock-offs which have a similar height and spacing to what's needed. It's all worth it for that sound though!