Tele Thinline/Danocaster Project

[bebopalula]

i've had Thinline GAS for a while,
and since the Dano's seem to be of similar construction...
so i thought i'd give it a try:


the Dano Burger


Parts


Interior


Exterior(Front)

[BB]

You sir...are a man after my own heart! As a long time Dano/Silvertone/Tele lover, I have often thought of doing the very thing you're doing.....I've just never had the time to bring it to fruition.

Looks very cool so far. Can't wait to hear the final tone details. Should be great sounding guitar.

So Mr bebopolula.....you are my new hero and I'll patiently await the finished project.

Congratulations on a very cool idea and a great looking guitar. I hope it works well for you.

[WonderCouncil]

Very awesome, I love the Dano body construction. I was browsing around online and came across these, not sure if it's old news but they seem intersting. Made like the old Silvertones and Dano's but looks like a tele. Weird bridge too.
http://www.vintagesilvertones.com/fo...elly_tele.html

[bebopalula]

Originally Posted by BB

You sir...are a man after my own heart! As a long time Dano/Silvertone/Tele lover, I have often thought of doing the very thing you're doing.....I've just never had the time to bring it to fruition.

most fun i've had in a while.
glad you like it.
the new digital camera makes it
easy to share progress pics.

jwells' projects are very inspiring.
watchiit,or you'll be out in the garage shortly.

[bebopalula]

Originally Posted by 3StringGuitar

Very awesome, I love the Dano body construction. I was browsing around online and came across these, not sure if it's old news but they seem intersting. Made like the old Silvertones and Dano's but looks like a tele. Weird bridge too.
http://www.vintagesilvertones.com/fo...elly_tele.html

i agree,the Kelly-Tele's weird bridge is an odd off note somehow.

on the plus side,it's a three saddle.

Kelly/Danos use masonite...in the the closeups of the
body edges you can see they came out nicely.
http://www.vintagesilvertones.com/fo...elly_tele.html

i'm scrunching up my forehead over at the ReRanch page,trying to figger out if i can smooth over the
body enough to skip the vinyl Dano edge tape.
the plywood edges seem void-free and i bought some wood putty today to hide the joins between the blocks
where they appear on the broad body edges.

on Thinline Danocaster take 3, take 4,etc.
this stewmac tool might be tempting:




can't see why the center and curved edge blocks
couldn't be mahogany...front and back could be maple panels.

[BB]

Originally Posted by bebopalula

most fun i've had in a while.
glad you like it.
the new digital camera makes it
easy to share progress pics.

jwells' projects are very inspiring.
watchiit,or you'll be out in the garage shortly.

Yes...jwells projects are very inspiring. I love to see what other people here are doing. Very cool to see the originality and amazing talent from the members here.

My garage days are probably over....unless I win the lotto, come into a huge inheritence or Bill Gates decides to adopt me! These days, I rarely have time to play let alone work on projects, but I was ableto put together a few keepers in my hay day!

I did a bad dog post a few weeks ago regarding the Telestar "Mona" I picked up cheap. Killer copy of the old 60's 1457 Silvertone "Amp-in-Case" guitar. Mona continues to impress with stellar tone and playability. Amazing little guitar that oozes blues.

Anyway......good luck on your project. I think you are on to a winner there!

[bebopalula]

Telestar "Mona"(reissue??)MSRP - $399.-

"The "Mona" Silver Sparkle
Mona Silver Sparkle Has Lightning Slidebar super high output single coil pickups with great output and lightning fast attack! Each Mona comes equipped with an Indian Rosewood Fingerboard, Hard Rock Maple Neck, Lightweight, super resonant, Ivory bound Tonium body with composite top & back, Master volume and tone,3-way pickup selector, 15:1 precision tuners,Full scale 22 fret neck, Fully adjustable bridge & truss rod. Truss rod adjustment at head stock, String through body,3-ply beveled pickguard and much more. MSRP $399.00"

[Danocaster]

did someone call me ??

I read the thread title and came a runnin'

[BB]

Originally Posted by bebopalula

Telestar "Mona"(reissue??)MSRP - $399.-

"The "Mona" Silver Sparkle
Mona Silver Sparkle Has Lightning Slidebar super high output single coil pickups with great output and lightning fast attack! Each Mona comes equipped with an Indian Rosewood Fingerboard, Hard Rock Maple Neck, Lightweight, super resonant, Ivory bound Tonium body with composite top & back, Master volume and tone,3-way pickup selector, 15:1 precision tuners,Full scale 22 fret neck, Fully adjustable bridge & truss rod. Truss rod adjustment at head stock, String through body,3-ply beveled pickguard and much more. MSRP $399.00"

Yep.....that is the spittin image of my Mona. Same color. pickguard....everything. Been a while since i've been so smitten with a guitar. Just goes to show ya, ( per the cheap guitar threads ) thrillers come in all sorts of low cost packages. Although, I'm sure glad I paid $100 and not $399!!

[bebopalula]

PC was down here for a few days...


danocaster...glad to have your input!
(and borrow your screen-name for the project).

JMPRO's brass String-THRU-Bar arrived
a few days ago(thanks,JM!)...
bought paint supplies
...working right now on a plexiglass
Neck-rout and double HB-rout Template.

any one have a Black Strat Hardtail bridge
they'd like to sell??,let me know.





Guitar Fetish Parts looks like the best source,
and prices at the moment.


i'd also like to find a Black HB pup-ring
(in metal) if possible...the plastic ones seem easy to find,
but i'd prefer metal if possible...



i've got some cast-off HB's for the moment,
but the possiblities of dropping either HB-sized P-90s
or some Gretsch-clone pups in this project later on,
are tempting.

:D

[James]

This is awesome! I am getting ready to build a couple of DC or U2 Dano style body after finding my reissue U1 and Barritone to be totally uninspiring tone wise. Just bought a sheet of 1/4 masonite. Got lotsa 2x4's layin around. :)

[bebopalula]

glad you're gettin' sparked up!!

:D

re: "2x4s"

i imagine you're kidding,
and while they might not be bad
for a coupla practice bodies,
heavy weight,knots, and checking so on
could undermine your efforts a bit.

as you may know,the original Dano's used Poplar.

i used 5/4 White Pine
that is quite dry and light weight.
hopefully it will be resonant
(and the headstock isn't gonna dive on me.)

the idea of increasing the body depth
on the next try or two sounds interesting to me.

i'd like to see how a 2" or 2-1/4" total depth
affected the sound and playability.

my hunt for the neck and bridge are on,
and jwells393 photos of setting up a neck pocket rout
have me primed for the next bits of
careful surgery on the body.

after i make the neck pocket template,
a coupla dry runs on some 2x stock
wouldn't be a bad idea at all.

the body has come out better than i anticipated,
so i've dialed back the "slop meter"
in hopes that i can make something pretty nice
outta what i got here so far.

be sure to check out
Fat Dawg's Subway Guitars website
....and the pages he has on Dano construction
and refurbishing.

Fat Dawg would be a good Dano parts source,
particularly necks, i believe.

the Dano section is here:
http://www.fatdawg.com/danelectro.html

plus there's this great pic from Fat Dawg's site:


also there is:

www.danguitars.com
for a "parts-for-sale" section,a history section,
and a gallery of pics.

post pics of your project(s) once you get going!

:D
____________________

PS - you might consider making this "bowtie" model,
the "Pro I "...the Copper is a great finish too:

[James]

Yeah the Pro-1's are awesome. I'm gonna start with a neptune.
Is this true "By the fall of 1956, Daniel started making the Silvertone and Danelectro lines using the standard Dano materials: a Poplar wood frame (that comprised the sides, neck and bridge block of the guitar), stapled together and covered with 3/8" thick masonite."

Do you think he meant 3/16"

I bought 1/4" you think that'll hold up?

[Jack Wells]

How much did these things sell for back in the '50s? They must have been really cheap..........

[bebopalula]

wasn't buying guitars then,myself,
but Sears and Montgomery Ward sold
Dano made instruments under the "Silvertone" brand...
some with the famous "Amp-in Case":



(Bigger)Pic of (Sears?) Silvertone Guitar with "Amp-in Case"

Fat Dog's webpage and the Dan Guitars pages
have some interesting history about them.

Subway Gutars: Dan Electro Guitars,Basses,& Baritones


The History of Danelectro - at Dan Guitars


Danelectro Corporation - Neptune, New Jersey USA


and i just rediscovered the
"Vintage Guitars Info's DanElectro, Silvertone, Coral
Vintage Guitar Info."
webpage on provide.net

lot of good info and pics there.

prices must have been around $75.- to $100.- tops.

this is a terrific graphic:



Harmony was another mfg of low-end guitars..trying to find
a great factory pic i recall on the web.

[jwsamuel]

I am working on a similar concept right now, only mine is made entirely of mahogany and has a neck-thru body style.

Jim

[maggieo]

My people!

Not only am I nuts about my Thinline, I've got a Fatdog Danelectro AND a TeleStar Mona!

Dano and Thinline:





Some beauty shots of Mona:







I'm very curious about the Kelly Dano-Tele- has anyone played one?

[BB]

Sweet geetars Maggieo! Tell me more about the Fatdog. I know he is a real Dano freak. Tried to buy a neck from him at one time for the one that snapped on my U-1. He hemmed and hawed for a spell, then decided he couldn't stand to part with one! Anyway, it sure looks sweet.

How you like the Telestar? I just picked up a Silver Sparkle Mona and I love that thing. The local vintage shop just got a sunburst Mona in on trade. I'd get a twin for Mona, but the want too much money.

Cool guitars you got there! Thanks for posting them.

[maggieo]

Originally Posted by BB

Sweet geetars Maggieo! Tell me more about the Fatdog. I know he is a real Dano freak. Tried to buy a neck from him at one time for the one that snapped on my U-1. He hemmed and hawed for a spell, then decided he couldn't stand to part with one! Anyway, it sure looks sweet.

Fatdog is a real character. I suspect he's best when dealing with people in person, because he can come on kind of strong. But I kind of like that in people. No BS at all.

The guitar is a thing of wonder- it's easily the most recorded of all my guitars- it shows up on all my best tracks from "Mystery Turtle" to "Stupid Rain" (check out the Dano-meets-Fuzz Factroy solos!) to the faux Ribot of "The Last Two Drops." (Just follow the link in my sig to hear the tracks) The neck is a big ol' fat thing and wide, too. The controls are wild- the pots are push-pull and allow me to select between in/out of phase and series/parallel wiring. Both pickups are always on. I don't miss the pickup selector switch at all. It's got four super-sweet, singing, twanging tones.

Originally Posted by BB

How you like the Telestar? I just picked up a Silver Sparkle Mona and I love that thing. The local vintage shop just got a sunburst Mona in on trade. I'd get a twin for Mona, but the want too much money.

Cool guitars you got there! Thanks for posting them.

The Telestar is really sweet, too. The fit and finish is just amazing. I wrote a detailed review over at Harmony Central- check that out for more. The sunbursts are awful pretty- maybe you can wheel and deal on it? I'd be more than happy with another Mona. but then, I have a problem with acquiring guitars.....

[James]

Anybody have an opinion on 1/4 masonite? Think its strong enough for a dano style guitar? I guess the originals used 3/8's.