Advice needed on "cheap" baritone purchase: Danelectro 56 vs. Gretsch Jet?

[E5RSY]

All input appreciated.

Scott

 

[Edgar Allan Presley]

They have the same scale, 29.75 inches. That's the big thing I look at because I like that long scale, versus most baritones in the 27-inch range. I love my Danelectro baritone, but I tried the Gretsch one too and liked it a lot. Depends on the look, feel, pickups you prefer, I guess.

 

[E5RSY]

They have the same scale, 29.75 inches. That's the big thing I look at because I like that long scale, versus most baritones in the 27-inch range. I love my Danelectro baritone, but I tried the Gretsch one too and liked it a lot. Depends on the look, feel, pickups you prefer, I guess.

How different does the Gretsch sound compared to the classic Danelectro tone?

 

[Edgar Allan Presley]

The Dano is thinner and twangier, but it has the in-series middle position that's quite hot. The pickups on the Gretsch aren't classic filtertrons or anything. Sort of like generic mini-humbuckers, brighter than you'd find in an Epiphone or Gibson, but still fatter than singlecoils.

If I remember right, the Dano is much lighter than the Gretsch.

 

[Alex_C]

I went through this a few months go. I ended up purchasing a 28" baritone neck from WD music and popped it on a Warmoth body. It plays well but I don't enjoy the sound of Humbuckers on a baritone. I'll be putting a HB sized P90 in the bridge and a standard strat pickup at the neck.
The Dan-O would be my choice because of the pickups.

 

[wulfenganck]

I can't say anything about the Danelectro, although I was tempted to try it out. But I would have waited for a couple of weeks and the Gretsch was readily available, that's why I own the Gretsch G5260 - an d a happy owner I am.
The building quality is just excellent, the binding, the colouring, the fretwork - no dings ore dongs, not sharp edges on the frets. One of the tuners doesn't run smoothly, but it holds the tuning, so I'm fine with that.
Danelectro has the ring of....cheap'ish building quality, I have no idea, if that's the case for the baritone. However: the Gretsch is of quality craftsmenship you would expect for a much higher pricerange, easily up to the range of 900 - 1.200 Euro guitars.
29,750 inch are massive, but I also play bass and could easily adjust to the scale and also the neck. It's solid, but I never liked the small 80s necks anyway. After some adjustments in string height, it plays nicely
It's not a light guitar, but it hangs very comfortable, especially no neck dive.
The mini-humbuckers provide a warm tone, actually I could use a bit more bite, but that's maybe due to the string gauge (14 - 68). I wanted to do a B to b tuning, but that didn't work, the string-tension was too high for my liking. Now I have it tuned to the factory setting A to a and that's just....huge!
The output is rather low, if you're anything into modern metal with heavy downtun-riffing (which you are apparently not, considering your interest in these two particular baritones).
If you look for a twangy and/or chimey tone, the Gretsch is probably the wrong guitar. But it's not a one-trick-pony. It provides a rich tone that works for cleantones, i.e warm humbucker-like tones, but it also works fine for distortion tones. Not really modern style metal, but a solid rocktone is there.
Anyway, as I said: I'm happy with it and it provided me with lots of new ideas.
I sometimes wish a bit more bite and treble, but I don't regret buying it.

 

[runstendt]

Not trying to muddy the waters at all, but a Squier Paranormal Baritone Tele, or even an Eastwood baritone might be worth thinking about.

 

[televillian]

well crap, gas again

 

[Harbinger77]

Danelectro punches above its weight class more frequently than most companies, period.

The Art Deco 50s themes aren’t for everyone but the sounds are legit.

 

[ReverendRevolver]

What's the problem here?

BUY BOTH.

it really matters what colors you're looking at. I don't like Gretsch that isn't part hollow with a Bigsby on it, and I think Danos are typically solid, but the color matters alot; unless you buy both anyway.

 

[bottlenecker]

The dano is close to being a repro of a successful, classic design that sounds good.

The gretsch is not. They started putting the jet name on generic les paul type things, and this looks like the baritone version of that. Those mini humbuckers always show up on their cheapest models, and I don't like their sound.

 

[getbent]

I have the dano an older model. It is woodier.

the gretsch I have played and it is a good guitar too.

I think pick the one you like to look at, both will do their thing.... with both, you'll eventually wish you had a 6 string tic tac bass.

 

[NTC]

Wasn't the classic tic-tac bass a Dano baritone?

 

[getbent]

Wasn't the classic tic-tac bass a Dano baritone?

I think it was and is a 6 string bass--> e to e.

 

[noname_dragon]

My Dano has a single wooden saddle and intonates very well. It has a unique tone in the middle position. I sometimes tune down a whole step for a softer feel and even more twang. It is a great guitar considering it's cheap build, but it works.
It sounds amazing thru my Vox AC15!

 

[sloppychops]

I went through a similar dilemma several months ago. Ended up not buying anything. Figured the novelty would wear off pretty quickly and then I'd have another cased up guitar taking up space.

 

[mad dog]

Haven't tried the Gretsch. There are two Dano '56 baritones. One is called the '56 vintage. IMO, that's the one to get. Excellent p/us, better than any of the RI danos I've tried. It has a slightly smaller body than the regular '56 bari, with one f hole. So in construction, much like thinline tele.

 

[E5RSY]

The output is rather low, if you're anything into modern metal with heavy downtun-riffing (which you are apparently not, considering your interest in these two particular baritones).
If you look for a twangy and/or chimey tone, the Gretsch is probably the wrong guitar. But it's not a one-trick-pony. It provides a rich tone that works for cleantones, i.e warm humbucker-like tones, but it also works fine for distortion tones. Not really modern style metal, but a solid rocktone is there.

You are correct about the sound I am going for. I'm looking more for a Lord Huron sound. Or, Doug Corcoran with JD McPherson's band. Classic tones.

 

[W.L.Weller]

Based on listening to one Lord Huron track, one JD McPherson track, owning a Korean Danelectro baritone and never playing a Gretsch baritone; I'm going to tell you to get the Danelectro unless you want/need the Bigsby.

The Danelectro has the sound you're after right out of the box (well, and the right strings for your preferred tuning). But you could put new pickups in the Gretsch. There's no way to get a Bigsby on the Danelectro.

 

[Tarkus60]

Eastwood MRG Baritone Guitar – Eastwood Guitars

A friend has one of these. I like it and he loves it.