Doing Things Wrong

Danelectro '63 (1457) Guitar

This body style was originally reissued in a range of models - guitar, bass ( long and short scale ) and baritone. I only have the guitar. These were part of Danelectro's Chinese production, and while not bad, are not as nice as the prior or later Korean models. A second reissue in 2015 restored the gloss sparkly finish of the vintage original. None of the reissues use the original headstock shape, though.

This guitar was issued in a wide range of models and colors.
A bass model, showing the stock dull finish, dull chrome, dingy 'vintage' pickguard, and controls.
nice shine

I modified mine to be more like the original, with dual stacked knobs and front-facing output jack. I also installed a rosewood bridge and replaced the binding. The binding on this body style is especially prone to peeling off inside those recurved horns. Finally, I stripped off all the dullcote and polished the body to a shine, and stripped the yellow coating from the pickguard. See the Pro-1 guitar for details on that.

The re-issue dual stacked controls and other parts were once readily available online, but are now all gone. I drilled out the marker holes in the knobs and glued in tiny brass nails, like the vintage knobs. I think this guitar is much nicer than when it left the factory.


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Gluing up a white pine body core with a maple center block

White pine is the low-grade cheap stuff you find at most home centers. Although strong enough for most things, it is very soft and prone to surface damage. White pine is also prone to dark marks from pitch. These can turn up inside pieces that otherwise looked clean.