I finally found this advertisement, which shows a price of $59.95 direct. Converted to 2022 dollars, that is $561.44 !!! Guitars were relatively more expensive back then - a Telecaster was around $240, ($2250) while a Strat was in the neighborhood of $300, ($2800) so the Danelectro was still very inexpensive. The ten dollar 'canvas case' translates to $93.65. Even with inflation, things have gotten cheaper.
Danelectro is my favorite type of guitar, simply for the genius of their unorthodox, inexpensive, yet highly effective designs. I love the tone of old-growth masonite. If you are looking for details, the Pro-1 Bass is the most complete build documentation.
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This is a real Danelectro Silvertone 1452 from the 1960s. When I got it, it was a sad box of parts. Some hillbilly had stripped it, by rubbing it on the sidewalk, I think. The fretboard had delaminated, and the old repair had simply made the problem permanent. I repaired the neck and fixed all the other issues, replaced the lipstick tubes, which had split, and clear-coated the whole thing in modern poly. I was not able to fully repair the neck, there's just not enough wood left, so I don't keep it under tension. The pickguard is stained dark for contrast. I cleaned tarnish off the old metal bits with oven cleaner, and replaced all the corroded fasteners with shiny new stainless ones.
More: Silvertone 1457 "Rescue" Guitar ...
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