Danelectro Upgrade Project

[PeterUK]

I "inherited" my daughter's Dano Pro 56 over the holidays in a deal involving her needing a substantial advance on her allowance to acquire a new outfit and being a serial guitar modder I've already started modding it to make it more playable.

I've started with the tuners and fettled the nut a little and made it a much better playable guitar.

I opted for the Hipshot lightweight locking tuners (I took the photo before I drilled and fitted the locking screws and they are much straighter now) band they look and work fantastically. I'll fill the existing holes in due course.

Here's some more pictures: http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/283134397

The next jobs include replacing the electronics - the pots and very poor quality and are either on or off - and replace the bridge.

Has anyone ordered from these guys: C&J Tooling?

The existing bridge is very poor quality and I'd like to replace it with something more substantial. The C& J Tooling bridge looks simple and functional.

I've e-mailed them but sadly no reply as yet but it's only been a few days.

I also discovered that the guys at Armadillo Guitars had done a couple of prototypes but nothing ws commercially available. This is one of theirs:

Does anyone else know of alternative bridge suppliers? The problem with one-offs is that they are expensive and it's impossible to justify for such a cheap guitar.

My plan is to carry out all the mods and when the weather improves make a solid wood body a la Jerry Jones guitars and move all the components across to that.

I'll keep you posted on progress.

Peter

 

[g-nem]

I've been meaning to do some work to my dano's. BTT!

 

[Buckshot]

I've got the C&J bridge on one of my silvertones - I recommend it highly! Great guy to do biz with as well!

 

[PeterUK]

I've got the C&J bridge on one of my silvertones - I recommend it highly! Great guy to do biz with as well!

That's reassuring. I hope he responds and is not put off because I'm outside the "lower 48".

Peter

 

[mediocreplayer]

How much is the C&J bridge? Is it possible to get it w/ individual saddles?

Peter -- you might find this thread helpful:

http://www.reranch.com/reranch/viewtopic.php?t=31078&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Somewhere in that page there is a link to a bridge, the one on the bottom left in this page, for $18:

http://www.azguitarparts.com/id6.html

Enjoy modding. Cheers!

 

[PeterUK]

How much is the C&J bridge? Is it possible to get it w/ individual saddles?

I got an e-mail from them yesterday: $75 + shipping for the saddles. The saddles are available seperately too for $25 + shipping.

I tried to PayPal them yesterday but the [PayPal] system didn't recognise their e-mail address so I'm assuming they use a different one for payments.

Peter -- you might find this thread helpful:

http://www.reranch.com/reranch/viewtopic.php?t=31078&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Somewhere in that page there is a link to a bridge, the one on the bottom left in this page, for $18:

http://www.azguitarparts.com/id6.html

Enjoy modding. Cheers!

Thanks for the link. I was aware of it and I've seen a number of people use the Wilkinson bridge; in fact, I've installed one on a spare bits Caster I'm putting together. This one:

The beauty of the C&J bridge is that it doesn't require modification and retails the Dano look and feel of the guitar. I'm also planning to create a solid alder, pine or ash body as a the next stage to determine if the Dano can be further improved.

Hey, I'm having fun!

Peter

 

[mediocreplayer]

Wow. $100 for bridge+saddles? That's more than half the price of the Dano!

Oh well.

 

[RomanS]

I've got a Dano 56 Pro RI as well - but I didn't see any reason to replace the tuners on mine, they are not bad at all!
I DID replace the bridge, exactly with the cut-down Tele-style Wilkinson lined above - but only because I turned my Dano into a baritone, and the original Dano bridge string holes were too narrow for fat bari strings - other than that, there's nothing wrong with it (granted, setting intonation is a bit of a hassle with that desing...) - what do you dislike about it?
Here are pics of mine, before and after I turned it into a bari:

 

[PeterUK]

....what do you dislike about it?

RomanS

I followed your baritone project on the TDPRI. Good job. BTW, I've figured out how to add a Bigsby and avoid the upper body lifting.

The Wilkinson bridge is fine. I like the one on the Pinecaster but I want to try something different. Something that keeps the ambience of the Dano without going to Tele-ish.

Despite the comments above spending $$$$ on a $200 guitar, I'm working towards recreating a solid body during the course of this year so a quality bridge will be a good investment long-term.

Thanks for your input.

Peter

 

[RomanS]

RomanS

I followed your baritone project on the TDPRI. Good job. BTW, I've figured out how to add a Bigsby and avoid the upper body lifting.

How did you do it?

 

[Buckshot]

Wow. $100 for bridge+saddles? That's more than half the price of the Dano!

Oh well.

No, its $75 shipped for the bridge & saddles. It's also a much higher grade component custom made by a machinist on an on-demand basis, not some stamped out of zinc in the 3rd world item.

As a trained machinist myself, I assure you it's a bargain for the man's time, machinery & experience. I looked at it myself & considered making a knockoff, but I knew the time I'd put into it was worth more than the price he charges. IMO, it's a bargain if you're a serious lover of old Danos & want to make 'em more gigworthy without defacing them, but I guess its too expensive if your Dano is only worth a couple bills to you .

 

[googoobaby]

My plan is to carry out all the mods and when the weather improves make a solid wood body a la Jerry Jones guitars and move all the components across to that.

Why do you think the JJ guitars are solid wood? I have two of them (Neptunes) and they're both formica over mystery wood (poplar or pine I think) skeletons, just like the Danos.

 

[PeterUK]

Why do you think the JJ guitars are solid wood? I have two of them (Neptunes) and they're both formica over mystery wood (poplar or pine I think) skeletons, just like the Danos.

Thanks for the heads up on that. I was under the impression they were solid. Doesn't alter my plans thhough. With the ultra light resonant pine I've got, I think it will make an interesting project / tone / guitar.

Peter