Danelectro Mod

Going Modern in a Post-Modern World

by Emile Menasché
July 9, 2000

Summing it Up With its pawnshop looks and low price, it may be tempting to dismiss the Mod as just another retro rehash long in flash and short on substance. Not true. In fact, this well-executed guitar has way more than a nostalgia-filtered pretty face to recommend it: It's well built, sounds quite good, and generally plays as well as instruments double in price. The Mod's downers -- a somewhat anemic tone control and restricted access to the upper frets -- are outweighed by a longer list of positives: stable tuning, nice action, and an impressively wide array of available sounds. We won't go so far as to endorse Danelectro's recommendation of "dumping all your other axes … and your girlfriend," to get a Mod, but we liked it enough to recommend you give it a serious audition.

When it comes to tapping into the sentiment of the retro guitar vibe, few companies can match Danelectro. The original Danos -- built from the mid-'50s to the late '60s, and often branded as Sears Silvertones -- took the form-following-function axiom to the extreme. By utilizing materials such as Masonite tops and lipstick-tube pickups, the original Danelectro company fashioned affordable, functional, and unique instruments that look as cool today as the fins on a '59 Chrysler Imperial. No wonder so many players of a certain generation are proud to claim that a Dano (or a Silvertone) was their first real guitar.

Fast forward thirty years. The music biz is on a nostalgic bent. Low-cost/high-quality Asian imports are readily available. And the Danelectro name and spirit are revived. Unlike some purveyors of retro chic, today's Danelectro is still about bang for the buck, offering solid performance at tempting prices. The company's Korean-built instruments also boast enough hipster charm to fuel the next six Austin Powers sequels. Danelectro is not completely caught in a time warp, however: While the Mod cheerfully tips its cap to Danelectros of yore, it is no reissue, but a completely new instrument with its own distinct personality and tone.

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Emile Menasché is the Senior Editor, Guitar/Bass at Harmony Central. He previously served as Editor-In-Chief for Guitar Shop magazine.