Danelectro '56 Baritone

DANELECTRO
’56 BARITONE
£499
Get into the spirit of ’56 with this ’tone-laden beast
THERE’S
no
doubt
about it: the baritone’s back.
Maybe it’s because extended-range
guitars are such an everyday sight,
or manufacturers are just getting
bored of churning out instruments
in the same ol’ tuning, but we’ve
seen more than our fair share of
’tones over the past few months.
What better builder to add to the
pile, then, than Danelectro, which
was the first company to launch
the electric baritone in the late
1950s – and its new ’56 Baritone
pays homage to that bygone era.
While some baritones offer
guitar-like 648mm (25.5-inch)
scale lengths, this is a traditional
’tone, with a guitar-meets-bass
scale of 755mm (29.75 inches),
which ships tuned a perfect 4th
lower than standard tuning (B E
A D F# B). Long-necked beauties
like these need strings to match,
too – they’re typically strung with
0.014 to 0.068 or 0.013 to 0.062
gauges. You’ll struggle to emulate
the wailing bends you wring out of
your regular electric, but this isn’t
designed for widdly solos; the ’56
Baritone is a rhythm machine.
If you’re yet to experience a
‘true’ baritone, it could feel like
that neck goes on forever – and
the 24-fretted fingerboard further
reinforces that impression. Dano’s
typically lightweight Masonite
body construction means that the
neck is a little top-heavy, too, so
make sure you don’t let it drop!
None of these teething problems
matter as soon as you strum
your first chord, though: the ’56
Baritone sounds massive.
If you’ve read any of our other
Dano reviews, you’ll know that we
love the company’s lipstick single
coils – the ’56 Baritone takes their
versatility to another level. The
neck pickup is perfect for bass-
heavy grooves on the low B string,
while flicking to the bridge pup
engages a biting twang more akin
to a traditional guitar – using the
selector switch is like switching
between instruments, rather than
pickups! The middle position,
which, in traditional Dano style,
runs both pickups in series for
increased output, gives you gnarly
overdriven tones – perfect for
thrashing out punk and indie riffs.
However, as well as their
distinctive tones, Danelectro
models are known for occasional
quirks in build quality, and this is
no exception. Remember we said
you’d struggle to bend those thick
strings? Well, the fourth string on
our review model had a habit of
popping out of its nut slot when we
attempted a wide vibrato or hit the
open string with force. A new nut
or deeper slots could fix that here.
Build quality aside, the ’56
Baritone has us hooked. You never
know how useful a baritone could
be to your sound until you play
one: it bulks up recordings, and
even fleshes out live performances,
treading the line between guitar
and bass. However you use a
baritone, ’56 is a damn good place
(and time) to start.
Michael Brown
It bulks up recordings and
fleshes out live performances
FEATURES
SOUND QUALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
BUILD QUALITY
PLAYABILITY
OVERALL RATING
SUMMARY
TWO lipstick single coils let you
choose between bass and guitar
tonalities – or engage both for
extra muscle
PICKUPS
LIKE most Danelectros, the
guitar’s body is made out of
Masonite (or hardboard), which
makes for particularly resonant
tones when combined with the
heavier string gauge
CONSTRUCTION
WITH a 755mm
(29.75-inch) scale length,
the ’56 Baritone’s neck can
take a bit of getting used to,
but it makes for an authentic
’tone playing experience
NECK
GEAR DANELECTRO ’56 BARITONE
FEBRUARY 2014 97
BODY: Masonite,
laminated wood frame
NECK: Maple
SCALE: 755mm (29.75”)
FINGERBOARD: Rosewood
FRETS: 24
PICKUPS: 2x lipstick single coils
CONTROLS: 1x volume, 1x tone,
3-way selector
HARDWARE: Intonatable
saddled bridge – chrome
LEFT-HANDED: No
FINISH: Gloss Black
CONTACT: John Hornby Skewes
0113 286 5381 www.jhs.co.uk
TGR250.gear_dano.indd 97 12/23/13 11:07 AM