Danelectro DC59M NOS+

BODY: Masonite with
poplar frame
NECK: Maple, bolt-on
FINGERBOARD:
Pau ferro
FRETS: 21
SCALE: 25”
PICKUPS: 2x
Danelectro NOS+
Lipstick singlecoils
(neck and bridge)
CONTROLS:
2x stacked volume
and tone
SW ITCHING:
3-position toggle
HARDWARE:
Fully adjustable
wraparound bridge,
vintage-style tuners
FINISH: Deep Blue
MetalFlake [as
reviewed], Silver
MetalFlake
CONTACT:
danelectro.com/
0113 286 5381
AT A GLANCE
TOTAL GUITAR MARCH 2020
102
T
he 60th Anniversary DC59M
comes in a choice of silver or
blue MetalFlake fi nishes,
which might be too disco for
some, even for birthday
celebrations. But then those people
could always plump for the DC59M
NOS+, which comes in black to best
serve their fantasy that they’re actually
Jimmy Page, the tune is Kashmir,
and they’re standing atop the stage
in some Midwest enormodome.
Whatever, it’s all a matter of taste.
Either way you’ll get the famous
Danelectro construction, Masonite on
the top and bottom with inside frame
that gives the DC59M a lightweight
homemade feel.
When you pick it up and plug it in, it
soon gets serious. This guitar might be
fun with a price to match, but there are
few rock ’n’ roll contexts, professional,
amateur or somewhere in between,
where it doesn’t make perfect sense.
This is ready for the studio or stage.
There are a pair of NOS+ (New Old
Stock) Lipstick singlecoil pickups in
the bridge and neck positions that
really nail vintage rock tone. They are
pleasingly quiet, work well with some
dynamic overdrive or fuzz, and are
ultimately well balanced tonally, with
solid lows, plenty of midrange punch
and a real snap to the high end. The
aluminium nut must help deliver
some of that brightness.
There’s a three-way selector and two
stacked controls with the inner white
control handling tone and the outer
black control handling volume. It’s a
neat touch visually, but can get in the
way when playing, especially with the
volume taper requiring a fairly wide
turn of the knob for swells and so on.
There’s a noticeable spike in volume in
the middle position, too. But these
foibles are soon forgotten, such is the
playing experience.
The maple neck is bolted onto the
body with a blocky heel and yet is so
svelte that it accommodates noodling
anywhere on the fretboard. Tonally,
this will handle blues, rock, grunge,
country, punk... Dial in a little slapback
tape echo, some spring reverb, and
you’ve got rockabilly twang that’s
thicker than pomade. This is truly a
rock ’n’ roll machine.
DANELECTRO
DC59M NOS+
Honk if you’re shorthorny
TH
E G
AS
S
T
A
T
I
O
N
£529
THE MAPLE NECK IS SO SVELTE THAT
IT ACCOMMODATES NOODLING
ANYWHERE ON THE FRETBOARD
Fun on the outside,
serious on the inside
with stage-ready tone
and studio chops alike
DANELECTRO
TGR329.gear_test.indd 102 03/02/2020 11:36