Danelectro DC59M NOS+

BODY: Chambered
Masonite with centre
block and spruce
frame
NECK: Maple, bolt-on
FINGERBOARD:
Pau ferro
FRETS: 21
SCALE: 24.5”
PICKUPS: 1x
Danelectro Dual
Lipstick humbucker
(bridge), Danelectro
vintage-style
large housing
singlecoil (neck)
CONTROLS: 1x
volume, 1x tone with
push-pull coil-tap for
bridge pickup
SW ITCHING:
3-position toggle
HARDWARE: Fully
adjustable 12-string
vintage-style tuners
FINISH: Blood Red
[as reviewed],
Vintage Cream
CONTACT:
danelectro.com/
0113 286 5381
AT A GLANCE
MARCH 2020 TOTAL GUITAR
THE TG TEST
103
T
ransplanting the 64XT’s
pickup and switching
confi guration to the Shorthorn
doublecut body of the 59
models, the 59X12 has a
reassuringly familiar setup, all the
better for investigating its octave-
forward 12-string voice. An electric
12-string is by its very nature a strange
beast. In recent times we’ve seen
Fender’s Electric XII resurrected,
complete with cartoon headstock and
split-coils. The 59X12 off ers something
diff erent. The bridge humbucker off ers
a thicker, punchier voice. As with all
these Danos, there is plenty of treble,
that brightness again enhanced by the
aluminium nut.
You can be as fastidious as you like
with the tuning and intonation and yet
when you dig in there’s that natural
chorusing eff ect; when using with any
sort of overdrive it is a heady mix.
Shoegaze players would love layering
gain and some fuzz over the top and
letting the harmonic overtones work
their magic. On single-note rockabilly
lines, the 59X12 sounds incredible with
some slapback echo and reverb, the
overtones contributing to the rumble,
but it’s when you’ve got this running
clean and letting those notes collide and
bleed into each other that it comes
into its own. Engage the coil-tap and
you can go full on Byrds jangle. You
could lose hours messing around with
that oversized neck singlecoil, and
that’s before engaging the pedalboard.
There’s a psychedelic quality to
electric 12-strings before adding
eff ects, but stepping on an old
orange box phaser and you start to
worry less about the odd bum note and
more about that acid fl ashback taking
hold. It can feel a little neck heavy; there
is a lot of metal on that headstock, but
again that Dano slimline bolt-on neck
is so easy to get to grips with.
If we had other gripes it would be
that the controls being a little hard
to grip for engaging the coil-tap. But
this is certainly no deal-breaker. At
this price, the 59X12 presents good
value, and it’s seriously tempting to
have it as an option to complement
your six-strings. All studios should
have one. All players should make
its acquaintance at some point in
their lives.
DANELECTRO
59X12
Jangle all the way
£649
YOU COULD LOSE HOURS
MESSING AROUND WITH THAT
OVERSIZED NECK SINGLECOIL
Lose yourself in the
psychedelic 12-string
trip and that’s before
the pedals take effect
DANELECTRO
TGR329.gear_test.indd 103 03/02/2020 11:36