Silver Lake Vintage Guitars

1959 Danelectro U2 

"Fire Truck Red"

Danelectro started making guitars in the late 1940's in Red Bank, New Jersey. It was known for producing affordable but usable stringed instruments, primarily marketed through the Sears Roebuck catalogue. With innovative design and production techniques Nat Daniel, founder of Danelectro, produced a low-cost product that did the job!

The Lipstick pickups on the U2 with the coil housed in a metal tube really worked. These pickups have a unique sound favoured by such players as Jimmy Page, Ry Cooder, and many others. And it was Jimi Hendrix's first guitar, bought by his dad from the Sears catalogue.

The U2 was constructed with a Masonite body and a poplar neck, and the thickest rosewood fingerboard found on any guitar of the period. It featured tilting neck adjustment and adjustable pickup height, via separate screws on the back of the guitar, and dual concentric volume and tone pots (later adopted by Leo Fender on the first variant Stack Knob Jazz Bass). Nat also introduced an electric six string bass as early as 1956. Danelectro instruments were innovative, low cost, and had a distinctive tone and design.

Most production models were black with white vinyl leatherette sides. Some early single cut U2's were constructed with silver edges and other models, usually marketed under the Sears Silvertone label, had vinyl covered bodies and came in brown, light tan, and green.

The 1959 model U2 guitar featured here is in the extremely rare custom colour " Fire Truck Red" with a matching “Coke Bottle" headstock. Never seen one before! It comes in its original red lined soft shell period case.

 Without doubt a very cool guitar.