A Couple Danelectro / Silvertone Builds

Painting? Routing? Set-up tips? Or just straight-up making a guitar from scratch? Post here, and post pics!

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Post by cooter »

Zack wrote:Very cool, I thought the pro was a cool shape when I saw the reissue a few years ago (cool enough that I had a go at making one, though in hindsight I wish I went with cheaper materials) my only issue with that shape is upper fret access. What are you thinking color wise? I really do like the rustic look of plain masonite.
Thanks. Yeah the shape is definitely not upper fret friendly. More of a three chords and a fuzz pedal guitar.
I was thinking of black with silver flakes like the old Sears Silvertone 1448's. I'm restoring a 1964 Silvertone 1448 and the back and the neck had been spray painted. One flat black and the other blue and red. Go figure.
Anyway, I've stripped that off and repainted it to match the original front. It turned out pretty nice as far as a matching up.
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Post by cooter »

Finished the 1964 Silvertone 1448 restore project. This thing sounds amazing to have just the one pickup.
The guitar body was pretty worn. I wanted to keep the original front paint. The back had been spray painted and so had the neck.
I stripped that and refinished them to match the front. I gave them both some heavy wear to match the front.

Before pics.

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After pics.

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Josh
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Post by Josh »

Looks ace bro! They're amazing guitars I absolutely love mine.
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Post by cooter »

To be honest I had pretty low expectations. The original pots were green with corrosion. I shot them with some contact cleaner
and that was about it. The input jack was a little wonky at first but the thing sounds and plays great now. It's one of those rare
guitars that feels so comfortable in your hands from the first time you play it. It's like I've had it for years.
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Post by stewart »

if you ever feel like selling that, hit me up. i desperately regret getting rid of mine.
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Post by cooter »

stewart wrote:if you ever feel like selling that, hit me up. i desperately regret getting rid of mine.
Will do. 8)
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Post by sunshiner »

Never part with it)) It's better to have one great guitar than a hundred of good ones. I dig that Flat Duo Jets decal
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Post by stewart »

sunshiner wrote:Never part with it))
oh

thanks
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Post by sunshiner »

stewart wrote:
sunshiner wrote:Never part with it))
oh

thanks
Never part with your Coronado. It is better to have one great guitar than a hundred of good ones
(Somebody who is the first in a queue to buy it, if you are selling, now is angry at me)
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Post by stewart »

:lol: :lol:
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Post by henkstroem »

Looking at these awesome builds gives me the urge to find my ~62 1448 body thats somewhere on the attic complete with a totally moldy and trashed amp-in-case. Maybe a spring project. Really like a buddys 1457, weird serial wiring if i remember correctly, though. None of that on the 1448, I like single pickup guitars for their lack of alternatives to ponder over.

P.s.
I like modern glue for its versatility :P
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Post by cooter »

Thanks.

Here's an update on the Pro 1 build. Been working on the black sparkle Silvertone style paint. I'm happy with it so far.

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Post by cooter »

Another little update on the dano/silvertone builds.

I bought this body off ebay and repaired the holes and painted it to match the neck I bought off Con Tiki over at offset. It's turning out real nice. So I'll have a 1448 and a 2 pickup 1449 when completed.

The pro 1 is finished except for a nut, pots and an input jack. I'm probably going to trade it since it's pretty much the same as the 1448, just a different body shape.

I've got a tele custom silvertone build in the works as well. I've been painting everything black w/silver specks. I still haven't got around to painting the longhorns and the U1. They won't be black w/silver specks. :lol: Going for copperburst and copper on those two.

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Last edited by cooter on Thu Feb 04, 2016 10:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by HNB »

That tele looking one is super hot. :D
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Post by Josh »

Bruh. I may need to hit you up about these things if that's ever cool. Your work is insane.
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Post by cooter »

Thanks guys. Got the tele custom together this weekend. I've realised I started way too many of these Silvertone/Dano builds. :oops:

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Post by littlericky »

Love these Dano builds. Did you notice a difference between the ply frame and the pine frame as far as sound?
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Post by cooter »

littlericky wrote:Love these Dano builds. Did you notice a difference between the ply frame and the pine frame as far as sound?
I can't really say yet. The pine frame projects are to only ones I've finshed so far. I do love how they sound though. :D
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Post by cooter »

This is the first weekend in a long time that I've had time to work on guitars.
I finally got the 1449 wired up and strung up. Here's a shot of the two side by side.

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Post by Josh »

Looks amazing man. Those 1449s are my favorite. Keep kicking myself that I missed out on one that was going for cheap