2020s Danelectro (Korea) ‘59 Resonator Acoustic/Electric Guitar

Overview: I was worried when this got dropped-off that I wasn't going to like it. So many "electric resonator guitars" are just not engineered correctly. This one surprised me, though -- the designers fixed so many of the flaws that this type of instrument usually has and actually made something enjoyable.

The wiring is all passive so there's no fussy battery or preamp to drive the piezo pickup located under the cone. The magnetic pickup and the piezo pickup are balanced pretty-well in output, too. What's best is that it sounds best when both are "fully on" in the middle of the blend-pot control. The neck on its own sounds like... a Danelectro but a little more "steely" from the acoustic response of the cone. The bridge/piezo pickup on its own sounds a little trebly and lackluster. Mixed together, it's quite believable.

Still, my video is only acoustic because there are a variety of plugged-in videos to hear and folks are hesitant to just mic these things. Did I mention they figured-out the acoustic bit on this?

Most solidbody resonator electrics don't vent the rear of the cone (where most of the volume is) to the front of the instrument. This one is routed and chambered in such a way as to do that. Brilliant! That's my number-one gripe with these as a "take-anywhere" acoustic/electric solution -- something fun to play both pluged-in and unplugged. While the sound is not full and deep below the D string acoustically, it's definitely loud-enough to pick a bit and strum-around in an acoustic jam.

I don't want folks to expect too much, especially as the "factory setup" was rather lousy and it needed tweaking, but I'm so happy to report that this model actually has good design behind its ideas. Yip!

Repairs included: I cleaned it up a bit, adjusted cone seating, added compensation to the saddle for 3-wound, 3-plain stringing, and set it up. It's playing spot-on and is ready to go.

• Weight: 7 lbs 11 oz
• Scale length: 25"
• Nut width: 1 11/16"
• Neck shape: medium C
• Board radius: 16"
• Depth at first fret: 0.83"
• Depth at seventh fret: 0.89"
• Body width: 13 3/8"
• Body depth: 2"
• Body wood: ply something-or-other
• Bridge: maple w/maple saddle
• Fretboard: rosewood
• Neck wood: likely maple
• Pickups: 1x single coil lipstick, 1x piezo in cone, w/blend control
• Action height at 12th fret: 1/16” overall (fast, spot-on)
• String gauges: 46w-10 electric unwound G (compensated for unwound g)
• Truss rod: adjustable
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: jumbo

Condition notes: It's pretty clean save for a fairly good bump ding to the side (pictured), though it's in an out-of-view location for the most-part. There's only the mildest wear to the hardware otherwise and only very light swirling/usewear to the finish throughout.

It comes with: As I recall, this just has a gigbag.

Consignor tag: MORT