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If the topic has moved to Danelectro basses, don't forget that Duane got a Danelectro 6-string bass in 1959 and was so taken with the sound that 10 out of the 12 tracks on The Twangs The Thang (recorded autumn 1959) feature it.

Ray

Yes, I have heard that Duane Eddy used a Dano 6-string bass on some of those early 'twang' recordings, but at the time in the 60s, we would have been ignorant of such a thing, & certainly of the Dano brand. To us, Duane was the Gretsch guy. I too was surprised when I learned that Dano bodies were made of 'Hardboard'. When I think about it now, they were a typical budget guitar for young Americans that were sold from catalogues & chain stores at very basic prices. There is a guy who comes to my music club, plays a modern Dano U2 style 12-string, very well &, it sounds great.

Yes, the nightclub I refer to was indeed the Cedar Club in B'ham town centre, located in the basement of a Drum store. Ace's Fender slab-bodied P. Bass was White with a Black scratchplate. Our band had been playing until about 10.00 pm at a pub in Quinton called the Hollybush when the Cedar Club manager phoned the venue & asked us to get down there ASAP to deputise for the Move, who were delayed on the M1. If you are aware of the nature of nightclub managers in those days, you didn't refuse, if you know what I mean.

I'm sure that you will remember the 'Stones' record of the 60s, Paint it Black. That had a Sitar riff, & I am wondering if that was a Dano instrument used at the time. I can't remember what we saw on Top of the Pops at the time, but wouldn't have known about Danos anyway in those days.

Tony.

RUSSET wrote:
I'm sure that you will remember the 'Stones' record of the 60s, Paint it Black. That had a Sitar riff, & I am wondering if that was a Dano instrument used at the time. I can't remember what we saw on Top of the Pops at the time, but wouldn't have known about Danos anyway in those days.

Tony.

As Brian Jones was something of a multi-instrumentalist, I've always assumed the sitar sound was genuine.

From a video of Paint It Black...


Bill

Just lately I have subscribed to a chap on YouTube named David Niles, who demonstrates guitars, amps pedals etc. He is a fan of surf music - I would guess he is in his early 60's, so he seems to favour the traditional approach to surf - and his vids are no nonsense, straightforward with no faff or fluffing about. He will compare several types of guitars, pointing out the differences, which I find helpful.

He would seem to own one or two Dano guitars, as well as being a fan of squire jazz masters. No bass guitars that I can see, but I have learnt a lot about drip and wet reverb, as I am slowly becoming an aficionado of surf music, as it matches my interests in Fender guitars and amplification. He seems to have been active for at least the last 10 years so I have a lot to catch up with! PS I like his version of Apache - he stays faithful to the original, with a couple of his own licks.

Kindest regards,
Christopher

RUSSET wrote:I'm sure that you will remember the 'Stones' record of the 60s, Paint it Black. That had a Sitar riff, & I am wondering if that was a Dano instrument used at the time. I can't remember what we saw on Top of the Pops at the time, but wouldn't have known about Danos anyway in those days.

Tony.

Paint It Black was recorded and released in 1966. The Danelectro / Coral Electric Sitar models weren't available until 1967. It was records like Paint It Black and Norwegian Wood that had created the market for a guitar that sounded a bit like a sitar, which is all the Dano really was.

One of the models had a set of sympathetic-drone strings which added to the effect, but both got their sound from the use of a very flat break-angle over the specially-designed multi-angled bridge, which caused permanent string buzz. It was the buzz that gave the sitar sound.

I remember seeing the Rolling Stones on TOTP with Brian J using a proper Indian sitar. He was a definite innovator. Remember his bottleneck solo on I Wanna be Your Man?

The Dano sitar was used, I think, on Joe South's The Games People Play. I'm pretty sure it was also used by Marvin, Welch and Farrar.

Although, regrettably, not a Fender, my curiosity was sufficiently aroused! Quite impressive it its way...



Bill

GoldenStreet wrote:Although, regrettably, not a Fender, my curiosity was sufficiently aroused! Quite impressive it its way...
Bill

Brilliant!

RayL wrote:If the topic has moved to Danelectro basses, don't forget that Duane got a Danelectro 6-string bass in 1959 and was so taken with the sound that 10 out of the 12 tracks on The Twangs The Thang (recorded autumn 1959) feature it.

Ray

Absolutely.

And there it is pictured (sitting on a stand) on the sleeve of his "$1,000,000 Worth Of Twang" LP.

https://www.nostalgiadirect.com/pub/media/catalog/product/cache/c687aa7517cf01e65c009f6943c2b1e9/d/u/duane-eddy-twangy.jpg

Because They're Young - as I had the exceptional pleasure of being able to say to Duane Eddy when I met him at NAMM some years ago: "The best guitar record of the 1960s, bar none".

Sorry, couldn't quite resist this, featuring a Longhorn bass player... doesn't get much of a look in, unsurprisingly!



Bill

JimN wrote: ... a very flat break-angle over the specially-designed multi-angled bridge, which caused permanent string buzz. It was the buzz that gave the sitar sound

There is a set of saddles for a Tele that does exactly that. It's called the TLSIT Sitarizer. I'd buy a Tele just to get that sound!

ETA: It seems that one is no longer available, But Gunther Eyb in Germany makes the same thing, which comes in 3 versions, for a Les Paul/335/SG etc, for a Tele or for a Strat (which fits both trem and non-trem versions). If you want one for your Strat, it will cost you 150 Euros. I'm not so keen now!