Danelectro’s customers may no longer be their target market.
Reissuing Budget Pedals with Premium Prices
Danelectro has announced their new products ahead of NAMM2020. At least two of these products have been sold as part of their budget line in the past.
The understandable of my two concerns is the Danelectro 3966 Fuzz: This item has a price tag of $199. It is a reissue of the “Foxx Tone Machine,” which itself fetches a handsome price. The Foxx Tone Machine itself has been cloned several times over, including the Danelectro French Toast which is available for about $25-$40 USD.
Current Danelectro owner Steve Ridinger designed the original Foxx Tone Machine. He can do what he wants with it. Steve owns the company making the budget-friendly French Toast. Steve owns the company producing the 3699. This is eyebrow raising but not entirely offensive.
The Danelectro Back Talk Reissue
Danelectro Back Talk: $199. This is where people lost their minds.
The “Back Talk” used to sell for $30-$50 new. It was part of their budget line. This pedal is a delay — like an echo — except that the echo is reversed. Reverse delay. Used units have been selling for about $250 – $350 in online storefronts. I have spent years hoping for a reissue to make the item somewhat affordable again.
The $30 pedal was selling for $250 or more online.
The $30 pedal got a $199 reissue.
It’s Not Only Me
…we would like to be able to afford this budget pedal from Danelectro.
If it was only me having this reaction then I’d stay quiet. I spoke to and heard from a lot of people who remember the $30 – $50 days of the budget pedal. We all had similar feelings.
A ceiling of about $150 would have been great. $125 would have been mind-blowing and amazing. No one expected a $30 price tag again. No one saw $199 coming
This is not why long-time fans have asked for a reissue. Our reasoning was that we would like to be able to afford this budget pedal from Danelectro.
Please.
We would like to be able to afford the budget pedal.
Josh “$399 Fuzz Pedal Scott” Broke the News
Danelectro did not tell their fans about these reissues until after Josh Scott made the announcement on his own YouTube channel.
JHS Pedals are generally well liked, but can sometimes push the upper boundaries of what a single piece of equipment can cost.
I’m not smart enough to dive into some of the negativity toward JHS/Josh Scott. Truth be told, I love when his videos go into him genuinely choosing a subject to completely explore. His history videos are brilliant and a lot of fun.
In short, Danelectro broke the news to boutique buyers first.
JHS sells $399 Fuzz pedals.
JHS broke the news that this former budget pedal was being reissued with a $199 price tag, which reached a boutique/collectors audience before it reached Danelectro’s customers.
Danelectro sold affordable gear to passionate players.
My History as a Danelectro Fan
…on one hand, I can appreciate Danelectro’s situation regarding their image. On the other hand, some of us fans were loyal through these years.
I was a drummer. My brother played guitar. He bought a Danelectro U2 reissue from the late 90s that sounded amazing no matter what he played on it.
I bought my first guitar around the same time, hoping to write three chord punk songs. As I learned, I would sometimes get to play my brother’s U2. It was the only electric guitar that I ever loved to hear played clean. It’s a beautiful sound that can still brighten any day.
I pined after a Danelectro of my own. Grew up. My drums stayed in my parents’ barn. I kept my Ibanez and collected some pedals for that. Most of them were Danelectro’s pedals: Trip-L Wah, Daddy-O Overdrive, Fab Metal & Echo. The whole range. The Fab Metal is still on my board. I’m building a second board almost entirely around the others.
Still, I grew up. The guitar collected dust for a long while or would only come out on occasion. I had kids and hobbies they wanted to share with me. And I continued to tell everyone that some day, I wanted a Danelectro like my brother’s.
Whenever I said I played Danelectro pedals, other guitar players admittedly looked down their noses at me. They could be very impolite. I took a lot of heat for playing “the cheap gear.” So on one hand, I can appreciate Danelectro’s situation regarding their image. It could not have been a great situation to be “that” brand for so many years. On the other hand, some of us fans were loyal through those same years.
My marriage fell apart in 2015. An ankle injury means playing drums for any length of time can make it difficult to walk for days. My small electronic drum kit stayed nearby. It was time to change focus.
I picked up that old Ibanez guitar and collection of Danelectro pedals. That became my new preferred vice. Since 2015, I feel I can finally play well enough to justify spending more money on this passion.
In 2018, my parents paid for the bulk of a new Danelectro guitar as a combined Christmas/birthday present. I also paid for some of it out of my own pocket.
That was the guitar I told everyone for decades that I would get some day. Not a Les Paul or a custom Strat. A nice Danelectro.
That guitar is a Go-Go Blue ’59 NOS+. If I could save only one guitar, it would be that one. I would miss the Ibanez that has been my companion for half my life.
This Danelectro is the guitar.
Danelectro Was the Sears Guitar
“Silvertone” was a brand of electronics sold by Sears. This included their guitars, which were in fact made by several different manufacturers. Danelctro was among them.
A smarter history of the brand can be found at Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvertone_(brand)
Danelectro’s Gear was Distinctly Danelectro
Danelectro has a long and cherished history for being both a budget brand, and being enthusiastically itself. The guitars are made of different materials. The pickups differ from almost anything else on the market.
Their pedals and accessories often followed suit. Even their most beloved “clone” was a clone their owner’s own design.
Is It Time for New Divisions?
Is it time to reintroduce a new Fab series for budget-conscious or money-strapped players?
Is it possibly time for Danelectro to brand as two businesses, similar to Fender & Squier or Gibson & Epiphone? One brand could assume the high-end label and the other brand could be continued for budget users. If so, which brand would carry the “Danelectro” name and its associated history?
Or is it just time for everyone to look back fondly and move into a new future?
Danelectro’s Customers Can No Longer Afford Danelectro’s Products
Even if we can, justifying the price tag is extremely difficult.
Everything about the recent announcements has left this long time customer, dreamer, and diehard fan feel as though I’m not their market any more.
Maybe they need to do this to survive the next decade. I would much rather see the brand live on for a very long time. I’m not privy to any knowledge that would let me tell them how to run their business.
Yet, I can’t help feeling it’s time to clear the way. The company is far too cool for riff-raff like me now.
Items that once sold for $30 got some better parts I’m told, a new paint job, and a collectors-edition price tag. The man who produces $399 pedals broke the news to his audience before Danelectro broke the news to their audience.
Danelectro simply is not the fun, quirky, and accessible brand that many of us have loved for so long.
Danelectro seems to exist for the collectors now.
Danelectro’s long-time fans can no longer afford Danelectro’s products.
Sincere Well Wishes, Whatever the Future Brings
My thanks to Danelectro for everything they have added to music: From the old photos of Hendrix with 56 Silvertone through Jimmy Page all the way up to the distortion pedal that became a crucial part of my own sound. My sincere gratitude goes to the company.
I can not follow where Danelectro is currently going.
I hope Danelectro continues to inspire so many people and prosper along the way. They have added a lot to music. We would all be lucky if they continue to do so for a long time.
He has worked as a level designer for a small online video game, as the grim reaper in a haunted house, and traded web design for concert tickets and tattoos.In years past, he could be found performing improvised comedy or stage magic in the south side of Austin, Texas.
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