Danocasters... is the hype real?

Norlin4life · March 23

I've been considering a Dan t-style but after a bit of research it seems they are essentially Parts Casters with bodies and necks from the Guitar Mill, which he then finishes/modifies slightly in house? Or have I got this completely wrong? Seems like a crazy high price if so...

stickyfiddle · March 23

They're extremely good instruments.

You're right that they're "partscasters" but that's no different to what Fender has always done - it's inherent in the design. Dan has the guitars & bodies made to his spec and then finishes them meticulously and equips them with the best hardware & pickups you can get. They're also setup and fettled as well as anything I've ever played, including exceptional fret dressing, rounded ends, rolled edges etc. Ultimately a Strat or Tele is a relatively very simple guitar so it's always going to be the tiny details that set them apart.

Obviously it can never be fully objective but my Danocaster Strat is genuinely head & shoulders above every Fender CS I've ever played, and most vintage instruments as well, and everyone who has played it agrees it's as good as it gets. I got mine before the last price rise, but even at current RRP they're a far better value instrument than FCS in my view. And they make the likes of Nash look like a joke, quite honestly.

That said, buying mine has also pushed me to make much more effort in my own MJT builds, and after putting that level of attention into the Tele I built last year got me a guitar that's very very close to the Dano in quality for around half the cost. But of course mine has parts-only resale value, as it doesn't have a "name" on the headstock.

TLDR: They're *really great* guitars but it depends what you value in an instrument as to whether that's worth it.

This is mine on day 1:

And this is the most comfortable fretboard I've ever played

brooom · March 23

I've owned two, if you use the search function you'll be able to find them as I sold both through this forum.

At the time they were a hard sale. Hardly anyone here in the forum was interested at all.

The tele was quite good. In particular the Florence voodoo 60s pickups were impeccable, and in hindsight a guitar I could've kept, but in all honesty my wildwood 10 fender custom shops are better.

The strat was good, but a bit of a deception. It didn't really meet my expectations and Dan decided to do a swimming pool route without letting me know. I contacted him after I received the guitar and asked about it. As I didn't specify this type of route when I ordered it, he told me because I chose an alder body he did to get a couple of ounces off the weight... I wasn't thrilled about it.

CloudNine · March 23

Like many of these sorts of brands, mostly good/great guitars, but anything that elevates It beyond that is hype. There will be some Dano's that are better than some Fender CS, and vice versa, just like there are plenty of Team Builds that are better than Masterbuilts and vice versa. And many of the above that are better than many vintage examples and vice versa. You get the idea. All about the individual guitar and whether you gel with it. I have owned a plethora of CS, vintage, other booteeky F types and found the above to be true.

brooom · March 23

@CloudNine - right on, I've had my hands on plenty Custom shops, vintage, japanese brands (old and new), as well as all other sorts of guitars... The odds work in your favour when you get a higher end guitars of course. But at the end of the day it's all about how a specific guitar sounds and feels to you.

Norlin4life · March 23

stickyfiddle said:

They're extremely good instruments.

You're right that they're "partscasters" but that's no different to what Fender has always done - it's inherent in the design. Dan has the guitars & bodies made to his spec and then finishes them meticulously and equips them with the best hardware & pickups you can get. They're also setup and fettled as well as anything I've ever played, including exceptional fret dressing, rounded ends, rolled edges etc. Ultimately a Strat or Tele is a relatively very simple guitar so it's always going to be the tiny details that set them apart.

Obviously it can never be fully objective but my Danocaster Strat is genuinely head & shoulders above every Fender CS I've ever played, and most vintage instruments as well, and everyone who has played it agrees it's as good as it gets. I got mine before the last price rise, but even at current RRP they're a far better value instrument than FCS in my view. And they make the likes of Nash look like a joke, quite honestly.

That said, buying mine has also pushed me to make much more effort in my own MJT builds, and after putting that level of attention into the Tele I built last year got me a guitar that's very very close to the Dano in quality for around half the cost. But of course mine has parts-only resale value, as it doesn't have a "name" on the headstock.

TLDR: They're *really great* guitars but it depends what you value in an instrument as to whether that's worth it.

This is mine on day 1:

And this is the most comfortable fretboard I've ever played

But Fender source/dry/cut/shape their own wood, which would make their bodies and necks unique to them. But yes I take your point. Just seems very expensive for painting, relic’ing and fretwork on off-the-shelf bodies. His painting is very nice though, and the necks seem well finished. Perhaps some of the best relic work currently being done.

For quite a bit less money you can get an Eggle OZ-T which is something I’m also considering. Which is all completely made in-house.

stickyfiddle · March 23

Norlin4life said:

stickyfiddle said:

They're extremely good instruments.

You're right that they're "partscasters" but that's no different to what Fender has always done - it's inherent in the design. Dan has the guitars & bodies made to his spec and then finishes them meticulously and equips them with the best hardware & pickups you can get. They're also setup and fettled as well as anything I've ever played, including exceptional fret dressing, rounded ends, rolled edges etc. Ultimately a Strat or Tele is a relatively very simple guitar so it's always going to be the tiny details that set them apart.

Obviously it can never be fully objective but my Danocaster Strat is genuinely head & shoulders above every Fender CS I've ever played, and most vintage instruments as well, and everyone who has played it agrees it's as good as it gets. I got mine before the last price rise, but even at current RRP they're a far better value instrument than FCS in my view. And they make the likes of Nash look like a joke, quite honestly.

But Fender source/dry/cut/shape their own wood, which would make their bodies and necks unique to them. But yes I take your point. Just seems very expensive for painting, relic’ing and fretwork on off-the-shelf bodies. His painting is very nice though, and the necks seem well finished. Perhaps some of the best relic work currently being done.

For quite a bit less money you can get an Eggle OZ-T which is something I’m also considering. Which is all completely made in-house.

They do. But why is that important? Does Fender’s CNC machine do a better job than everyone else’s?

A Strat body’s contours are well understood at this point (never mind a Tele’s!) and it’s daft to suggest Fender are doing a universally better job of that process than anyone else. Guys like MB and Pinehome appear to be doing at least as good as Danocaster and I regularly drool
over their respective releases

I’m not going to tell anyone that every Dano is better than every Fender because I’m sure that won’t be true either. But what I can say is that CS Fenders hold almost zero interest for me these days, even though I generally love Fender style guitars above all others.

Philly_Q · March 23

They're just two bits of wood bolted together.

Well we might as well reduce this to the level of every Fender Custom Shop discussion ever.

dazzajl · March 23

It’s real in as much as, yes it’s hype.

There are hundreds of small and medium sized companies making exquisite copies of Fender and Gibson designs, with exceptional attention to detail, skill and expensive boutique hardware. These will not necessarily be twice as good as a hand built guitar that costs half as much

Wazmeister · March 23

They are good, but imho not Fender or Masterbuilt good...

I personally think that they should be half of market value.

Just sayin'.

I would and have bought CS before a Danocaster.

YMMV.

strtdv · March 23

If you get one and it's an instrument for life then it's worth it (though you could probably get something the equal of it for less).

There is an element of hype though, and ultimately if you're buying for the dual reasons of enjoying the guitar AND as an investment I can't see them current values forever, and the drop could be sharp when it hits (Don Grosh, MB etc seem to hit around £2800 on the used market, Nash quite a bit lower, I'm not convinced a Danocaster is objectivity better to those).

If you're buying used them one of the reasons a Fender Custom Shop or Masterbuilt is a safe bet is that even if you don't like it for one of the myriad illogical reasons we don't "bond" with guitars, you'll be able to sell it for roughly what you paid for it.

fretfinder · March 23

I’d be interested in trying one but they do seem very expensive for what they are, plus there’s the headstock shapes… Fender got their Strat and Tele headstock shapes so right imho (apart from 70s Strats obvs

) and I don’t think I could live comfortably with any of the altered Strat/Tele headstock shapes that are out there, including Danos. I know some folks don’t care about that issue and of course that is absolutely fine, vive la difference!

Philly_Q · March 23

fretfinder said:

I’d be interested in trying one but they do seem very expensive for what they are, plus there’s the headstock shapes… Fender got their Strat and Tele headstock shapes so right imho (apart from especially on 70s Strats obvs )

FTFY.

brooom · March 23

I took this photo back in 2019 I think... In this photo there's a fender custom shop masterbuilt (Greg Fessler), a danocaster, a musikraft blackguard partscaster and a fender MIJ VSP.

If you asked me to pick one, I would have a really really hard time.

Image: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/32881432997_aabe879540_o.jpg

soma1975 · March 24

brooom said:

If you asked me to pick one, I would have a really really hard time.

Yeah I feel that way about telecasters too

blueskunk · March 24

Get a Fender mate.

steveh · March 24

Honestly, I drank the USA boutique Kool Aid: Gallons of it, including x3 D'Pergos, Suhr, Tylers, Anderson, Fender etc. etc.

Turns out that Silver Sky was the sweet spot for me.

Sporky · March 24

steveh said:

Honestly, I drank the USA boutique Kool Aid: Gallons of it, including x3 D'Pergos, Suhr, Tylers, Anderson, Fender etc. etc.

Turns out that Silver Sky was the sweet spot for me.

There's an argument that if you want to make something really well, make at least 10,000 of it.

chris78 · March 24

Only played one in coda around Xmas - a tele.
Meh. Thought I was going to buy it before I tried, came out with a CS, but there was an atkin I preferred too.

stonevibe · March 24

What one guitarist feels is good is not what every guitarist wants from a guitar. This works well for everyone, as we all like different guitars and setups. Thankfully, the used and new guitar market is saturated, so there are many good guitars for everyone.

paulmapp8306 · March 24

Norlin4life said:

For quite a bit less money you can get an Eggle OZ-T which is something I’m also considering. Which is all completely made in-house.

Just do that lol. Picked mine up for a good price (wasnt a custom build - though Im considering a strat type build - It was from Music Street who did an "If you walk out with it today" deal when i asked for one).

https://i.imgur.com/eDHOP9x.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/IbJz9GG.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/rAOcxMO.jpg

I did replace the bridge pickup - which for my tastes as a little too bright BUT as the PUs ar Mojos, I just spoke to them - told them how I wanted to change it, and went with the esquire they recommended. I kept the original tele special in case I wanted to try it again down the line.

i spent 4 years trying to find the right tele, adn this has turned out to be it.

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Danocasters... is the hype real?

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