Just a couple of years ago, music stores were having a hard time selling a new Danelectro guitar – the Dano reissue craze had run its course and dealers were selling them at cost. Then, Danelectro quit making guitars, opting to run with its line of effects pedals. Perhaps as a result, the once lowly-regarded guitars, especially the doublenecks, baritones, 12-strings and triple-pickup models, are fetching respectable money on the used market.

Those prices, along with the fact that genuine vintage Danelectros typically cost well over a grand, may indicate that the Dano craze isn’t over just yet, or has been rekindled as more players realize that the instruments have a unique sound and vibe that so much other retro gear just doesn’t deliver.

Amongst those who see the potential are the new owners of Danelectro/Evets, and at this winter’s NAMM show, they brought a solitary new model, the 56 Pro. Planned for production in limited numbers available through a limited number of dealers, the Korean-made instruments are a significant step up in terms of quality compared to the previous reissues.

The new 56 Pro has features similar to the first reissues and true vintage Danos, such as a single-cutaway semi-hollow masonite top/back with a plywood center body, “lipstick tube” single-coil pickups, a clear pickguard, three-way pickup selector, bolt-on maple neck with rosewood fretboard, cast bridge with adjustments for height and intonation (seen on some of the later reissues but not the originals), and an aluminum nut. And the color pallet has remained very retro, with its Gold, Red, Black, Cr