I'm gonna have to be conversational here and say that honestly hand on heart I prefer the tone of the original pickups. I know they're a little flat sounding and not so articulate but there's just something special about them. To my ear they sound that little bit more chime and twangy and that is possibly down to them being lower output. There's also the a massive part of the appeal to me that it being lower output makes it sounds rather vintage inspired so that fits the kinda grainy garage rock thing I like 😅 Sorry for the gushy rant but I just love them and as such I wouldn't change the pups in my Danelectro DC-59 M NOS for anything 😅😅😅
I recently scored one of these for $100 Au in fair condition and after researching that little rosewood bridge shim I have to agree it adds such a mellow tone with the stock pickups, it’s just such a tone master, I love it.
I do like the factory stock pickups, but I believe I'd be ok with the Novaks...I would need to adjust the EQ/Levels on the Novak config to suit the traditional oem factory tone. I think the bigger winner to me is the bridge upgrade for sure.
Hi, thanks for the videos (both this and the previous one). I have the same guitar in black. I really love the sound and look. I don't play so loud, so the low output is ok for me. The bridge is a nightmare for stringing! It has just a notch, so until you get the string tight enough, it keeps jumping out all the time, from the notch (and for the first strings, the bridge itself moves all the time, as it is not fixed to the body). You really need three hands, one for winding, other for tighting and guiding the string low, and the third to keep the bridge ends of the strings in place... Anyway, I knew that these were cheap guitars, both in hardware and wood (wood?), so I keep it just like it is. I'm happy with it. Thanks again!
I've also upgraded everything on mine, vintage cloth wire, CTS stacked pots, nep tone lipsticks, switchcraft output, leo quan wraparound bridge and Kluson tuners
@@JoePerkinsMusic with the new bridge's they work even better! Just a shame a most companies cut corners with the electronics & pickups :) yours sounds so much better with the mods!
@@lukephillips7505 Oh yeah! But I suppose, Danos have always been budget guitars...even in the 50s they were built with rubbish wood & components; the lipsticks were incredibly cheap to make. But that's their beauty - they're much more than the sum of their parts!
The new ones sure sound a bit hotter and clip some more, but frankly I wouldn't be investing that kind of money for this difference. Except for the adjustable bridge!
The beauty of the lipstick pickups is the low output on them... like a tele. The best sounding Les Paul is the '59, their pickups are so lowoutput that they are closer to a Strat than a modern Paul. I'm also lefty.
Yay for lefties! Yep, the old PAF humbuckers were about 8K, whereas the stock p'ups in my '92 LP Standard are about 14K! PAFs are so much more dynamic...but then again, plug the '92 into a Marshall and...well, you know! :P
@@JoePerkinsMusic I had a Les Paul Classic Premium Plus (94 maybe) it had ceramic 498R and 500T, very very hot pickups, on my JCM 900 was super overdriven, but was the nature of the 90s.
@@JoePerkinsMusic Hi. I am lefty also. Have the same guitar. Bought the same bridge. I tried to switch the string saddles but no luck. Won't fit. Can you tell me exactly what to do? File the width of some of the string saddles? Did you have to modify the new bridge in any way? Please help me to make this work. The original bridge warped again 😕
@@davidkastin4240 Hi David! Yeah, that's exactly it...I think it was just the low E saddle that had to be filed...but I just took a little width off the side that rests against the A saddle so that it'd fit in the gap. You get bigger gaps between the higher string saddles but that doesn't really bother me...much better to be able to intonate the guitar, I think! The only modification I made to the bridge (aside from the wooden block to bolt it flush to the guitar) was I had to re-drill a new hole for the low E string saddle to screw down into to lock it in place...not because of the filing, but for general intonation. I couldn't move it far enough back with the screw hole where it was, so I drilled a new hole a few mm behind. But - you might be lucky. I think that had as much to do with me using a 60-gauge low E string as it did with the design of the bridge, so if you're using 'normal' strings you might be ok! :-) Let me know if you have any more Q's!
@@JoePerkinsMusic Did you have to file the little nubs off the back of some of the saddles also? It's a bit of work but I'm concerned about being able to intonate it correctly. The original bridge warped up, possibly because I don't play it much and the string tension caused it to warp up on both bottom sides of the original bridge. Surprisingly the intonation was very good before it warped
i found a nice set of vintage style locking tuners which are great to have, for all the reasons locking tuners provide. also, changing the bridge means now you are going from the original "wood" bridge to the "medal" bridge. that is part of the tone change and also the output level, even though the new pickups are absolutely guilty also of the better, bigger, cleaner yet more powerful sound. just some ideas ... those vintage style locking tuners bro. try 'em.
Oh man this is such a tuff decision, sound wise is about 50/50 for me.. I think if the new p/u’s had slightly less output it’d be right on, but that’s what volume and tone controls are for. Great video!!
I did ask for the Novaks to be 100% vintage accurate and they turned up being a little hotter than I was expecting - but as you say, just turn it down a little eh? :P
I can’t quite believe that some think the pre-upgrade tones are superior (scratches his head), but to each his own! I find the upgrades not only superior but desirable! Going to do the same after watching your vid. Cheers!
First of all, thank you so much Joe for the post! There really isn't much anywhere on the internet about these guitars; perhaps it is because these are affordable? Look for videos and information on a 1959 Les Paul and you are spoilt for choice! In reality, who can justify paying that much for one of those? I have a DC59 NOS, the Jimi Page model with the Leo Quan bridge. I love this guitar, but there are 'some' things that irritate me, because it is a guitar made to be sold, rather than played. I am in the process of upgrading some of the components, therefore I'm curious to know which parts you chose? I couldn't find any mention of these in your posting. Which pickups, pots, caps, switch and jack did you use?
I bought a lot of russian pio, alnico II, III and IV, the same wires, 500k american stuff but the stock Dano sounds better to me... less gainy sound. If you want a special D anelectro sound just get a boss overdrive and comes to life.
Why didn't you get the Chris Novack lipsticks with the vintage wind? The higher ohm ones have no jangle, no twang. It's a fine sound but sounds nothing like a Dano any more.
With the mods she generally sounds „better“: fuller with more range and bottom end, but lost the charm of that tinny voicing… Would’ve been interesting to hear the difference after each particular swap- with just the new bridge, then old bridge + the new pups. Finally new bridge + new pups. For every test using the same ol' strings. The pots beeing of same value, the diffeence might be not hearable. Cheers
I just got one of these myself, the blue and cream version, at a music store for pretty much the price of a steak dinner. It's awesome! But the bridge and tuners are ridiculous. I got some new grover tuners, but I'll likely leave the rest as it works, and I want to keep that unique sound. Maybe I'll modify the stock bridge just to make it a little easier to work with.
Bolting the bridge down really did make the whole guitar feel less....delicate? I'm not afraid to hit it hard now, whereas before I was always waiting for the bridge to disappear into outer space :P
Hey great video! Quick question, what is the output to the Curtis Novak Lipstick Pickups is it vintage low output: 3.4k - 4.0k like on their website or did you get medium or moderate output level pickups instead?
Thanks! I believe the outputs are 6.2k(B) and 5.8k(N) - but I measured those with my old multimeter, which it turns out had been giving some pretty wild readings! When I ordered them I asked Curtis for 100% vintage-spec....'tis all i know! :-)
Thanks for this video! I've had mine for about 20 years and I'm finally bringing it out of the closet to fix up for my kids. Definitely love the upgrades! I've always hated the bridge too! I've ordered a new one. At the end of the vid you mentioned when you switched yours out that you went down to a 1 tier. Did that mean you got rid of the wood altogether or did you cut it in half to fit?
They're killer guitars for what was - even back in the 50s - always intended to be a budget instrument!! It was the wooden chock I made to mount the new intonatable bridge on so that it wasn't floating...I thought two bits of plyboard would be the right thickness but in the end I only needed one, so I split it in half :-)
Hi Scott - I asked for mine to be 100% vintage spec. He didn't say they were his 'low wind spec' specifically but I'm pretty certain that's what they they'll be!
I think it sounds a lot better with the new stuff. Thanks for posting this. I have the same guitar and am not crazy about the pots. I'd really like to replace them with just one volume and one tone pot. Any suggestions?
No worries :-) I can't say I'm too wild about the dual-concentric pots either, to be honest! I think that if you used a Telecaster Series wiring schematic, that would allow you to use a single vol & tone for both pickups.
I've got one of those 90's U2s in a green-burst that I bought new when they first re-issued them in the mid-nineties. It's always been a good guitar even though it's not my first choice to gig with. I didn't feel the need to change much on it: I got the same intonatable bridge, gave it a Switchcraft jack and changed the tuners. I surprised that you didn't feel the need to do that or maybe my tuners just wore out because they were really slipping a lot. In my local music store I found this set of Chinese replacements by this company called PING (I know, it's a funny name for tuners) that were low cost and of the same design and shape of the originals only slightly larger but still were a direct replacement without any drilling or modification. It fixed the tuning issues for not much money. I use 10-46 strings so maybe that's the difference. I really like the sound of your Williams Pro II pedal by the way.
Hi Joe, love the channel. Really interesting vid this time. What difference did you notice when you changed the pots out, if any? PS as an old Quo fan I always smile when you hit that "In My Chair" riff. Nice work! Jake
In this video, I did all the swaps at the same time - so I couldn't really say on the pots specifically (though they were the same values as the originals, so I'd wager the new ones didn't make much difference at all!) Always nice to meet another Quo fan!! :D
Great video, sir. I’m wondering how much better the tone and sustain would be by simply adding the wood plate under the original bridge? It seems that the extra contact between bridge and body would affect it greatly. Opinions? I’m going to give it a try with mine. Also, the intonation CAN be “adjusted” by moving the wooden saddle. There is a screw underneath the bridge holding it in place... which is actually ridiculous, but that info may help others having intonation problems.
I realize you made this video a long time ago, but do you happen to remember the wind of the Novak’s (vintage 3.8k, medium 4.6k, high 5.8k, etc.)? Nice playing, btw.
The DC resistances are at 10:52 - I did ask Curtis for them to be '100% vintage accurate' when I ordered, but I suspect they're the high output going by that scale...6.2k and 5.8k
Other in the comments disagree, but I much prefer the new pickups in this guitar - to me, it still sounds like a Danelectro but with more of the good stuff. Hotter pickups are typically better suited to heavier tones - though the lower output ones will generally give you more dynamics. So...best bet is to listen to a few Dano players with tones you like; find out the specs of their guitars and see what pickups out there will get you closest to them :-)
What is the bridge wedge made of? I was thinking about installing the Graph Tech ResoMax NW2 Wraparound Bridge with String Saver Saddles on my Danelecro guitar.
I actually made it out of a sheet of ply-board that arrived in a parcel as packaging :P Happened to be exactly the right thickness to get the action exactly where I wanted it...happy coincidence!!
Joe Perkins thanks for getting back to me. I’ll have to get with my luthier and see what is best for me. I’d like your idea a lot better then the Graph Tech ResoMax NW2 Wraparound Bridge with String Saver Saddles.
No problem! For me, bolting the bridge onto the body made a big difference - definitely sustains better now, and of course can be intonated. Plus, it's possibly a psychological difference too - I'm very happy hitting the guitar hard now, whereas with a bridge suspended on two tiny screws, I was always waiting for the thing to fly off! :P
Definitely the Novak pickups have an overall better tone to them. Im looking at getting one of his New Yorker pickups for my epiphone coronet. It’s a single coil wound to similar output as vintage p90. He also does a modded pickgaurd as the pick-up currently in the coronet is a epiphone pro p90. Simple install. The 1959 coronet used the remaining New Yorker pick up before they changed it to the p90 in 1960. So by putting this into my reissue coronet will give it a more vintage aesthetic. Or do I swap it for a Monty’s 54 p90 which will look the same. Struggling to decide. Any thoughts? I might add it’s being upgraded to 50s wiring at the same time ..
Hi Joe, are the potentiometer values 1 Meg for volume and 100K for tone? I would’ve thought 1 Meg for volume would be too bright for this single coil pickup…plus, reading online I’ve found contradictory information - 100K for volume. I’m the changing the lipstick pickups in a left handed Surfcaster 12 string to Novak pickups and need a bit of guidance vis-a-vis pot values…did you source reverse pots for this upgrade? If so, where did you find them? Cheers.
Joe, great video! Are the pickups still wired the same, in series after the new ones were installed? Or did you go with a typical tele style parallel wiring?
Wired exactly the same - so the middle position is the two lipsticks in series. :-) I actually used the Dano today to demo a fuzz pedal...first time I've used it in a good while for a video, and it sounded ace!!
Not sure if you’re going to see this comment but if you do could you send me the wiring diagram from the controls. I’ve got a dc59 that I want to put concentric pots on but the last guy mucked about and put the middle position into parallel rather than series 🙄🙄
Hi Joe is it necessary to change the pots to higher power ones as well because because the pickups are higher output, I was thinking of just changing the pickups only, thanks Kim
Hi Kim - nope, not at all...you can swap just the p'ups no problem whatsoever! :-) The only thing that really makes a difference with pots is their value - generally speaking for most guitars, that's 250k for single coils and 500k for humbuckers (though Danos are weird with 100k for tone and 1Meg for volume...don't worry about that too much!) You can run any pot with any pickup & it'll work fine - they don't have a 'power' as such so hotter pickups don't need a different pot, but as a general rule the higher the value of the pot the brighter they'll sound. Experimenting with values can be fun, but with these Danos we're kinda stuck with the pots they have as they're a very different design to the majority of guitars. So yeah - swap away! :-)
@@JoePerkinsMusic thanks Joe for the prompt reply, thats great to know, yeah i'm gonna swap out the dano pickups for these ones- www.guitarfetish.com/KP--Pro-Tube-D-CHROME-Fits-Danelectro--Kwikplug%E2%84%A2-Ready_p_22019.html has anyone used these ones before? 8K in the bridge sounds awesome, I bought the Dano Wild Thing guitar for its lightweight i dont really care about he Dano sound, i'm basically looking for humbucker sound from the Dano because I play punk music, but Les Pauls kill my shoulder no matter what strap I use on them, so hoping the new pickups give the Dano a more dynamic sound, any advice on this would be much appreciated
Yep, those should work for that :-) The middle position with the two running in series should definitely get you closer to a Les Paul humbucker sound. They likely won't be more 'dynamic' as such (generally speaking, the higher the output of the pickup, the more compressed the sound it puts out) but the higher output will probably be darker than the current ones and definitely more beefy when hitting amps or pedals...definitely more humbucker-like but with a good single-coil crunch for some punk aggression :-)
@@JoePerkinsMusic thanks again Joe for the great reply and info, I will be getting them soon and will post here about the sound, the Dano I have is called a Wild Thing same as this one- www.musicradar.com/reviews/guitars/danelectro-wild-thing-463536 it has just two pickups but they run in series, so should be good to do a before and after if anyone is interested
Great content joe. I've got a new Dan vintage 12 string. I find the pickups give to much cyclic hum (bad for recording). I am thinking about seymour duncan and haven't heard the Novak. How do they handle hum,noise,squeal etc...?
Never found them to have a hum that's any more/less noticeable than any other single coil pickup - and have never made them squeal, from memory. Love the Novaks; haven't tried the SD's but I'm sure they're ace :-)
Like others here I think on this video, at least, the new pickups just sound higher output. Not sure that’s the point with this model guitar... perhaps just grab your Tele for that?
It has divided opinion, hasn't it? Personally, I prefer the new pickups - they're still very low output all things considered, and to my ears still sound like a Dano...but they definitely feel nicer to play & I prefer the extra brightness/upper mids they have. It's totally subjective though - there's no rights or wrongs!
This is cool I always wanted to mod a Danelectro guitar, the thing about the original ones were their pickups it had a very unique tone that's not easy replicate. Uh Ha that bridge cap value .01 is the same one i'm gonna use for my les paul neck pickup. the upgraded tone is slightly better more usable settings , good effort tho.
Yeah definitely - the Novaks are said to be the closest to the originals, but I've never tried a 50s one (I doubt there was any leftys ever made!) so can't vouch for that myself! 0.01 is a good value - I never really use 'stock' tone caps past about 3 on the tone control anyway on any guitar, so going for lower values is a good plan! :-)
Thanks for the reply, u think that's too muddy the .001uf Cap Value ? U know Lindy Fralin demonstrated that cap value with the a tele neck pickup and it sounded good like beefy with good midrange tone, I mean ur rolling off the treble not adding on to it.. I think it keeps the brightness till after 5-6 on the tone knob that's what I'm guessing. Have u try the .001uf cap value for the bridge humbucker ? He use that as well and it boost the sound but didn't do anything for the neck pickup.
The bridges on these Danelectros are suspended off the body of the guitar on three screws. The block of wood let me bolt the bridge down onto the body of the guitar rather than have it floating - I think it thickened the tone & improved the sustain, whilst also feeling a bit more sturdy.
Well how do you access those pickups?? I can't seem to find anyone who actually _shows_ the swapping of these lipsticks. How do I get them out without breaking the body?
There's 4 screws on the back of the body - they screw in just like 'normal' pickups but from the underside. How tight you have the screws sets the pickup height. When the screws are undone, the pickups will just drop out. You can see the 4 screws here: images.app.goo.gl/taie27FxasW8VBmJ8
But now it's not really a Danelectro anymore is it. Danelectro is all about the materials the low out-put pickups and the rosewood bridge. I guess one could go out and have an alder or mahogany body built too but then what would you have? Not a Dano. Intonation is a much bigger problem on the longer neck Dano's but on the 21 fret models it's no huge problem. You could take a file and compensate the bridge and improve it if you felt you needed to but it's not that much of an issue. Also Rosewood sounds like rosewood.
With asymmetrical 12-64 gauge strings, intonation was certainly a big problem for me - the new bridge solved it in a way that notching the slab of wood wouldn't.
When I ordered them I asked for them to be '100% vintage correct' and the ones I was sent are approx. 6k - though I think the original Danos were in the 3k range...
It was one of these: www.stringsdirect.co.uk/parts-c4/bridges-tremolos-c252/jaguar-other-guitar-styles-c684/allparts-sb-5800-010-danelectro-adjustable-chrome-intonation-bridge-u3-dc3-p10111?gclid=Cj0KCQjwnv71BRCOARIsAIkxW9H-nH4wfMGeCC1OB_tuH_GVK29YGzXKtZVZik_AVlZTcOMIFzqHHBQaArBiEALw_wcB
In a blind test, you wouldn't hear a difference. You're talking about 2 different pickups here. The upgraded ones are much more overwound making it sound all mushy... the wires making zero difference. The Dano pups are already a little too hot for that true Dano sound... it's still a great little player, unmolested. I'm thinking of rerouting mine for low output p90s or jazzmaster pups.
You don't seem to appreciate the Danelectro, it's unique sound, design and feel. Instead, you continue to insult it. Why did you even by it? It's apparent it's not the guitar for you.
I’ve been looking at Danelectros lately, I love their look but they sound kinda flat and thin. Your upgrades and demo has given me hope and direction. Thank you!
Glad the video helped :-) Yep, they can sound absolutely unreal but they do take a bit of getting used to. Changing the pickups really brought this guitar alive!
Check the '59 Stock model, is a treasure, very very well made, resonant and with incredible tone. It has no concentric knobs, which I prefer, and features a satin neck. The pickups are very good if you like the low output sounds. The wooden bridge give you no worse intonation than a Gibson wraparound, imo. Besides, it can be intonated by a screw under the bridge itself, and the one at the bottom of the metal plate.
