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Thankfully, Dano has fitted the guitar with the fat strings it needs to bring out its tone.

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• Review

The freshly tweaked '56 series Danelectro guitars mark the third reissue of Nathan Daniel's original 1956 U2 model.

While the first reissue, launched back in 1998, closely followed the specs and aesthetics of the original guitar ('Coke bottle' headstock, rosewood bridge saddle, vinyl body tape and the like), the 2006 56 Pro was what might be described as 'pimped'.

The Coke bottle headstock had a notch cut into it (a diet version, if you will), the bridge came loaded with individual saddles to allow better intonation and the classic white vinyl body tape had gone. The '56 Pro was a great guitar, but losing the quirky features did dent its vintage vibe a bit.

"The great tonal secret with Dano guitars is the middle position... A stonking slab of musical beed."

Fast-forward to the new '56 Series and the unintonatable rosewood bridge and body tape - in old spec 'Ostrich Pattern' no less - are back where they belong. There's also some curious stuff going on at the headstock end of some of these new models.

The launch of these new models coincides with a streamlining of the Danelectro guitar and bass range. Now, only the new single-cutaway '56 models, the existing double- cutaway '59 guitars and the 'Dead On 58' Longhorn bass will be available.

'The Wild Thing', an eye-popping reissue of a one-off prototype swept wing guitar uncovered a few years ago is also due to hit these shores later this year. But that's your lot, Dano-wise.

Build

The new white Dano with gold hardware is pretty… weird. Gold bits on a Danelectro hint at a mutton/lamb situation, in that bling on a rudimentary guitar seems out of place. You soon warm to it and (whisper this) it actually looks pretty good.

The most striking part is the oversized headstock. This headstock type is known as the 'Full Bell' and featured on some Dano models from 1954 to 1956.

The headstock face is adorned with a vintage Dano logo and a pair of gold scrolls. The gold detailing is also picked up by the hardware and the pinstripe plus Dano 'D' on the scratchplate.

It has a bolt-on neck held in position by five screws. Pickup height is adjusted from the rear and the hardtail bridge has a rosewood saddle. True to vintage spec, intonation is fixed.

Moving on, the guitar's neck overhangs the body at the cutaway, which provides great access to the upper frets. You really have to try the guitar for yourself to see how this works. It's another simple idea that enhances the guitar's performance.

We like the fact that Danelectro hasn't let the side down and fitted an ultra-light gauge of strings - these guitars need a fat set to bring out the tone and help with tuning stability.

Sounds

The great tonal secret with Dano guitars is the middle position on the toggle switch. The pickups are wired in series (not parallel like the majority of dual-pickup guitars) and selecting both units unleashes a stonking slab of musical beef.