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 931.444.5174       230 Tenth St Clarksville, TN 37040
TUE - SAT 11A - 6P
 


1956 Danelectro UB-2 6-String Bass Baritone Guitar Grained Ivory Leatherette Covering

Good condition featuring featuring single cutaway 13.25 inch wide body constructed of 3/8 inch thick Masonite top and back with poplar interior framing and sides, 30 inch scale, twin lipstick tube single coil pickups, one concentric volume control and one concentric tone control with white and brown plastic knobs, three way pickup selector switch, metal top mounted bridge with adjustable rosewood saddle, clear plexi pickguard with black outline and black D logo, bolt on poplar neck with black finish, Brazilian rosewood fingerboard with small dot inlays starting at the third fret, aluminum nut, 'coke bottle' shaped peghead with black finish and white vertical Danelectro logo, three per side individual single line Kluson Deluxe tuning machines with steel oval buttons, pickup height adjustment screws located on the back of the body, round control cavity plate, two strap buttons (one white plastic and one metal), Grained Ivory leatherette covering with black vinyl sides and padded black gig bag. 

This 1956 Danelectro UB-2 is in overall very good vintage cosmetic condition showing signs of play wear, some staining on the body covering and some finish wear on the back of the neck. The original frets on this guitar show some signs of use but are in overall very good shape and have a lot of life left in them. This instrument plays very well up and down the fingerboard. Both pickups and the electronics are fully original and fully functional. The strap button located in the endpin area is a later metal replacement and the braided wire from the bridge pickup has been re-soldered to the the top of the potentiometer. In all other respects, this UB-2 is fully original. The strings that are on it sound fantastic and have been on it for ages. We removed and reinstalled the strings to clean the fingerboard and new Ernie Ball 6-String Bass pack will be included. 

This old Danelectro sounds brilliant and has the punchy lipstick pickup bass sound that made these a staple of the late 1950s and 1960s studio scene. Studio legend Harold Bradley used the UB-2 quite often to double the upright bass on countless classic country tracks. Though known for this 'tic tac bass' style, this guitar can do many other things. Fully strummed chords sound fantastic as well as single note melodies. This thing will bark out some fantastic low tuned lead. All in all, this is a fantastic sounding and playing instrument.

The UB-2 was introduced in 1956 as the 'first ever' six-string bass. This baritone guitar was offered in three finishes: Gleaming black lacquer, bronze lacquer and grained ivory leatherette. The UB-2 model offered in the grained ivory leatherette covering is extremely scarce. I have encountered and sold a good number of these 1956-1959 UB-2 models, but this is the only example with this finish (covering) that I have ever seen in person. These seem to be basically unavailable. Though this example has been played and shows signs of being a well loved instrument, I believe that it would fit perfectly into any Danelectro or vintage guitar collection. A real gem of a baritone guitar shipped out safely and promptly from our little shop here in Clarksville, Tennessee, to your front door.