And it's pretty to boot! I seriously like the body and pickguard shapes: they have a, I dunno, a certain flow. Amidst all the wonkiness there were real design gems in the bass guitar offerings of past ages.
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Oh, I totally agree. I appreciate that as much as they copied existing guitars, the designers really tried to do some different things and make something unique, and as a designer myself, I enjoy seeing what they were trying to do.
Welcome "Thespis" ! You are Official Short Scale Bass Club member number 545My collection is growing. I probably need a number...
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Stonetown Lows
Commercial User
Hey Gramby,
I'm a new poster on this thread, but I've been watching because I think SS basses are really under-appreciated.
And, yeah, I am a total sucker for some of the 50's and 60's off-brand designs. A lot of times the execution and hardware left a lot to be desired, like on my old Zim-Gar. But they definitely serve as an inspiration for some of the stuff I am working on. I like to try and marry some of the basic aesthetics and flow of some of that off-brand stuff into really high quality builds, and if I can jam some innovation into it, so much the better!
One of the "innovations" (using really old "technology") is using 30 to 32 (yes folks, I know that's technically medium scale) inch scale lengths with reversed inline six tuners. That way you can get the fatness of a short scale bass with the tension and focus of a much longer scale bass. The notes can sound like they are being shot out of a canon instead of rubber bands. Super fat.
I had an original Danelectro Longhorn back in the early '70's, and at some point I want to do my version of that, which will be built more like a Fender or a Gibson that that poplar and masonite thang! Although it did have a totally unique sound. I did what most fusion bassists did back then: I installed an EB-3 bridge pickup and a Fender bridge! LOL. What was I thinking? So, can I join the short scale club? I'll start working on the new Longhorn.
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Welcome "Stonetown Lows" ! You are Official Short Scale Bass Club member number 546
.
This arrived at my place yesterday....Love it, love it love it 
Could I get a number please?.....
MENSINGER JOKER Bass 4a 'Old Violin' Hollowbody
Body: mahogany with flamed maple top and natural binding
Neck: mahogany, short scale 30", matched headstock,
Fingerboard: ebony, 22 frets
Nut width: 40mm
Construction: set in
Pickups: Delano SBC 4 + 2 mini switch (serial/single coil/parallel)
Electronics: active 2-band Delano - volume (active/passive push/pull switch), balance, bass, treble/passive tone blend
Finish: Old Violin, body/neck matte
Hardware: black, Wilkinson tuners, 19mm string spacing
Weight: 3,71kg
incl. Gigbag
Could I get a number please?.....
MENSINGER JOKER Bass 4a 'Old Violin' Hollowbody
Body: mahogany with flamed maple top and natural binding
Neck: mahogany, short scale 30", matched headstock,
Fingerboard: ebony, 22 frets
Nut width: 40mm
Construction: set in
Pickups: Delano SBC 4 + 2 mini switch (serial/single coil/parallel)
Electronics: active 2-band Delano - volume (active/passive push/pull switch), balance, bass, treble/passive tone blend
Finish: Old Violin, body/neck matte
Hardware: black, Wilkinson tuners, 19mm string spacing
Weight: 3,71kg
incl. Gigbag
Stonetown Lows
Commercial User
Cool! thanks!Welcome "Stonetown Lows" ! You are Official Short Scale Bass Club member number 546
This arrived at my place yesterday....Love it, love it love it
WOW! That is beautiful! Congrats.
This arrived at my place yesterday....Love it, love it love it
MENSINGER JOKER Bass 4a 'Old Violin' Hollowbody
That is stunning! I love it!
That Joker Bass is absolutely stunning.......$4000 Cdn + ......I'd have to sell a bunch of gear to get this
This one post sent me on a 2 hour video excursion and I must say, I'd love to have any of these basses.....now I'm GASING for a Frog or Cazpar Short Scale with Delano pups and Glockenklang preamp or any other pups and preamps they have available.....OMG
This one post sent me on a 2 hour video excursion and I must say, I'd love to have any of these basses.....now I'm GASING for a Frog or Cazpar Short Scale with Delano pups and Glockenklang preamp or any other pups and preamps they have available.....OMG
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That's a classy looking instrument. And it's got the perfect nut width too!This arrived at my place yesterday....Love it, love it love it
Thanks for complementing the bass but I think that you got your math wrong on the price....
1600 euro is about $2330 Cdn.....Thinking that you'd have to sell less gear than you thought to get one for yourself
Hello - I just joined TalkBass after trawling through all 71 pages of the Danelectro Owners Club looking for comments on flat-wound strings for the short scale Longhorn. Very helpful - and I am so impressed with all the resources on TalkBass - but I am still not quite sure which strings to go for!
I have only been playing bass for a few months. I usually play ukulele (not "bass ukulele") but my kind offer to play ukulele with my partner's new band was cruelly rejected! They were bemoaning the lack of a bass player so I decided that it was about time that I learned to play the Tanglewood Baby Bass that I bought six or seven years ago. That led to a failed experiment with La Bella Deep Talking Bass Flat Wound Short Scale strings.
I LOVE the sound and feel of flat wound strings and I knew that there might be a problem with the E string as the Tanglewood Baby Bass scale length is only 26.75” (680mm).
If anyone is interested, I wrote up the modifications and the experiment here:
https://ukulele-allsorts.com/2016/07/29/very-short-scale-bass-guitars-and-flat-wound-strings/
That experiment decided me that I needed (wanted!) a lightweight, standard short scale bass. After a lot of research into the options, I went for a second hand reissue Danelectro Longhorn. Although I would have gone for the second hand Duesenberg Starplayer that I came across in a local shop if I could have afforded it.
The Danelectro Longhorn is great and the round wound strings on it are not at all bad. I think it was bought new about a year ago. The guy who had it just hung it on the wall as part of his collection so it was an "as new" bargain. I am no judge of bass guitars so I took it around to a friend who is a guitar maker and he was impressed with it so I reckon it is more than OK.
I got a little bit of Danelectro history from him too. He is building some Dan Armstrong guitars and basses from factory parts and I didn't know that Armstrong had been involved with Danelectro. I very much like the look of the Dan Armstrong instruments but it hadn't struck me until then that they and the Danelectro Longhorns have a similar body shape.
Not sure what to try next with the Tanglewood Baby Bass when the E string fails, as it must surely do at some point.
I think with the Danelectro Longhorn that I will try the same La Bella Deep Talking Bass strings, rather than the La Bella ones made for Danelectro basses. I want it to sound as deep and thumpy as possible and the Danelectro strings seem too lightweight for that sound. From reading the posts in the Danelectro Owners Club it looks like the hole in the E post needs to be made bigger to take that whopping E string as I do not want to change the tuners.
Best wishes,
Liz
I have only been playing bass for a few months. I usually play ukulele (not "bass ukulele") but my kind offer to play ukulele with my partner's new band was cruelly rejected! They were bemoaning the lack of a bass player so I decided that it was about time that I learned to play the Tanglewood Baby Bass that I bought six or seven years ago. That led to a failed experiment with La Bella Deep Talking Bass Flat Wound Short Scale strings.
I LOVE the sound and feel of flat wound strings and I knew that there might be a problem with the E string as the Tanglewood Baby Bass scale length is only 26.75” (680mm).
If anyone is interested, I wrote up the modifications and the experiment here:
https://ukulele-allsorts.com/2016/07/29/very-short-scale-bass-guitars-and-flat-wound-strings/
That experiment decided me that I needed (wanted!) a lightweight, standard short scale bass. After a lot of research into the options, I went for a second hand reissue Danelectro Longhorn. Although I would have gone for the second hand Duesenberg Starplayer that I came across in a local shop if I could have afforded it.
The Danelectro Longhorn is great and the round wound strings on it are not at all bad. I think it was bought new about a year ago. The guy who had it just hung it on the wall as part of his collection so it was an "as new" bargain. I am no judge of bass guitars so I took it around to a friend who is a guitar maker and he was impressed with it so I reckon it is more than OK.
I got a little bit of Danelectro history from him too. He is building some Dan Armstrong guitars and basses from factory parts and I didn't know that Armstrong had been involved with Danelectro. I very much like the look of the Dan Armstrong instruments but it hadn't struck me until then that they and the Danelectro Longhorns have a similar body shape.
Not sure what to try next with the Tanglewood Baby Bass when the E string fails, as it must surely do at some point.
I think with the Danelectro Longhorn that I will try the same La Bella Deep Talking Bass strings, rather than the La Bella ones made for Danelectro basses. I want it to sound as deep and thumpy as possible and the Danelectro strings seem too lightweight for that sound. From reading the posts in the Danelectro Owners Club it looks like the hole in the E post needs to be made bigger to take that whopping E string as I do not want to change the tuners.
Best wishes,
Liz
This arrived at my place yesterday....Love it, love it love it
Could I get a number please?.....
MENSINGER JOKER Bass 4a 'Old Violin' Hollowbody
Body: mahogany with flamed maple top and natural binding
Neck: mahogany, short scale 30", matched headstock,
Fingerboard: ebony, 22 frets
Nut width: 40mm
Construction: set in
Pickups: Delano SBC 4 + 2 mini switch (serial/single coil/parallel)
Electronics: active 2-band Delano - volume (active/passive push/pull switch), balance, bass, treble/passive tone blend
Finish: Old Violin, body/neck matte
Hardware: black, Wilkinson tuners, 19mm string spacing
Weight: 3,71kg
incl. Gigbag
Man that bass is awesome! Can you post some pic's ? That pic is from the web site right ? Is that the red burst ? I'd love to hear sound clip if possible.
Welcome "Fat Freddy" ! You are Official Short Scale Bass Club member number 547This arrived at my place yesterday....Love it, love it love it
Could I get a number please?.....
.
