Pretty much what I've done with my Longhorn. Super low action and plays with a light touch.
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Danelectro Owners Club
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My Longhorn is 10 years old at this point, and even though the bridge sags a bit, it was like that when I bought it new and hasn't gotten worse over the years. Plays fine, too.
So, the 90 degree bend in the 'heel' of the bridge (sort of a Fender type shape but I have no idea what that bridge is made of, could be melted down bottle caps) is an incomplete solution to the bending? Not that it matters, I love the bass. If it warps it warps, but this bass is here to stay. I find I like the wide radius of the neck too, it's almost flat but there is a little bit of a curve. I pulled out my J Bass and my P basses and find there is no conflict between the short scale and long scale basses. It helps that I played a MusicMaster for years since I stupidly sold my 73 J with the black body/pickguard and black blocked maple neck. I'm not selling ANY of my basses anymore. Lesson learned. I'd rather sit on the corner with a sign stating "will put on a tort pickguard for change."
Cornfarmer... that seafoam green beast is way sexy. You just made my Dano GAS flare up.
I wouldn't know the answer about the construction, but I do know I have mine set just as McGrievey suggests and it's never sagged beyond what it had when I bought it. And if it does sag too much for you, these bridges are pretty commonplace.So, the 90 degree bend in the 'heel' of the bridge (sort of a Fender type shape but I have no idea what that bridge is made of, could be melted down bottle caps) is an incomplete solution to the bending? Not that it matters, I love the bass. If it warps it warps, but this bass is here to stay. I find I like the wide radius of the neck too, it's almost flat but there is a little bit of a curve. I pulled out my J Bass and my P basses and find there is no conflict between the short scale and long scale basses. It helps that I played a MusicMaster for years since I stupidly sold my 73 J with the black body/pickguard and black blocked maple neck. I'm not selling ANY of my basses anymore. Lesson learned. I'd rather sit on the corner with a sign stating "will put on a tort pickguard for change."
Sometimes I've succeeded in straightening the bridge plate in a vise; other times I've straightened out and it's bent right back, and I've had to replace it.
When I replace it, I use a Jerry Jones bridge. They're made of better metal, but they're getting harder to get, and they have slightly-slightly wider string spacing (not so much wider that it's actually an issue, but enough that I worry that I might pull the G string off the edge of the fretboard if I'm not careful--though that's never happened in real life, so it's not actually an issue).
Some Danelectro brand replacement bridges are stouter than original-equipment ones, but you don't know if you have a strong one until you install it.
I didn't convert it, bought it as pictured. I do see some signs that the neck pocket was messed with, but not sure what was done.
I gigged my Longhorn Pro yesterday (again). Pop, singer songwriter and rock from 1960s and newer. Mamas and the papas, Beatles, Creedence, Dusty Springfield and so on. Perfect fit for a Danelectro and it would NOT have been better with any other of my basses, including the Gretsch G5123B.
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Well, that was a guitar which someone converted to longscale bass so, they definitely did something to the neck pocket because those long-scale necks don't line up - especially on the pro which is a short scale guitar (unlike the 24 fret short scales which line up perfectly with the regular scale guitar bridges (and the neck pockets/heels match).
Got yet another Longhorn Bass coming can anyone tell me if the latest ones are all made in Korea or are some still made in China. Thanks.
As far as I know, the entire production went back to Korea... 7 years ago, now? I know for sure that my 2 year old Longhorn is Korean made...
I wonder how much different the ones from China are than yours. I see the tuners do look like a little better quality, but the tuners on mine, cheap as they are, have been great except for the one I broke a few months ago trying to put a long scale Chrome E string on it as a test. Fortunately mcgrievey stepped in and helped a brother who should have known better outView attachment 3638108 As far as I know, the entire production went back to Korea... 7 years ago, now? I know for sure that my 2 year old Longhorn is Korean made...
and it's been fine ever since. People talk about how cheap the Chinese ones are, but mine's a rock.
Like any mass manufacturer, there are going to be differences between years. I had one of the early Chinese copperburst Longhorns - 2008/9 ish? It looked good, but something felt a little off about it; I ended up trading for a Korean one. A few years ago, I rescued another Chinese one from a pawn shop. It felt as solid and well-put together as the Korean one. If my first one had been of similar quality, I never would have traded it.
I think the main differences between the Chinese Danos and this generation of Korean ones are mainly that the Korean build quality isn't necessarily better (although it seems to be very good); it's just more consistent. Also, they don't seem to have the "bendy bridge" problems that Chinese bridges often have. And, I think the newer Korean pickups are wound a little hotter than the Chinese ones were. Which, to me, is not necessarily an improvement... the pickups in my 1st gen. Korean DC59 Pro's (I have 2 of them) were reverse engineered from some vintage American Dano pickups; I prefer them to the ones in my newer Longhorn... and, the 20+ year old bridges are still flat, too. As for setting the bridge height? An old Dano website I downloaded from, years ago, recommended setting the back edge of the bridge no higher than the thickness of a dime; and then setting the front to taste. Which is what I do with all 3 of mine. Seems to work quite well...
