Just ordered my first Danelectro bass this afternoon! Stay tuned…
Danelectro '59DC Short Scale Bass | Reverb
Danelectro '59DC Short Scale Bass | Reverb
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Danelectro Owners Club
- Thread starter portaflexer
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Love the DC Bass - fan of the metal bridge over the rosewood on the Longhorns too! Congrats!
I gave incorrect info here. These are long-scale sets, not short-scale. It seems like La Bella isn't making 6-string short-scale bass sets anymore.
So I guess I'd start with a La Bella 760FS-S or 760FL-S set and try to find individual ~.035ish and ~.025ish strings for the high B and E?
I replaced the strings with Gibson BriteWire rounds . I have flats on most basses , but my Longhorn has ancient rounds on it , they thump like flats , and I hope these will eventually do that . If not I’ll probably put LaBella flats on it . I like TIs on long scale basses , but I like a stiffer string on short scales . For the time being I’m liking the Gibson strings . I discovered them when I bought a Gibson DC Jr and liked the stock strings . These are starting to get a better thump . I’ve been playing the bass a lot .
I’ve been a Dano user for quite a few years now , and have three Dano short scales . The Longhorns are a much smaller instrument , and the bridge sits close to the end of the body . The bridge on the DC is maybe five inches from the edge of the body , so the DC is a larger instrument . It feels “longer” than a Longhorn . This feels closer to the 56 style short scale bass than the Longhorn .
I don’t have any negative things to say . Danos are quite unique . They weigh next to nothing , but they’re not flimsy . They’re really quite tough . They don’t break if you knock them over . The pickups don’t have the greatest output , you just turn up the amp . I’ve become a big fan of the wooden popsicle stick bridge . They add a little woodiness to the sound and there is a sweet spot where the intonation is fine . The DC has a more adjustable bridge .
The tone is lovely once the strings are broken in , fresh strings sound a bit thin . They’re really fun to play .
Mine arrived with a surprisingly nice set up . I did some slight tweaking to fit my preferences . I had to slightly loosen the truss rod , there was a slight bit of fret buzz on the first fret that disappeared after slightly loosening the rod . The neck is comfortable
No real complaints , it initially felt a bit “different” to me , and after some playing time on it , became comfortable . It feels like home now .
I like it .
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What flats do you Dano players recommend for a short scale 59DC?
I've seen in some of the posts in this thread that La Bella makes flats just for Danos? Anybody know the model number of the strings?
I've seen in some of the posts in this thread that La Bella makes flats just for Danos? Anybody know the model number of the strings?
The LaBella Dano flats are quite thin , I’ve got them on the Dolphin nose , I like a heavier string . That said , they sound good . If you like TI’s you might like them .
I have another set of them in case I break a string on the Longhorn . It’s still got the factory rounds on it from 98 . And it thumps ! A big woody old school thump ! It doesn’t do anything else now …
I’ve used GHS and LaBella flats on Epi and Gibson short scales . I give the LaBellas a slight preference .
If you’re leaning towards short scales have a look at the Gibson DC Jr too . Gorgeous little bass !
I have another set of them in case I break a string on the Longhorn . It’s still got the factory rounds on it from 98 . And it thumps ! A big woody old school thump ! It doesn’t do anything else now …
I’ve used GHS and LaBella flats on Epi and Gibson short scales . I give the LaBellas a slight preference .
If you’re leaning towards short scales have a look at the Gibson DC Jr too . Gorgeous little bass !
The La Bella 760FD "Danelectro" set is very light (42-56-65-83) Some people like them. I've never tried them. The lightest 4-string set I've tried was Rotosound 77s (40-50-75-90), and they were too light for my tastes.
I use La Bella 760FS-S (45-65-85-105) D'addario ECB81S (45-65-80-100). Both are short-scale stainless flats. I have the La Bellas on my Jerry Jones Longhorn, which is what I play the most. I have the D'addarios on everything else, mostly because they're actually available in retail music stores. They also happen to be at least $10 cheaper than the La Bellas, though that's not as big a factor.
The D'addarios sound almost kinda like roundwounds when they're new, less so as they mature, and they start to sound more like the La Bellas.
I prefer playing flats, feel-wise. Sometimes the musical situation forces me to use rounds, and I have a couple sets of D'addario XL170's in the box for when that need arises.
In answer to HelpImaRock, above, I have made my own 6-string set with the bottom 3 strings of a D'addario ECB81S set, and the top 3 strings of a D'addario XL155 6-string roundwound bass set. The bottom strings of the XL155 set (23-34-44-56-72-84) were too light for me. They didn't sound like a bass. And I prefer flatwounds. I didn't use the G string from the ECB81S set because they'd been on a Longhorn before, and so that G string was cut too short to reach the G tuner on my 6-string longhorn. I'd use a new ECB81S set, if I found myself playing it a lot.
Results: it works. It does sound like a bass now. But I've never found a use for the 6-string when playing with a band. I'm used to playing with normal 4-string spacing. I use it a little for recording. I'll keep it as-is for the foreseeable future.
On cases: I think I said this before, but I use a regular long-scale bass gig bag for my 56 bass, which is about the the same length as my long-scale DC which is about (or maybe exactly) the same size as a short-scale DC.
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It's a Chinese longhorn, about 2008. It was a 4-string that I bought in bad cosmetic condition for $150. Impulsively, I converted it to 6 strings by adding two more tuners, a Danelectro guitar nut, and an Allparts Danelectro guitar bridge (the one with individual metal saddles).
The body's bridge block wood is too soft, and wouldn't hold the bridge screws upright. I doweled the holes and replaced it with a Jeff Senn guitar bridge.
So, it's not much to take pictures of. It's a banged-up copperburst Chinese longhorn with two extra tuners and a Jeff Senn bridge. It works.
Almost bought an RD Artist , with the Moog stuff once , it was just too heavy , and big . I regret it now .
I love the DC Jr , but I’m an old Pbass guy . The Jr pickup is in the classic sweet spot . Lightweight , sounds great .
I love the DC Jr , but I’m an old Pbass guy . The Jr pickup is in the classic sweet spot . Lightweight , sounds great .
Anyone have both the short-scale and long-scale 59 DC basses?
If so….
A. Could you post a side-by-side picture?
B. What are the total lengths for each?
C. There is no “C”
Thanks!
If so….
A. Could you post a side-by-side picture?
B. What are the total lengths for each?
C. There is no “C”
Thanks!
Sorry, but I'm not going to take your word for it. I want to see how the ball ends connect with the bridge and just how thick the strings are around what should be guitar sized tuner posts.
@FlyingPigSound it would be interesting to see a Longhorn, a DC short and a DC long all beside each other. The Longhorn obviously is much shorter than the DC versions. My old Longhorn would fit in a guitar gig bag and my Jerry Jones single cut short scale bass ( kind of like a dolphin bass) is much longer than a guitar and 1.5" longer than my Mustang bass which I'm guessing is similar to the DC short scale.
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