Danelectros and Straploks

[Fuzzbass]

I've tried the straplocks thing, but then I'd just forget to pack/somebody would steal the strap, and there I'd have to spend an extra $20 on the locks - I gave up the second time it happened.

That's why I love the Dunlop Dual Designs: the buttons have a nice flange and can be used with an unlocked strap. In comparison, the Schaller buttons are barely useable with an unlocked strap.

But yeah, if you can get past the appearance of duct tape and don't mind cleaning up the mess, then it's an even better solution.

 

[JimmyM]

no need for duct tape...the straplok on the upper horn is working great so far. and i just finished putting new strings on it...the strings that came with it caused the E string to rattle really loud. so i slapped a set of d'addario xl's on it, and no more rattle and the bass came to life tonally even more! now all i have to do is figure out how to get the intonation right with that rosewood bridge piece, maybe work on the action a little bit more as i go along, and i'll be in business!

my wife is letting me use it on tomorrow's gig, but after that it becomes a christmas present again. oh well...the price i pay

 

[s_mcsleazy]

ya know jimmy ive never seen a picture of you

ive[DEL]plesured myself[/DEL]enjoyed seing your rig and pedal board and such but ive never seen a picture of you

get a pic with this longhorn

 

[JimmyM]

Invalid Link Removed has some pics of me. i'll probably get some pics tomorrow on my gig as well.

hey, so you wouldn't believe how badly the stock strings eat this bass alive. output was low, they were overly twangy, the E string rattled. after i put the d'addario xl's on, output went up dramatically, the rattle was gone, and now there's a real fat fundamental coming out of it. it'll still do twang no problem, but i've found a couple sounds in it that are highly usable in today's world. turn both pickups on full and roll off the high end from the bridge pu and it'll do a nice fat rock/pop sound. it should get even more versatile once the strings mellow out.

and i must say the tuners are behaving quite well. they're not quite as cheap as i thought they were. make no mistake, they ARE cheap, but i think as long as i keep the same strings on it, they should last quite a while. seems to stay in tune fine. the intonation isn't as off as much as you might think, either. haven't got the action quite right but it's getting there and very easy to adjust.

the pickups are fun...my first set of lipsticks. i thought they would be noiser since they're single coil but they're pretty quiet. the concentric vvtt controls do what they're supposed to, and the knobs are uber cool, though i better stock up on teflon tape, since they look easily strippable.

nothing about this bass screams quality at all, but it sure adds up to quality...in a really cheesy way. gets all the classic twang and tic-tac sounds you'd expect, and with a little tone tweaking you can get quite authoratitive, almost fender-ish sounds. might even be slappable, too. best part about it is it weighs about the same as my beatle bass. nice! my shoulder likes it already!

i pronounce this bass rockin'!

 

[Bongolation]

Thinking very hard about buying a longhorn for my wife to give me at christmas.

If it's one of the most recent ones, the late and unlamented "Dead On '58" version, just settle for having her hit you in the face with a clawhammer and save the money.

Earlier versions, not as bad. The DOA is pure garbage, though. Do a search.

There are so many things wrong with them, mostly fatal, I don't have time to list them.

what to do, what to do? damn, i so want to love a longhorn. i'm totally into the shape and sound. stayed in tune pretty well for having cheap kluson copy guitar tuners. but i wouldn't change strings on it. i'd use them till they broke.

That's sounding more like the DOA by the second.

The posts on the guitar tuners will probably snap off before the strings do. They're severely overloaded. The bridge crushes, too, from the excess tension.

anyone have a better solution that doesn't involve changing brands of straplocks or going without them? or is it just not meant to be?

If you buy this piece of crap, straplocks are the least of your worries.

Believe me, it needs smashing.

If you want a longhorn, get one of the earlier ones. They're far from great, but they have far less problems than the DOA.

You've been warned.

[edit:] Oops, too late. My condolences.

 

[rllefebv]

...but i've found a couple sounds in it that are highly usable in today's world. turn both pickups on full and roll off the high end from the bridge pu and it'll do a nice fat rock/pop sound

This was my longhorn setting for years... Through the Ampeg, it killed! The D'Addario XL's are great strings on this bass as are the Chromes.

Recently had a pot issue (after nearly eight years of use) and rewired both pickups in series... Bigger overall sound, but I do miss the ability to tame the rear p'up highs... It's a trade off, but one I had been wanting to try anyway.

-robert

 

[JimmyM]

If you buy this piece of crap, straplocks are the least of your worries.

Believe me, it needs smashing.

If you want a longhorn, get one of the earlier ones. They're far from great, but they have far less problems than the DOA.

You've been warned.

[edit:] Oops, too late. My condolences.

h8 on, h8r.

i guess you didn't see what i got it for. $200. these tuners will last a while, and if they break, good kluson copies are widely available, and they will be solid for that bass. used to have a framus bass with klusons in it. it was fine. and the bridge...i'll cross it when i come to it. it's a solid piece of masonite. it'll be fine. relax...at least i bought the one at sam ash that was sweet. the other one might have been able to make playable, but i didn't vibe on it like this one.

 

[JimmyM]

This was my longhorn setting for years... Through the Ampeg, it killed! The D'Addario XL's are great strings on this bass as are the Chromes.

Recently had a pot issue (after nearly eight years of use) and rewired both pickups in series... Bigger overall sound, but I do miss the ability to tame the rear p'up highs... It's a trade off, but one I had been wanting to try anyway.

-robert

right on...always good to get confirmation of a sound from someone who's used it before. so far that's my favorite sound.

i'm sure chromes kill on it, but that twang cries out to me for rounds. i don't like the new rounds so much, but i think once they go dead they will be the best of both worlds. at least i hope.

 

[bugsy]

I have just got one as well.

they are much sturdier than i first thought

I too am keeping rounds on this, as i have flats on my other basses and want to keep a different vibe.

I read all the reviews on the Longhorn before i brought one and seriously this is a good bass.
I didnt like the dickie pointy knobs some i replaced them with some old black small jazz knobs

It is calling out for some mods though,
I think i will change the bridge to a better adjustable one and maybe better tuners in the future, but in the meanwhile Im loving it.



edit, my strap just popped out at the neck...

 

[JimmyM]

try a toothpick.

 

[bugsy]

no, as you were talking about straplocks, i had my dano on my knee and the strap just came off the peg at the neck.
Its go me worried now

 

[TRichardsbass]

Okay Jimmy, I'm gonna screw you up even more.

I have one vintage Dano with the LaBella 760FD's on them (the original flats old Dano's came with) and I have all my other Dano's, including my "newer" ones and my JJ's all strung with D'Addario XL155 Danelectro six string sets. They are essentially the original guages and at $10 a set I don't cry about throwing out the high B and E strings. Very interesting a full sounding rounds, makes the Dano's sound even more vintage.

 

[lowendfriend]

The Dano Longhorn....It's the only other bass that I really NEED.

 

[Bongolation]

h8 on, h8r.

i guess you didn't see what i got it for. $200..

You were burned.

I paid $168, new, and consider it among the worst money I have ever spent on anything, ever. The DOA a terrible instrument for 100% objective, demonstrable reasons. Aside from its awful build, design and severe overstresses, it's an incredible POS in uniquely crazy ways like having the wrong 1M value pots, so the tone controls don't work, and being "TOTALLY SHIELDED" without having one square centimeter of shielding in the whole instrument, etc. Just crackhead stuff throughout.

Other Longhorns aren't as bad, but I can't imagine anyone at Evets signing off on producing this abortion. It's crazy.

 

[JimmyM]

Okay Jimmy, I'm gonna screw you up even more.

I have one vintage Dano with the LaBella 760FD's on them (the original flats old Dano's came with) and I have all my other Dano's, including my "newer" ones and my JJ's all strung with D'Addario XL155 Danelectro six string sets. They are essentially the original guages and at $10 a set I don't cry about throwing out the high B and E strings. Very interesting a full sounding rounds, makes the Dano's sound even more vintage.

right on. i'm thinking of doing that, although i'd like to bump the G and D down even more than that. i've got 40-55 on there now and it's pretty good but i think i want to go to 35-50 or something of the sort. 72 and 84 sound good on the lower strings, though.

and bongo, after tonight's gig, i'm ignoring your desperate pleas for attention. maybe yours was a pos, but mine is completely badass.

used it on my gig tonight with my b-15n stack, and it killed, but it was completely different from what i expected. i was really struck by how even all the notes are. they're all there in the mix with presence, but none really jumped out as being louder than the others. the action felt good, although it could possibly come down a little. might learn to live with that, though, because it's a great bass for digging in.

one thing that's odd is each pickup by itself isn't nearly as loud as both together. first time i ever had a bass do that. not a huge bother, though. i like the sound of both pickups on, and i even ended up putting the treble all the way up on both pickups on some songs. but it would be nice if i could have more output on the neck pickup by itself. i guess i could run a booster for when i use it. and btw, lack of shielding, bongo? the cover for the control cavity is made of metal, so there! it seemed very quiet to me. we were playing a place not known for its good grounding, and the only time i had noise is when i had the tone rolled all the way off the bridge pickup, and it really wasn't that bad.

the best thing about it is i'll be able to use it with my fenders on gigs and switch easily between them. it was almost as loud as my p lyte with duncan qp's. the difference wasn't big enough to really matter, and i was able to use the same settings on my amp and vt deluxe with both.

also, the strap button on the upper horn mod? worked like a charm! didn't work itself loose even a little, or feel like it was going to snap. and it stayed in tune like a rock. our first set was 90 minutes, and i switched off a lot between it and the upright that set, and it didn't even drift. would i like better tuners? yes. did they work? absolutely.

so bongo, i'm sorry if yours sucked. mine is hardcore.

 

[DerHoggz]

Does it have the vinyl stuff around the edge?

 

[bugsy]

dano longhorn

 

[JimmyM]

right on bugsy. that's the model i have. hoggz, as you can see, there is, indeed, a strip of vinyl around it. sorry guys, but i'm bad about pics. i'll try to get some tomorrow.

i was just able to get the action down a little more, and i think i may leave these strings on here for now, although i should replace the E string. i used long scale strings, and it doesn't seem like a big deal except for the E...it wound on the post but i'm uncomfortable about it.

 

[Batmensch]

I read a few user reviews on Musician's Friend for the 58 repro, and I had to laugh.
A bunch of people , even though they liked the way the bass played and sounded, complained about how cheap and junky it was made. (plastic-y was a common term)And I'm thinking, as the once proud owner of a 10$ Danelectro gargage sale special guitar, well, then that's probably a pretty accurate reproduction, then. Sounds good, plays easy, built like really cheap furniture.

 

[TheOldFlatwound]

The Jerry Jones I use the most came with (Schaller?) straplocks. I use a soft 2" leather strap and it works great. On the other one I use a different strap with soft ends and it also works well with the stock buttons.

The only other thing I can think of would be moving the strap button to the back. I've seen this on old fenders. Replace the neck bolt on the upper corner with one slightly longer and install the button there.

Also, if the you end up really liking the Dano thing, try a Jerry Jones sometime. They are really great basses.