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Jerry Jones Alternatives?

Greyfin10

Greyfin10

Sep 16, 2008
328
39
Panama City, FL
#1
I caught Dada a couple of months back in Pensacola, and the bass player was playing a Jerry Jones single cut. It sounded GREAT... and the looks have grown on me ever since. Unfortunately, they seem to be as rare as hen's teeth... I know that Danelectro makes something similar, but how similar is it from a performance perpsective? Are there any other good alternatives? I am a totally neophyte in regards to short-scale basses, but I'm interested in learning more.
 
#3
Here's where the dada fanboy in me comes out. Years ago, I custom ordered a single cut, Jerry Jones bass, red. Yup, I bought the same bass that Joie uses live. It was my main (and only) bass for eight years before I went back to long scale instruments.

I've owned both JJ and Danos, and there are big differences in the build quality/parts. I naturally relic'd that sucker for all those years, and it's still in great shape.

I like the JJ because it's unusual, and is light weight.

Now, shorties are a different story. I've found that my playing style changes quite a bit between short and long scale. When playing short, I tend to be a busier player, running lines all over the place. As a long scale player, I tend to keep it in check.

Would I buy another JJ? Probably not. They're cool for what they are, but you kind of gotta like what they are. I always had dreams of having a luthier build a body outta wood, and bolt the JJ neck to it. That being said, I've been meaning to dust mine off, and play her a bit.

On the plus side, you can get Dano's pretty cheap on the used market.

Getting back to dada.

If you're going to dada tone, Joie plays through an old Ampeg SVT. I think that's where most of his live tone comes from, plus he detunes all his strings down a whole step, and mostly plays with a pick. For some reason I have the impression that the JJ is just for playing live, and he doesn't record with it.
 
#4
I used to have two JJ Longhorns and one of them was my number one bass for years. Foolishly I sold them just before he retired. One of my lifes bigger mistakes. About 5 months ago I picked up a used Danelectro Longhorn for about 225.00 at GC. The bass plays and sounds fantastic! The biggest difference between the two is build quality or I should say hardware quality. The tuners and the bridge are pretty cheap but functional. In fact the bridge is warped from the string tension, but it still works fine. Adjusting the truss rod is done by removing the neck, which was not necessary with the JJ basses. I prefer the seperate tone and volume knobs on the Dano as apposed to a 3 way toggle and single volume and tone control on the JJ. The major difference for me was the hum that you can sometimes get from the Danos when plugged in, something that did not exist on the JJ's. The best part of a JJ bass is the instrument was a labor of love from a true craftsmen who was truly a wonderful person to talk to. The Danos are mass produced in Korea preferably or China. Hope this bit of info helps and good luck! The Longhorn will be easier to find than the single cut I believe, but they sound pretty much the same.
 
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#6
I have a JJ longhorn--the "Neptune" body style that he made for a while--apparently there was some issue with him exactly replicating the Dano shape, but then he went back to it for the ones he built before retiring. Hmm, maybe mine is even more rare then...

I've got Fenders, Laklands, etc. and it is the only bass I own now that I would NEVER get rid of. I use it tons. The fit and finish is superb, the pickups are awesome--man, I love this bass! I was so bummed to hear he retired--I wanted the fretless 'horn he has on his site.

All that said, the new Danos are really quite good, and ridiculous bang-for-buck. I'd just get a new Dano and keep on the lookout--JJs do pop up for sale sometimes.
 
#7
I get so mad now thinking that I sold both of my JJ's for 1000.00! The older one with the wooden bridge and solid blue paint was an attention getter! Saved my back which is one of the reasons I purchased it in the first place. The other one was a newer copper burst with the all metal bridge, but I did not quite make the connection with it that I had with the older one. Maybe some day I'll find another, but i'm having a blast with my blackburst Korean Dano! Maybe i'll replace the tuners eventually, but this bass sounds incredible and plays like butter!
 
#8
1stnamebassist said:
I get so mad now thinking that I sold both of my JJ's for 1000.00! The older one with the wooden bridge and solid blue paint was an attention getter! Saved my back which is one of the reasons I purchased it in the first place. The other one was a newer copper burst with the all metal bridge, but I did not quite make the connection with it that I had with the older one. Maybe some day I'll find another, but i'm having a blast with my blackburst Korean Dano! Maybe i'll replace the tuners eventually, but this bass sounds incredible and plays like butter!
Click to expand...

If I see another one for sale I'm grabbing it--my Neptune version has the adjustable bridge, but I'd like one with the wooden saddle too--the sound is slightly different.
I had a 60's Dano for a while that was cool as heck, but had "issues", not the least of which were some visibly crooked frets!
They were cheapo basses at the time. The JJ is so much better than that 60's original in every way, and the new Danos are too!
 
#9
There's a Longhorn on the 'bay right now for 1300+, but I really don't dig that look. It's too "Look at me, I'm eccentric!". I AM eccentric, but I prefer that fact to blindside people :) The single cutaway is even rarer than the longhorns... and I looked at Danelectros and they don't even appear to do that shape. Ah well...
 
#10
Greyfin10 said:
There's a Longhorn on the 'bay right now for 1300+, but I really don't dig that look. It's too "Look at me, I'm eccentric!". I AM eccentric, but I prefer that fact to blindside people :) The single cutaway is even rarer than the longhorns... and I looked at Danelectros and they don't even appear to do that shape. Ah well...
Click to expand...

Check this out:
http://www.themusiczoo.com/product/3653/Danelectro-56-Single-Cutaway-Bass-Aqua/
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/bass/danelectro-56-single-cutaway-electric-bass-guitar

Out of stock, but there's gotta be one lurking out there somewhere with your name on it!

EDIT: This one appears to be in stock:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#11
Hondo made guitar and bass version Longhorn, they're pretty nice from what I've heard but they're also hard to find. Would love to try one out though.
Danelectro would be your best bet probably, I played a Longhorn last year and loved it, played one a couple weeks ago and couldn't put it back down fast enough.
There's a couple on GC's used site for $190, pretty good deal
 
#12
The Dano's are cool, but the construction quality is FAR short of the JJ versions.

The Hondo's were also cool, but they have a P-bass pickup instead of the lipstick single-coils, and the bodies are big solid chunks of wood instead of the Dano/JJ semi-hollow Formica bodies, so the Hondo's sound totally different from the Dano or the JJ.
 
#13
Dave Riemer in Vancouver (posts here occasionally as reimerbass) builds Dano copies every bit as good as a Jerry Jones. He's very knowledgeable about the original Danos and has owned several Jerry Jones instruments. He's also used them extensively on gigs and really understands these basses well. He's pretty busy as a repairman and building Fender type instruments these days so you might have to twist his arm but it would be worth contacting him.

Dang, I though I had pics of a bass he built me several years ago but they must have gotten dumped to another hard drive. I'll post some if I find them.
 
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#14
I have a Jerry Jones 2 PU single cutaway. Copper. It is one of the very early serial numbers- I think I got it mid-1990's? Not a dolphin-nose; It has a coke bottle headstock, 2 pegs per side. It is a really wonderful bass. I used to play and record w/ it all the time.

I didn't realize that they were so coveted. mine has been in my storage locker for a while so maybe it is time to sell...

(I have owned ALL of the different original Danos and Silvertones in my lifetime, and I must say none of them were as good as the JJ. They were fun to show up on a gig with but whatever mojo he worked, he took them to the next level without sacrificing the funk of the line.)
 
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#15
Greyfin10 said:
I caught Dada a couple of months back in Pensacola, and the bass player was playing a Jerry Jones single cut. It sounded GREAT... and the looks have grown on me ever since. Unfortunately, they seem to be as rare as hen's teeth... I know that Danelectro makes something similar, but how similar is it from a performance perpsective? Are there any other good alternatives? I am a totally neophyte in regards to short-scale basses, but I'm interested in learning more.
Click to expand...

The Danelectros are actually pretty great. Are they as well made as a Jerry Jones? NO, but Jerry Jones was simply a boutique Danelectro - so they are the obvious "alternative". Just remember that the Danelectros were and are good enough to create the demand for a boutique version.
For the record, the Asian Danos are BETTER quality than the originals from the 60s and they haven't experienced 40-60 years of abuse and neglect like most low end instruments that old will have experienced. The Korean ones are a little better quality IMO than the Chinese but not significantly and again - these are SUPPOSED to be cheap - they're reissues of Sears guitars made out of Masonite (AKA heat treated cardboard).

Another option, but probably HARDER to get than the JJ is the old Charvel Surfcaster basses. Very well made in Japan guitars made from wood but with similar construction (hollow, thin top, lipstick pus).

Finally, Subway guitars in San Franciso builds NOS Danelectros with improved hardware for reasonable prices (around $600-750) and these have the benefits of being Original and American made AND new AND with better hardware (precisely bridge and tuners). They sell them mail order and you can get them to make you almost any combination you can think of if they have the parts. They have a website - look up subway guitars or Fat Dawg (the owner). The story is he bought out the remaining warehouse of parts when Danlelectro shut down and has been making them ever since.
 
#16
I've got a Jerry Jones copperburst longhorn with the wooden bridge. I love that bass and have gigged and recorded with it quite a bit but with the value going up on it, I think it's time to retire it for strictly studio use. I am on the lookout for an inexpensive short scale, gigging bass...something I don't have to worry about getting damaged or stolen.
Jerry Jones Longorn Bass

Jerry Jones Longorn Bass

 
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#17
MarvinForte said:
I've got a Jerry Jones copperburst longhorn with the wooden bridge. I love that bass and have gigged and recorded with it quite a bit but with the value going up on it, I think it's time to retire it for strictly studio use. I am on the lookout for an inexpensive short scale, gigging bass...something I don't have to worry about getting damaged or stolen.
Jerry Jones Longorn Bass

Jerry Jones Longorn Bass

Click to expand...
As I said earlier in this thread I had two JJ Longhorns and unfortunately sold both. I had replaced them with a Blackburst 90's era Korean Dano Longhorn. It is actually a very nice bass except for one weak point is the bridge is made from soft metal that bends easily. I did a fix for it that required adding a screw in the body that I will happily explain to you through an email sometime if you want! I gave it to my Granddaughter a couple years ago after she expressed an interest in playing bass. She still has it and uses it at school all the time and loves the thing! The newest ones are said to be very nice also and are available in copperburst and black. I would think they would consider more colors! They would probably sell a lot more of them!
 

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