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Justifying a Jerry Jones Longhorn

Stinkoman20xx

Stinkoman20xx

Oct 19, 2003
1,188
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Cincinnati
#1
Recently I been gassing hard for a Jerry Jones Longhorn bass. My favorite bass is the Danelectro longhorn. I love the idea of having a superior version of my favorite instrument and I finally have the funds to do it. What I am having a hard time is justifying the cost. I understand these are handmade and are very high quality, and they are discontinued. But the $1300-$1500 price tag for a used when they where $800 new is making it hard to justify especially since I could buy 4-5 used long horns for that price. If I had the chance to play one in person that also might be easier to sway me. So to the people who owned or play both is it really that much difference to justify the cost?
 
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#3
It's supply and demand. They've been discontinued and JJ made them arguably better than the originals.

I had the same feeling when the prices of old Rumblefish basses started to sky rocket. It's hard to swallow when you remember them being a lot cheaper.

I've borrowed a Jerry Jones bass years ago. I think it was a long horn. It was pretty good and it left me with a favorable impression of the brand. It's cheaper than a vintage Dano in comparable condition and it's better than pretty much all of the newer ones.

I did own a DC 59 bass that killed. If I remember correctly it was one of the 90s Korean reissues. It was, to my memory, almost on par with the JJ and they can be had for far far less.

My suggestion would be to find a Korean bass (usually around 300$) and then spend a little money for a pro set up. Maybe get a set of hipshot ultra lights installed since they had guitar style tuners.

If I had a 1500 budget for a bass and I wanted a Dano, I'd be looking at having one custom made for me. They weren't terribly expensive to make.
 
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#5
I also am a fan of the Dano longhorn. Jerry Jones have gone up since he pulled out the shop and it is said to be better build and quality to a standard Dano. If you like them that much I would bite. I also see the value going up so that's a positive.
 
#6
I bought a JJ Longhorn in Bloodburst here a couple of years ago. I like short scaled, single coil basses, and I love my old Dano guitars. That said, the ergonomics of the longhorn did not work for me and I sold the bass with no regrets. Consider one of their other body shapes...short horn or single cut.
 
#7
I've owned a couple JJ Longhorns, and older early 90's and one from 2000's. Great basses but very expensive now. Would I pay that much now? No. Unless its for investment reasons because the price will continue to go up. I had a Korean Longhorn from the late 90's that was a great bass, but the quality wasn't quite up to JJ standards no doubt. But it was mint and only 200.00 when I bought it from GC. I wished I hadn't sold them for 500.00 each several years ago, but money was needed at the time and I miss them. But a Dano sounds and plays the same so if I wanted a player that's where my money would go.
 
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#8
Stinkoman20xx said:
Recently I been gassing hard for a Jerry Jones Longhorn bass. My favorite bass is the Danelectro longhorn. I love the idea of having a superior version of my favorite instrument and I finally have the funds to do it. What I am having a hard time is justifying the cost. I understand these are handmade and are very high quality, and they are discontinued. But the $1300-$1500 price tag for a used when they where $800 new is making it hard to justify especially since I could buy 4-5 used long horns for that price. If I had the chance to play one in person that also might be easier to sway me. So to the people who owned or play both is it really that much difference to justify the cost?
Click to expand...
Don't compare it to a Danelectro for price - you can't compare a boutique with an inexpenseive production instrument.
If you were considering an American Fender, you wouldn't say "I can buy ________ Squiers" that's just the difference - only more so - these were small production instruments by a specialized maker which are now discontinued.
Moreover - where are you buying longhorns that you can get 5 for $800? A $200 longhorn is pretty rare nowadays, $160 Danos of any description is pretty much unheard of now.
The quality difference is pretty big. While I am indeed a fan of the Koreans, pretty much everything about the JJs is better, fit, finish, pickups, hardware are all better.
Think of it another way. $800 for an American made professional bass (ie. something you can play pro-level gigs with) is anything but unreasonable.
 
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#10
A Jerry Jones bass is about the only remaining source of GAS for me. Loved the one I played back in the 1980s ($450 or so at Seattle Music IIRC), and Bruce Thomas played one to such great effect on Elvis Costello's "Brutal Youth" LP and tour. At this point, much as I want one, I simply can't justify paying the inflated current price.
 
#11
Pet Sounds said:
Kyle Spark of Donna the Buffalo played one for years and it sounded great. Of course, Kyle could make any bass sound fantastic, but I loved the tone he got with his JJ with flats through an Aguilar rig. Definitely a professional-grade instrument.
Click to expand...

I recently bought one of Kyle's JJ basses - he had 2 - kept the Longhorn and sold me the Singlecut. Really a killer bass now wearing flats and thumping like crazy. I have owned several Dano RI basses and have 2 JJ basses - no comparison; the JJ basses are stellar!
IMG_1781.JPG
 
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#13
I had a jj longhorn.

Neck was too skinny and felt loooong.

Slow neck too with the matte finish paint on the back of the neck. The bridge wasn't wood like the original.

Balance was terrible for me.

Sounded like the reissued danos.

I'm all for praising under-appreciated basses, especially hollowbodys and short-scales but the jjs were never 'boutique' lol!

My 1980 hofner smokes it in every single department: sound, fit and finish. The jj was really in tune though- intonation was perfect.
 
#15
I've got a really beat up Neptune era Jerry Jones Shorthorn.
so the body shape is slightly altered. You may remember that Jerry Jones had to change the design while he was going through a legal battle with the Korean Danelectro company.

anyways, It's a great sounding bass. If you play with multiple basses during gigs, remember that the output is significantly lower than most basses out there.
 
#16
Here's my 2001 Neptune.

The JJ's are the best of the Dano's. This would be the 'lawsuit style' Longhorn 4, (mentioned above) which is more rare. Also, the neck is unpainted and matte. So, its slick.
Living in Nashville for the last 28 yrs, has afforded me the opportunity to chat with Jerry many times. I have had 4 Longhorns, since the mid 90's. When Jerry stopped in early 2010, the Longhorn 4 list was $1200.00 and the G&G case was an extra $130.00

BM2956a.jpg
BM2956a.jpg
 
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#19
I've got 3 - a Jerry Jones single cut wearing flats, a Neptune shorthorn with roundwounds and a Neptune longhorn getting ready to wear tapewounds. Great tones, deep and thumpy but yet still focused. I really find them to fit in a lot of music styles and genre's. Super high quality and the necks feel wonderful. My only complaint has been the rather sharp radius on the edges but my local luthier has fashioned me a maple armrest that is really comfortable so these are my go-to basses right now.
 
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#20
GeneralElectric said:
I had the same feeling when the prices of old Rumblefish basses started to sky rocket. It's hard to swallow when you remember them being a lot cheaper.
Click to expand...
I was thinking exactly the same thing, very similar. Glad I stocked up on Rumblefish before they went up - though I bought them more as a monetary investment, they're so nice to play that it would be awfully hard to sell even one.
 

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