NBD: 58 Danelectro Longhorn reissue

[1stnamebassist]

Ubasses are great! I've had one for about 3 years. The sound is amazing!

 

[msb]

Hi,
I have a Dano Longhorn re-issue I bought used (Korean made) not sure what year it is. I am looking to get that old-school, thumpy sound out of it. It has round wounds on it now and I don't like the tone ("chunky metallic twang" for lack of better term...).

I am looking to get this guys sound....

Currently it sounds like this guy...

Will just putting flat wounds on it will give me that old school sound...?

I've tried playing around with the tone controls and put foam under the strings next to the bridge but that hasn't solved the issue.

Can the pups be the issue?....was there a year they put "hotter" pups in the longhorn or have they mostly used the same pups?

Any help would be much appreciated!

You can leave the rounds on but they will have to be deadened . It will happen over time , some say eating a bucket of chicken and immediately playing will hasten the process . My first generation Korean Longhorn still has the factory strings and they truly have a nice deep thump at this point .
Even new flats will take some time to break in .
There's a lot to be said for the sound of old strings .
The pickups they designed for the early re-issues are said to have been a pretty accurate reproduction of the original lipstick pickups that were on the originals . Later versions do have hotter pickups . Leave them alone , they're fine .
Try plucking close to the neck rather than close to the bridge . Playing old style with a thumb might help . Roll off the treble .
Good luck

 

[GIBrat51]

Hi,
I have a Dano Longhorn re-issue I bought used (Korean made) not sure what year it is. I am looking to get that old-school, thumpy sound out of it. It has round wounds on it now and I don't like the tone ("chunky metallic twang" for lack of better term...).

I am looking to get this guys sound....

Currently it sounds like this guy...

Will just putting flat wounds on it will give me that old school sound...?

I've tried playing around with the tone controls and put foam under the strings next to the bridge but that hasn't solved the issue.

Can the pups be the issue?....was there a year they put "hotter" pups in the longhorn or have they mostly used the same pups?

Any help would be much appreciated!

No, I don't think it's the pickups. I think the operative word here is "Roundwounds". If you like the sound of the first demo - with flats - then I'm afraid you need to get some yourself. No matter how much chicken grease you get on them, and how old and dead they are, rounds won't sound like flats. Best you can hope for is old, dead, greasy rounds... La Bella made the original Dano strings, and still makes flats in the original Danelectro gauges, if you want those; rounds, too. The original Dano gauge strings were very light (43-79), mainly because they used guitar tuners (and the Longhorns still do), and it's hard to get a big E string thru that little hole. So, if you have Dano rounds on yours, yeah, I'm not surprised it sounds a little twangy. It won't with flats...
As for the pickups; the original Korean reissues (I have 2) were reverse-engineered from original Dano pickups; and no, they aren't exactly high output. The new ones, as the secound guy said, are higher output; but I doubt they're what most people would consider "High Output" these days. Not much room for a lot of wire/big magnets in that lipstick tube. Put some flats on that puppy, and enjoy!

 

[Red Cucumber]

You can leave the rounds on but they will have to be deadened . It will happen over time , some say eating a bucket of chicken and immediately playing will hasten the process . My first generation Korean Longhorn still has the factory strings and they truly have a nice deep thump at this point .
Even new flats will take some time to break in .
There's a lot to be said for the sound of old strings .
The pickups they designed for the early re-issues are said to have been a pretty accurate reproduction of the original lipstick pickups that were on the originals . Later versions do have hotter pickups . Leave them alone , they're fine .
Try plucking close to the neck rather than close to the bridge . Playing old style with a thumb might help . Roll off the treble .
Good luck

Thanks for the reply MSB!
Hmmm I'll have to try the chicken thing...
I bought it used and have been playing the rounds that came with it and those strings seem to have been on it for awhile (I can see small oxidation marks forming on them). I have tried playing near the bridge and near the neck as well...the thumb definitely gives it a "mellower" tone

 

[Red Cucumber]

No, I don't think it's the pickups. I think the operative word here is "Roundwounds". If you like the sound of the first demo - with flats - then I'm afraid you need to get some yourself. No matter how much chicken grease you get on them, and how old and dead they are, rounds won't sound like flats. Best you can hope for is old, dead, greasy rounds... La Bella made the original Dano strings, and still makes flats in the original Danelectro gauges, if you want those; rounds, too. The original Dano gauge strings were very light (43-79), mainly because they used guitar tuners (and the Longhorns still do), and it's hard to get a big E string thru that little hole. So, if you have Dano rounds on yours, yeah, I'm not surprised it sounds a little twangy. It won't with flats...
As for the pickups; the original Korean reissues (I have 2) were reverse-engineered from original Dano pickups; and no, they aren't exactly high output. The new ones, as the secound guy said, are higher output; but I doubt they're what most people would consider "High Output" these days. Not much room for a lot of wire/big magnets in that lipstick tube. Put some flats on that puppy, and enjoy!

Thanks GIBrat!
I figured putting flats on it might do the trick so I ordered some of the GHS precisions....