R.I.P. Jerry Jones

[rogerbmiller]

This morning I learned that Jerry Jones has passed. For those not familiar, Jerry Jones was a skilled luthier known for his high-quality builds inspired by the classic Daneletro instruments of yore. You can read his obituary here:

Jerry Jones Obituary (1949 - 2026) - Legacy Remembers

View Jerry Jones's obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.

www.legacy.com

 

[Spidey2112]

RIP, JJ.

 

[FrenchBassQC]

RIP Mister Jones.

 

[nixdad]

This morning I learned that Jerry Jones has passed. For those not familiar, Jerry Jones was a skilled luthier known for his high-quality builds inspired by the classic Daneletro instruments of yore. You can read his obituary here:

Jerry Jones Obituary (1949 - 2026) - Legacy Remembers

View Jerry Jones's obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.

www.legacy.com

@rogerbmiller -
Very sad news indeed.

I don't recall if I ever met Jerry, but we were one of his dealers in the late 80's and early 90's, and LOVED his instruments. He recognized the void in the market and built his Danelectro-inspired instruments LONG before their reissues were available (Jerry's instruments were superior to the originals as well.)

It's also important to note that there were very few somewhat affordable short-scale basses available in the 80's (other than Hofner Violin basses) during this time (neither short scale nor medium scale basses were that popular during this era.) Jerry's basses were a nice alternative.

We didn't sell a ton of them, but I believe we sold Longhorns more than any other model as can be seen in the background of our Bass Player Magazine ad from the early 90's:

Here's a better photo of the same model (pickguard missing):

Jerry's Logo:

Additionally, we occasionally sold the 6-string bass/baritone guitar model as well, including the one that Joe Walsh played with The Eagles in the "Hell Freezes Over" video in 1994:

Photo of a Jerry Jones Neptune Baritone 6:

R.I.P., Jerry.

 

[rogerbmiller]

Great stories and pictures. Thanks for posting them.

I went down the Danelectro rabbit hole some 15 years ago as I was suffering from debilitating back pain and they were the solution for a 4 hour bar gig! I sought one of Jerry's basses at the time and stayed at it for a while but never connected with one. The longhorns were the most prevalent for sure but I always quite liked his Neptune bass which was his version of the Dano Dolphin.

Such a sad loss.

 

[nixdad]

Great stories and pictures. Thanks for posting them.

I went down the Danelectro rabbit hole some 15 years ago as I was suffering from debilitating back pain and they were the solution for a 4 hour bar gig! I sought one of Jerry's basses at the time and stayed at it for a while but never connected with one. The longhorns were the most prevalent for sure but I always quite liked his Neptune bass which was his version of the Dano Dolphin.

Such a sad loss.

You bet.
Joe bought his JJ Bari-6 from us a few years before the Eagles reformed. He'd have lunch occasionally at the Italian restaurant next door, and happened to pop in one day. This was also a few years before he got sober (which was a STRICT condition of him being included in the band's second act.)

It's funny, a few weeks after he bought it we were contacted by his Management to verify he had indeed purchased it (I imagine Joe was a handful for them.) We had all the proof necessary, so that question was answered quickly.

 

[rogerbmiller]

You bet.
Joe bought his JJ Bari-6 from us a few years before the Eagles reformed. He'd have lunch occasionally at the Italian restaurant next door, and happened to pop in one day. This was also a few years before he got sober (which was a STRICT condition of him being included in the band's second act.)

It's funny, a few weeks after he bought it we were contacted by his Management to verify he had indeed purchased it (I imagine Joe was a handful for them.) We had all the proof necessary, so that question was answered quickly.

Love it.

I realized the Neptune was his version of the "Seal" bass i.e. the DC. He did have a Dolphin (56 SC) shape though yeah?

What a great slice of bass history!

 

[nixdad]

Love it.

I realized the Neptune was his version of the "Seal" bass i.e. the DC. He did have a Dolphin (56 SC) shape though yeah?

What a great slice of bass history!

I'm glad you enjoyed it!

 

[pbass2]

RIP to one of the greats. My JJ Longhorn is a keeper. The only bass I bought new that I still own. Records like a dream. Sounds BIG in a mix. Mine is a "Neptune" model which he made briefly, the one where AFAIK he had to alter the Longhorn body shape (for a while) due to legal issues. Maybe someone here knows more about that. I quite like the slightly different shape actually (and the bridge with adjustable saddles compared to the trad one):

 

[sullen-moon]

oof. RIP one of the classics. loved his stuff especially his Neptune and the longhorns

 

[2saddleslab]

Met Jerry Jones in Nashville back in the early 90's. After having owned an original Dano I Loved my JJ Longhorn.

 

[dannylectro]

Long time Jerry Jones guy… here’s two of the three I own…

 

[dannylectro]

Here’s the other one… once owned by Garry Tallent
RIP JJ

 

[coryr1000]

My friend Gladys from a local Jersey band The Powertones plays her Jerry Jones Longhorn all the time. I've sat in with them and also played it and I must say it's super easy to play and get used to!

 

[mcgreivey]

RIP to one of the greats. My JJ Longhorn is a keeper. The only bass I bought new that I still own. Records like a dream. Sounds BIG in a mix. Mine is a "Neptune" model which he made briefly, the one where AFAIK he had to alter the Longhorn body shape (for a while) due to legal issues. Maybe someone here knows more about that. I quite like the slightly different shape actually (and the bridge with adjustable saddles compared to the trad one):

I have the same Neptune longhorn bass, except in copperburst. It's my favorite. I was saving $ to buy a (preferably Neptune) JJ shorthorn when he when he stopped building. Then the prices started rising...

So then I started buying cheap reissue Danelectro basses, and I also built a couple from parts, but then Danelectros (and Danelectro parts) started getting not-so-cheap...

So now I'm watching for the right deal on a JJ Neptune shorthorn again...

 

[pbass2]

I have the same Neptune longhorn bass, except in copperburst. It's my favorite. I was saving $ to buy a (preferably Neptune) JJ shorthorn when he when he stopped building. Then the prices started rising...

So then I started buying cheap reissue Danelectro basses, and I also built a couple from parts, but then Danelectros (and Danelectro parts) started getting not-so-cheap...

So now I'm watching for the right deal on a JJ Neptune shorthorn again...

I got mine new around 2005 if memory serves. The only thing I did to mine was since that version does not have a tone control, I had a push/pull pot installed in the vol knob that introduces a fixed high end cut via some kinda cap or something (I had my tech do it, that stuff is out of my wheelhouse!). So it's like rolling the tone knob halfway down on a P, etc. Handy, cause it's actually a fairly bright bass.
I had a 60's Longhorn back in the 90's that, while it sounded good, was a prime example of how they were originally sort of cheapos. Mine literally had some crooked frets. And it was overall kinda wonky(I still played it a ton though!).
My JJ is so much better in every way there's no comparison.

 

[mcgreivey]

I got mine new around 2005 if memory serves. The only thing I did to mine was since that version does not have a tone control, I had a push/pull pot installed in the vol knob that introduces a fixed high end cut via some kinda cap or something (I had my tech do it, that stuff is out of my wheelhouse!). So it's like rolling the tone knob halfway down on a P, etc. Handy, cause it's actually a fairly bright bass.
I had a 60's Longhorn back in the 90's that, while it sounded good, was a prime example of how they were originally sort of cheapos. Mine literally had some crooked frets. And it was overall kinda wonky(I still played it a ton though!).
My JJ is so much better in every way there's no comparison.

That brightness is why mine wears flats. But I always have the tone wide open on my Danos also-- partly because I had this JJ first, partly because the JJ replaced a (12-pound!) jazz bass which I also usually played with the tone wide open.

 

[pbass2]

That brightness is why mine wears flats. But I always have the tone wide open on my Danos also-- partly because I had this JJ first, partly because the JJ replaced a (12-pound!) jazz bass which I also usually played with the tone wide open.

yah, Labella flats on mine FTW! I don't use the treble cut much--for recording I leave any bass wide open, but sometimes for a super mellow tune live it's handy on this one.

 

[TomB]

RIP JJ. I only owned a bari guitar which I never pursued, then sold. But it was a sweet and very well-made axe. I wonder if some other builder wants to walk in his shoes?…or is Dano copies too niche a market.

 

[mcgreivey]

RIP JJ. I only owned a bari guitar which I never pursued, then sold. But it was a sweet and very well-made axe. I wonder if some other builder wants to walk in his shoes?…or is Dano copies too niche a market.

It's probably not a moneymaking venture. The current Danelectros are just about as good as the ones Jerry Jones made, and they're probably 1/3 the price an American builder would have to charge. This was probably one of the reasons Jerry Jones stopped. A new Danelectro "Red Hot Longhorn" (with a more durable paint job than my Jerry Jones) is about $500 now.