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Rare Longhorn Bass Help

M

Muzik Ed

Oct 27, 2025
7
44
#1
Hi,

Hoping someone might be able to shed some light on a mystery.

My name is Ed and am the Chairman of Todd Rundgren's Spirit of Harmony Foundation. Todd's former bass player, John Siegler, discovered Todd's Longhorn in his attic that John used when recording some tracks on Todd's 1973 "A Wizard A True Star" ablum. The bass needed some restoration work to bring it back to playability, which was done with all original parts, other than the tear drop white knobs.

We are now trying to figure out what this bass is, where it came from, who made it and potentially its value as it will be sold to raise funds for Todd's foundation. It is seemingly a rare instrument with some great music history as well.

It is longer than a typical Longhorn, 40", and has more frets, 25. We believe is was made by a company in the Netherlands. We believe it was made in the late 60s.

If anyone can help us figure out what we have here, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Ed
[email protected]
 

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#3
That looks like a garden variety Longhorn. 24 frets, BTW. Those horrid dual tuner assemblies were common for Danos. Mine had 4 tuners but the Dolphin head Silvertone Dano I use at rehearsal has those as did, IIRC, the Shorthorn double neck I used to have. Cool bass, though! I have a reissue that rarely sees action these days but I did many many gigs with it.

BBB
 
#8
From Grok:
Danelectro Longhorn basses did feature the word "Longhorn" on the headstock in certain production runs, though this was not standard across all models or years. The iconic "Coke bottle" headstock shape was typically decaled with a vertical "Danelectro" logo and a "Totally Shielded" metal label above the nut, as seen on most original 1958–1969 instruments (e.g., Model 4423) and modern reissues. However, a limited export series produced specifically for the Netherlands in the 1960s used "Longhorn" instead of "Danelectro" on the headstock, as documented in collector accounts and Dutch market histories. This variant was tied to the brand's European distribution through Sears Roebuck catalogs under Silvertone branding but customized for local appeal. Similar "Longhorn"-decaded headstocks appear on some 6-string Longhorn bass variants from the same era, though they are rare and not part of the core U.S. lineup. No widespread use of "Longhorn" on headstocks has been noted in later reissues (1990s–present), which stick to the classic "Danelectro" branding.
 
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#9
devnulljp said:
Danelectro Model 4423 Longhorn Bass?
No idea what's going on with the logo though.

o3rjdmxrjec8cylwrnl3.jpg


I know there was an Italian maker in the 60s that made copies of these. Can't remember the name. But those tuners look like pure Dano

rmrb7lsepxgjfpjstrjo.jpg
Click to expand...
Thanks, this guitar is an EXACT match for the one I have, other than the headstock and the tear drop white knobs. Originally mine had round knobs, one was missing, but we have the second.

You are very knowledgeable, any chance you may know of a source for replacement round white knobs?

Thanks
Ed
 

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#10
wheresmyric said:
From Grok:
Danelectro Longhorn basses did feature the word "Longhorn" on the headstock in certain production runs, though this was not standard across all models or years. The iconic "Coke bottle" headstock shape was typically decaled with a vertical "Danelectro" logo and a "Totally Shielded" metal label above the nut, as seen on most original 1958–1969 instruments (e.g., Model 4423) and modern reissues. However, a limited export series produced specifically for the Netherlands in the 1960s used "Longhorn" instead of "Danelectro" on the headstock, as documented in collector accounts and Dutch market histories. This variant was tied to the brand's European distribution through Sears Roebuck catalogs under Silvertone branding but customized for local appeal. Similar "Longhorn"-decaded headstocks appear on some 6-string Longhorn bass variants from the same era, though they are rare and not part of the core U.S. lineup. No widespread use of "Longhorn" on headstocks has been noted in later reissues (1990s–present), which stick to the classic "Danelectro" branding.
Click to expand...
Grok

Thanks, yours is the most informative detailed we have seen. Thank you very much.

If I am understanding you correctly, this bass was manufactured in America, but for specific limited distribution in the Netherlands.

Suspect that makes this particular instrument pretty rare, coupled with its ties to Todd Rundgren, unique.

I will try to track down more information using the leads you provided.

Ed
 
#11
Muzik Ed said:
Hi,

Hoping someone might be able to shed some light on a mystery.

My name is Ed and am the Chairman of Todd Rundgren's Spirit of Harmony Foundation. Todd's former bass player, John Siegler, discovered Todd's Longhorn in his attic that John used when recording some tracks on Todd's 1973 "A Wizard A True Star" ablum. The bass needed some restoration work to bring it back to playability, which was done with all original parts, other than the tear drop white knobs.

We are now trying to figure out what this bass is, where it came from, who made it and potentially its value as it will be sold to raise funds for Todd's foundation. It is seemingly a rare instrument with some great music history as well.

It is longer than a typical Longhorn, 40", and has more frets, 25. We believe is was made by a company in the Netherlands. We believe it was made in the late 60s.

If anyone can help us figure out what we have here, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Ed
[email protected]
Click to expand...
Looks like a legit Danelectro made body with a non-Dano neck. The extra holes in the body tells the story. When Danelectro was shut down lots of parts got scattered to the winds - this may have been made from those.
 
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#14
#19
Verne Andru said:
I don't recall Danelectro doing anything as sophisticated as a neck tilt adjustment (like Fender did), which is probably the hole I was referring to. But it could have been added after or I could very well be wrong.
Click to expand...
My Silvertone dolphin nose bass has that hole and it looks there’s a screw head in there.

Found this on Facebook:

Screenshot 2026-04-29 at 12.33.47 PM.png
 
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