i used to have a dano longhorn reissue that i sold to my guitarists kid. she promptly trashed it. anyway. i'm thinking of getting another but my question to those of you who have played them OR the jerry jones , what do i do? should i just buy the jj now or wait for the dano to come out. edromanguitars.com has the jj for 699+ hs case. heeeeeeeeeeellllllllllllllllpppppppppppp! what do i do
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RE-reissued Danelectro Longhorn Bass
- Thread starter RedGrange
- Start date
Are you local to Ed Roman, if not you may not want to deal with them. Their reputation for customer service is not great.
The JJs are definately nicer instruments than the last round of Danos but also different instruments - they feel different. You really should try before you buy if at all possible. Where are you located? Maybe someone on the forum is near you and has one or the other.
You should be able to pick up a mint used Longhorn pro reissue for between 300 and 350 - or one that shows just a little wear for 250-300. There are always some on ebay. JJs are more spotty but still pop up fairly regularly at decent prices usually 400 and up unless they show a lot of wear but I have seen some very nice ones a couple of times (still kicking myself - there was a beaut I played that was $300) for less in music stores.
Depends how badly you need the instrument and if you need new. Remember that there are a lot of these floating around and they do come up for sale all the time - don't let a shortage mentality (or a GAS attack) make you pay more than you should.
Peace,
S
The JJs are definately nicer instruments than the last round of Danos but also different instruments - they feel different. You really should try before you buy if at all possible. Where are you located? Maybe someone on the forum is near you and has one or the other.
You should be able to pick up a mint used Longhorn pro reissue for between 300 and 350 - or one that shows just a little wear for 250-300. There are always some on ebay. JJs are more spotty but still pop up fairly regularly at decent prices usually 400 and up unless they show a lot of wear but I have seen some very nice ones a couple of times (still kicking myself - there was a beaut I played that was $300) for less in music stores.
Depends how badly you need the instrument and if you need new. Remember that there are a lot of these floating around and they do come up for sale all the time - don't let a shortage mentality (or a GAS attack) make you pay more than you should.
Peace,
S
- Feb 24, 2004
- 4,103
- 643
- 68
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Phantom Guitars, Eastwood Guitars
I just bought a black sparkle Dano DC bass, the pro model. It's an awesome bass...amazingly full sound (given the construction materials) and a nice neck.
The guitar-style tuners are a bit of a drag, but hey, it's a Dano!
The guitar-style tuners are a bit of a drag, but hey, it's a Dano!
TheSuzie said:
Sorry i am late , this is what i am talking about http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=216124&highlight=kent+armstrong
The wood longhorn hollow bodies with F holes were Coral (part of Danelectro)branded if I remember right. I don't know if they made a bass version, but the did use them for the guitarlins. There were a bunch of surplus bodies kicking around. My guitar player had/has one at one point.
The new Danelectro's are plywood frames with a Masonite back and top. I believe the original Danno's were Masonite over a poplar frame, with poplar neck.
They way to go, if you don't mind spending the $$$ is to go with the Jerry Jones. I have had a JJ Neptune Longhorn for 4 or 5 years now. Great "niche" bass. The best way to buy a JJ is on the used market. Kind of pricey new for what they are, and can be bought resonable on the used market. At one point I owned an original Dan Armstron modified Danno UB-1 and the JJ kicked it's butt.
Played a bunch of the re-issues(last batch) and they really weren't too bad for the money. The JJ is a far superior insrument though.
They aren't the most vesitile bass on the planet, but I saw Joey Spampinato(NRBQ) get a whole lot out of a single p/u JJ DC copy one night at a club playing through an old SVT.
The new Danelectro's are plywood frames with a Masonite back and top. I believe the original Danno's were Masonite over a poplar frame, with poplar neck.
They way to go, if you don't mind spending the $$$ is to go with the Jerry Jones. I have had a JJ Neptune Longhorn for 4 or 5 years now. Great "niche" bass. The best way to buy a JJ is on the used market. Kind of pricey new for what they are, and can be bought resonable on the used market. At one point I owned an original Dan Armstron modified Danno UB-1 and the JJ kicked it's butt.
Played a bunch of the re-issues(last batch) and they really weren't too bad for the money. The JJ is a far superior insrument though.
They aren't the most vesitile bass on the planet, but I saw Joey Spampinato(NRBQ) get a whole lot out of a single p/u JJ DC copy one night at a club playing through an old SVT.
I ordered 6 of the new reissues at NAMM but they won't be shipping to dealers until sometime in April and will only be offered for a limited time. I talked to them at lenght about bringing back a 34" DC model as well and they didn't count it out for somewhere down the road.
The "improved" hardware is mainly referring to the bridge which will have the adjustable bridge like on the "Pro" series of a few years ago. They kept the smaller tuners though.
Other changes include:
No side tape on the bodies.
V/T plus 3-way instead of stacked V/T V/T controls
Non "Coke bottle" headstock shape
Hotter wound lipstick pickup sthan on the last series.
The "improved" hardware is mainly referring to the bridge which will have the adjustable bridge like on the "Pro" series of a few years ago. They kept the smaller tuners though.
Other changes include:
No side tape on the bodies.
V/T plus 3-way instead of stacked V/T V/T controls
Non "Coke bottle" headstock shape
Hotter wound lipstick pickup sthan on the last series.
Dude said:I ordered 6 of the new reissues at NAMM but they won't be shipping to dealers until sometime in April and will only be offered for a limited time. I talked to them at lenght about bringing back a 34" DC model as well and they didn't count it out for somewhere down the road.
The "improved" hardware is mainly referring to the bridge which will have the adjustable bridge like on the "Pro" series of a few years ago. They kept the smaller tuners though.
Other changes include:
No side tape on the bodies.
V/T plus 3-way instead of stacked V/T V/T controls
Non "Coke bottle" headstock shape
Hotter wound lipstick pickup sthan on the last series.
Interesting. Very interesting. They got closer to some very cool and usable basses, in my opinion, but they didn't quite hit the mark for me:
- Adjustable bridge - yes!
- No tape - yes!
- Hotter pickups than last series - yes! Very important!
- Small tuners - buzzzzer
- Old fashioned, large, and loud headstock logo - buzzzzer
Also very interesting that they are getting back in the game yet already saying the basses will be a limited run.
- Feb 24, 2004
- 4,103
- 643
- 68
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Phantom Guitars, Eastwood Guitars
Actually, I think the white tape is a big part of "the look", I've had several Jerry Jones Longhorns and have never had any problem with tape lift. Seems like they just gave up and dropped it instead of finding a better attachment method.
bongomania
Commercial User
But dude, the extravagantly old-fashioned look is what this bass is all about! (Aside from the sound of course) Heck, it should have knobs from a Wedgewood stove on it, and maybe some coffee-mug ring stains in the formica.SBassman4x said:
iamthebassman said:
My JJ has no problems with tape lift, but the first re issue Danno's did have problems. Especialy the Longhorns. On the R/I Danno's it looked more like a thin piece of plastic or vinyl, than the adhesive kitchen cupboard shelf covering that the original Danno's and JJ's use.
bongomania said:
For you that's true.
For me, it's about a bass that was:
- Incredibly light
- Unique looking
- Was capable of unique tones due to the hollowbody design
yet was a big compromise because:
- the bridge was poor
- the tuners were poor
- the tape looked cruddy
- the pickups were not hot enough
I buy basses to play. Not to view as retro artwork.
Dude said:Then why harp about the decal?? To my knowledge the big decal doesn't affect the playability.
The decal is the least of the problems. It wouldn't keep me from buying the bass. But it makes the bass look 100 years old.
Listen, what I think doesn't matter, but I just always thought the current Danelectro owners missed an opportunity - to take a cool design, and bring it into this century. I have a great deal of confidence the bass I describe would be a very popular one.
I have had lots of dialog with lots of Dano owners over the years, and while the retro thing is fun, lots of them would rather have a version of the bass that Performs.
SBassman4x said:
I always thought the idea behind a re issue was to be an affordable version of a vintage (read expensive) instrument.
They make an upgraded version of the old Danno's with Hotter pickups, better build quality, better tuners, and a smaller logo. It's called a Jerry Jones. Or a real modern version of the basic Danno concept.... The Reverend Rumblefish!!! Those just went out of production, so maybe the market for a "Better Danno" isn't so big after all. Too bad...Those were pretty cool.
Big Decal or not, the basic design is from the mid 50's.
I thought that the last re issues did a pretty good job mimicking the originals, right down to the Popsicle stick bridge. You had the option of the "Pro" with an adjustable bridge if you wanted.
I think that the last re-issue's cheapie bridge was an important ingredient in the unique sound. Mine plays in tune no problem.
I've had no issues with tape lifting or neck warping or bowing-in fact the neck and fretwork are very good. It's better than the original but still has that sound.
I've had no issues with tape lifting or neck warping or bowing-in fact the neck and fretwork are very good. It's better than the original but still has that sound.
SBassman4x said:
That "pro" Bridge = NO NO NO NO NO - I own and play the pro version reissue and while that bridge does provide some intonation adjustment (which is good), It provides virtually NO string height adjustment. This is a huge problem if you need to adjust action. The only way to do it with that bridge is by neck shimming (no rosewood on the pro bridge to sand or file). But when you shim you also need to be able to adjust the saddles, otherwise it is nearly impossible to get uniform action over the length of the neck.
It is pretty important to get the action down and fairly uniform on a short scale with a two octave neck. If the action rises a lot in the upper register, the intonation gets pretty bad up there. It is something I can hear on a lot of these instruments. It just adds to the problem that they are inexpensively made instruments with not the greatest necks (possibly with somewhat imprecise fret placement) or fret crowning jobs.
The larger tuners on my pro model are a big upgrade, especially since they allow me to use any bass string and not be restricted to only short scale strings. I wish the tuners were better but not enough that I have shelled out for another set of tuners.
I like the pickups.
BTW the Jerry Jones basses I have played have either felt really good or terrible to me. I seem to like the older ones as opposed to the Neptune models.
Peace,
S
