I got mine on feebay, rolled the dice, got extremely lucky IMHO.
Joe Nerve has one identical to mine for sale on TB classifieds as I type this.
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The Dano Is a KEEPER
- Thread starter doc540
- Start date
I got mine on feebay, rolled the dice, got extremely lucky IMHO.
Joe Nerve has one identical to mine for sale on TB classifieds as I type this.
- Oct 7, 2000
- 18,619
- 38,939
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
Quick response to derailment:
Big Al - sunburst w vintage white. Minarik custom built and gave to me when I was playing with one of their top endorsers. www.minarikguitars.com And I'm heading to a rehearsal, will respond to dano PMs later tonight.
Back to our reguarly schduled program. Now I'm questioning my selling this.
Sold 2 Hodads and regretted it, bought this, gonna regret selling this too. Ahhh... I never play it.They really really sound freaking awesome though. When I had my hodads I ABed them at a couple of gigs with an American P deluxe and I and everyone else in the band agreed that tonally the Dano's destroyed the P. Way deeper and punchier. Danos have an awesome authoritative personality.
Every Dano I've had came with "what looked like" EXL 160's ...105 through 50. No colored ends, but otherwise identical. I always figured they were a "generic" version made for OEM. Tuners work fine, look funky. They will break 32" or 34" flatwounds if the speaking portion goes on the post. Rounds are fine...I use long scale and cut them.
Have recut the nut on almost every bass I've bought over the last 40 years...My Danos never needed it. YMMV.
They are a very old school vibe, with some oddball quirks, but nothing like, say, a Hofner or something. Will be using my "main" Dano bass in the studio tonite, doing some slapping.
I always compare them to Converse shoes...inexpensive and comfortable.
Have recut the nut on almost every bass I've bought over the last 40 years...My Danos never needed it. YMMV.
They are a very old school vibe, with some oddball quirks, but nothing like, say, a Hofner or something. Will be using my "main" Dano bass in the studio tonite, doing some slapping.
I always compare them to Converse shoes...inexpensive and comfortable.
I have a 2008 Longhorn ("pro"?) that I bought new in a store last year. Being something of a "gear guy" myself, my bass does not have any of the problems you describe.
The fretwork is level and good, it intonates very well (chords and double sound clear and very much in tune even above 12:th frets), neck is not warped or twisted, it is reasonably immune to hum and buzz.
No loose pick ups or soldering, scratchy pots, orange peel paint or shabby chrome work. The only things I have done is to change the strings to my preferred type, which required a slight truss rod adjustment and saddle move. Easily done, no problems.
My father bought the guitar version at the same time and it is equally well made.
Regarding the price; this bass is far better than the 2003 Warwick Rockbass Corvette that I traded for a Squier CV Jazz a couple of weeks ago. The Corvette had warped neck and was very dead - I have never played a modern bass with such short sustain and out of tune harmonics. Awful.
And my new Sqiuer Jazz is very good for its price, but the Danelectro is far better shielded.
/Alexander
The fretwork is level and good, it intonates very well (chords and double sound clear and very much in tune even above 12:th frets), neck is not warped or twisted, it is reasonably immune to hum and buzz.
No loose pick ups or soldering, scratchy pots, orange peel paint or shabby chrome work. The only things I have done is to change the strings to my preferred type, which required a slight truss rod adjustment and saddle move. Easily done, no problems.
My father bought the guitar version at the same time and it is equally well made.
Regarding the price; this bass is far better than the 2003 Warwick Rockbass Corvette that I traded for a Squier CV Jazz a couple of weeks ago. The Corvette had warped neck and was very dead - I have never played a modern bass with such short sustain and out of tune harmonics. Awful.
And my new Sqiuer Jazz is very good for its price, but the Danelectro is far better shielded.
/Alexander
The stock strings were made by La Bella, Deep Talkin'. I am not sure if they still come with them. Mine did but that was a while back.
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It's a completely different instrument.
I'm not sure, but I think it's also from a different factory in a different country.
I think that would explain most of it.
Some of the Danelectro basses had appropriate Gotoh-style machines and (I believe) more secure bridging.
Yes, something is seriously up with your Dano. The most mine have ever needed was a little "lap time," not bench time or the attention of a professional tech.
Also, there are ways around the bowing bridge, and there is an all-metal seperate saddle version. The cheap tuners with the plastic knobs can work, but I have seen people open the holes wider with a metal drill bit to accomodate standard strings, especially on the E and A tuners.
I've never seen a Dano bass that I was afraid the tension of a typical string set would destroy or tweak the guitar. They may be light and look fragile, but all the Danos I've held and played were actually quite sturdy. Why yours is so frail remains a mystery.
I did have a little trouble with an aluminum nut once, but that was my first time filing a metal nut and probably my fault.
I hope you will be encouraged by the positive comments on this thread and not give up. You sound like a journeyman to me, and you owe yourself one good shot at a decent Dano that's not a lemon.
So you have the "dead on 58", then? Or "dead on arrival"?
Now that is a bass that stirs up no GAS in this guy... Vintage style and feel, yes please, but obsolete, cheap solutions (as in no individual saddles etc), no thanks.
I would not keep a bass that I felt so unhappy with like you are.
/Alexander
It's a completely different instrument.
I'm not sure, but I think it's also from a different manufacturer in a different country.
I think that would explain most of it.
Some of the Danelectro basses had appropriate Gotoh-style machines and (I believe) more secure bridging.
Oh, I see. It (generally) seems some TB people refer to any Danelectro bass as "Dano" - confusing...
Since both the Longhorn and Dano models were mentioned in the thread I thought you meant the Longhorn!
Even the Longhorn has been available in many different configurations in terms of finishes, hardware, taped or painted edge etc. Mine is tho most "modern" iteration (high gloss, no tape, real chrome, modern bridge and tuners etc) and made in China.
I am happy with my purchase and I of course understand that you, having payed a similar price and not even getting proper hardware or a decent setup, are not happy with yours.
I would return a bass like that to the shop immediately.
/Alexander B
Since both the Longhorn and Dano models were mentioned in the thread I thought you meant the Longhorn!
Even the Longhorn has been available in many different configurations in terms of finishes, hardware, taped or painted edge etc. Mine is tho most "modern" iteration (high gloss, no tape, real chrome, modern bridge and tuners etc) and made in China.
I am happy with my purchase and I of course understand that you, having payed a similar price and not even getting proper hardware or a decent setup, are not happy with yours.
I would return a bass like that to the shop immediately.
/Alexander B
Got mine yesterday (the new, Dead on 58 model) and didn't have too much time to play it, but I think it's a keeper.
I did tighten up the truss rod (It was surprisingly loose), but it arrived in very playable condition-nice easy action, no fret buzz and intonation seems fine except for the G string which is a little off. Very light too.
I did tighten up the truss rod (It was surprisingly loose), but it arrived in very playable condition-nice easy action, no fret buzz and intonation seems fine except for the G string which is a little off. Very light too.
bongomania
Commercial User
He did mean the Longhorn. The Dead-On's do have crappier tuners and bridge saddles than the other "pro" Dano models, but aside from that I hadn't heard anything about a different factory or manufacturer, or other changes in construction.
These are Chinese, not the Korean ones.
Here is a picture showing the offending machines, for comparison purposes:
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Now are my concerns starting to make a little more sense? I believe these are identical to those on a $49 Rogue acoustic guitar.
To recap: Danelectro raised the Longhorn's price and downgraded the bridge and machines, correct?
Here is a picture showing the offending machines, for comparison purposes:
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Now are my concerns starting to make a little more sense?
I believe these are identical to those on a $49 Rogue acoustic guitar.To recap: Danelectro raised the Longhorn's price and downgraded the bridge and machines, correct?
bongomania
Commercial User
The part that just slays me is that the .100" E has a ball-to-step length that's about 1.5" too long, so the string wraps around the skinny post on the guitar machine at its full diameter. The string can't make that tight a bend. So it jams on the windings so the string is sticking way out out sideways off the post and the tension is loading on the bend, not the post. 
That's just 'tarded. It can't even tune like that.
You have to wonder who signed off on this stuff.
What's needed are a set of ultralight shortscale kiddie-bass strings.
There must be some somewhere.
That's just 'tarded. It can't even tune like that.
You have to wonder who signed off on this stuff.
What's needed are a set of ultralight shortscale kiddie-bass strings.
There must be some somewhere.
I'm bummed about this thread, but glad my Danelectro "Dano 63" turned out just fine -- feeling a little lucky actually.
Here's a porny shot showing the guitar bridge:
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As far as I can tell, the only thing different than the downgrades on the DOA are the SciFi knobs, which as one kid reviewer pointed out, are made out of "model car plastic." Funny way of putting it, but he's actually dead-on. No sturdy vintage bakelite here.
Actually, I don't care that much about not having individual saddles, as you don't need them to get an adequate intonation, but it'd be nice if the bridge didn't crush. This may not be a problem with lighter strings, and I would carefully fit a support shim in any case.
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As far as I can tell, the only thing different than the downgrades on the DOA are the SciFi knobs, which as one kid reviewer pointed out, are made out of "model car plastic." Funny way of putting it, but he's actually dead-on. No sturdy vintage bakelite here.
Actually, I don't care that much about not having individual saddles, as you don't need them to get an adequate intonation, but it'd be nice if the bridge didn't crush. This may not be a problem with lighter strings, and I would carefully fit a support shim in any case.
