Danelectro Longhorn

[Max Soren]

Does anyone know how good one of these is supposed to be?  All I know is that they are supposed to be associated with Sears and Silvertone.  When I was young, Silvertone was the cheapest thing around and not highly regarded at all.  Yet, the bassist for Golden Earring has played Danelectro a lot through the years.  I'm just curious how these basses are rated now.  I'm speaking of the vintage ones, not the reissue basses. 

[Barklessdog]

I've heard nothing but great things about them. I think long horns are medium scale (32") ?


Entwistle played one and was rumoured to be used on My Generation- I also read it was a Fender Jazz.

A nice bass for the money

[Max Soren]

I had almost forgotten about that.  He used it on "My Generation," then something happened and he had to record the song using something else, but said the Danelectro sounded better.  I'm not very informed on the Who, but I think this is correct. 

[felig]

I've heard nothing but great things about them. I think long horns are medium scale (32") ?


Entwistle played one and was rumoured to be used on My Generation- I also read it was a Fender Jazz.

A nice bass for the money

The longhorns are short scale.  The "short horns"--the ones that I've only seen in copper, are ultra-short scale.  The reissue longhorns are nice basses for the money.  However, the original longhorns are priced way above their worth as player's basses.  If you want a bass that has most of the vibe, then I would go with a reissue or a Jerry Jones longhorn.

[chromium]

I had almost forgotten about that.  He used it on "My Generation," then something happened and he had to record the song using something else, but said the Danelectro sounded better.  I'm not very informed on the Who, but I think this is correct. 

I remember reading about this.  Here's a quote from thewho.net:

“I played that solo on a Jazz bass with tapewound strings through a Marshall 50 watt and 4x12. Interestingly, the bass solos on the earlier takes were much more complicated, and played on a Danelectro which had a much more piano-like sound. It was a medium scale bass with a two-octave neck. The trouble was that the strings were so thin that I kept breaking them. We’d record during the day and, to finance the sessions, we were playing gigs nearly every night, and inevitably I’d break a string. None of the music shops had any replacement strings and no string manufacturers made replacement strings thin enough for Dano basses then, so I had to go down to Marshall’s and buy a new Dano for £60. I ended up with three new Danelectros, all with busted strings! In the end I busted my last string at the third attempt and there weren’t any more in the country. I thought, ‘f*** it’, and went and bought myself a Fender Jazz bass and a set of La Bella strings, and played the solo with that. But it was a different sound and a simplified, slowed-down version of the solos on previous takes.”

I've always wanted a longhorn.  Probably won't be getting an original at this pont, though.  A local GC had one for a mere $2200 USD, or thereabouts.  I'd go for the Jerry Jones version before I'd spend that on an original...

[doombass]

Another Longhorn player is Jack Bruce. He's been said to have used it on the Disraeli Gears album and on White Room off Wheels Of Fire..

[morrow]

I suspect that the re-issues were built a little better than the originals from Neptune . The first batch of Korean copies were remakably true to the originals . The later versions have slight improvements , better bridges and tuners . The original vintage Longhorns are not that easy to find and can be expensive .

The Jerry Jones copies are great little rigs .

I have one of the first batch of Korean re-issues . I only paid $200. Cdn for it new when a local store was blowing out the last of their inventory . Might have been the best $200 I have ever spent .... I love the cheap little thing . It weighs next to nothing , is a lot of fun to play and sounds great .

[Basvarken]

A friend of mine has a Danelectro Long Horn (not a reissue). They even named the band after that silly little bass made of masonite (sort of compressed cardboard fibre). It sounds real cool.

[Dave W]

Bob Reed of the Trashmen played a Longhorn on Surfin' Bird and their other early recordings. The band still plays occasionally and Reed is still bassist but I have no idea what he uses today.

I was in high school back then, and nobody I knew wanted one. We wanted Gibsons, Fenders or Gretsches. But Dano and Silvertone guitars and basses have certainly been used a lot over the years. It's the tone that counts, even if they are primitive.

[SKATE RAT]

i had a friend who had a Hondo copy that was surprisingly nice.

[Dave W]

I've seen a couple of Hondo copies but they were solidbodies in the shape of a Dano Longhorn. Did Hondo make a copy with Dano-type construction?

[gweimer]

The Dano Longhorn is a fun, little bass.  It's about as flimsy feeling as you can get, but those lipstick pups are just great, and I love the body style.  I had one for a few years when my son started playing.  I may just get another one.  Jerry Jones made a copy for a while, with a better bridge on it.

[uwe]

I've got one (the early Korean reissue) and though it feels like a toy it just sounds great and grown up. Very responsive with lots of fundamentals and balls.

Uwe

[SKATE RAT]

Uwe,is there any bass you don't have?

[Max Soren]

One of my main interests in this board is because of the Gibson section.  When I posted this topic in the other basses section, I was doing so because I was so curious about this Danelectro.  I was also skeptical about it.  But I have seen so many positive comments about it, now I actually want one.  I've looked and I can't find these sold anywhere.  Does anyone know where one might be found?