New Dano

[morrow]

I’ve been a Dano aficionado for many years . I bought one of the first Longhorn reissues and it eventually became my primary gigging instrument . I initially did not like the short scale , today I prefer it . There was initially a run of short scale DC basses made for the Chicago Music Exchange . I immediately wanted a shortscale DC , but not the hassles of international orders . About ten months later I saw that Long&McQuade were offering a shortscale DC .
So I immediately placed an order . And was hoping for a quick delivery . It turned into over six months . Recently I began hearing of guys in the States getting new short DCs and realized the new stock was finally in from Korea . So it was not going to be much longer .
Got the email from L&M last night . Picking it up this morning . I’ll have my nose pressed up against the front door when they open .
Dano’s are weird things , but I’ve come to love them . Featherweight , tough as nails . And they can thump . My inner Joey Spampinato is very happy .

[morrow]

Well set up right out of the box . I was expecting the neck to be slightly chunkier . It’s quite comfy . Relief , intonation , bridge height all spot on . It has that new string sound but should warm up with some playing time . I think I’m going to enjoy this one .
Dano construction . I’m ok with that . I prefer the wooden bridge to this metal adjustable one , but I’m leaving things alone for the time being .

[Pilgrim]

That's a classic!  Enjoy!

[BTL]

I like that a lot! I was not aware these were still being made. I may need to grab a Longhorn, just because...

[Granny Gremlin]

Nice.  I lusted for a Hoodad bass on the 2000s but it never came to pass before they were discod.

[Dave W]

Nice color on that one. If I were in a buying mode, I'd bite.

[Chris P.]

Very cool! I love my copperburst Longhorn reissue and I gigged it a lot. Our sound engineer loved it too.

[slinkp]

Nice!  I didn't know they made a shorty DC.

[westen44]

I like it!!!!

[Alanko]

I'm pretty tempted by these. I did some light restoration on my buddy's Dano 59 guitar last year. They hadn't really been on my radar up to that point, but I was really enamored by the design and tone of the thing once I sorted it out. It is funny that if you wanted to make a $150 guitar today you would knock a Stratocaster copy out on a CNC machine. If you wanted to make a $150 guitar in the '60s you made this weird hollow thing out of masonite and plywood and drywall screws. It comes from a completely different camp to 'just another Fender ripoff'. Once I had the guitar in bits I was left looking at the box of parts thinking 'what does this bolt do?'

I gather that the twangy, rubbery bass on Captain Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica and Lick My Decals Off Baby albums is a Dano of some variety.

[westen44]

Morrow, how would you compare the Dano DC to the Longhorn and the Les Paul Junior Tribute DC?  Also, why do you prefer the wooden bridge on the Longhorn as opposed to the metal one on the Dano DC? 

[morrow]

The Dano DC feels longer than a shortscale with the bridge at the edge of the body . And I like the short short scales because I’ve grown accustomed to the Longhorn and Gibson short scales . The wooden bridge is said to be not as bright , and I’m looking at the DC to be a thumper . I do a lot of blues and roots gigs so I want that old school thump . The Longhorn has a great stage sound , but sounds too dead for practise at home . I will want the DC to also do that role .
I’m putting fresh rounds on both the Gibson DC and SG basses , I love the feel of those two and that’s what I play at home .
Edit … I think the DC Jr is my favourite one to play of the four .

[westen44]

The Dano DC feels longer than a shortscale with the bridge at the edge of the body . And I like the short short scales because I’ve grown accustomed to the Longhorn and Gibson short scales . The wooden bridge is said to be not as bright , and I’m looking at the DC to be a thumper . I do a lot of blues and roots gigs so I want that old school thump . The Longhorn has a great stage sound , but sounds too dead for practise at home . I will want the DC to also do that role .
I’m putting fresh rounds on both the Gibson DC and SG basses , I love the feel of those two and that’s what I play at home .
Edit … I think the DC Jr is my favourite one to play of the four .

Thanks.  I should be able to put this info to good use.  I just wanted to know how everything compares.  I'm familiar with Gibson short scales.  I used to have an EB-0 and now I have a Gibson Les Paul Jr. DC and an SG.  I'm also familiar with a Dano Hodad.  I've been getting interested in a Longhorn and now because of this thread the Dano DC short scale has unexpectedly got my attention.  My only experience with a Longhorn was playing one for a few minutes in a Dutch music store.  It was hard to get a good idea of how I felt about it.  The action was way high.  I would need to play one with normal action to know how I felt about it.  I know very little about Dano DC short scale basses, but they seem intriguing.

[morrow]

I have a DC Jr and SG bass , and love them , I tend to favour the Jr . The SG is a fairly recent thing for me  .
I’ve had the Longhorn for about twenty years . At first I didn’t get the short scale , tight string spacing , and featherweight but eventually came to prefer it . Danos are weird things . They really are chameleons depending on string choice . And their build is unique . Hollow body , Masonite front and back , popsicle stick bridge , lipsticks … they are a different mix of features . But they are what they are , and I’ve come to appreciate them . Mine is set to medium low action , little relief in the neck , I have a pretty light touch but I need to be able to play it hard without buzzes . It’s very easy to play . I’ve only adjusted the neck once , and the bridge twice in the twenty years I’ve been using it . It’s incredibly stable .
The Dano DC is a recent thing , they are not on the Dano website . I do not care for the long scale version so when I saw them on a Canadian music site I jumped . They feel much bigger than a Longhorn , but I’m hoping it will develop into the thumper the Longhorn is … Here’s a pic of the two DCs for a size comparison . A Longhorn is maybe 3/4s of an inch shorter than the Gibson Jr .

[westen44]

l started wanting a Dano Longhorn after watching this video of Rinus Gerritsen playing his original one.  However, that Dano DC really is appealing, too.  Unfortunately, in that video Barry Hay seems to be trying to do a Mick Jagger impression.  Something like that doesn't hold up too well in 2021.  But I like the song and the Dano.