Danelectro '58 Longhorn Bass

first play
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GUITARIST FEBRUARY 2016
DANELECTRO ’58 LONGHORN GUITAR & BASS
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Telecaster, just right for pedal-steel licks and
rockabilly stuff. If you want to hear a Dano at
its rockabilly best, listen to the wonderful Rick
Miller of American band Southern Culture On
The Skids. Finally, the neck position is sweet
run clean but really comes alive with some
overdrive and upper neck blues licks.
The Longhorn bass shares the inherent
brightness of its six-string brother, enhanced
further by its round wound strings. Vintage
buffs would be advised to dampen down
the brightness with a set of flatwounds. The
Longhorn doesn’t quite match the bottom
end thump of a P-Bass but it’ll handle any
situation you throw at it. John Entwistle of
The Who famously beat his way through three
Longhorn basses trying to record his solo on
My Generation. As it happens, adding some
gain to the bridge pickup gets pretty damn
close to his later Quadrophenia sound.
Verdict
Vintage geeks such as the aforementioned
Mr Miller will tell you that the new Danos
don’t have the mojo of the original US-built
pawnshop prizes. But in terms of the Far East-
sourced reissue years (circa 1998 to present),
Danelectro is producing its best instruments
right now. The ’58 Longhorn guitar and bass
score big points on price, playability and tonal
versatility. They’re built to last. Just don’t loan
them to Mr Townshend.
DANELECTRO ’ 58
LONGHORN GUITAR
PRICE: £499
ORIGIN: Korea
TYPE: Twin-cutaway, semi-hollow
electric guitar
BODY: Masonite with hardwood
frame
NECK: Maple, bolt-on
SCALE LENGTH: 635mm (25")
NUT/WIDTH: Aluminium/42mm
FINGERBOARD: Rosewood, 355mm
(14") radius
FRETS: 21, medium
HARDWARE: Chrome six-saddle
hardtail bridge and vintage-
style tuners
STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 56mm
ELECTRICS: 2x lipstick single-coil
pickups, 2x concentric volume and
tone controls, 3-way pickup selector
toggle switch
WEIGHT (kg/lb): 2.6/5.7
OPTIONS: None
RANGE OPTIONS: There are plenty
of other Dano six-strings including
the ’63, the ’67, the classic ’59M and
’59MJ, the 12-string ’59 and f-holed
12-String (all £499)
LEFT-HANDERS: No
FINISHES: Copperburst
(as reviewed)
JHS
01132 865381
www.jhs.co.uk
DANELECTRO ’58
LONGHORN BASS
PRICE: £499
ORIGIN: Korea
TYPE: Twin-cutaway, semi-hollow
electric bass
BODY: Masonite with hardwood frame
NECK: Maple, bolt-on
SCALE LENGTH: 756mm (29.75")
NUT/WIDTH: Aluminium/42mm
FINGERBOARD: Rosewood, 355mm
(14") radius
FRETS: 24, medium
HARDWARE: Chrome hardtail bridge
with rosewood saddle and vintage-
style tuners
STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 50.8mm
ELECTRICS: 2x lipstick single-coil
pickups, 2x concentric volume and
tone controls
WEIGHT (kg/lb): 2.6/5.7
OPTIONS: None
RANGE OPTIONS: The other current
Dano bass is the ’56 Single Cut Bass
(£499). Also check the ’56 Baritone
Guitar at the same price
LEFT-HANDERS: No
FINISHES: Black (as reviewed) and
Copperburst
If you want to hear a Dano
at its rockabilly best, listen
to the wonderful Rick Miller
PROS Infectious playability, a tone
for every occasion, and the keen
pricing make this a real contender
for image-conscious bassists
CONS The stacked control knobs
have a habit of sticking together
PROS ‘WTF looks’ wrapped around
a seriously great playing neck and
an inspiring range of tones. The
adventurous will love this thing!
CONS The way it looks will alienate
some, but that’s about it
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GIT403.rev_dan.indd 26 21/12/2015 12:42