Danelectro 58 Longhorn Bass CB

Jag köpte basen 2010, som en recension på engelska konstaterar var priset ett annat då. Skulle jag köpa basen för dagens pris? Det behöver jag inte fundera på, det räcker med en Longhorn.

Basen har bara spelats på i min hemstudio, fast mest framför TV:n utan förstärkare. (Jag har en Fender Jazz Bass Special från senare delen av 1980-talet som har uppfyllt allt jag har krävt av en bas.) Danelectrons mindre storlek, vikt och shortscale gör den dock bekvämare än Fendern framför TV:n.

När basen kom med posten bytte jag snabbt ut originalsträngarna till D'Addarios ECB81S, basen har ett skönt retro-sound sen dess när jag kopplar till förstärkare.

Det verkar som att vissa detaljer har ändrats sen jag köpte basen, om bilderna på Thomann är korrekta?!? Loggan på huvudet är skrivet med svart färg på min bas. Vidare är brickan som döljer dragstången silvrig med texten "Danelectro Totally Shielded". Det är rosewood-greppbräda på min. Lacken är matt på min, den ser blank ut på Thomann-bilderna, det kanske är mig det är fel på...

... det är inget fel på basen i alla fall, coolare bas finns inte oavsett lack...

I bought this Danelectro 58 Longhorn Bass from Thomann ten years ago ( in 2010 )
The price was significantly lower back then :-)

PROS :

- Very well built, overall construction feels sturdy.

- Very light weight, feels extremely comfortable to play while either sitting or standing.

- Short scale : I'm a guitarist, I don't play bass much, and though I have no problem playing long scale basses, a short scale feels extra comfortable to a guitarist.
The neck too feels very comfortable to play.

- Though the bridge is a "period correct" piece of slanted wood ( and thus not intonatable ), the intonation is surprisingly good.

- Fantastic sound ! You need this bass if you're into 60's and 70's classic rock.

CONS :

- The plastic knobs on the concentric volume/tone pots feel VERY flimsy and slightly "loose".
They feel as if they could fall off at any moment.

- The Kluson style tuning machines are small "guitar sized" tuners with - for a bass - very small plastic knobs.
Those knobs don't give you much of a grip while tuning, it's quite hard on the fingers.
Because of their small size, the tuners feel very "stiff", and though I use light bass strings ( 40 - 95 ) I always fear that the tuners could break under the tension of the strings.

Though such small tuning machines are "period correct" for this bass, changing them to larger, sturdier bass tuners would have been an improvement on the part of Danelectro.

CONCLUSION :

A great, well constructed, comfortable bass with a great sound.

If, like me, you're not predominantly a gigging but rather a home recording musician, and you keep this bass at home, it will give you all you need for classic rock sounds.

If, on the other hand, you plan to take this bass on the road for regular or constant gigging, the durability of some parts ( knobs, tuners ) is highly questionable.

I hestitated about getting this Bass, i've got short scales that would cover the jobs I fancied the Dano' for, the pounds dropped - all reasons to think twice... BUT went for gamble and ordered it...

The Danelectro is unbelievably good - good sound that cut's through general background gig hubub. responsive pickups and comfortable neck. I knew it was going to be light easy on the back. Tuning is stable and pretty much stays in all evening. An unexpected goody point is that, if playing sitting down - it doesn't cut off circulation to your legs. So a good studio Bass.
I didn't like the roundwound 'twang' but will put some Flatwounds on it pretty soon. Strap fixing on neck heel position makes the thing tilt down on the body, but slim fit young guys and gals won't have that problem.
Great, inexpensive and unusual - Nice Bass.
Thomann is the place to get it, here in three days (UK)