Danelectro 58 Longhorn Bass CB

Il suono che non ti aspetti da un basso a scala corta, per giunta con il corpo in masonite, il capotasto in alluminio e il ponte in legno! Il suono del pickup al manico è ben strutturato e non mancano i bassi. I due lipstick (single coil) sono brillanti e privi di ronzii. Il peso è molto contenuto e il basso è abbastanza equilibrato, lo si suona senza stancare le spalle e la schiena. Il manico a scala corta lo rende facile da suonare per chi non ha mani grandi e robuste. Le meccaniche sono di tipo chitarristico ma fanno egregiamente il loro dovere. La fabbricazione è buona: non ci sono sbavature né altri difetti evidenti. Lo strumento è arrivato con un buon settaggio. Le uniche cose di cui non sono del tutto soddisfatto sono:
1) la qualità delle manopole dei due potenziometri concentrici, che sembrano poco solidi,
2) il materiale con cui è realizzata la striscia decorativa bianca: si sporca facilmente. Ad ogni modo può essere rimossa, rinunciando però a uno dei tratti distintivi che gli dà quell'aria piacevolmente retrò.

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)