Danelectro 58 Longhorn Bass Red Hot

When Danelectro guitars made their comeback around the turn of the century, I tried a few in music shops, including the new Longhorn basses. I remember thinking: very light, super playable, and with a bell-like tone that stood out. But back then, I was still skeptical. The design looked toy-like, the vinyl tape around the edges seemed odd, and that floating bridge didn’t inspire confidence. I also firmly believed that “real” basses had to be long scale. So I passed.

Still, the feel of those Danelectros stuck with me.

Fast forward to now: when the Red Hot Longhorn Bass appeared, I decided to give it a proper chance—and I’m glad I did.

This version features an f-hole, making it a true semi-hollow (though, honestly, all Danelectros are in practice). The oxblood red finish looks fantastic, and the build has seen some subtle but smart upgrades. The edge of the back is nicely rounded and blends seamlessly into the sides—no vinyl tape this time. It’s surprisingly elegant, considering the combination of hardboard and simple wood. Time will tell how it holds up structurally, but visually and ergonomically, it’s a step forward.

Despite the featherweight body and 24-fret neck, there’s no neck dive at all. That’s impressive.

The neck itself is a highlight: slim, but not too slim, with a comfortable D-shape near the headstock that flattens nicely as you move toward the body. As someone who mostly plays fingerstyle, I find it very natural and easy to play.

Intonation was another pleasant surprise. I expected issues with the fixed saddle, but it’s spot-on. For the record, the bridge is adjustable—you can move it forward or backward, and tilt it using a screw underneath.

Tonally, the Red Hot Longhorn delivers that classic Danelectro sound through its lipstick pickups. They may not be for everyone, but I love their warm, slightly twangy tone. There’s a 3-way pickup selector, one volume, and one tone knob. At first, I thought I’d miss the traditional dual volume/tone setup from the standard Longhorns, but this simpler layout has proven surprisingly versatile for my needs.

Is it a bit pricey for an instrument made mostly of hardboard and simple woods? Maybe. But between the looks, comfort, tone, and charm, I’m very happy with it.

Final verdict: Retro look, great feel, classic tone. A quirky bass that delivers where it counts.

Have this bass for 2 months now and its been a blast to play on it.
Construction is fine (considering th price point). Neck was super straight, pickups sound great and, surprisingly, without a lot of hum when in single coil mode.
The bridge is the elephant in the room, as it is a pain in the butt to intonate the instrument, since you need to take the bridge out in order to do this.
The nice thing about it (in comparison to other longhorns) is that in this model they maintained the wood "saddle" which gives the sound a darker vibe.
Also, the semi hollow body is just gorgeous.
I would buy another one in an instant .
Go !

On taking this out of the box a limited warranty card was dangling from the E tuner/machine head. This clearly states "Every guitar set up in USA !"
The back of the neck has a stuck on label stating "Made in Korea" and the serial number.
This example really is the best and most perfect setting up I can ever remember on a new instrument straight out of the box.
The action is nice and low, but without any fret buzz.
The tuning was about one tone down, which is probably to allow for shipping containers and lorries with likely wide temperature changes.
On tuning up (Standard A440) The intonation was simply perfect. There are 24 frets which means 2 full octaves and pinging the harmonics and comparing with the fretted pitch revealed that no adjustments were necessary. So many other reviews complain about the bridge, but this one is just fine as it is. Perhaps problems may occur if the strings are changed. The supplied strings are quite light gauge and round wound, so there is no chance of it sounding like "Back in the day" '50's /60's.
This is a unique modern take on the longhorn and some of the features are to my mind "Improvements". Doing away with the stacked volume and tone controls (many reviewers state they look flimsy and tend to stick) and replacing them with metal diecast knobs and the best 3-way switch available is a real improvement.
The sound is of course twangy with the round wound strings, but it is very pleasant in its own way. I consider this a re-designed and original take on the longhorn. I dread the thought of trying to find replacement strings, as I've not been convinced by the other reviews and discourse about strings.
Perhaps Danelectro may start supplying strings ?
Cons:
There are 24 frets, with 48 fret ends and they ALL need filing smooth !
Fortunately I have a fret file and have already started getting to work.

Dieser Red Hot Longhorn-Bass sieht richtig gut aus! Die rote Decke mit dem weißen Binding im Kontrast zu der schwarz lackierten Zarge (und Boden) wirkt regelrecht elegant.
Da so ein Longhorn-Bass sowieso „halbakustisch“ gebaut ist, bedeutet es für den Hersteller keinen besonders großen Aufwand, auch noch ein F-Loch (ebenfalls weiß eingefasst) in die Decke zu schneiden. (Ein solches Modell mit F-Loch gab es auch schon in den 50er Jahren.) – Überrascht fand ich dann allerdings doch, dass der neue Bass spürbar leichter ist als mein alter `58 Longhorn-Bass.
Die nicht kompensierte Brücke aus Holz ist zwar eine etwas seltsame Konstruktion, aber sie erfüllt ihren Zweck.

Leider war das Instrument im Auslieferungszustand nicht spielbereit, da die Saitenlage nicht sauber eingerichtet war: Die Saiten scheppern und schnarren so sehr, dass man nicht spielen kann. Zum Glück muss man bei den neuen Modellen nicht erst den Hals abmontieren, um an den Halsstab ranzukommen: der Zugang ist jetzt über die Kopfplatte möglich, ein passender Imbus-Schlüssel ist beigefügt. Aber grundsätzlich sollte ein Instrument, auch wenn es von Danelectro stammt (und in diesem Fall nicht einmal besonders preiswert ist), in diesem Zustand nicht in den Verkauf gehen.

Von Thomann wird leider kein Koffer (auch kein Gigbag) vorgeschlagen/empfohlen. – Nach Vergleich mit den Hinweisen zu anderen Longhorn Short Scale Bässen von Danelectro habe ich einen passenden Koffer gefunden, der allerdings bestialisch stinkt! (Den Koffer
habe ich separat besprochen.)

Die von Thomann für den Longhorn-Bass (in Copper Burst) empfohlenen Saiten (Warwick, Roundwound) kommen mir deutlich zu stark vor (.045, .065, .085, .105), sie sind auch stärker als die aktuell bei der Lieferung aufgezogenen Saiten – ich habe irgendwo in einer Besprechung gelesen, dass insbesondere die E-Saite (im empfohlenen Satz .105) so stark ist, dass man sie ohne handwerkliche Eingriffe gar nicht einfädeln kann; außerdem sind diese Saiten vermutlich auch zu lang (87 cm umwickelter Länge sind eher „medium scale“ gegenüber der umwickelten Länge von 81,3 cm bei dem Saitensatz von La Bella, siehe unten.)
Die Original-Saitenstärke (.042, .053, .060, .079) für die Danelectro Short Scale Bässe hat der Kunde Westcliff in seiner Produkt-Besprechung (vom 11.10.2009) zum Longhorn-Bass (in Copper Burst) dankenswerterweise angegeben, ebenso die Stärke der bei der Lieferung aufgezogenen Saiten (.045, .065, .080, .100).
Auch weil ich lieber passende Flat Wound Saiten verwenden möchte, habe ich dazu selbst auch noch ein wenig herumgeforscht: Von La Bella gibt es speziell für die Longhorn Style Short Scale Bässe von Danelectro einen speziellen Saiten-Satz 760FD (.042, .056, .065, .083, sowohl als Flat wie auch als Round Wounds), der den originalen Saiten schon ziemlich nahekommt, nur ist dieser Saitensatz bei Thomann leider nicht erhältlich!