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.
