Jerry Jones Custom Longhorn Baritone

Made in 1999 in Nashville, TN, USA. 23 frets, semi-hollow construction. One volume control, one tone control and threeway pickup selector. Two lipstick tube pickups. Masonite body typical of Jerry Jones' take on the Danelectros of yesteryear. Finished in "bahamian green" (turquoise) paint, although Jerry Jones offers a wide array of colors. Body style is the "longhorn" style?like this company's basses and "guitarlin" models. Equipped with the optional Neptune adjustable bridge. Tuners are made by Gotoh. Neck is fairly thin and with a slight radius and is 28 inches. Tank-like case is optional, but offered at a reasonable price...this is one solid hardshell lined with red plush. Rating of 10 because what else would you need? It is what it is.

I do ooccasional soundtracks for video productions and I wanted something that would give me a twangy, Duane Eddy meets Sergio Leone sound?this has that sound?even more so than than the single cutaway baritone Jerry Jones offers in the catalog, which is probably due to the smaller body. For recording, I run the guitar through a Boss RV3 Digital Reverb/Delay box sraight into the board...althouh I've had good results by placing a micropphone in front of an old Fender Champ II amp. The two single-coil lipstick tube pickups give off a little hum, but not much. Hey, they're single coils, what do you expect? A surpisingly wide variety of sounds can be coaxed out of this guitar, from low down twang, to a beefy-sounding upper register...which is probably due to the ultra-heavy baritone strings. Of course, there are limitations to what a "specialty" guitar like this can do, but it serves its purpose very well.

Everything about this guitar was great from the moment I picked it up from Truetone Music in Santa Monica...they did the setup, so I don't know how it was before I came and got it. I can telll you that I have anopther Jerry Jones guitar?a single cutaway, three pickup model?that was pretty great right out of the box. All I did to that was to set the action a little higher and do the intonation. From what I've seen Jerry Jones guitars are made with care. No flaws and no poorly done workmanship that I've seen.

Like I said, most of my playing is done in a studio or at home...I have no desire to play anywhere else, but I would think that this guitar could withstand just about anything it might encounter in a live setting. The finish seems likke it's there to stay...same with the strap buttons. It's a dependable instrument, I would think.

Before I d ecided to buy my first Jerry Jones guitar?and I would recommend them highly?I called the company to ask a few basic questions and was surprised that Jerry Jones answered the phone. He was very helpful. However, since my purchase was through made through Truetone Music?which has a great repair shop?if a problem were to arise, I'd go there...once you buy something from them, they'll tweak it and adjust it for as long as you're around.

I've been playing for 30 years and, at present, I own a Jerry Jones three pickup,single cutaway guitar; a Heritage 535; a Heritage 550; a Gibson Early J-45; a Gibson A5L mandolin; a Tacoma M-2 mandolin and a Fender Champp II amp...plus a bunch of microphones, mic stands, recording stuff too numerous to mention here. If my baritone were lost or stolen, I'd immediately get another just like it. I compared my longhorn baritone to the standard Jerry Jones baritone and a Fender Bajo Sexto Telecaster, and I prefer the twangier sound of the longhorn over the standard Jerry Jones baritone (which is a great sounding guitar, but notquite as twangy). I wasn't too impressed with the Bajo Sexto?it sounded muddy to my ears. From a superficial standpoint, the lonhorn body, to me, looks a lot more cool than the other baritones I mentioned. Plus, and this is always an important point, the price of these Jerry Jones guitars seems very reasonable. Sure, they're more expensive than the new Danelectros, but Jerry Jones guitars are just so much more solid. Still, it's hard to find a sturdy, well-built American-made guitar for under $1,000 these days. I think Jerry Jones offers great value, great looks and killer single-coil twang for the money you're going to spend. I really like this guitar.