Jerry Jones Longhorn Guitar

Jerry Jones Longhorn Guitar, custom shop made in USA, in 1989. I guess it's a "pre-lawsuit" Jerry Jones Longhorn guitar -- not baritone, but a regular six-string guitar. These are not being manufactured anymore, but appear in the used market every now and then. This one's with copper finish. As it's modeled exactly after vintage Danelectro guitars, the finish is quite vulnerable to scratches and nicks. But other than that, overall construction seems quite sturdy and reliable. In 18 years it's aged quite nicely.

The body is masonite with hollow cavity inside the guitar, producing pretty unique and cool basic sound. The saddle and fingerboard are of rosewood. Saddle is compensated, but not very adjustable -- you can only move the whole saddle a bit forwards or backwards. The intonation is good enough though.

It has two Jerry Jones Lipstick Tube Pickups. They're quite powerful, and with the 3-way switch in center position the pickups are wired in series. Sound is lush and bright, but not too bright. The sound is maybe somewhere between a tele and a rickenbacker?

Tuners keep the tune well, they could be Gotohs (at leat JJ uses Gotoh tuners nowadays). Frets are jumbo-sized and seem quite durable.

Came with a big and heavy vintage-style case that maybe weighs 10 times as much as the guitar, which is super light and very easy to play. It has one volume pot, one tone pot and a 3-way switch. The switch could be better. No contact problems, but it's a tad too erratic: you have to use more force than expected to switch it.

Not an overwhelming list of features, but a straightforward, carefully crafted instrument. It's not a toy but a real guitar, with pretty unique sound.

I play 60s inspired psycheledic rock/pop, more modern rock in the vein of sonic youth, yo la tengo, my bloody valentine, and such, plus some folk/fingerpicking stuff. This guitar suits the styles perfectly. I play trough a Music Man Sixty-Five Reverb with a 2x10" custom cab, and they really bring this guitar to life. As I said, the basic sound is lush and bright in a nice way. Responds nicely to tone and volume adjustments.

For strings, I've used both .010s and .009s; I think the .009s nail the sound perfectly. For more blues and heaver riffs I'd maybe switch to a heavier gauge.

Even though you get a lot of output and a rich-sounding distortion with the pickups in series, I don't think it as a heavy-metal guitar.

I also play a Fender Telecaster, and the sound of this Longhorn has definitely got more body than the Tele's. Then again, it's not as twangy and crisp as the Telecaster.

The intonation is good enough: I think if you'd replace the straighforward bridge-piece you'd lose some of the unique character of the guitar. For intonation, I'd give it a 8, but as otherwise the details are perfect, I have to give a 9 for fit&finish.

The action is nice, maybe a bit high with .009s. It has two truss-rods, but they're not adjustable. When I asked, a luthier said that even .013 strings wouldn't be a problem. The pots were a bit noisy first, but as their construction is open, they were easy to clean up.

No flaws, except for the vulnerable copper finish. The vinyl(?) material used for the sides of the body has kept it's bright white color, not a hint of smudge there.

Pickup height is adjustable with 2 screws for each pickup.

One thing still to consider: you'll have the get used to the position with it "sits on your lap" while playing seated, as the body form is quite unusual. It will be in different position than "normal" guitars.

The neck is quite thin.

It will definitely withstand live playing, I'd rely on it for gigs. Hardware has lasted well for 18 years. I already mentioned the thin copper finish, but you have to live with it.

The strap buttons are solid, but the long "horns" (...) can get in the way.. Unless you use a thin vintage-style guitar strap. Not a problem, but you have to pay some attention to it.

Haven't dealt with Jerry Jones, so I can't tell. They have simple homepages where you can get their contact info in case you need to.

I've been playing for about 10 years and currently own a Fender Telecaster and a Martin D-15 acoustic. This guitar doesn't feel as "modern" as the fender, but has it's own personality. It comes close to the feel of a acoustic or semi-acoustic guitar. The neck feels organic, not at all dead or like plastic, as can be the case with the modern dano reissues. Now a clich??: you either love it or can't stand it. I personally love it. For a dano longhorn replica, it's the best you can get.

I like the unique body shape, original sound, and overall straightforwardness. It takes some time getting used to, but definitely worth trying if you happen to stumble across one. The light weight is a definite plus for me.

I'd try to find another if this one got stolen: you could maybe replace it only with another JJ guitar, and prerably from the 80s-90s era.