Danelectro Longhorn Guitarlin Model 4123 Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1960)
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Item #14076
Danelectro Longhorn Guitarlin Model 4123 Model Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1960), made in Neptune, NJ, serial # 6020, copper/white sunburst finish, masonite and pine body, poplar neck with rosewood fingerboard, black chipboard case.
This is a well-used but super cool original example of the Danelectro Model 4123 Guitarlin (better known as the "Longhorn guitar"), a serious rarity and simply one of the most striking 6-strings ever designed! This was one of Nathan Daniels' greatest gifts to the world, conceived from a doodle he sketched in the later 1950s of an "extreme cutaway" guitar. This one was definitely somebody's gigging guitar "back in the day" and to make it even more distinctive they added hot rod pinstriping decals to the top, which we think is one of the coolest things we've ever seen.
The Model 4123 was introduced in the company's 1958 catalog alongside matching 4-string and 6-string basses. Although never a big seller, the Guitarlin survived in the company's line up into the end of the 1960s with only minor alterations. Still, according to Deke Dickerson (Hi Deke!) Danelectro maven Steve Soest estimates only a couple hundred of these striking guitars were ever made.
Listed for the entire run at $150.00, this was one of Danelectro's most expensive instruments. Although one of the New Jersey company's best-remembered creations Longhorns are fairly rare, and this 6-string Guitar seems to have been far less popular than the bass models. All the Longhorns were heavily outsold by the "Standard" models (called "Shorthorns" in retrospect) that retailed around $50.00 less; most Danelectro customers were budget conscious even then!
Then and now, this Longhorn is a completely unique concept. "Guitarlin" is a contraction of "Guitar+Mandolin" and the idea was the 31 fret neck enabled the player to cover the range of both instruments. The same catalog blurb was used for years, reading: "This new instrument is a guitar with the fingerboard extended deep into the body. 31 frets combine guitar and mandolin range. Guitar tone in the lower register shades into mandolin in the upper register". The unique bronze/white sunburst on both body and neck was the only finish offered.
The basic Masonite-and-pine body and poplar/rosewood neck components are identical on all three models, the basses having 24 frets instead of 31 on the same neck blank. The guitar bridge is mounted much higher on the body, resulting in the two pickups being very close together in the small space between fingerboard and bridge. With the neck set deep into the body the instrument is compact and handles very well. The small, light semi-hollow body is extremely handy and the two Danelectro "lipstick tube" pickups produce a tight and punchy sound.
All Longhorns were originally wired with a simple but eccentric circuit using on/off wooden flipper switches mounted concentrically above rotary volume controls. The tone of each pickup is fixed with a pre-set bass-heavy or treble-heavy capacitor which was always in circuit; the tone is altered by varying the blend of the pickups. In practice some users found this system limiting; most surviving examples were rewired long ago but this one remains original; we think it actually sounds really cool once one gets used to it.
This Guitarlin is a fairly early model; the ink-stamped FON 6020 inside the neck heel suggests fabrication in 1960 although it does not exactly fit into the standard interpretation of Danno number patterns. The original concentric pots are coded 137-930, manufactured the 30th week of 1959. Early period features include a three-in-a-row screw neck attachment, no "tilt-neck" adjustment at the heel, Kluson Deluxe tuners, a circular Masonite control cavity cover and a stock aluminum nut. The bridge is the standard ubiquitous Dann-O item, a metal plate adjustable for height with a sliding rosewood saddle. The pickguard is a small clear plastic plate screwed to the top, the jack is mounted via a metal plate on the side.
The Longhorn bass proved rather more popular than the guitars; it was certainly a more common sight during the 1960s and more easily found today. Of course the most famous Guitarlin player of all was Link Wray, who recorded and performed memorably with an early one exactly like this from 1959 into the 1960s forever marking the model as one of his trademarks. There was a spurt in Longhorn production in 1965 when they were first imported to the UK becoming a brief sensation on the London scene. The Who had a set of them, and Graham Nash of the Hollies brandished one as well for a time.
We are very pleased to offer very rare personalized early model 6-string Guitarlin, a nicely original example of this iconic instrument and only the second one we have had in several decades. A salute to Nathan Daniel is in order for creating the immortal Longhorn, an unforgettable one-of a kind twang machine.
Overall length is 38 3/8 in. (97.5 cm.), 13 1/8 in. (33.3 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 in. (635 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
While far from a pristine instrument this early Guitarlin shows only a lot of honest wear, with no damage or later modification besides the '60s pinstripe decals added to the top. The all-original finish shows evidence of some heavy play time over the last 60 years; The copper 'burst finish is worn down to the base coat on the upper quarter of the body from arm action, and also worn through on most of the body edges. The vinyl body edging is by contrast surprisingly clean. There are four neatly applied Hot Hod/Surfer "old school" pinstripe decals on the top, with some wear away to the one closest to the arm contact region; we feel these add an undeniable authenticity to whatever 1960s story this Danelectro has lived.
The back of the neck has quite a bit of play wear down to the undercoats around the 1st-5th fret area, extending further along the edges. The edges of the headstock have some chipping and the logo has some rubbed away areas on the top now essentially reading "ANELECTRO". The fairly minimal hardware shows some general wear but nothing too serious; there is a small crack to the clear plastic pickguard at the lower front screw. The pickups, concentric pots and wiring are original and working correctly, a somewhat unusual find on a Longhorn. The wooden flippers have some typical paint loss, as do the plastic lower knobs. The jack has been replaced but what appears to be the original is still in the case pocket.
This Longhorn is a very good player; the long poplar neck is close to perfectly straight after 65 years and the frets are very well preserved, with a light recent polish. Apart from the added decals it remains as God and Nathan Daniel intended when it left the loading dock at Neptune (New Jersey, that is). This striking rarity sounds fantastic and looks wicked as all get-out doing it, housed in a period (Harmony style) chipboard case. This well-played Guitarlin is simply as cool as they come; there have been a number of re-issues over the decades BUT this is the genuine 1960s American Masonite and poplar original here, one of the greatest products of Nathan Daniels' offbeat genius. Maybe it's not quite as cool as Link Wray's (which Deke Dickerson has) but it comes pretty close! Very Good + Condition.
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This is a well-used but super cool original example of the Danelectro Model 4123 Guitarlin (better known as the "Longhorn guitar"), a serious rarity and simply one of the most striking 6-strings ever designed! This was one of Nathan Daniels' greatest gifts to the world, conceived from a doodle he sketched in the later 1950s of an "extreme cutaway" guitar. This one was definitely somebody's gigging guitar "back in the day" and to make it even more distinctive they added hot rod pinstriping decals to the top, which we think is one of the coolest things we've ever seen.
The Model 4123 was introduced in the company's 1958 catalog alongside matching 4-string and 6-string basses. Although never a big seller, the Guitarlin survived in the company's line up into the end of the 1960s with only minor alterations. Still, according to Deke Dickerson (Hi Deke!) Danelectro maven Steve Soest estimates only a couple hundred of these striking guitars were ever made.
Listed for the entire run at $150.00, this was one of Danelectro's most expensive instruments. Although one of the New Jersey company's best-remembered creations Longhorns are fairly rare, and this 6-string Guitar seems to have been far less popular than the bass models. All the Longhorns were heavily outsold by the "Standard" models (called "Shorthorns" in retrospect) that retailed around $50.00 less; most Danelectro customers were budget conscious even then!
Then and now, this Longhorn is a completely unique concept. "Guitarlin" is a contraction of "Guitar+Mandolin" and the idea was the 31 fret neck enabled the player to cover the range of both instruments. The same catalog blurb was used for years, reading: "This new instrument is a guitar with the fingerboard extended deep into the body. 31 frets combine guitar and mandolin range. Guitar tone in the lower register shades into mandolin in the upper register". The unique bronze/white sunburst on both body and neck was the only finish offered.
The basic Masonite-and-pine body and poplar/rosewood neck components are identical on all three models, the basses having 24 frets instead of 31 on the same neck blank. The guitar bridge is mounted much higher on the body, resulting in the two pickups being very close together in the small space between fingerboard and bridge. With the neck set deep into the body the instrument is compact and handles very well. The small, light semi-hollow body is extremely handy and the two Danelectro "lipstick tube" pickups produce a tight and punchy sound.
All Longhorns were originally wired with a simple but eccentric circuit using on/off wooden flipper switches mounted concentrically above rotary volume controls. The tone of each pickup is fixed with a pre-set bass-heavy or treble-heavy capacitor which was always in circuit; the tone is altered by varying the blend of the pickups. In practice some users found this system limiting; most surviving examples were rewired long ago but this one remains original; we think it actually sounds really cool once one gets used to it.
This Guitarlin is a fairly early model; the ink-stamped FON 6020 inside the neck heel suggests fabrication in 1960 although it does not exactly fit into the standard interpretation of Danno number patterns. The original concentric pots are coded 137-930, manufactured the 30th week of 1959. Early period features include a three-in-a-row screw neck attachment, no "tilt-neck" adjustment at the heel, Kluson Deluxe tuners, a circular Masonite control cavity cover and a stock aluminum nut. The bridge is the standard ubiquitous Dann-O item, a metal plate adjustable for height with a sliding rosewood saddle. The pickguard is a small clear plastic plate screwed to the top, the jack is mounted via a metal plate on the side.
The Longhorn bass proved rather more popular than the guitars; it was certainly a more common sight during the 1960s and more easily found today. Of course the most famous Guitarlin player of all was Link Wray, who recorded and performed memorably with an early one exactly like this from 1959 into the 1960s forever marking the model as one of his trademarks. There was a spurt in Longhorn production in 1965 when they were first imported to the UK becoming a brief sensation on the London scene. The Who had a set of them, and Graham Nash of the Hollies brandished one as well for a time.
We are very pleased to offer very rare personalized early model 6-string Guitarlin, a nicely original example of this iconic instrument and only the second one we have had in several decades. A salute to Nathan Daniel is in order for creating the immortal Longhorn, an unforgettable one-of a kind twang machine.
Overall length is 38 3/8 in. (97.5 cm.), 13 1/8 in. (33.3 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 in. (635 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
While far from a pristine instrument this early Guitarlin shows only a lot of honest wear, with no damage or later modification besides the '60s pinstripe decals added to the top. The all-original finish shows evidence of some heavy play time over the last 60 years; The copper 'burst finish is worn down to the base coat on the upper quarter of the body from arm action, and also worn through on most of the body edges. The vinyl body edging is by contrast surprisingly clean. There are four neatly applied Hot Hod/Surfer "old school" pinstripe decals on the top, with some wear away to the one closest to the arm contact region; we feel these add an undeniable authenticity to whatever 1960s story this Danelectro has lived.
The back of the neck has quite a bit of play wear down to the undercoats around the 1st-5th fret area, extending further along the edges. The edges of the headstock have some chipping and the logo has some rubbed away areas on the top now essentially reading "ANELECTRO". The fairly minimal hardware shows some general wear but nothing too serious; there is a small crack to the clear plastic pickguard at the lower front screw. The pickups, concentric pots and wiring are original and working correctly, a somewhat unusual find on a Longhorn. The wooden flippers have some typical paint loss, as do the plastic lower knobs. The jack has been replaced but what appears to be the original is still in the case pocket.
This Longhorn is a very good player; the long poplar neck is close to perfectly straight after 65 years and the frets are very well preserved, with a light recent polish. Apart from the added decals it remains as God and Nathan Daniel intended when it left the loading dock at Neptune (New Jersey, that is). This striking rarity sounds fantastic and looks wicked as all get-out doing it, housed in a period (Harmony style) chipboard case. This well-played Guitarlin is simply as cool as they come; there have been a number of re-issues over the decades BUT this is the genuine 1960s American Masonite and poplar original here, one of the greatest products of Nathan Daniels' offbeat genius. Maybe it's not quite as cool as Link Wray's (which Deke Dickerson has) but it comes pretty close! Very Good + Condition.
