SHOULD I BUY THIS? icant see if its laminated or massive.. ?!

emielow · #1 09-24-2005, 08:59 AM

i can buy this bass, for about 1400 dollars, including a bag, bow, stand, and the fishman pickup... is this a good deal? it's nog clear to me if the bass is laminated, of has a carved front/top and back? help me

emielow · #2 09-24-2005, 09:03 AM

the guy saids its handmade by hofner, in 1965

Alexi David · #3 09-24-2005, 09:05 AM

by "massive" are you mis-translating "carved"?

emielow · #4 09-24-2005, 09:06 AM

yes, i don't know the word, now i know

carved top / back

is it a good deal?

Alexi David · #5 09-24-2005, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emielow

yes, i don't know the word, now i know

carved top / back

is it a good deal?

I don't know much about Hofners, someone else will have to assist.

It looks like a good deal for $1000 though....have you or anyone checked if it's in good condition?

emielow · #6 09-24-2005, 09:18 AM

what should i look at exactly? i only have this pictures..

i play bassguitar, and want to have a double bass. so i do not know very much about double basses

jstiel · #7 09-24-2005, 11:53 AM

My guess is that it's laminated because the top seems to be thinner like a laminated bass and the edges of the top and back appear to be painted black which you find on a lam to hide the plys. It is not handmade, it is a factory bass.

Probably a pretty good deal if it's healthy.

emielow · #8 09-24-2005, 01:59 PM

few questions.

1. if i look on the back, i can see a woodstructure. is it possible on a laminated bass?

2. why is it a factorybass? the guy sais its handbuild.

3. what should i look after if i'm going to check it out?

4. is it possible it's from 1965, like the guy sais?

5. why is a carved bass soo much better than a laminated? only the tone?

ok thanks...

Martin Sheridan · #9 09-24-2005, 02:07 PM

As a bass maker, it looks laminated to me, but it should be worth the asking price.

jstiel · #10 09-24-2005, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emielow

few questions.

1. if i look on the back, i can see a woodstructure. is it possible on a laminated bass?

I don't know what the "woodstructure" is that you're referring to here. This might help you: Carved or Laminated?

Quote:

2. why is it a factorybass? the guy sais its handbuild.

It's made by a company (Hofner or someone else for Hofner) in a factory, not by a guy named Hofner. Why don't you do a search on this forum for "Hofner" to learn a little about them and look at the newbie threads.

Quote:

3. what should i look after if i'm going to check it out?

There are lots of guys here who can give you better advice than I but, you want to look at the neck for any breaks and to see if it is straight (lined up with the middle of the bass as you look down the neck) , check the seams to make sure they're not loose, make sure the top is not sinking around the bridge and that the sound post is not creating a bulge in the back among other things. You might want to seek out the advice of someone there locally who is a player or luthier (one who makes and/or repairs basses) that can look at it for you.

Quote:

4. is it possible it's from 1965, like the guy sais?

Yes

Quote:

5. why is a carved bass soo much better than a laminated? only the tone?

It depends on what you're going to use it for. There's lots about all of this in the Double Bass Forum if you dig around a bit.

lubao · #11 09-26-2005, 08:01 PM

I couldn't view your pics for some reason

But I'll be able to give an idea about my hofner, I bought mine about three months ago it is a chinese made (from the alfred stigle series sp? I found the model number on the hofner website) it has a solid spruce top, laminated maple side and back, ebony fittings and brass lyrolean machine heads it also has a beveled fingerboard, mine came with factory strings, a bow a really nice hofner gig bag and rosin...the sound??? to tell you the truth I can only compare it with four DB's I've played and heard being played, when I was at the conservatorium over here, I used to mess around with a carved german DB, another encounter was with a cheap no name chinese bass, very disappointing! and the rest were all somewhere in between...honestly, I am very happy with my Hofner, the bow sound's very warm with a growl on the bottom end, it would be interesting to find out with how it will take different sets of string as it only came with sets of factory strings, the only thing that I could possibly think of that probably to do more with proper settings, playing technique and a new set of strings is the volume,it is not a very loud bass, compare with some basses I've heard and played

but overall it's all good, I played with a tenor saxophone player the other day and he said that it sounded really warm and rounded

I hope this helps...I wish to send a pic soon, I know it's not much of a bass compare to some of the basses being discussed in the forum, BUT I learn a lot just from hanging around here and yeah the bass is ok!