HOFNER CLUB BASS 1966

hands · #1 10-17-2009, 09:43 AM

hello jmj and everybody around!

just a few days ago i found an old '66 hofner club bass for sale. the seller needs money quick, so he wants to sell it for 800 euro's now. i was going to buy it right away, because i am dying for this vintage tone that i heard you play on many beck tunes as well as a lot of air songs, and these old original basses are so hard to get for a nice price. i played a reissue guild d'armond starfire for a while, but it totally didn't sound like the old vintage tone.

the seller just called with a sidenote concerning that club bass. the neck needs to be reset, he says. after looking on internet i learned that most hofner basses that are from the 60s need a neck reset. i wondered, justin, did you ever have a neck reset done concerning the old semi-acoustic basses you have? my luthier could not inform me about if he could do a reset and about the evt cost.. right now i am not sure about buying it..

jmjbassplayer · #2 10-17-2009, 10:18 AM

I agree about the De Armond Starfire. That did not have "the tone" to me at all.

I have four cheap Hofners that I picked up from the UK recently, all around that price as well. To my knowledge, none of them require a neck reset, though they certainly require lots of other things (pots, jacks, three total pickups that need to be re-wound, setups, etc).

My point being, him saying "most Hofner basses...need a neck reset" is odd to me.

You need to get a cost estimate from someone before you go forward. I think 1000 euros total invested in the bass is ok, if the bass is otherwise really excellent. If it's not amazing, then that's possibly too much money. So, see if you can get the neck reset for 200 euros or less, I'd say.

J

JimmyM · #3 10-17-2009, 04:02 PM

You guys aren't helping my Club Bass GAS! Sounds to me like after a reset, you're still going to have a bass that comes in under market value, provided everything else is good. Wish I could bring myself to buy a Club Bass. Went looking for cheap knockoffs and only Eastwood makes one, and it's semi-hollow (blecch!). If Hofner ever makes an Icon Club Bass, I'm on it. They at least made the Beatle basses hollow.

tony moore · #4 10-18-2009, 02:33 PM

i bought a hofner ct club bass recently, and while not hollow, it still has a hofner like tone. i've never owned a "real" hofner, so i can't compare and comment directly, so i'm comparing to recorded tones...

- tony

McHaven · #5 10-18-2009, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

You guys aren't helping my Club Bass GAS! Sounds to me like after a reset, you're still going to have a bass that comes in under market value, provided everything else is good. Wish I could bring myself to buy a Club Bass. Went looking for cheap knockoffs and only Eastwood makes one, and it's semi-hollow (blecch!). If Hofner ever makes an Icon Club Bass, I'm on it. They at least made the Beatle basses hollow.

They make the contemporary club. Step above the Icon line. (Made in China, but has the German pickups etc). Its about 800 dollars I think.

or they used to. Just checked MF and I don't see it anywhere.

hands · #6 10-18-2009, 03:57 PM

this is what i read at a collectors page:

"Perhaps the best thing about Hofners is the way the necks are attached to the bodies. Until to late 60's, Hofner used a tapered mortice joint, with no dovetail. This kind of joint tends to creep with time, given string pull and exposure to humidity. Old Hofners almost always require neck resets, which are incredibly easy to do as a result of the simple joint.

http://www.provide.net/~cfh/hofner.html

i also found something about doing it yourself, myself in this case

but i don't think i'm confident enough to proceed..

http://www.customguitars.com/hofner.html

JimmyM · #7 10-18-2009, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by McHaven

They make the contemporary club. Step above the Icon line. (Made in China, but has the German pickups etc). Its about 800 dollars I think.

or they used to. Just checked MF and I don't see it anywhere.

Yeah, I've seen it, but it's semi-hollow and costs $800. I've played a couple CT Beatle basses and actually preferred the Icon. Not to say it's not a killer bass, but that's just my opinion. And even though I like Hofners a lot, I find it really hard to pay what they want for a bass that in 1975 sat in a pawn shop in my hometown for over a year priced at $250. That's what made me get a Jay Turser instead of a real Hofner. I figured that if Paul were starting out today, no way he'd buy a Hofner! Well, he might have had an Icon, but the Icon came out a year after I got the Turser. Oh well...I can't complain...it's a sharp little bass.

TaySte_2000 · #8 10-19-2009, 04:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmjbassplayer

I have four cheap Hofners that I picked up from the UK recently, all around that price as well. To my knowledge, none of them require a neck reset, though they certainly require lots of other things (pots, jacks, three total pickups that need to be re-wound, setups, etc).

I assume the P bass was the one that didn't require any rewinding?

Do the others now sound like that? If so I'm going to get mine rewound.

jmjbassplayer · #9 10-19-2009, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TaySte_2000

I assume the P bass was the one that didn't require any rewinding?

Do the others now sound like that? If so I'm going to get mine rewound.

Correct. The others have that kind of output now more or less, so it's nice to have things more even-sounding.

scowboy · #10 10-20-2009, 11:45 AM

Club bass ... mmmm. I'd love one too.

Interesting observation JimmyM on the J. Turser compared to the Icon. Totally agree with you on the pawn shop point. Same thing with Acoustic amps, Peavey T-40's, and Gibson EB-3's.

s