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"Beatle Bass" knock-offs

P

Ponce

Sep 22, 2004
16
0
Mountain of NM
#1
Does any one have experience with the "violin bass" models listed below? All of them are made off-shore, and a couple of them, the Douglas and the Epiphone Viola look like they may have been made in the same factory.
I played the Epiphone and the tone and playability were both excellent.

  • Hofner Icon
  • Brice HVB 600
  • Douglas WVEB Violin Bass
  • Epiphone Viola Bass

Thanks. Ponce
 
#2
Eastwood makes one as well, called the Club Bass. I've played an Epiphone, but it felt cheap in my hands compared to the Eastwood... albeit the 'Beatles' bass and Epiphones, with the exception of the Jack Casady, are not really my thing.
 
#4
Your Epi beats my Epi. Mine (killer used deal) took a lot of zero fret adjustment to not suck & has the endpin noticably off center (I should fix that sometime). But the original owner had restrung it with Chromes.

I like it's sound, but don't currently have a use for that sound. I ain't selling it though.
 
#9
elavate7 said:
are "knockoff" violin basses only good for beatles music. i want to buy one to play church music but i dont know...........
Click to expand...

I play my Epi Viola in church a lot... Also like to play it with my jazz band students at my school. ANd yeah, it is great for classic rock... You can do a lot with it...

I have only played a few of the other "knockoffs", but have not played any I liked as well as my Epi... Great thump, feels nice... Not problems with intonation or setup at all for me...
 
#10
I owned a Hofner 500-1 (German Beatle Bass) from 1967 through 1991; some observations:

The bass has bigger sound than you'd think, especially for an instrument as compact and delicate-feeling as it is. But they definitely have their own feel & vibe. This vibe is different than other basses, including other short scale basses.

They are cool in their own way, but definitely rather one-dimensional. That one dimension being Beatles music, playing anything else the bass feels out of place, imo. I wound up trading my Hofner off, at a guitar show, for something more "normal" and never looked back.

Awhile ago I decided to check out a short scale bass again, & looked at the Icons & Contemporary series...the German models are just too expensive at this point, not worth the $$$ in any way. The Icon struck me as rather cheap looking, especially the sunburst finish. I never played it through an amp, because buying it was never a consideration; I could not get past the way it looked. I did, however, check out the Contemporary more thoroughly, & it seems to be a pretty decent bass. Looks very much like the German model, electronics feel & sound just like the German model. If I was going to buy a violin bass today, it would be the contemporary.

...that said, I didn't buy a Hofner for my short scale bass. I bought a Gibson SG bass faded, for about the same $$$, & I am more comfortable playing it. But then I don't play Beatles music much anymore...
 
#11
I picked up a Rogue violin for $200, and it's great. Need to take off the rounds and put on flats. It it the same as a Hofner? No.

Does it capture some of the vibe for stupid cheap? Does it sound good? Yep.

Wouldn't gig with it, but I use it on recordings all the time. It's also handy when I'm travelling as it doesn't take up much space at all.

js
 

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