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Best amp for Hofner

#61
I recently saw the Beatles concert footage they had on iTunes, I think it was in D.C., first live show in the USA ? Anyway, it looked like Paul was playing out of a tall and thin Vox . What was that ? I did'nt see a head on top, and it did'nt look like it was in one of those Vox chrome stands.
 
#62
dunno, i tried them both separate and a/b, with 10's you can get close, but the true thump is with the 15's miked with a ribbon mic. IMHO

JimmyM said:
i do like 15"s and no tweeter, but i've also gotten very fat sounds in that realm micing my svt 210av and my old flatback 810, so that's a generalization i can't go along with.
Click to expand...
 
#64
At any gig, 99.9% of the audience will not know or give a hoot if the bassplayer is playing a German made, CT, or Icon Hofner bass. All they know and care about is that it looks right and sounds right. And the Icon fits the bill!
 
#66
odysseios said:
Me too. But unfortunately i also think the aesthetical look is of primary importance.
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That may only matter to those who know the finer points of Hofner specs, if even then. I've had more than a few audience members complement me on my Hofner...and I was playing a Brice at the time. Things like that have taught me that looks don't really mean squat.
 
#67
jnewmark said:
I recently saw the Beatles concert footage they had on iTunes, I think it was in D.C., first live show in the USA ? Anyway, it looked like Paul was playing out of a tall and thin Vox . What was that ? I did'nt see a head on top, and it did'nt look like it was in one of those Vox chrome stands.
Click to expand...

I saw that video as well. I enjoyed watching it. There is a tall narrow cab with a black grille cloth and no logo. I thought that it might have been the PA!

I think that Paul was using a T60 which was a 15" and 12" (alnico blue guitar speaker, same one as in the AC-30) with a crossover. The amp was a transistor model with volume bass and treble controls. I tried one once and it wasn't very good. He also used a similar looking T-100 cab later that had two 15" speakers. The heads were sometimes on the floor.

My Hofner 500/1 is a great bass. It is easy to play and has a very nice tone. I find that it sounds good with any amp.
 
#71
Mongo,
importance to me is about the same. For me, not sure for my audience which can't discern between an Icon and The Real Macca Thing, and excuse me but i don't like to play a broom, even if it sounds as an Alembic. :)

Jimmy,
i write as a former Ignition owner.
The Icon/Ignition has some solution, and not only about look, which i don't like. Neck is too narrow and thin, paint is too reddish, binding is pathetic. The shape is that of the violin bass, but a little different, and so for the headstock (but tuners work good).
At present sure i would prefer the Icon Club, same sound and less pretentious.

When i was 16 i played my 1st hoffie (a 64-67) and i wanted to rebuild the memory of that old glorious exemplar.
One thing i like so much on the CT is indeed the neck binding.
And after all my CT, strung with Hofner flats, reasonably reproduces the sound also.
And is very hard to me, who am a bassist and Hofner owner, to distinguish in a picture an upgraded CT from a V64 reissue.
Audience is not important, for the people any violin bass is "the Beatle bass"... Not for me.
 
#72
odysseios said:
And after all my CT, strung with Hofner flats, reasonably reproduces the sound also.
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To me the CT sounds constrained and constipated compared to the bounce and openess of the tone of the Icon/Ignition and German versions.

I find the Icon/Ignition neck to be much more comfortable and much easier to play than the chunky necks of the CT and German models.
 
#73
I love the thin neck of the Icon, it works best for me. And the sound, while a bit different from a German made Hofner, is not different enough to justify paying so much money to get one when the Icon does the job rather well.

As for amps, someday I hope to have an Ampeg B15, but until then, my B100R and B50R do a great job of getting a thumpy, vintage tone. As does my Ampeg BA112!
 
#74
mongo2 said:
To me the CT sounds constrained and constipated compared to the bounce and openess of the tone of the Icon/Ignition and German versions.
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This is a very strange thing, i would have said the exact contrary, the CT being the one with more sustain, so for better or worse (theoretically the second) with the more opened sound... :confused:

Anyway this is a sample of my CT:
Link Removed

Not exactly a non-Hofner sound, i would say... ;)
 
#75
odysseios said:
This is a very strange thing, i would have said the exact contrary, the CT being the one with more sustain, so for better or worse (theoretically the second) with the more opened sound... :confused:

Anyway this is a sample of my CT:
Link Removed

Not exactly a non-Hofner sound, i would say... ;)
Click to expand...

It sounds like a Hofner because it IS a Hofner! Nice tone and playing, BTW.

I doubt we will ever solve the Icon vs CT vs German made anytime soon. Let each individual get whichever bass suits them best.
 
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#77
odysseios said:
This is a very strange thing, i would have said the exact contrary, the CT being the one with more sustain, so for better or worse (theoretically the second) with the more opened sound... :confused:

Anyway this is a sample of my CT:
Link Removed

Not exactly a non-Hofner sound, i would say... ;)
Click to expand...

Sorry, but that sounds confined and less open compared to my hollow body Icons. Like the sound is trying to get out but it's having trouble...or the instrument is having trouble breathing (sorry for the reference but my kids have asthma and I've become very astute at listening to their breathing and coughs)...if I had to define it more specifically I'd have to say the mids sound a bit too dry and tight on the CT (that may sound overly clinical or even a bit icky but there it is).
 
#79
I recently saw the Beatles concert footage they had on iTunes, I think it was in D.C., first live show in the USA ? Anyway, it looked like Paul was playing out of a tall and thin Vox . What was that ? I did'nt see a head on top, and it did'nt look like it was in one of those Vox chrome stands.
Click to expand...

At this point, McCartney was using and AC100 head (80 watts!) and a cabinet with TWO 15s (northcoastmusic.com calls these cabinets T-100)

t100stdbrn.jpg


You can read up on this at www.beatlesgear.com. You'll have to click through several pages, but eventually you'll find McCartney's amp page - go to VOX.
 

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