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best strings for hofner violin bass
- Thread starter skinzz
- Start date
I've been really happy with Rotosound Monel Flats on my Hofner. They make a light gauge set just for Beatle basses. Vintage sound and great feel.
http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/thjfflwoshsc.html
I'm a Beatle fanatic since '64. Use these for the Beatle sound, and for the durability and quality of the strings. Made specifically for the Hofner by the most highly regarded bass string producer anywhere.
I'm a Beatle fanatic since '64. Use these for the Beatle sound, and for the durability and quality of the strings. Made specifically for the Hofner by the most highly regarded bass string producer anywhere.
Paul McCartney uses the steelwounded Labella Deep Talkin' Beatle Bass 39-96 or (in the 60s and very recently) Hofner 40-100 nickelwounded, obviously flat, wich were born for this bass.
And me too.
Labellas D.T. are very punchy strings in their largest gauge, and i use those on my Fender Precision.
These are the Hofners on gig:
And me too.
Labellas D.T. are very punchy strings in their largest gauge, and i use those on my Fender Precision.
These are the Hofners on gig:
Using La Bella DTB round. Have always used flatwounds on my 500/1 and believed I was getting the best sound possible without ever trying anything else. I purchased the La Bella 'Deep Talkin' Bass' Hofner set, roundwounds and was blown away... This IS the Abbey Road sound... It's got a bite it never had before. Being a Conklin 7 string fretless player for many years now, I only use my Hofner for recording certain songs in my 'state of he art' recording facility when I'm trying to capture a particular sound. I recorded a track side by side with flats and rounds on the same bass, and found the round was definitely a superior sound, which I could adjust to deaden. With the flats, I was stuck somewhat in the mud even after using my plug-in EQ's... My La Bella Hofner roundwound set is as follows: 50/65/80/100. I've been playing bass for 37 years. Don't deprive yourself. You can always muddy up a 'bright', but it's much harder to brighten up a 'muddy'! It's not matter of taste to me in as much as it's a matter of options in sound creation. With roundwound, you've doubled them.
As digital sound recording equipment improves, so does the instrument sound representation. Mud which would've been acceptable just a few years ago, is no longer so. You can hear everything now, and the mud and muff is as clear as day in today's DAW world. Go round. You can always deaden it up as needed.
Except depending on what "vintage" your 500/1 is you may wear down the frets every time you simply look at the bass with round-wounds... I don't know what they used for fretwire back in the 70s-80s but some of it looked about as durable as twist-ties... ;-)
The newer ones (and coincidentally the oldest ones) seem to be much better.
The newer ones (and coincidentally the oldest ones) seem to be much better.
Agreed Frankie. The 500/1 Hofner in my studio is from 2002. Real deal, no Icon. I had the same concerns as well. The bass gets limited use and I'd resigned myself to having to get re-fretted if need be. The people I use for my neck work and regular adjustments are absolute pros, (in fact, they're the same team who service McCartney's). However, after many sessions, (and many hours of hard playing), there is no abnormal wear to the fretboard.
For anyone trying to get that "Abbey Road" sound by finding the right strings for your Hofner, you are wasting your time. You don't need to change strings, you need to change guitars. Paul was playing his Rickenbacker during that period. I have 2 Ricks and a Hofner and Abbey Road is definitely all Rickenbacker. Paul uses .95 flatwound strings on his Hofner at this time. I know this because he said so today on his twitter acct. He was answering questions from fans live.
All you Labella fans: which set have you found best out of the light or medium set flats?
I've been using Roto 77M's 40 50 75 90, which sound great apart from the E, which almost sounds dead compared to the rest (been through a couple of them). I've concluded that they're just too light and the heavier the better (i am just guessing though).
What does your E sound like for sustain and tone out of the Light .96 and Medium .100 sets? Which would you recomend?
I've been using Roto 77M's 40 50 75 90, which sound great apart from the E, which almost sounds dead compared to the rest (been through a couple of them). I've concluded that they're just too light and the heavier the better (i am just guessing though).
What does your E sound like for sustain and tone out of the Light .96 and Medium .100 sets? Which would you recomend?
Yes, McCartney uses Hofner/Pyramid flats on his Hofner. They are great strings and I've used them for about 40 years on my Hofners. For a short time, he used Labellas.
Lately, I've taken to using Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Roundwounds, for Hofners. They give me the best of both worlds, and are fabulously low tension strings. My bass really came alive. Both Pyramid and Thomastik-Infeld strings are expensive, but they make up for the cost with their longevity and fabulous tone and feel.
Lately, I've taken to using Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Roundwounds, for Hofners. They give me the best of both worlds, and are fabulously low tension strings. My bass really came alive. Both Pyramid and Thomastik-Infeld strings are expensive, but they make up for the cost with their longevity and fabulous tone and feel.
That was the set up for the roof concert. Abbey Road was probably a combination of Rick and J.
Paul does indeed use the 39-96 LaBella Beatle Bass Flats and that's what I have on my Hofner. Don't get the bigger gauge, they're not needed, the Hoffie sounds HUGE already!
I like the 760FL light gauge, .043-.104 on just about everything. The E sounds full, loud and fine, thanks.
- Sep 9, 2007
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- Endorsing Artist: Eventide, GHS Strings, G&L Guitars, NS Design, Tsunami Cables
My Icon B-Bass has Precision Flats right now (actually, I bought it specifically because we needed an instrument that needed medium scale strings in the office), but has also had Brite Flats on it. Either are great for different uses, although I found the BF made the Hofner bark a bit more. The PF work well for that signature Hofner tone.
