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Do Hofners get the least love?

#41
Ric Vice said:
For sure, they have their place and they sound terrific with the right player in the right circumstances. In Motown, Stax and Philliadelphia International. repertoire not so much. :)
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I mostly play Fenders and have owned a '66 Precision for 43 years now, but I think my Verythin sounds great on Motown and any finger funk style, stuff like late 70s Steely Dan with Chuck Rainey. For me, the Hofner is fine for anything other than metal or really "hard" rock.

After all these years, I can hardly believe I'm online defending the virtues of a Hofner bass. I too dismissed them as for the Beatles fans only.
 
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#42
Barton Lee said:
I mostly play Fenders and have owned a '66 Precision for 43 years now, but I think my Verythin sounds great on Motown and any finger funk style, stuff like late 70s Steely Dan with Chuck Rainey. For me, the Hofner is fine for anything other than metal or really "hard" rock.

After all these years, I can hardly believe I'm online defending the virtues of a Hofner bass. I too dismissed them as for the Beatles fans only.
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That was my view as well until I heard Chris Wood play one. Unfortunately there aren't any good videos that I can find, but this one will make the point.

Then again, Chris Wood could make a rubber band nailed to 2x4 sound good.

 
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#44
I have a soft spot for them for the usual Beatles reasons, but after years of solid body 34" basses, the few times I picked one up, 1) I was convinced McCartney had to be a genius to get that much music out of one, and 2) it just felt like a little toy in my hands with a funky native tone.

But lots of guys do well with them, which is what matters.
 
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#46
I worked on a '71 recently for a customer in my bass shop. The neck was bowed like a ski, and the truss rod nut was was galled where someone used an incorrect size to adjust... repeatedly. (other than that, it was near-mint...) After fixing/adjusting and restringing, I got to test-drive. It was the first one I'd ever held in my hands or played... I could see and hear the allure. It wasn't for me, didn't make me want one... but I 'got it'. They are definitely their own thing.
 
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#47
Like @JimmyM , I have a Jay Turser, not a Höfner. Been playing for only 5 years and once in a while I take the violin bass for fun: I always have to re-adapt my playing as it is so different than any other basses (I also have a Rickenbacker but I don’t feel the awkwardness some mentions).

The tone, with Labella flats, is completely its own thing. I also like that’s it’s so light and it’s the one I bring to school lately, much more fun to move than the parts Jazz I usually bring :).
 
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#50
Yes, they get the least love because the most famous model is also the least playable. The larger bodied models more than hold their own with other short scale models from the same time. I have no interest in the ergonomic nightmare called a “violin” bass (500|1) but I have played Senator and President models and they are killer instruments. I haven’t had the opportunity to try the club series or verythin models, but I bet they’re fine. The solid models, like the 185, really needed hardware designed for them, not borrowed from hollow bodied guitars. That was kind of a missed opportunity. Without Sir Paul, though, they would get a lot less love than they already do. They’d be as popular as Eko, Klira, Vox, etc.
 
#52
BargeOn said:
That was my view as well until I heard Chris Wood play one. Unfortunately there aren't any good videos that I can find, but this one will make the point.

Then again, Chris Wood could make a rubber band nailed to 2x4 sound good.

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Finally!

There are a few live sets with MMW on youtube too, but they are a chore to find.

I think he recorded every track on Shackman with his Hofner.

 
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#55
MrAB4003 said:
Fair point. But the Ignition series still has the Hofner name on the basses. Does that not make them “real” Hofners?
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One could argue that they are. Purists would say, "No", but only a vintage specimen would suit them anyways. I was thinking more on this and if you have to say something more than "Brand Name" in a for sale ad, I think that's my cutoff. "2008 Fender MIM", "2003 Fender CIJ", then that's a separate category than "Fender". (For me) Is "Ignition" the model or the line of basses? I'm not sure, and if you had my opinion and a dollar bill it still wouldn't be enough to buy a candy bar. Mmmmm. Candy bar.......
 
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#56
The only experience I have is playing one very briefly at a music store while waiting for an employee to unlock what I really wanted. To me of all the basses I've played, it feels the most toy like. Narrow string spacing and the overall size of the instrument is not for me. I like playing bass because it's big and heavy. Especially when the body resonates with what you're playing. Bass is a feeling, I didn't feel anything playing the Hofner.
 
#60
Ric Vice said:
For sure, they have their place and they sound terrific with the right player in the right circumstances. In Motown, Stax and Philliadelphia International. repertoire not so much. :)
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I’ve used one for Stax and Motown and it smokes. PI, however, as you said, not so much.
 
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