For those who own them, what is the best hofner bass, and does it compete within its price range?

[TheOriginalName]

Which Hofner Bass is both the most aesthetically pleasing and pleasing in terms of sound? How do they compete with chowny’s, Epiphones, fender’s or others in the price-range?

 

[fermata]

I've never played a German Hofner, but between the Ignition and the Contemporary, I prefer the Contemporary for build quality, aesthetics, and sound (the German-made pickups are excellent). The Ignition sounds very good and plays well, too, but I'd probably pick an Epiphone Viola over it; the quality seems similar to the Contemporary at half the price. Some people quibble about the center block in the Contemporary; like the German-made basses, the Ignition is fully hollow. But with a nice set of flat wounds, the sound is more similar than different, to my ear. (That said, rounds are a great option for a somewhat more modern tone.) From what I've read/seen on Youtube, Chowny and Eastwood make nice semi-hollows, too, at reasonable prices, but I've never had one in hand.

 

[Biggbass]

Hofner violin basses have a great tone but IMHO they are uncomfortable to play due to the hard edge square shoulders of the body. I found little difference in a German VS Contemporary tone wise. But my bang for buck meter puts the good old Fender P at the top of the list for me. Played with flats and finger picked on the end of the neck you can get a very close tone to a Hofner, plus the other tone variations the P offers, so it's more of a workhorse bass.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Like any unusual bass, I would not buy it without playing it. Between the small body and position of the strings over the bridge, it it uncomfortable for me to play.

 

[mcarp555]

Some people don't like Hofners because they have concerns of trying to look like McCartney. You can get the same sound with a Hofner Club, however:

 

[FranF]

All three lines are good value at their price points.

 

[HaphAsSard]

Aesthetically, I like the Invalid Link Removed best:

The double-cutaway Club, whose existence I wasn't aware of until 2 minutes ago!, is like a mini-version of the above:

There really isn't one single Höfner I find myself truly, intensely disliking though. They all look fine to me.
Have a gander at the rest of their "other basses" (non-Beetle, non-Club) roster:
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[mongo2]

Which Hofner Bass is both the most aesthetically pleasing and pleasing in terms of sound? How do they compete with chowny’s, Epiphones, fender’s or others in the price-range?

I have Hofner Ignition Club, HCT President, HCT Galaxie and Ignition Violin basses. I also have or have used various models of shortscales from Epiphone, Eastwood, Squier, Ibanez, Gretsch, Fender, Sears Silvertone, Danelectro, Jerry Jones, SX, Harmony, Teisco, Rogue, Brice and Kay.

I've tried the current German, Contemporary, and a couple of vintage 500/1s and compared them to my Ignition Club.

For me the best of the bunch for playability, comfort and tone is the Hofner Ignition Club. I'm not much of a stickler for looks but it looks OK except for the control plate & pickguard. At times I wish the Hofner bridge was easier to set up but I've gotten used to it.