Höfner files for insolvency

[Jeff Scott]

Höfner Files for Bankruptcy in Germany, Putting Iconic Violin Bass Maker in Limbo – No Treble

www.notreble.com

This article points out that it's the second time Hofner's gone through restructuring, and it's changed owners at least three times in the past 30 years.

Thank you very much for that.

Hoping there will be a good resolution to this. The '13 500/1V63 I owned in the late '00s was a superbly built bass and sounded wonderful.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Perhaps, Warwick would be a worthy company to take the reins, keeping a German legacy company going.

 

[GretschWretch]

I would think they could probably remain solvent, but it's a tough row to hoe with these very specific, anachronistic instruments. It's a very particular feature set that fits a very narrow niche, and they'll need to size the business to that reality, whether EU or Far East production. How narrow a niche? Name me even one aftermarket part to fit one.

I wish them the best of luck.

Some tuning machines would. And perhaps some pickups.

 

[ardgedee]

Unlike Fender, there are no Hofner aftermarket part companies that I know of.

There's no (or nearly-no) third-party aftermarket parts for Ibanez instruments instrument either, and Ibanez makes more guitars and basses than Fender does.

In fact I can't think of any companies supported by a thriving third-party industry other than Fender, Gibson, and (trailing a distant third) Rickenbacker.

There are plenty of tuners, pickups and electronics available that fit Ibanez, Yamaha, Sire etc. instruments, but they're not specific to those brands as much as Ibanez etc. have opted for parts built to common sizes. There's no such thing as, for example, a third-party neck for a Soundgear bass.

 

[Norm Nelson]

I hadn't thought about the aftermarket parts part of this. Oof. However, I bet parts makers will come up with something. Like this guy who put a Seymour Duncan mini-humbucker on his Höfner!

 

[Root 5]

I hope they can get through this. I like Hofners.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I just hope Gibson doesn’t buy them, the Kiss of Death. They managed to run what was left of Steinberger into the ground.

 

[Root 5]

There will be more companies unfortunately. Times are really tough right now for a lot of people.

 

[darev]

Another data point confirming that there are fewer Beatles cover bands out there these days

 

[joeLowB]

I'll be surprised if some larger company doesn't snap them up, or it all just goes to Indonesian production. This video is pretty old, but assuming they haven't changed much, the manufacturing methods are 60 years out of date. It's a cool anachronistic way to build a bass, but not too efficient in an era when you can buy a perfectly serviceable CNC cut bass for around $200. Having played the Genuine German Hofner, the Contemporary, and Ignition series, I was hard pressed to identify anything that could remotely justify the $3K plus price for a German Hofner, which, I suspect, has something to do with their current troubles. Let's recall that Macca bought his originally because it was symetrical, so it looked as good lefty as righty, and it was cheap. The cheap part got left behind pretty quick once Paul started playing his, and all the young bass players in the 60's wanted one. My favorite part of this video is where the guy appears to "eyeball" the fret slots, which might have something to do with the "iffy" intonation above the 12th. I personally love them, but $3K+? Nope.

Yeow!!! After a career in manufacturing, that video makes me ache!! I hope they've updated things since then...but the "hand work" (rather than brackets and locked in dimensions) makes variablity normal...and that's a problem.

 

[JakobT]

Is there an English version?

Höfner Files for Bankruptcy in Germany, Putting Iconic Violin Bass Maker in Limbo

Höfner, the iconic maker of the Violin Bass popularized by Paul McCartney, has filed for insolvency in Germany as court-appointed administrators seek solutions.

www.notreble.com

 

[ahbradot]

I think Paul needs to buy more basses ....

 

[GodsLove66]

I'll be surprised if some larger company doesn't snap them up, or it all just goes to Indonesian production. This video is pretty old, but assuming they haven't changed much, the manufacturing methods are 60 years out of date. It's a cool anachronistic way to build a bass, but not too efficient in an era when you can buy a perfectly serviceable CNC cut bass for around $200. Having played the Genuine German Hofner, the Contemporary, and Ignition series, I was hard pressed to identify anything that could remotely justify the $3K plus price for a German Hofner, which, I suspect, has something to do with their current troubles. Let's recall that Macca bought his originally because it was symetrical, so it looked as good lefty as righty, and it was cheap. The cheap part got left behind pretty quick once Paul started playing his, and all the young bass players in the 60's wanted one. My favorite part of this video is where the guy appears to "eyeball" the fret slots, which might have something to do with the "iffy" intonation above the 12th. I personally love them, but $3K+? Nope.

People some to forget, as well, that his Hofner (and plenty others of that era I'm sure) became UNPLAYABLE for well over a decade before getting refurbished. Heck, Tina Weymouth's iconic Club Bass from the 1980 tour has fallen apart into an unplayable, splintered mass of wood.

 

[red_rhino]

I hope that the family is able to find an investor (like a famous Beatle) who could provide the resources to turn this around.

Not to be mean, but I think a famous Beatle already gave them an extra 60 years or so.

 

[Spectrum]

I've tried out a few of their basses and the ones I liked most are the Verythin models. A hollow body bass that is comfortable like a solid body. Looks cool.

 

[JIO]

I'll be surprised if some larger company doesn't snap them up, or it all just goes to Indonesian production. This video is pretty old, but assuming they haven't changed much, the manufacturing methods are 60 years out of date. It's a cool anachronistic way to build a bass, but not too efficient in an era when you can buy a perfectly serviceable CNC cut bass for around $200. Having played the Genuine German Hofner, the Contemporary, and Ignition series, I was hard pressed to identify anything that could remotely justify the $3K plus price for a German Hofner, which, I suspect, has something to do with their current troubles. Let's recall that Macca bought his originally because it was symetrical, so it looked as good lefty as righty, and it was cheap. The cheap part got left behind pretty quick once Paul started playing his, and all the young bass players in the 60's wanted one. My favorite part of this video is where the guy appears to "eyeball" the fret slots, which might have something to do with the "iffy" intonation above the 12th. I personally love them, but $3K+? Nope.

F CNC... love to see an instrument being made by skilled human beings...

 

[Pet Sounds]

This! Hofner never kept up with the times. For me, their basses are legacy / nostalgia instruments from the 1950s and 1960s - similar to Fender, but without the scale, global manufacturing network, or supply chain. Unlike Fender, there are no Hofner aftermarket part companies that I know of. It's not like you can replace Hofner pickups with EMGs or something (imagine that!?).

Plus, the only bassists that I know of that played Hofners at least semi-regularly are Paul McCartney and Tina Weymouth. And even both of them played other brands too.

I have a feeling that they're going the way of G&L.

I'd also say that unlike Fender, Hofner basses don't have the tone, ergonomics and durability that modern player's seek. I like and own Hofners, but they're by no means go-to basses for me.

 

[Shawn Luckman]

I really hope that Hofner survive & get past this.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

I wonder if on the UngezwungenesGesprächüberBassgitarren forum there are reports coming out of the German factory similar to those that came out of the G&L factory, saying that the Asian-made ranges were profitable.

 

[kodiakblair]

I wonder if on the UngezwungenesGesprächüberBassgitarren forum there are reports coming out of the German factory

Hofner's troubles have gone mostly unremarked upon. There was just 9 comments on bassic.de, all following roughly the same format

"Sad news but not unexpected"

Topic is completely absent on both Musiker-Board and Guitar World.