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Höfner or Fender?

mybassisalemom

mybassisalemom

Jan 3, 2014
14
1
#1
Hello, I am looking to buy a new primary bass as my first bass I bought of eBay for $129AUD and is a piece of crap its an "Artist" Bass if any of you wanted to know. Anyway I will have to save every cent to buy one these basses and I want your opinions on both. I am looking at the Höfner Club Bass contemporary, and the Fender American Standard Precision Bass. I live in rural Australia and the music shop that is the closest to me had 3 basses all Cort and other brands the next closest music shop is about a 2-day drive so I'm looking at online shopping. I found an Australian site that sells basses, the Höfner Club contemporary is around $1,200 while the Fender is around $1,800. So which one should I go for? What are some of the pros and cons of each bass?
Thanks in advance😀😀:)
 
#6
Another vote for Fender. Regardless of which way you decide to go, investigate the online retailers’ return policies before pulling the trigger. Fender offers decent product warranties in most countries — check with the retailer and/or distributor. Not familiar with Höfner’s program.
 
#7
pfox14 said:
Fender all the way. Why not opt for a MIM Fender - half the price of the MIA stuff and very good quality.
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I couldn't agree more. I have both a MIA Fender and a MIM Fender. As I play longer I notice subtle differences in the two, but for all practical purposes the MIM is a very nice, high quality bass. The MIA sounds better when you use a high quality amp, for sure.

Play a Hofner before you buy. They don't feel or sound the same way you would expect. I always thought my first bass would be a Hofner violin (Beatles fan)... then I played one. Neck dive, no low end, tough to play while sitting and practicing. So I went Fender and never looked back.
 
#8
Hofners are generally not seen beyond Beatles tribute bands whilst Fenders are found literally everywhere. This being said by someone who doesn't really like fenders overly much. For your situation, I'd take the Fender, though I'd also look and see if there are any used basses you can check out nearby. You can get a used MIA fender for a few $100 less, though make sure there isn't anything wrong with the bass, of course. Best of luck.
 
#10
I'll put in a vote for the minority - Hofner Club. Of course, this depends on what kind of sound you are looking for. If you want the warm rich woody sound of an upright bass the Hofner will give you that if you have the proper flatwound strings on it. Most use either Pyramid Gold short scale, or the Thomastik-Infeld Jazz flats 32 inch. A third favorite is the Labella flats for Hofner.
The Club CT model is an excellent model, not looking like McCartney's but giving you the same sound, more or less. The CT models have a block running through the length of the body which gives a bit more sustain than the fully hollow German made, or Ignition models. The CT has all of the beauty of the German models.
Many people don't think to put round wounds on Hofners, but you certainly can for a bit more bite. This greatly expands the range of the tones that you can get by your choice of string.
Hofners aren't for everyone. In over 40 years of playing bass I've never owned, nor wanted a Fender. A distinct minority opinion.
Good luck, mate, with your choice.
 
#11
Well,you certainly couldn't get 2 more divergent choices! (Long vs short scale,solidbody vs hollow,etc) My choice would be the Fender as well. (even though i've never kept any Fender i've owned for very long) It's just a more substantial instrument,that can have a lot of tonal variety depending on strings,setup,pickups.etc.
 
#12
Get the Hofner and don't look back. The real difference is that there is little sustain, which a solid body has plenty of. More of a thump than ringing notes, but very usable if you are willing to learn its quirks. You can't ham fist it like a Fender; you need to have a gentler touch. It also has a tendency to feed back in certain circumstances. I have played many gigs with my vintage Hofner, and have never heard a single complaint from the band, engineer or audience. My shoulder also thanks me.
 
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#13
waxcomb said:
Get the Hofner and don't look back. The real difference is that there is little sustain, which a solid body has plenty of. More of a thump than ringing notes, but very usable if you are willing to learn its quirks. You can't ham fist it like a Fender; you need to have a gentler touch. It also has a tendency to feed back in certain circumstances. I have played many gigs with my vintage Hofner, and have never heard a single complaint from the band, engineer or audience. My shoulder also thanks me.
Click to expand...

+1
 
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#15
The Hofner cuz it's prettier.
IMG_0797_zpsdf0f50e6.gif
 
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#17
the fender would be much, much more versatile and practical, imo, unless youre in a beatles tribute band, or maybe some bluegrass band where you need to mimic an upright tone. And even then the fender could get you there tone-wise. Hofners have the beatle gimmick, but that's about it ime.
 

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