While I agree with the flat thing, Hofners tend to sound pretty boomy flat, so don't let that skew your opinions of the amp.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Help! Looking at amps for my Hofner
- Thread starter V63
- Start date
When did Paul start playing rockabilly?
Introducing John Lennon's Original Quarrymen
"the first song ever recorded by The Quarrymen,who will become the Beatles.Recorded in 1958,in a "home" studio with only one mic.George was only 15 years old,John 18 and Paul 16.Not even Pete Best w..."
One After 909 (rehearsal) by Quarrymen
I used a '63 Hofner Bbass for several years. I go along with JimmyM, to me, it was the old, dead, flatwound strings (that I never changed) combined with the pickups/body that got that sound. There was little sustain coming from that bass. Back then I used a Kustom 200 2x15 JBL D140s and then a Sunn 2000s 2x15 JBL D140s.
I also recall a couple of gigs with the backline being a brand new company provided demo solid state Ovation rig (with what I think were 2x15 with orangish/brownish grill cloth) probably with 150 to 200rms. I also played through a solid state Standel amp w/2x15 cab and a 1x15 powered extension cab. The thing was at least 6 foot tall but did put out at least 2-300 rms. They all got the thump. I played with a pick to get a cleaner tone (imo) FOH. I was playing with a 4 piece horn section so no need for heavy bass.
Based on my experience, I suggest you try out as many rigs as possible, even then, playing a gig or rehearsing, depending on the room, etc, it may sound different than when you try it out.
My thought is to go with a stacked 1x15 and vertical 2x10 and try a few different heads (both solid state and tube) to find what you like. Sunn amps still produce some killer tones.
Keep us posted.
Edit: Paul's playing with a pick in the OP's video link. Listened to it with headphones. A nice tube amp will get the tone in "Blue Jean Bop".
I also recall a couple of gigs with the backline being a brand new company provided demo solid state Ovation rig (with what I think were 2x15 with orangish/brownish grill cloth) probably with 150 to 200rms. I also played through a solid state Standel amp w/2x15 cab and a 1x15 powered extension cab. The thing was at least 6 foot tall but did put out at least 2-300 rms. They all got the thump. I played with a pick to get a cleaner tone (imo) FOH. I was playing with a 4 piece horn section so no need for heavy bass.
Based on my experience, I suggest you try out as many rigs as possible, even then, playing a gig or rehearsing, depending on the room, etc, it may sound different than when you try it out.
My thought is to go with a stacked 1x15 and vertical 2x10 and try a few different heads (both solid state and tube) to find what you like. Sunn amps still produce some killer tones.
Keep us posted.
Edit: Paul's playing with a pick in the OP's video link. Listened to it with headphones. A nice tube amp will get the tone in "Blue Jean Bop".
I can't recall where it was, but I read that on a lot of the Beatles' later studio recordings, Paul played a Fender Bassman 50. What's interesting to me and a little frustrating is how many recordings I'd always assumed were the Hofner were not -- the Rick was often the sound I'd heard, but Paul also used Jazz basses a fair amount in the studio. From what I understand, his Hofner had bad fretwork, resulting in intonation problems. Some time later, his tech had a new fretboard and frets installed to fix the problem.
Greetings Everyone,
Just wanted to thank everyone who's chimed in. To let you know where I'm at I'll give you my brief, and uneventful, bass playing history. In high school (back in the 80's) one of my friends had a set of drums and another had a guitar. I decided I'd be a bass player. I was really into Rush (I am Canadian after all, and as a Canadian boy I believe you are issued a copy of "Moving Pictures" at birth) and The Police at the time so bass seemed like a very exciting project. Through the school you could take very cheap music lessons so I signed up to learn Double Bass. I only had a couple of lessons before school was out. I wasn't going to be a classical, Jazz, or Rockabilly guy so bass guitar it was. That summer I bought an Ibanez thru-neck bass guitar and a very cheap amp. I remember being very disappointed in the sound of bass guitars in general after my brief encounter with playing a stand-up. That type of sound had parasited my brain. I had been imprinted by what I first encountered just like a baby duck. I liked Sting and Geddy (Adam Clayton was there somewhere too) but I can't say as I've ever found the actual sound of their basses pleasant. I much preferred a "Ramble On" by Led Zep or The 5th Dimension's "Let The Sun Shine In" from "Hair" (Still one of my favs) type of sound. I switched to a fret-less but that was not it either. I wanted a bass guitar that went "Bloooommm" not one that went "Bamp" or "Burrrrr". (I know that my attempt at onomatopoeia is kinda lame but describing a tone can be difficult!) I can't believe no ever said to me: "Hey why don't you try flat-wounds". Never heard of them!
I didn't play very much in university so I ended up selling my bass. The only thing I've had to play around with was an old Yamaha classical guitar (G-228) that was a relic of my sister's foray into guitar lessons that didn't take.
Flash forward to last year where at a party there was some gear lying around and I picked up several instruments and started to play. I had a blast and everyone was amazed. No one knew I played anything. I decided that I'd really like to pick up the bass again and that now that I am older (Just turned 40) and had some money I could buy myself a nice instrument. So off I went and found the Hofner. I got it because I loved the sound of it and the playability was very right for me, NOT because I sleep with a picture of Paul McCartney under my pillow. I made sure the intonation was spot on all the way up the neck before I bought it. I know it is not the solid body guitar (but at an octave lower or half speed), chorus-y, very Roundwound type of "Monster" sound a lot of people go for but I think it's the cat's pajamas.
As to the Hofner's merits, or lack there of, there is a thread about this already.
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1229874#post1229874
Judging from the posts a lot of people just hate the whole idea of them. To each their own. Their playability is great and the tone is very rich. I'd like to just state that I bought the bass based on the instruments Double Bass like timbre. I tried a Fender Jazz with flats, a Jack Casady,
Link Removed
a Allen Woody Rumblekat,
Link Removed
a Godin,
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
and various others. Unfortunately, there were no Ricks to be tried in the city nor was there an Ibanez Artcore AGB200. I found the Hofner and that was it.
NOW AS PER AMPS
I may be confused and hopelessly in error but I always thought that to get a very clean (no distortion) Direct Injection kind of sound you should go with Solid State and smaller speakers. (Markbass LM or F1 with 4x10) Am I wrong? Is a nice velvet-smooth sound more likely to be produced by a tube amp (would a tube pre-amp do the trick? I hope so money-wise!) with larger speakers. I know the sound I've described is very 60's but when ever I think of Tube Amps I think of the bass in Hendrix's "Fire". That's not what I'm going for. I want something a lot more velvety and woody. Bassy: yes, "Heavy", no. That's why I was asking about EQ settings. All the amps I've tried sounded good and Hofner-y but its very hard to A/B them across stores or even in-store. They really should have some kind of set up where you can just flip switches back and forth between several different combinations. There is so much stuff with usually only small changes in sound. I'm paralyzed by indecision. I need help LIMITING my search. I need options taken away! Help!
P.S. Even a Doors keyboard bass sound is preferable to a "Reggatta De Blanc" one. Love the lines; hate the sound. I know...Sacrilege!
Just wanted to thank everyone who's chimed in. To let you know where I'm at I'll give you my brief, and uneventful, bass playing history. In high school (back in the 80's) one of my friends had a set of drums and another had a guitar. I decided I'd be a bass player. I was really into Rush (I am Canadian after all, and as a Canadian boy I believe you are issued a copy of "Moving Pictures" at birth) and The Police at the time so bass seemed like a very exciting project. Through the school you could take very cheap music lessons so I signed up to learn Double Bass. I only had a couple of lessons before school was out. I wasn't going to be a classical, Jazz, or Rockabilly guy so bass guitar it was. That summer I bought an Ibanez thru-neck bass guitar and a very cheap amp. I remember being very disappointed in the sound of bass guitars in general after my brief encounter with playing a stand-up. That type of sound had parasited my brain. I had been imprinted by what I first encountered just like a baby duck. I liked Sting and Geddy (Adam Clayton was there somewhere too) but I can't say as I've ever found the actual sound of their basses pleasant. I much preferred a "Ramble On" by Led Zep or The 5th Dimension's "Let The Sun Shine In" from "Hair" (Still one of my favs) type of sound. I switched to a fret-less but that was not it either. I wanted a bass guitar that went "Bloooommm" not one that went "Bamp" or "Burrrrr". (I know that my attempt at onomatopoeia is kinda lame but describing a tone can be difficult!) I can't believe no ever said to me: "Hey why don't you try flat-wounds". Never heard of them!
I didn't play very much in university so I ended up selling my bass. The only thing I've had to play around with was an old Yamaha classical guitar (G-228) that was a relic of my sister's foray into guitar lessons that didn't take.
Flash forward to last year where at a party there was some gear lying around and I picked up several instruments and started to play. I had a blast and everyone was amazed. No one knew I played anything. I decided that I'd really like to pick up the bass again and that now that I am older (Just turned 40) and had some money I could buy myself a nice instrument. So off I went and found the Hofner. I got it because I loved the sound of it and the playability was very right for me, NOT because I sleep with a picture of Paul McCartney under my pillow. I made sure the intonation was spot on all the way up the neck before I bought it. I know it is not the solid body guitar (but at an octave lower or half speed), chorus-y, very Roundwound type of "Monster" sound a lot of people go for but I think it's the cat's pajamas.
As to the Hofner's merits, or lack there of, there is a thread about this already.
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1229874#post1229874
Judging from the posts a lot of people just hate the whole idea of them. To each their own. Their playability is great and the tone is very rich. I'd like to just state that I bought the bass based on the instruments Double Bass like timbre. I tried a Fender Jazz with flats, a Jack Casady,
Link Removed
a Allen Woody Rumblekat,
Link Removed
a Godin,
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
and various others. Unfortunately, there were no Ricks to be tried in the city nor was there an Ibanez Artcore AGB200. I found the Hofner and that was it.
NOW AS PER AMPS
I may be confused and hopelessly in error but I always thought that to get a very clean (no distortion) Direct Injection kind of sound you should go with Solid State and smaller speakers. (Markbass LM or F1 with 4x10) Am I wrong? Is a nice velvet-smooth sound more likely to be produced by a tube amp (would a tube pre-amp do the trick? I hope so money-wise!) with larger speakers. I know the sound I've described is very 60's but when ever I think of Tube Amps I think of the bass in Hendrix's "Fire". That's not what I'm going for. I want something a lot more velvety and woody. Bassy: yes, "Heavy", no. That's why I was asking about EQ settings. All the amps I've tried sounded good and Hofner-y but its very hard to A/B them across stores or even in-store. They really should have some kind of set up where you can just flip switches back and forth between several different combinations. There is so much stuff with usually only small changes in sound. I'm paralyzed by indecision. I need help LIMITING my search. I need options taken away! Help!
P.S. Even a Doors keyboard bass sound is preferable to a "Reggatta De Blanc" one. Love the lines; hate the sound. I know...Sacrilege!
The idea that a tube amp can't do clean or flat is a myth. A tube amp can do it every bit as well as SS, even better if you ask me. But it's certainly not necessary to have a great bass sound, either. I like what tube amps do to my sound so I'm back on them full-time, but I also have an LMII as a backup, and it's almost as good as a tube amp.
Other than that, I'm afraid narrowing down the choices is all on you.
Other than that, I'm afraid narrowing down the choices is all on you.
While Paul and John did form the Beatles the Quarrymen did not become the Beatles and they are still a going concern the last I heard.
Paul
I too had the Foundation but with just one 18 cabinet. My very first amp. I disliked it and ended up modifying the heck out of it.
My recollection is Paul using a VOX T60. One of the first SS amps in the UK and it came with a cabinet loaded with a 12 and a 15. It was very unreliable and I believe that after it blew Paul used an AC50 with the T60 cabinet until he got his AC100. I seem to remember that VOX built him a 2x15 using the same box. however that was a long time ago but it WAS a great time to be playing around Merseyside!
Paul
Thanks for the advice JimmyM. I appreciate it. What are you opinions on SS with Tube pre-amps? Are there any particular heads you think I should check out? Remember I have about $2400 Canadian for a head and a cab and would like at least 300w if not more.
For anyone crazy about Vox stuff you most likely know about this site but if you don't it's kinda neat
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
I don't know the exact wattage but you might try one of the GK heads. IME they are really loud and extremely dependable. I also found them to be fairly easy to dial in a sound I liked.
Lots of folks here rave about the Markbass amps. You should probably check them out and see if they float your boat.
I used to own an Eden 300 and it was very dependable even though I never could find my sound thru it.
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,636
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
i agree with Jimmy as fars a tube amp being able to play cleanly. whenever my band does alot of beatle material i use this:
the cab has 2-15 JBL K140's and the head is a 180 (w/four KT100's)watt tube head that i built myself from scratch. it sounds awesome and looks and soundwise does the "beatle thing" very well. (btw, i realize that Paul never actually used a super beatle). i use both my '68 hofner and my Rick V63 with it and both basses get the macca sound.
the cab has 2-15 JBL K140's and the head is a 180 (w/four KT100's)watt tube head that i built myself from scratch. it sounds awesome and looks and soundwise does the "beatle thing" very well. (btw, i realize that Paul never actually used a super beatle). i use both my '68 hofner and my Rick V63 with it and both basses get the macca sound.
Thanks Pedro, I have tried some GK heads and IMO I thought they were just O.K. I think the Mesa Boogie Walkout and the Markbass I tried was probably above them in my loose mental list. I haven't tried anything from Eden. They have one at a local store though. I'll have to check it out. Any Eden fans out there?
Holy Cow!
That is one beautiful piece of furniture! How long did it take you to build it and where'd ya get the know-how? Very Impressed.
By the way that reminds me does anyone know anything about Mesa Boogie's custom options? How much extra cash does it cost for their custom vinyls and grill clothes? How long does it take? Sad to say but pretty counts. Anyone had good experiences having an ugly but good sounding amp recovered?
That is one beautiful piece of furniture! How long did it take you to build it and where'd ya get the know-how? Very Impressed.
By the way that reminds me does anyone know anything about Mesa Boogie's custom options? How much extra cash does it cost for their custom vinyls and grill clothes? How long does it take? Sad to say but pretty counts. Anyone had good experiences having an ugly but good sounding amp recovered?
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,636
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
JohnK I thought he used a Super Beatle? Well whatever.
I saw a lot of pics with him using the Foundation and so I had to have one. Mine was MINT but it was a piece of crap compared to the Bassman. Mine didn't have the rack, we just stacked up the two bottoms and the head, looked formitable. You could light cigars off the top of the thing after playing a set. I'm suprised it never caught fire.
BOB
I saw a lot of pics with him using the Foundation and so I had to have one. Mine was MINT but it was a piece of crap compared to the Bassman. Mine didn't have the rack, we just stacked up the two bottoms and the head, looked formitable. You could light cigars off the top of the thing after playing a set. I'm suprised it never caught fire.
BOB
I have a AI Clarus 2r Series II amp (250 watt) that will make anything sound good. Though I may be biased toward Rick and AI gear. Arbiting right now. Please Thanks! Excuse me if this is not an appropriate response.
I thought I'd transfer this from the Markbass stuff is ugly post.
My current thinking is a Markbass LMII with a CL104. The only problem with CL104 is that it only comes in 8ohms and the frequency response of 35 Hz to 20 kHz for the Standard 104HR vs. the 50 Hz to 20 kHz of the CL104 was appealing to me on paper, but when I think about it, these are just specs -not sound. My Hofner is pretty boomy so more boomy in a cab is probably not what I need. I've been looking for an amp & cab for a while now and trying so many things in so many locations has left me befuddled, and I think a little stupid. I just don't trust myself anymore. I just don't want to make a $2000 plus mistake. I have decided that Solid State and a 4x10 will give me more of what I need than Tubes and 15s but that may change tomorrow. I'm tired of trying out gear. When I ask for advice the answer is "you should try more gear"
I think this guy's tone here is great (listen with headphones) it is very close to the sound I have in my head! He has recorded it sans amp and with a Boss CS-2. SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME GET THIS TYPE OF SOUND THROUGH AN AMP!
It is not a McCartney clip.
And yes I am the pathetic loser asking for advice in the comment field.
My current thinking is a Markbass LMII with a CL104. The only problem with CL104 is that it only comes in 8ohms and the frequency response of 35 Hz to 20 kHz for the Standard 104HR vs. the 50 Hz to 20 kHz of the CL104 was appealing to me on paper, but when I think about it, these are just specs -not sound. My Hofner is pretty boomy so more boomy in a cab is probably not what I need. I've been looking for an amp & cab for a while now and trying so many things in so many locations has left me befuddled, and I think a little stupid. I just don't trust myself anymore. I just don't want to make a $2000 plus mistake. I have decided that Solid State and a 4x10 will give me more of what I need than Tubes and 15s but that may change tomorrow. I'm tired of trying out gear. When I ask for advice the answer is "you should try more gear"
I think this guy's tone here is great (listen with headphones) it is very close to the sound I have in my head! He has recorded it sans amp and with a Boss CS-2. SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME GET THIS TYPE OF SOUND THROUGH AN AMP!
It is not a McCartney clip.
And yes I am the pathetic loser asking for advice in the comment field.
Not sure if I can really help here, but I'll give it a whack.So, GK's are out, Markbass is a contender, and you liked the Mesa Walkabout. All that, plus your clip, and I'll suggest a Mesa M6 Carbine, or Fathom, (whatever they're calling it now) It's a fairly simple amp eq wise, very clean (for a mesa), and able to stretch a bit either way. Couple that with an Avatar 2x12, and you're set. (I think). Good luck.
