Hofner 63 relic is not sounding good after setup

[Samatza]

I put some new Pyramid flats on my Hofner recently, the E sounds more “played in” than the others which are a bit bright.

First time I’ve used them so I’m hoping the others will settle down and sound more like the E.

I had Chromes on it before that and they sounded nice but a little too modern.

I’ve read that Pyramid strings can have that uneven tone when new, hopefully it all evens out with time.

 

[mellowgerman]

Indeed, like others have said, you'll have to wait for them to break in. The more you play, the quicker they will break in. When I was a few years younger and a lot less patient, I used to put unscented moisturizing lotion on a paper towel and slather new flatwounds down. Would always help a bit without any harm to the strings and if the new string sound really bothers you, I'd say go for it. Either way, fresh flats sound way different than worn in flats, so I definitely would not jump to any conclusions that these new pyramids are somehow different than the previous set. In the future though, if your flatwound strings aren't damaged and you're not experiencing issues with them like intonation problems, leave em on there! If you get a set up, tell the tech you want your old strings put back on after (and use the extra money to buy a nice bottle of whiskey or something along those lines)

 

[Engle]

Pyramids come stock with the 63 relic Germans . They were 3 years olds , so I wanted a new fresh set of pyramids to replace the old one . They don’t sound and feel anything like the old set , except for the E string .

the tech also had the bridge flipped upside down , when I took it home it wasn’t sounding like a Hofner , took it back to have him flip it back …… but the strings still sound too metallic .

Stick some foam under the strings at the bridge until your new strings calm down.

 

[JKB1957]

It's a little late now, but I always follow the old saying, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Good luck.

 

[dangevans]

GOOD flats or tapewounds will solve this problem quickly, in my experience.

 

[dkelley]

All new Hofner/Pyramid flats have a dead E and noticeably bright A-D-G's. They'll settle in and even out. Just keep playing it and don't wipe the strings down.

that's quality right there when they all sound very uneven from the start. holy moly.

 

[Yahboy]

How about restring the old bass string ?

 

[nattiep]

How is the action? If it's too low it won't work out for the sound you want. I raised the action on my CT club and it helped

 

[onestring]

Rule #1 of Hofner ownership: Never. Change. The. Strings.

Sounds irrational, but it's effective unless something breaks which requires replacement

 

[bassfuser]

Maybe the tech adjusted/changed the pickup height?

Yeah, check the pickup height. It's possible the sound can be improved if you adjust the height a bit. I believe the sound will lack low end if the pickups are too close to the strings and have too much low end if too far away from the strings.

 

[lunarpollen]

I've had issues with Pyramid Golds recently where they had weird overtones that were out of tune from the fundamental.

 

[ferrante9]

F9, what strings were on it prior to the new ones ?

Hofner flats that came stock . Which from
What I understand , Hofner flats are exactly the same as the pyramids gold .
I thought so too at first , because of the green silk , but they sure don’t feel the same at all. The Hofner stock flats feel and sound a lot better .

 

[ferrante9]

I've had issues with Pyramid Golds recently where they had weird overtones that were out of tune from the fundamental.

did they play like they should after they broke in or no ?

 

[ferrante9]

How is the action? If it's too low it won't work out for the sound you want. I raised the action on my CT club and it helped

the action was perfect when I got it . When I brought it to the tech to have it set up ,I told him specifically that I wanted to keep the action the same . he said that the neck was too straight and the frets were all over the place , hence the strings were too high . He twisted the trust rod to give it a slight curve on the neck….. I kinda went along with what he was saying .

when I got home , I noticed that the bridge pickup was flipped upside down , and the sound was just horrible . Took it back , he flipped the bridge pick up back …. Also there was a foam inside the bridge pick up , which he removed to fit the mounting ring properly . Aside from that , he said he didn’t touch any electronic at all .
I was so in love with my Hofner , now I feel like it s a piece of junk , and just want to throw it away . Not to mention that he didn’t install the schaller strap lock right in the middle . It s a bit off to the side , and it looks like handicapped .

 

[gip111]

A bridge pickup flipped upside down? I’m assuming you mean rotated, like 180 degrees? If so, I don’t think that would change the sound and I don’t get the foam inside the pick up. He didn’t install the strap lock in the middle of what? And did it stop sounding “horrible” after the second time around?
Love to see some pictures.

 

[ferrante9]

A bridge pickup flipped upside down? I’m assuming you mean rotated, like 180 degrees? If so, I don’t think that would change the sound and I don’t get the foam inside the pick up. He didn’t install the strap lock in the middle of what? And did it stop sounding “horrible” after the second time around?
Love to see some pictures.

As you can see from the attachments, the strap lock is off to the side , not centered …. Maybe I got ocd , but it s bugging me like you wouldn’t believe it.


yes, the bridge was rotated 180 degrees , and the sound wasn’t the same . When the tech rotated back to the original position , I saw a piece of gray foam , and we just removed it . Maybe the foam
Was touching the wires ?!? Or is the foam there to protect from
Any vibration ?!??

anyway, the bass still sounds too metallic after 3 days since it was set up…… needless to say, I am not in love with my bass anymore

 

[tvbop]

Sorry to hear this. The strap lock fit tells me all I need to know. Sounds like another "tech" who doesn't know what he's doing. Hard to say as you had so much done but good tone comes from everything being tight and tidy with plenty of string height. If he's slackened the rod then it needs to be nipped back up to lock everything together. That's just one thght. Can you try the original strings? Hofners do sound best with dead old flats.

 

[gip111]

I guess you know the bass better than any of us. I was curious about the foam since I have foam or sponge material under the pickups on both my Hofner Ignition Clubs, I feel it cuts back on some of the microphonics. It all started when I was hearing some vibration coming out of one the pickups. Of course, it could just be all in my head...

 

[gip111]

Also, looking at the bridge pickup, looks to be real close to the strings, could be another reason for the more metallic or more treble when you use both pups. How's the sound with the top pickup alone? Just so you know, a lot of the adjustments can be done with some simple tools to your liking, no need to pay someone to do it for you.

 

[ferrante9]

Sorry to hear this. The strap lock fit tells me all I need to know. Sounds like another "tech" who doesn't know what he's doing. Hard to say as you had so much done but good tone comes from everything being tight and tidy with plenty of string height. If he's slackened the rod then it needs to be nipped back up to lock everything together. That's just one thght. Can you try the original strings? Hofners do sound best with dead old flats.

the tech probably tossed out the old strings already …. I should have told him to keep the old strings , but I had no idea that it was going to be that drastic of a difference between old set and new set of strings .

i m starting to think that a set up on a new Hofner is not necessary .in my case , it made my bass worse than before