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Hofner Bass pickups info? (Ignition specifically)

Schopes

Schopes

Sep 9, 2016
57
65
Nashville
#1
So, I got myself a lovely new silver Hofner ignition bass. It does seem to have some microphoning like feedback when up at higher levels. I can actually talk into the pickups and hear my voice come out of the amp.

So, I'm looking at options for replacing the pickups, and I am actually finding so little info in regards to what kind of pickup the ignition-staple-pickup is. Is it single coil, humbucker, mini-humbucker? What about the other different Hofner bass pickups? I'd just like to know this info. I'm sure I'm missing an easy chart or something that has all this info, but I just can't seem to find it?

The most confusing part of trying to get this info is that, on the different websites, the ignition-staple-pickup is sometimes called a single coil or sometimes a humbucker.

Any info will be helpful!
 
#4
Schopes said:
So, I got myself a lovely new silver Hofner ignition bass. It does seem to have some microphoning like feedback when up at higher levels. I can actually talk into the pickups and hear my voice come out of the amp.

So, I'm looking at options for replacing the pickups, and I am actually finding so little info in regards to what kind of pickup the ignition-staple-pickup is. Is it single coil, humbucker, mini-humbucker? What about the other different Hofner bass pickups? I'd just like to know this info. I'm sure I'm missing an easy chart or something that has all this info, but I just can't seem to find it?

The most confusing part of trying to get this info is that, on the different websites, the ignition-staple-pickup is sometimes called a single coil or sometimes a humbucker.

Any info will be helpful!
Click to expand...

Hi there. Did you get any info on pickups for your beatbass ? I have a violin cheap fretless copy that actually sounds pretty good, but I'd like to change the pickups too but I don't know what to get. Any ideas ???
 
#5
jasking said:
Hi there. Did you get any info on pickups for your beatbass ? I have a violin cheap fretless copy that actually sounds pretty good, but I'd like to change the pickups too but I don't know what to get. Any ideas ???
Click to expand...

Well, it just really depends on what you are looking for in pickups. I eventually decided to have a local guy rewire the ones that came with the bass. It will hopefully get rid of the "microphoning" of the pickups.

It turned out my pickups were waxed, at least it appeared that way on the outside, but they still had some issues.

But all that story is kinda meaningless. What brand/model is your bass? There are pickups made for this size of bass on allparts.com or Hofner pickups at the North Coast Music.

The trick is finding what you want sound-wise, and which pickups will fit easily into your bass. Or at least what pickups are of the correct string-spacing size for you bass. Some selections might take a minor mod to make it fit.
 
#6
Schopes said:
Well, it just really depends on what you are looking for in pickups. I eventually decided to have a local guy rewire the ones that came with the bass. It will hopefully get rid of the "microphoning" of the pickups.

It turned out my pickups were waxed, at least it appeared that way on the outside, but they still had some issues.

But all that story is kinda meaningless. What brand/model is your bass? There are pickups made for this size of bass on allparts.com or Hofner pickups at the North Coast Music.

The trick is finding what you want sound-wise, and which pickups will fit easily into your bass. Or at least what pickups are of the correct string-spacing size for you bass. Some selections might take a minor mod to make it fit.
Click to expand...

Hi !

My bass is a cheap fretless copy of a beatbass. The pickups look rather large on this bass. It is definitely the microphoning issue that is bothersome. Turned up it creates feedback. I will probably go with the staple hofner style pickup. It will certainly be better than the ones that are on there. Thanks for the info.

Here is a pic of the bass. I changed the machine heads for some Klusons (lighter) and put some medium daddario chromes on it and had it setup by a great luthier I know. It actually sounds great ! I also changed the spot of the strap peg to compensate for the heavy neck and it works !

Harley Benton Fretless Violin Beatbass

Harley Benton Fretless Violin Beatbass

Copy of a Hofner Violin Bass - Fretless
 
#7
Schopes said:
So, I'm looking at options for replacing the pickups, and I am actually finding so little info in regards to what kind of pickup the ignition-staple-pickup is. Is it single coil, humbucker, mini-humbucker?
Click to expand...

I'm no expert on staple pickups, but maybe there are single coil and humbuckers made under the same 'staple' cover. At least I have some old Japanese staple guitar pickups that are single coil. I seem to remember that the Ignigtion series have humbuckers anyway.

Schopes said:
What about the other different Hofner bass pickups? I'd just like to know this info. I'm sure I'm missing an easy chart or something that has all this info, but I just can't seem to find it?

The most confusing part of trying to get this info is that, on the different websites, the ignition-staple-pickup is sometimes called a single coil or sometimes a humbucker.

Any info will be helpful!
Click to expand...

The link below shows the different types of Höfner pickups used.
Invalid Link Removed

The closed cover diamond pickups used on the Cavern bass are definitely humbuckers.
diamond_5.jpg

The older toaster pickups are supposed to be humbuckers also.
H518B_t.jpg

But they have different measurements.

At least the Crucianelli Toasters are humbuckers for sure.
bljqtepog53ifywmxcux.jpg



The Höfner blade or 'sharkfin' types (512B & 513B) are single coils.
jk5spcoi2vaek75wwcip.jpg

These will not fit on your Ignition. They are bigger than the staples.

512a.jpg



The link below sells Höfner pickups. But they are expensive. In Europe the average price of a genuine Höfner 511B 'staple' bass pickup is around € 80,-. That's a tad above $ 80,-.

Genuine Hofner Replacement Parts - Hofner Pickups - Pick of the Ricks LLC
 
#9
I'm in a similar boat as Jasking. In fact, my Starfire looks identical to his Harley Benton. I really like how it feels in my hands. I just can't stand the cheap pups they decided to install, they're trash. I would LOVE to install a piezo w/some better mag pups, but there are so many out there that I don't know where to begin.
 

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