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Hofner basses.....not worth it?

#181
Honestly, I think it will be quite a while before I feel the need to play any of my other basses, I'm loving this one so much. The day I got it back from getting it set up, all shiny with a new set of Pyramid flats on it, I played a low F and a bunch of plaster fell off my ceiling. I thought that was a pretty good indicator. I've used it for two gigs and it's been great- such solid fundamental tone that I've bee playing a bit more quietly than normal and it sounds perfect. I like deep bass tone and this has it in spades.
 
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#182
I have one of the Boosey & Hawkes reissues from 2001- I guess it's a 500/1; I'm a little too lazy to open the case right now and get the numbers. It is very, very light, to be sure. And of course, it feels fragile; it's a hollow-body instrument, after all. One could say the same thing about any violin or string bass.

Tone: It kills. It fills a bar room with tone. Very easy to lay down the low end. It's not for slapping, but it can lay down the funk, and it is perfect for R&B- I shiite you not.

I used to play house bass for a jam night at a place called Louie's Lounge (aka (Little) Buster's Hideaway) in Glen Cove, NY on Mondays. Nobody had a gig on Mondays, so the players tended to come out- after midnight. One dude used to come out with his band mates, and he sported a Hofner Beatle Bass, played exclusively with his thumb. He and his buddies comprised an authentic R&B outfit, and you could hear, feel, and smell the funk when they played. Good like fried chicken. Anyway, with just his thumb, sweaty fingers, the Hofner, an old G&K RB-400, and one 15" cab, my friend laid it down with a capital D. You sometimes never know how magic magic can be until it's come and gone.

Anyway, the Hofner has many sweet qualities. Mine is a cherry-wine color, and beautiful to look at. I've used on R&B/disco gigs, and it works well. And the audience response is cool- lay people know the Beatle Bass.

I do find it hard to play, as I usually play Jazz Basses. The challenge is getting used to the 30" scale, and finding a place to anchor my thumb. I find myself frequently resorting to a pick when playing it because of the anchor challenge. Yet the tone is so thick that I can still get a great bass tone even when picking.

It's its own thing, and has many sweet attributes. I'm not selling this one- it has its place in my tool box.

edit- oh yeah, did I mention it's really good for Beatles songs?

edit- ok, I'll get off my donkey and snap an iphone pic...
 
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#189
CDweller said:
I have one of the Boosey & Hawkes reissues from 2001- I guess it's a 500/1; I'm a little too lazy to open the case right now and get the numbers. It is very, very light, to be sure. And of course, it feels fragile; it's a hollow-body instrument, after all. One could say the same thing about any violin or string bass.

Tone: It kills. It fills a bar room with tone. Very easy to lay down the low end. It's not for slapping, but it can lay down the funk, and it is perfect for R&B- I shiite you not.
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people think of it as having a little dinky thuddy tone for some strange reason, but that thing is brutal in the low mids. it's one of the most gigantic sounds you'll hear. requires some eq to bring out more highs and upper mids, but you will never get lost in a mix with one. and mine isnt even a hofner.
 
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#193
I respect your opinion but I need to ask you: If the Hofner has the best tone in recorded history why don't more bass players use them? I can't think of anyone else using one.

The point I was trying to make is Paul is so good at bass playing that he can make even a Hofner sound good. And almost every other bass has better tone.

My preference is: Lakland, Fender, Carvin, Rickenbacker, Guild, Gibson and Hofner. And yes I own at least one of each and notice the Hofner is at the bottom of the list. And I'm absolutely sure I do not own the best sounding bass ever.
 
#195
Interesting thread, back in '98 I was looking for another bass.
I checked out a bunch of Hofners because I had been playing a hollowbody with a Hofner 513 modded in it, and liked that sound.
The Asian made Hofners weren't available then.

First thing I noticed was that they were only generally alike, apart from the fact that different pickups make them sound different, some basses' acoustic sound appeared nicer to me than most of the others.
It's not a bass that rewards violence on the strings and body, but once you know you're way around on it, great!
I'd do the rough boosting on other types of basses and have fun playing the one I acquired.
 
#196
I love my '65!!! Ive been playing it alot lately and cant put it down.... this thing rocks!!

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#199
James Judson said:
I respect your opinion but I need to ask you: If the Hofner has the best tone in recorded history why don't more bass players use them? I can't think of anyone else using one.
.
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Fair enough, but I actually didn't say the Hofner was the best tone in history, I said Paul McCartney playing his Hofner was the best. And that has as much to do with Abbey Road, Paul's musicality (to agree with you), the Altec compressor, the Studer recorder, etc. as it does with the Hofner.

They are very peculiar instruments and not used a lot by many modern players, I suppose, but I'm personally not very fond of a lot of the modern bass sounds I hear. Tom Petty uses a Hofner for a lot of his bass parts on record, Bob Daisley used one for parts of the first Ozzy solo album, Tom Peterssen of Cheap Trick has used them in the studio a lot. Dale Davis of Amy Winehouse's band uses one live, Chris Wood of Medeski Martin & Wood did some great work on a Hofner.
 
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