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Hofner basses.....not worth it?

#142
Garry Goodman said:
I remeber in California inthe late 60's, you could buy a Hofner from George Rose ,an import company , for $89.00

later Sorkin music in new Jersey sold them for $139.00 . I think at the time the look of the violin shaped bass was cool.The sound of the bass on Beatle tracks such as 'Rain" and "Paperback Writer" was the Hofner sound at it's peak.
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Rain & Paperback Writer were the Rickenbacker.
 
#143
Garry Goodman said:
yeah ,yeah-page 74, 'The Beatles -recording sessions" -it was the first time Paul recorded with the Rickenbacker,Aprril 14th 1966 . But 1966 was the peak Hofner year. Apparently tunes like "Got To Get You Into My Life" were recorded with the Hofner. The whole reason,from what i can gather,is that John Lennon demanded to know why Wilson Pickett could get such a prominent bass sound and the Beatles couldn't. wht English studios couldn't get the sound American studios were getting. i would imagine that all the bass on "Rubber Soul' is a Hofner."Think For Yourself' with the two bass lines.Hofner with fuzz bass. Paul had a Fender jazz Bass at the studio during the 'Abbey road" sessions.
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George Harrison said in an interview that Think For Yourself was the first use of the Rick bass. Certainly "Wait" is the Rick. It's pretty easy to tell them apart. The Hofner has a short, "thudy" sound, that expands a bit after the note is struck. The Rick sounds like what it is, a block of maple. The notes have more sustain, without the "bloom" of the Hofner.
 
#144
Rob Martinez said:
Paul McCartney does NOT play a Hofner "because his fans expect it." What a ludicrous insight. The man could play ANY bass in the world, and has (Fender, Rickenbacker, Yamaha, Wal), I read he even has a left handed Waterstone TP 12 string bass. I think the Hofner is just comfortable for him, it is his choice. He is FRIGGIN' Paul McCartney!!! He can play WHATEVER he wants! And he chooses to play a Hofner, and play it KICK ASS.
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Remember that he did not play the Hofner for many years after the Beatles. He played the Rick throughout the 70's, and then there was a long stint with the Yamaha. And then a long stint of really not playing much live at all. I suspect the main reason he plays the Hofner now is the weight. If I were his age, that would be a prime consideration!
 
#145
In 1968, when I was 13, I owned a Hofner bass for about a year and a half. It was my first "good" bass. I soon switched to Fender basses (I still have the Precision I bought the very next year), and never looked back. Since then, I have owned a ton of basses, literally. Last year, for fun, I bought a newish Club bass, off eBay. I was SHOCKED at how bad it was. Right down to the quality of the the pots and switches, which I believe are the lowest quality I have EVER seen. I sold it soon after. On the other hand, I have owned a 60's Guild Starfire for over 15 years, which is a vastly better built instrument than the Hofner, and gets me way closer to that vibe than the Hofner ever could. I REALLY wanted to like the Hofner, but the reality of it was that it was more like a 60's Japanese instrument, which is to say that it was a piece of junk. For sure, the Chinese ones MUST be better!
 
#146
mark107 said:
Remember that he did not play the Hofner for many years after the Beatles. He played the Rick throughout the 70's, and then there was a long stint with the Yamaha. And then a long stint of really not playing much live at all. I suspect the main reason he plays the Hofner now is the weight. If I were his age, that would be a prime consideration!
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Yes, weight does factor in. It's one of the many reasons I play a Hofner. And McCartney has said something about the Hofner being something people expect. Still, McCartney is a first rate musician, and I suspect he also likes the Hofner tone. Live, he uses it on plenty of songs he recorded with a Rick. He MUST like it or something. I doubt he would use it if he thought the tone did not measure up.
 
#147
I've never owned a Hofner bass - and the one I tried many years ago left me cold, largely on account of the short scale and narrow neck.

What I do have in my music room though is a mid-50s Hofner President jazz guitar. Side by side with my contemporary Gibson ES125, the Hofner is a thing of beauty, with its bookmatched maple back, straight grained spruce front, multiple binding, and mother-of-toilet-seat inlays. The ES125 is a plain plywood box by comparison. Unfortunately, all that glitters is not gold, and soundwise the ES empties its bladder all over the Hofner any day of the week.

Value-wise, the comparison is interesting too. I bought both guitars in London around 17 years ago, the ES for £400 and the Hofner for £350. The Hof has barely doubled in value, despite mine once belonging to Gordon Giltrap, with his signature on the guitar and accompanying provenance. The Gibson has tripled in value over the same period (these are UK values, remember).

Hofners are good for hanging on the wall IMHO.

Adrian
 
#151
The best reason for owning a Hofner would be if you play in a beatles tribute band, and then the Rickenbacker 4001 would probably be better.

My first real bass was a Hofner ... I thought it was great untill I got a Rickenbacker.
 
#152
The only poeple who remind me of what I used to play come from far back. An old school friend told of seeing me play a light blue Futurama that I would rather forget. The Hofner Bass was like that as well. Never played one but knew a couple of guys who had. Was never popular in London as the Beatles were a Liverpool pop band. The scene in London in the 60's was all Blues and Tamla Motown - so no place for a violin bass - they were all Epi's, Gibsons, Framus semis - then everyone went to Jazz Fenders. Glad to say I never did and never wanted to Play a Hofner Bass. But those were the old ones - I'm sure the current build is streets ahead of the 60's instruments. (I cannot believe what those sell for now - I recently saw a Hofner Committee, like one I owned, sell on ebay for $2500 - bloody hell - mine was worse than current Chinese $500 jazz boxes - so what do I know about instruments?)
 
#153
Ric5,
I have always suspected this was a commonplace... now i own a Hofner and i am sure it is.
And this people too:
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Some no-Beatles Hofner applications:


Tactician,
in fact that was my Hofner 500/1 Ignition of 2009, the cheapest series. No stuff inside the body, no amp, pc direct. Only Hofner flatwound strings and my fingers, no pick.
I like that sound, and i use it without a problem to play in my no-Beatles rock cover band (consider i own a Fender Precision too).
 
#157
I am on a budget where I can't afford anymore than 400 for a bass or guitar. Even if I had an unlimited budget, I would never pay 2000 dollars for a guitar. I have 2 Hofner Icons I paid 375 for. I started playing the bass guitar in February, after being asked to try it for a praise band. I've been playing 6 string guitars off and on for 40 years. I settled on the Hofner Icons after trying some other brands out because I like the short scale, the small body, the look of the bass, and the sound with the flats on them. After being in the forums since February the only other bass guitar that I would consider spending more on, would be the Music Man, only if they came out with a short scale. I don't see myself playing anything but short scale. The Music Man has gotten great reviews and I like the small body.
 
#158
jackajesusfreak said:
I am on a budget where I can't afford anymore than 400 for a bass or guitar. Even if I had an unlimited budget, I would never pay 2000 dollars for a guitar. I have 2 Hofner Icons I paid 375 for. I started playing the bass guitar in February, after being asked to try it for a praise band. I've been playing 6 string guitars off and on for 40 years. I settled on the Hofner Icons after trying some other brands out because I like the short scale, the small body, the look of the bass, and the sound with the flats on them. After being in the forums since February the only other bass guitar that I would consider spending more on, would be the Music Man, only if they came out with a short scale. I don't see myself playing anything but short scale. The Music Man has gotten great reviews and I like the small body.
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I am a short scale convert! I own a couple of Icons, and love playing them.
 
#159
I recently bought a Douglas Violin bass from jackajesusfreak^. I'd always wanted to try a Hofner style bass. First thing I did was remove the flatwounds and grooved the bridge saddles so the strings wouldn't jump around. Then I put on a set of roundwounds and filed the nut to get the action lower. First off, you can intonate these basses very good if you know what your doing, secondly, they sound great with roundwounds (I like macca but that's not my tone), thirdly, the expression on my musician housemates face when he saw me slapping away on it made it all worth it.

Tone is in the hands for sure. The low end punch of this design makes my Pbass hide in the corner.
 
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#160
saladin said:
I recently bought a Douglas Violin bass from jackajesusfreak^. I'd always wanted to try a Hofner style bass. First thing I did was remove the flatwounds and grooved the bridge saddles so the strings wouldn't jump around. Then I put on a set of roundwounds and filed the nut to get the action lower. First off, you can intonate these basses very good if you know what your doing, secondly, they sound great with roundwounds (I like macca but that's not my tone), thirdly, the expression on my musician housemates face when he saw me slapping away on it made it all worth it.

Tone is in the hands for sure. The low end punch of this design makes my Pbass hide in the corner.
Click to expand...

Hey, how is the bass working out? You must be talking about the black one. Nice case with that huh? Hope all is well.

Jack
 

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