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Hofner Basses

#61
mongo2 said:
Thanks, it's the stand from my son's Steinberger CR4M EUB. Edit: I cobbled an adapter block from maple to make a non-invasive attachment point for the stand that attaches to the Icon with foam tape and the original strap button screw:

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A sturdy cymbal stand could be re-purposed for that use as well.

I was thinking of making it fretless but I haven't decided yet.
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I'll definitely have to keep that in mind. It also looks like one could adapt a microphone stand as well.
 
#63
I have a Club Bass that I picked up in the 60's really cheap. For a relatively new instrument it had been really beat up. The pickguard was missing, and the top so scratched that I had it re-finished in the natural wood - very beautiful with the dark body! However, the neck was also twisted a little, so it was difficult to play and it has set in a case in a closet, unstrung until a year or 2 ago!

I later find out that you MUST use very light gauge strings on Hofners, such as the TIs. Heavy gauge strings can cause the neck to warp.

SO I pull it out of the closet a while back, and the neck had straightened itself! I took it to Renson for a setup, put a set of TIs on it, cleaned the swithces and it now plays great. So light!

The sound is definitely not for everything though. I have not gigged with it yet, but would use it with my Classic Rock band.
 
#66
johnk_10 said:
i've had 8 vintage German Hof's over the years. they all played great, and not a single one of them ever had its neck reset.
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I knew somebody would come back with something like that...maybe it was done before you got them...it's a repair not unfamiliar to vintage Hofner owners.

Edit:

Here's a lli8nk to how it can be done...

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#68
And here's one I owned in the mid-late 1970s. Model 500/8, with built-in fuzz & bass boost, beautiful instrument, great tone, great feel. Of all the ones that got away, I wish this one would come back.

500-8.jpg


BTW, I've played vintage 500/1 violins and modern Icons - I didn't hate either one.

J
 
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#69
johnk_10 said:
nope, not one of mine ever had its neck reset, but i have seen a few that have.
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There ya go.

Since you seem to know and others may be interested, how would one be certain their vintage neck wasn't reset?

Detecting well-done reset Hofner's isn't yet in my skill set but I've seen a few very professional reset jobs that seemed undetectable and I wouldn't have known unless I was told. Other's had tells such as finish cracks, seeped glues and the like that made it easy.
 
#71
You know, I have to dispute the statement that the Hofner's tone "is not for every song". I guess it all depends on what you're playing. I play bass in a band that play almost all originals, with one or two covers thrown in for good measure, and my Icon sounds great in almost every song we play. Like I stated in a previous post, we have a couple of uptempo songs that my P-Bass' growl fits beautifully, but other than that the Icon works perfectly. I could even see playing metal with an Icon! The only thing I wish it had would be a dedicated tone knob, but I run mine through a Boss GEB-7 EQ pedal, and that works fine as a tone control. I can even set it on the treble pickup, boost the mids and mid-highs a bit, and get a good approximation of Geddy's J! :)
 

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