Hofner Double-Cutaway / Strange Agent / Needs ID'd...

[Zooberwerx]

Not sure what we have here but it's coming across my workbench in a week or so. Typical Hofner in many regards including that damnable floating bridge which is missing 3 of its saddle inserts. If you can provide any insight, I'd greatly appreciate the contribution!

Riis

 

[Jeff Scott]

Cool! A Höfner "Barney Kessel" of sorts.

 

[ac100X]

It's an active bass, that's all I remember.

 

[Zooberwerx]

It's an active bass, that's all I remember.

Found it: Hofner 500 / 8BZ w/ bass and fuzz boost. Thanks for playing!

Riis

 

[Zooberwerx]

F/U: total disaster in every aspect. May be a great project for the true Hofner-ophile, though.

Riis

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Those and the matching guitar are pretty cool looking. I wouldn’t mind having one but the few times you see that body style come up they fetch a decent amount and, well, I’m cheap…

 

[Zooberwerx]

Those and the matching guitar are pretty cool looking. I wouldn’t mind having one but the few times you see that body style come up they fetch a decent amount and, well, I’m cheap…

It was passed-on to me for a set-up for a friend-of-a-friend. I e-mailed back a flag of surrender as the full-scope of necessary repairs falls outside my arena of expertise. I would post the text but the Hofner fan base may find it borderline offensive. Like many bass models, this is akin to a rare tropical disease: it's really interesting but I wouldn't want to have one. On a more positive note, I did suggest selling the carcass as an "as-is" project and use the $$ to fund a more satisfying and playable instrument.

Riis

 

[blacktocomm]

A buddy of mine has the guitar version. It’s a cool instrument. I would love to have that bass in my rack.

 

[Zooberwerx]

A buddy of mine has the guitar version. It’s a cool instrument. I would love to have that bass in my rack.

Any number of opportunities may arise depending on the owner's response. This is not a project for the faint-of-heart. Example: the entire active component has been bypassed at some point in time.

Riis

 

[dogbrained]

FYI
There's a guy on;
Invalid Link Removed
"Hammertone" who's very knowledgeable about Hofners. I believe he was at one time a dealer.

 

[Stewie]

Here’s hoping the removable control plate makes it easier to fiddle with the dobs and knials

 

[mikewalker]

Nice! I had the 6-string guitar version of that, about 30 years ago. It was OLD then, probably late 60s...

 

[Dabndug]

There was that craze for on-board effects back in the day that I never understood. If you can put that dead-end tech aside, it's a very cool little bass. The headstock inlay is fantastic.

Idiot thought - are the saddles just tiny lengths of fret wire?

 

[Jeff Scott]

What else is wrong beside the electronics (which could be discarded to simply make the bass passive).

 

[Zooberwerx]

What else is wrong beside the electronics (which could be discarded to simply make the bass passive).

Yes, it can be mod'd to a fully-passive harness but that's not on the horizon. I was asked to do a courtesy basic set-up...showed up missing 3 of its fret wire saddles and no pick-up function. I spotted at least one broken (brittle!) lead on the control plate underside. Some other observations:

*Crooked tuners to the point that the buttons are hitting the headstock. The anchor screws are actually bent.
*Significant fret wear.
*The rather elaborate pearloid fretboard inlays are warped like speed bumps in a parking lot.
*Didn't attempt to adjust the truss rod.

Needs a major rehab not a set-up. If the owner wants to pursue via one of the better shops, that's his prerogative. Game was over when it showed up in its present condition.

Riis

 

[Jeff Scott]

Oy!