Hofner Ignition series violin bass bridge replacement

[Dick Pountain]

Recently returned to bass playing, having sold my leftie Ibanez long-scale active 10 years ago. I bought a Hofner Ignition Violin bass, recent Indonesian repro, because it was cheap and looks nice. It's well made for the price, and with a bit of fettling it plays nicely enough.

Then I saw Tina Weymouth's BBC TV documentary, where she mentioned Hofner basses and their lack of sustain (which some like, some hate). This triggered a brainstorm: I went to my box of assorted historic metal junk and found an old metal bridge from a '60s Italian horror bass, and two anonymous brass ferrule thingies. Replaced the bass's cheap wooden adjustable bridge with these, held on only by string tension (so easily reversable). It was transformational, lowered the action without buzz, clarified tone on both pickups, increased sustain enormously. £200 instrument now plays like £500. Result.

 

[FranF]

Very cool!

 

[mongo2]

Nice. Is it a Vox Cougar Crucianelli bridge?

I'd like to try something like it on my Hofner Club bass.

 

[hotbass57]

Wow great idea. I just ordered a real Hofner bridge for my copy. But I like that way better.

 

[Dick Pountain]

It was off a nameless Italian bass from the sixties, glitter paint, pretty much like the cheapo ones Framus used to do.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

It’s amazing that nobody has produced a commercial replacement bridge upgrade for Hofner or similar clones. The whole “fretwire in wood” bridge design is comically Borky. Cool solution with the Italian bridge. Having intonated (more or less) my son’s Jay Turser clone a few times, I’d buy an upgrade if it was available. Hipshot, get on it!

 

[Turnaround]

The whole “fretwire in wood” bridge design is comically Borky.

Not sure what "Borky" is, but the Hofner bridge is quite good. It maintains the character of the bass by providing a nice wood filter interface between string and body. It's also reflects the character of the bridges on many fine jazz guitars.

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[Dick Pountain]

> Is it a Vox Cougar Crucianelli bridge?

Haven't had the instrument for 30+ years, and it definitely wasn't a Vox, but that looks like the same bridge - probably used by several makers back then.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Not sure what "Borky" is, but the Hofner bridge is quite good. It maintains the character of the bass by providing a nice wood filter interface between string and body. It's also reflects the character of the bridges on many fine jazz guitars.

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"Borky" is local vernacular for "doesn't work well", or "overly complicated". Any intonation on a Hofner with the standard bridge is a little iffy at best. I worked out a technique marking position with tape , tapping it incrementally with a dowel, where you can accurately intonate the E and G strings, the A and D will always be approximate, and usually good enough if you stay out of the "dusty" end. You can move the fretwire saddles, but its always at least a little out of whack. What I'd like to see is a floating wood bridge with the wheel adjusters to maintain the classic look, but an adjustable saddle insert. Does such a bridge exist?

 

[Turnaround]

I guess it's all a case of degrees of acceptability. The intonation on my violin bass with the Hofner-style bridge is actually far better than on my U-Bass. AFAIK there is no bridge like the one you describe. Perhaps I'm wrong about that - I was wrong once before.

Well actually it turns out I was right before, so I was wrong about thinking I was wrong, so even though I was right, I was wrong. So I really was wrong about something once before. Though the thing I was wrong about was not the thing I was right about. And perhaps it is wrong of me to go on about this. So maybe I have been wrong three times now? Right? Or am I wrong about that?

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Well, your wrong about being wrong, right?

 

[Turnaround]

Well, your wrong about being wrong, right?

Right, wrong.

I think it's alright to be wrong, so long as you're not all wrong, which is not alright. And sometimes being left is right, but being right is never left. And if it's wrong to be right, what's left? I guess you just give the last rites to the rights.

Can we talk about basses for a while?

 

[Gilmourisgod]

So, having finally got my son’s Jay Turser clone reasonably well intonated, we keep it that way by changing one string at a time,and marking the corners of the bridge with tape before re-stringing. It helps to not use an electronic tuner too much, down that road lies madness with this bridge. It came with crappy rounds, but we recently got some Hofner scale Labella Deep Talkin Flats on it, sounds great! Now if we could just figure out the bizarre control layout......

 

[Dick Pountain]

Control layout is 75% rational, 25% mad. Bass On gives neck, Treble On gives bridge, both On turns them *off*, both off turns them *on*. As you guys say, go figure...

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I have tried to understand the rational process behind that switching layout, and failed,so I guess you just get Down with the Sickness.

 

[Scooter Johnson]

This look like it l think .. found on google

Chrome Tune O Matic Bridge for Bass Guitar | eBay

 

[Gilmourisgod]

That would work if you made an ebony or rosewood base for it, there isn't any wood below to sink those studs into.

 

[BassBeginer64]

Floating Bridge Question
Is there much of a difference from the German one vs; China one?

 

[Gilmourisgod]

The floating bridge on my sons Jay Turser looks identical to the standard Hofner bridge, but they are so cheap you might as well buy a Hofner.
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[Ghook]

Interesting set up. Not sure if I want sustain on my Ignition. I had a floating bridge on my Framus Star (/149 ) and as almost all basses back then (mid 60's) it had flats. Once intonated you made sure nothing hit the bridge and you simply had little reason to change flats on a hollow body bass, they simply got thumpier as time wore on. It was a pain intonating my Ignition. I did it with the crappy rounds it came with and changed to LaBella Flats, one string at a time. It's in tune well past the 12th, a region of the fretboard left unplayed by most of us back in the day.