Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Hofner-(not just Beatle Basses)-Group Part 2
- Thread starter Bryan R. Tyler
- Start date
I've used 3 out of their 5 shortscale strings listed and they are all the same length. Select whichever strings you require, what I use doesn't matter.
Nice! I like the La Bella tapes in theory. In practice, I found them too light (and I like lower tension); I had the Beatle Bass white tapes for a month or so before going back to the .039-.096 La Bella flats (which are supple but not floppy). One solution may be to skip the Beatle Bass-specific tapes and go for a normal medium scale set, with a .105 E.
As for type of music, I find my Hofner very versatile. I like that it can blend with acoustic instruments (and not stick out as an obviously electric sound) and also support a full electric band. And different techniques, like fingers, pick, or thumb, can really bring out a variety of sounds. Speaking of which, for optimal pickup blending, dial one back to 75-80% (or even lower) and then blend in the other one to taste.
~
What you use DOES matter, as well as what you thought of them, and not just to me.
But let me instead ask whether you tried their half rounds, and if so did you like them ?
Also, when you said that different D'Addario bass string types are all the same length, did you mean that all have the same length of fully wrapped/wound playable portion ?
GHS seems to be more clear about that particular spec than D'Addario.
~
Last edited:
~
Everyone :
Here are two very useful charts which I found, which contain tension info for most types of bass strings from two major makers.
Regarding the length of the fully wrapped/wound playable portion :
GHS seems to be more clear about that particular spec than D'Addario, calling it the 'winding length' in their below chart.
They also present the overall specs info in a much more easily readable manner than D'Addario does, and their chart is dedicated only to bass.
http://www.ghsrep.net/uploads/2/2/2/5/22258814/ghs_bass_string_guide.pdf
http://www.daddario.com/upload/tension_chart_13934.pdf
Both Hofner owners and owners of other basses should check out these two charts.
~
Everyone :
Here are two very useful charts which I found, which contain tension info for most types of bass strings from two major makers.
Regarding the length of the fully wrapped/wound playable portion :
GHS seems to be more clear about that particular spec than D'Addario, calling it the 'winding length' in their below chart.
They also present the overall specs info in a much more easily readable manner than D'Addario does, and their chart is dedicated only to bass.
http://www.ghsrep.net/uploads/2/2/2/5/22258814/ghs_bass_string_guide.pdf
http://www.daddario.com/upload/tension_chart_13934.pdf
Both Hofner owners and owners of other basses should check out these two charts.
~
Last edited:
The only opinion that matters is your own.
I've never measured the strings so all I can say is the D'Addario short scale strings I have used all fit on my Ibanez Mikro.
Last edited:
- Oct 7, 2000
- 18,619
- 38,939
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
Anybody know which Hipshot D-tuner would work best with one of these? I have an LTD Ignition due for arrival on Monday, and need to put one on.
With the short scale a de-tuned E string could be pretty floppy. I guess the answer would be 'the smallest one they have'. You'd have to change the others out if you want them to match.
M4 Bass Xtender
or
GB7 Bass Xtender
I guess
Hi, you need a 34 inch winding length for a Hofner. Some call this 'medium' some call it 'short' scale. Your bass takes 32 should just be 'short scale' I think. You can look here some available options: Bass String Lengths by Manufacturer and herehttp://Bass String Lengths by Manufacturer
I only tried half rounds on guitar for a lark (they're cheaper to try) and I HATED them. The feel of them was gross for lack of a better word. They make my skin crawl. IMO, YMMV The sound is just a very bad roundwound to my ears. I did like the feeling of the Pressurewound guitar stings I played though.
SHORT SCALE PRESSUREWOUND™
If you want Do-do-do'dadado-do get flats, it you want Bamp-bamp-bamdidi-bamp-bamp get rounds. Some times ya gotta pick a side. LaBella white nylons are supposed be a middle ground but I haven't try them.
Regards
Last edited:
The white tapes (specifically, the Beatle Bass set with the .100 E) are really (I mean really) light and flexible. They were too light for me (and I like a supple string) at concert pitch; I can't imagine drop-tuning them. The do sound nice. If they'll fit at the tailpiece and nut, the .115 medium scale set could work for drop D. The .105 set might be OK at concert pitch.
~
That's still valuable info - Thanks.
Given that the 3 types which you tried all fit, chances are that the other two types of D'Addario short scale bass strings (which you did NOT try) would fit there too, which would tend to include their half rounds, about which I was asking.
Now whether they all would match with a Hofner Violin or Club bass is a different matter, as the tailstock might take up part of the usable portion of each string.
~
D'Addario short scale strings are too short for my Hofner Icon Violin and Ignition Club basses, but they fit fine on my HCT Galaxie bass.
My early Hofner HCT 500/5 President is different in that it comes with an extra long tailpiece which precludes the use of both short and longscale strings from D'Addario. Rather than hassle with medium scale strings (don't even know if they would fit) and the subsequent requirement of ordering on the 'net since nobody local carries them, I swapped out the OEM tailpiece for an HCT Violin bass tailpiece which is shorter and allows the use of readily available D'Addario longscale strings. I suppose the longer tailpiece became an issue because I recently read somewhere that Hofner now ships the President bass with the shorter violin tailpiece as OEM.
Last edited:
Has anyone had the oppurtunity to play the new single pickup V57 500/1 bass? If so how's the neck profile?
I bumped my A string saddle down one notch and now my V62 intonates perfectly.
That's an exceptional burst.
Yep, that's a beauty, @sneha1965!
A couple of other mods worth noting: I rewired my control panel (I opened it up so many times over the course of a year that one of the screw holes stripped [!], hence the larger screws) and removed the switch labels. I also raised the screw poles on the pickups to follow the string radius; the washers allow the screws to remain snug. I raised them fairly high on the bridge pickup, so the neck-side adjustable poles are closer to the strings than the bridge-side staples. I also scootched the pickup as far north as I could before any holes were visible--about a half inch. Now the bridge pickup sounds less nasal.
I have a similar saddle arrangement on my CT (in my case, the D string got moved down one notch), and the intonation is spot on all the way up the neck.
A couple of other mods worth noting: I rewired my control panel (I opened it up so many times over the course of a year that one of the screw holes stripped [!], hence the larger screws) and removed the switch labels. I also raised the screw poles on the pickups to follow the string radius; the washers allow the screws to remain snug. I raised them fairly high on the bridge pickup, so the neck-side adjustable poles are closer to the strings than the bridge-side staples. I also scootched the pickup as far north as I could before any holes were visible--about a half inch. Now the bridge pickup sounds less nasal.
Dude! Great minds think alike, I had the washer mod going for a while to compensate for radius!
EDIT: you inspired me to bring this mod back (I don't even remember why I took them off in the first place) I've got the screwdriver and washers out!
EDIT2: Okay I just remembered why I removed them. I have two different sizes washers and I put both different sizes on and never got around to putting the correct size on again...until now.
Last edited:
