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Hofner-(not just Beatle Basses)-Group Part 2

#801
I've had rounds on my Hof for the first couple of years. Rounds sound ok, and even a few of my buddies were using rounds on their Hofs, before they were able to find inexpensive flats. Everyone sounded ok, but, once they all switched to flats or nylons, they got better (meaning, the more appropriate beatle tone they were after). I've heard them all (including myself) in a band situation with flats. Everyone can be heard in the mix pretty well. nothing too muddy or buried, really.
 
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#802
Have noticed that the most popular tonal setting on Hofner basses seems to be bass slider on however when I use this setting it sounds good at home through my Amplug but live I just get mud city not the lovely deep but clear tone that most people get, wondering what settings people are using on their amp when using the bass slider in the on position? thanks
 
#803
shoulderpet said:
Have noticed that the most popular tonal setting on Hofner basses seems to be bass slider on however when I use this setting it sounds good at home through my Amplug but live I just get mud city not the lovely deep but clear tone that most people get, wondering what settings people are using on their amp when using the bass slider in the on position? thanks
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personally, I'll turn down the volume on the bass to about 75% (give or take 5%) up. that seems to be the sweet spot for me.
 
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#805
shoulderpet said:
Have noticed that the most popular tonal setting on Hofner basses seems to be bass slider on however when I use this setting it sounds good at home through my Amplug but live I just get mud city not the lovely deep but clear tone that most people get, wondering what settings people are using on their amp when using the bass slider in the on position? thanks
Click to expand...
That's why it bugs me that the bridge pickup is disabled by Bass On. I've rewired mine so that I can run both pickups no matter the switch (capacitor) settings, which allows for deep but clear tones.
 
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#806
Thanks,
Also wondering about the cavern bass pickup positions , I know obviously it has a more bassy tone with both pickups on than the standard spacing but just wondering if it adds anything else, maybe a little extra low mids? a bit more growl? I have a Hofner copy with cavern pickup spacing but obviously the pickups in that bass are different to Hofner
 
#807
On my Cavern I use various settings.
-Bass & Treble on Rhythm, with the treble turned down slightly till I get the right balance.
-Solo switch on, bass (neck) on, volume lowered slightly.
-Solo switch on, treble (middle) on, volume similar to the first setting, but without the bass switch on.

About the sound of the Diamond Logo pickups, to me they sound better than the staple and bar blade style pickups.
I guess they have a bit more bass and mid than the staple's, and a warmer more full bodied sound than the blade pickups.
 
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#808
Stempelloos said:
On my Cavern I use various settings.
-Bass & Treble on Rhythm, with the treble turned down slightly till I get the right balance.
-Solo switch on, bass (neck) on, volume lowered slightly.
-Solo switch on, treble (middle) on, volume similar to the first setting, but without the bass switch on.

About the sound of the Diamond Logo pickups, to me they sound better than the staple and bar blade style pickups.
I guess they have a bit more bass and mid than the staple's, and a warmer more full bodied sound than the blade pickups.
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Thanks, am considering another Hofner and was thinking of getting the cavern as the standard pickup positions are a bit quacky sounding with both on
 
#811
fermata said:
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.
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I took the tape off of the 105-50 Labella beatle bass black nylons recently as I was curious (strings weren't for me so not much to lose doing this) and was expecting maybe 95-35 gauge, I was astonished to find that the strings underneath the tape were more like an 80-65-45-30 gauge , no wonder they are so flexible
 
#815
Ok, have some rounds on my Hofner now, I initially went for the budget Ct Hofner strings as I didn't want to have spent too much if I didn't like the tone. Anyone considering these please spend a bit more and get something decent, the E string on these starting sounding dead-ish (not completely dead but less life than is ideal) within a day, they were also not very bright sounding overall, these would be great for someone who wants a flatwound(ish) tone from a roundwound or who likes the tone of well used rounds but I want rounds to sound like rounds.

I then bit the bullet and brought a set of Daddario 95-40 Nickels, these are great sounding strings but strangely I found the G string had some bad fret buzz that was not present before. I adjusted the truss rod a quarter of a turn but it did not shift, I then looked at the string when I plucked it and it seems the Daddario string had much more excursion (moved more when plucked) and felt slightly looser than the previous strings, I also noticed some weird chorus tone on the G, adjusted pickup height and it did not go so I think maybe a dodgy string, anyhow I ordered a .45 gauge G so hopefully the slightly higher tension will result in less excursion and less buzz.
 
#817
bassplayer8953 said:
I took off a set of LaBella flats (I've never been a fan of flatwounds, dating all the way back to my '67 Hofner.) and put on a set of D'Addario half wounds on my CT Club. Not as zing-y as fresh roundwounds and not as dead sounding (IMO) as flats. A bit of a compromise, either way, but one I chose to make. I like them.
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Interesting, always been intrigued by half wounds but at the moment am trying fairly bright toned strings as I would like my Hofner to have a bit more versatility, also the Hofner can be quite a warm sounding instrument so I want a string with a good amount of treble and upper mids. The Daddario seem good but a bit put off by the dodgy string I received.
 
#818
shoulderpet said:
Interesting, always been intrigued by half wounds but at the moment am trying fairly bright toned strings as I would like my Hofner to have a bit more versatility, also the Hofner can be quite a warm sounding instrument so I want a string with a good amount of treble and upper mids. The Daddario seem good but a bit put off by the dodgy string I received.
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I had roundwounds on my Ignition violin the entire time I owned it, and it was still (IMO) thumpy-y, compared to a Fender Precision/Jazz or other bass brands. Thumpy enough for me, anyway. My interest in -something-other-than-roundwounds- is partially to see how they are on my fingers, compared to regular rounds, which of course are rough over the course of several sets. The half rounds are a bit darker than regular rounds, but close, since they begin life as rounds.
 
#819
Got to say the Daddario nickel rounds sound really good on the Hofner, I played at a jam night the other night and my tone which is usually a bit indistinct at these events had a nice growl to it, I turned the treble and mids up a bit on the amp to emphasize this further and my tone was surprisingly ballsy, the Hofner becomes a completely different animal with a set of rounds on it, still got Pro-steels and Rotosound swingbass to try so will try one of those once these strings reach the end of their lifespan.
 
#820
Thinking of going heavier than the 95-40 currently on my Hofner, 100-40 or maybe 105-45, i know Hofner necks are thin but am i right in thinking that the neck should be fine as long as the truss rod is in good shape?
 

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