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

[Stempelloos]

I also have a Cavern spaced Club with the Diamond or cavern pickups - I think - which are similar to the staples.


Toaster: combined with neck it gives a wide warm sound, solo it's even more usable for rocking, effects. ....

The diamond logo pickups are humbuckers, so are the staples, in that way they are probably more similar than single coiled toasters. Mind you, in my ears there's still a slight difference between staples and diamond logo pickups.

Two toasters together will probably work like a humbucker, similar to a jazz bass (in series) that sounds warmer with both pickups dialed in.

Also two pickups switched on with a standard Höfner switch board, will use a different combination of resistors and capacitors than one pickup switched on.

Maybe the picture below clarifies that.

 

[Mvf]

Here are my Hofners, a Contemporary Violin and a Hofner Artist 185 bass.

The Contemporary is fitted with Rotosound flats, they work fine for me.

The Artist has no serial number anywhere, so maybe someone can help me with this one, where there many produced without serial number?? What year??
Unfortunately it is not original, the pots and switches are new, also the knobs. Some former owner has also defretted it. Also the finnish is not original, I was told it was covered with red vinyl originally.
But it plays well and has a really nice fretless growl to it with Rotosound rounds.

 

[WannaBeatle]

Here are my Hofners, a Contemporary Violin and a Hofner Artist 185 bass.

The Contemporary is fitted with Rotosound flats, they work fine for me.

The Artist has no serial number anywhere, so maybe someone can help me with this one, where there many produced without serial number?? What year??
Unfortunately it is not original, the pots and switches are new, also the knobs. Some former owner has also defretted it. Also the finnish is not original, I was told it was covered with red vinyl originally.
But it plays well and has a really nice fretless growl to it with Rotosound rounds.

at first glance, I'd say your bass is probably a '65 or '66.

I've got a modern CT 185 Artist bass that I happen to like a lot (it's my first Precision-esque bass, too). The neck is a little wider and maybe flatter than most I've played. but, it's still an easy bass to play.

 

[Mvf]

at first glance, I'd say your bass is probably a '65 or '66.

I've got a modern CT 185 Artist bass that I happen to like a lot (it's my first Precision-esque bass, too). The neck is a little wider and maybe flatter than most I've played. but, it's still an easy bass to play.

Thanks. Unfortunately it has been changed so much, would be nice to have it all original. But at least it sounds good and I use it sometimes, when a song calls for that fretless sound

 

[b-b-b-bass]

I recently fabricated up a new control plate for my Ignition Club bass, giving it the JBass treatment.

 

[fermata]

Looks sharp with the matching knobs! How’s the sound/pickup blending with the new arrangement?

 

[b-b-b-bass]

Looks sharp with the matching knobs! How’s the sound/pickup blending with the new arrangement?

It's about the same as with both pickups ON and mixed, but has the added ability to roll off the top end down to mud level. It is an OK mod, but I did it mostly for the look, to be honest.

 

[shoulderpet]

It's about the same as with both pickups ON and mixed, but has the added ability to roll off the top end down to mud level. It is an OK mod, but I did it mostly for the look, to be honest.

Its got to be more useful than the stock control panel, why you would want a slider to engage a treble cut on the neck pickup and switch off the bridge pickup is beyond me, would be great to have the treble cut on the neck pickup but be able to blend in the bridge pickup to taste, as for the treble slider I would actually be amazed if anyone uses that at all. I plan to have the electrics on mine modified when funds permit me to do so.
Looks great btw

 

[mongo2]

Its got to be more useful than the stock control panel, why you would want a slider to engage a treble cut on the neck pickup and switch off the bridge pickup is beyond me, would be great to have the treble cut on the neck pickup but be able to blend in the bridge pickup to taste, as for the treble slider I would actually be amazed if anyone uses that at all. I plan to have the electrics on mine modified when funds permit me to do so.
Looks great btw

I also modded my nylon tapewound equipped Ignition Club to a V/V/T setup. I find it much more useful to be able to vary the amount of treble cut than just switch it off.

I'm considering doing the same mod to my Chrome flats equipped HCT President but I haven't found myself wanting to roll/switch off the highs on that one...yet.

It would be nice if Hofner offered a control plate with a V/V/T option.

 

[Stempelloos]

It would be nice if Hofner offered a control plate with a V/V/T option.

Or get a V/T/V/T Verythin bass.

Or if you insist on V/V/T, get a Viola, that saves you the hassle of rewiring.

 

[mongo2]

View attachment 3133557
Or get a V/T/V/T Verythin bass.


View attachment 3133558
Or if you insist on V/V/T, get a Viola, that saves you the hassle of rewiring.

Not a fan of the Verythin.

Had the Viola, it didn't sound anything like a Hofner. Dumped it.

Re-wiring is no trouble at all, I've been into electronics since 1959 when I was 7 years old and my parents gave me a crystal radio kit.

 

[fermata]

...would be great to have the treble cut on the neck pickup but be able to blend in the bridge pickup to taste...

That's exactly what I've done with my rewiring scheme.
How to rewire a Hofner violin bass control panel for more tones

Basically, it's a 'reversible' V-V-T-T scheme, where a treble cut cap is applied either to the neck or the bridge pickup. (After trying a lot of different capacitors, I've decided I like .047 uF with an 8.2K Ohm resistor in series best.) Note: The volumes need to be dialed back a little bit for V-V-T-T to work; full up, the circuit acts more like V-V-T, with either cap affecting both pickups. I started with the treble cut caps on separate switches, but when both were switched in and the volumes were dimed, their values summed; this keeps that from happening.

The Solo/Rhythm switch lets me solo the neck pickup (switch the bridge pickup out of the circuit, which sounds a bit clearer than just turning down the bridge pickup); Treble On switches the bass cut cap in or out.

I've tried a variety of wiring approaches over the past two years, and I've learned several things: pickup blending is improved when they don't share a tone cap; having one pickup dark and the other bright delivers great tones; and the Treble On bass cut cap can have a really positive effect on blending (reducing comb filtering and phasing when both pickups are at the same level).

Having three switches opens up a variety of possibilities, and several earlier wiring iterations ended up being too fiddly and not useful when playing live; this circuit manages to use all three switches while remaining quite simple to use. It's easy to dial in a good tone, and it's also easy to toggle between tones quickly. I see the neck pickup as the foundation of the Hofner sound, but I can use the bridge pickup to add clarity or articulation. And with the dark/bright or bright/dark options (plus the effect the bass cut cap has in those scenarios), I can push around the mids for the best spot in the mix.

One more note (this isn't shown in the diagram above): I've given some thought to the role of the resistors on the stock Solo/Rhythm switch, and in the solo position, they put 370K Ohms in parallel with the output, which helps tame some spikey high end. (It's surprising how bright Hofner pickups are.) So one could keep the switch stock, or put a 300-400K Ohm resistor in parallel with the output for the classic plummy tone.

 

[shoulderpet]

That's exactly what I've done with my rewiring scheme.
How to rewire a Hofner violin bass control panel for more tones
View attachment 3133604
Basically, it's a 'reversible' V-V-T-T scheme, where a treble cut cap is applied either to the neck or the bridge pickup. (After trying a lot of different capacitors, I've decided I like .047 uF with an 8.2K Ohm resistor in series best.) Note: The volumes need to be dialed back a little bit for V-V-T-T to work; full up, the circuit acts more like V-V-T, with either cap affecting both pickups. I started with the treble cut caps on separate switches, but when both were switched in and the volumes were dimed, their values summed; this keeps that from happening.

The Solo/Rhythm switch lets me solo the neck pickup (switch the bridge pickup out of the circuit, which sounds a bit clearer than just turning down the bridge pickup); Treble On switches the bass cut cap in or out.

I've tried a variety of wiring approaches over the past two years, and I've learned several things: pickup blending is improved when they don't share a tone cap; having one pickup dark and the other bright delivers great tones; and the Treble On bass cut cap can have a really positive effect on blending (reducing comb filtering and phasing when both pickups are at the same level).

Having three switches opens up a variety of possibilities, and several earlier wiring iterations ended up being too fiddly and not useful when playing live; this circuit manages to use all three switches while remaining quite simple to use. It's easy to dial in a good tone, and it's also easy to toggle between tones quickly. I see the neck pickup as the foundation of the Hofner sound, but I can use the bridge pickup to add clarity or articulation. And with the dark/bright or bright/dark options (plus the effect the bass cut cap has in those scenarios), I can push around the mids for the best spot in the mix.

Sounds like a cool mod, I always find the bass slider on too muddy, sounds great at home but turns too mud in a live situation, with the bass slider with default wiring I never use that slider live and for me with Hofner basses the real magic happens when you have both pickups on, not the best sound soloed but in a mix always cuts through for me.

 

[shoulderpet]

One mod I have been considering is to move the neck pickup down half an inch or so and the bridge pickup up by about half an inch, I find I always cut bass and boost mids so the neck pickup may be a little clearer this way and the bridge pickup might have a little extra meat this way

 

[mongo2]

One mod I have been considering is to move the neck pickup down half an inch or so and the bridge pickup up by about half an inch, I find I always cut bass and boost mids so the neck pickup may be a little clearer this way and the bridge pickup might have a little extra meat this way

I've been considering adding a third pickup to my Ignition Club in the "close together" middle position and disconnecting the bridge pickup and just keeping it to fill the hole. I'm not a fan of pickups near the bridge. I have the "close together" two pickup setup on my Epiphone Rumblekat and Hofner HCT 500/5 President and it works well for me. The only thing keeping me from doing it is I might switch to the 500/5 as my main instrument.

 

[shoulderpet]

I've been considering adding a third pickup to my Ignition Club in the "close together" middle position and disconnecting the bridge pickup and just keeping it to fill the hole. I'm not a fan of pickups near the bridge. I have the "close together" two pickup setup on my Epiphone Rumblekat and Hofner HCT 500/5 President and it works well for me. The only thing keeping me from doing it is I might switch to the 500/5 as my main instrument.

I will be getting a German Hofner in the not so near future and the decision between the neck and middle pickup and neck and bridge is one that will prove tricky for me, I love the kind of plinky, clunky tone of both pickups on my HCT Club and I suspect that I will lose this tone by going with the cavern spacing but I suspect the cavern spacing will give a bit more punch and meat in the low midrange. Now if Hofner would offer a bass with a pickup in the middle position and the bridge position that would be a no brainer for me.

 

[mongo2]

I will be getting a German Hofner in the not so near future and the decision between the neck and middle pickup and neck and bridge is one that will prove tricky for me, I love the kind of plinky, clunky tone of both pickups on my HCT Club and I suspect that I will lose this tone by going with the cavern spacing but I suspect the cavern spacing will give a bit more punch and meat in the low midrange. Now if Hofner would offer a bass with a pickup in the middle position and the bridge position that would be a no brainer for me.

Here's a link to a picture of Tom Petersson's 3 pickup Custom Shop Club Bass.

https://www.beatlebassdealer.com/Ho...etersson-hofner-custom-shop-3-pickup-club.jpg

 

[fermata]

One mod I have been considering is to move the neck pickup down half an inch or so and the bridge pickup up by about half an inch, I find I always cut bass and boost mids so the neck pickup may be a little clearer this way and the bridge pickup might have a little extra meat this way

I'm halfway there; I moved the bridge pickup a bit further 'north,' as far as I could without revealing any holes, a scant half inch. I was limited by the pickup wire hole being drilled a bit close the the bottom edge of the ring. If it had been more central, I could have easily moved the pickup an inch or so, which would have been ideal. So it's not a dramatic tonal change, but there is a bit more meat. (And with a treble cut cap, it actually sounds good favored--with a bit of neck pickup dialed in--or even soloed.) I recently switched strings (GHS Precision Flats), and to intonate them, the bridge moved further 'south' than with the previous La Bella flats, so now there's actually a fair amount of space between the bridge and the bridge pickup.

I've also considered moving the neck pickup, but the stock placement yields a pretty iconic sound, so I won't. My wiring mods, which remove the Solo/Rhythm resistors and can switch out the bridge pickup from the circuit, also brightened up the neck pickup, so that's another reason to keep it where it is.

I've never played a Cavern bass, but to my ears, those pickup positions sound great. Or a third pickup in the middle spot could be interesting. The control panel could be wired so that each pickup has an on-off switch with master volume and master tone.

 

[Stempelloos]

Here's a link to a picture of Tom Petersson's 3 pickup Custom Shop Club Bass.

https://www.beatlebassdealer.com/Hofner March 2015 updates/tom-petersson-hofner-custom-shop-3-pickup-club.jpg

Hofner Custom shop 500/2 Tom Petersson Signature Club Bass - Natural

And a link to Sweetwater, that sold them. No longer available.
Maybe it's possible to custom order them.

Invalid Link Removed

That Tom Petersson Signature isn't the first Hofner bass with 3 pickups.
The 500/7 above is a bit older.

 

[shoulderpet]

I'm halfway there; I moved the bridge pickup a bit further 'north,' as far as I could without revealing any holes, a scant half inch. I was limited by the pickup wire hole being drilled a bit close the the bottom edge of the ring. If it had been more central, I could have easily moved the pickup an inch or so, which would have been ideal. So it's not a dramatic tonal change, but there is a bit more meat. (And with a treble cut cap, it actually sounds good favored--with a bit of neck pickup dialed in--or even soloed.) I recently switched strings (GHS Precision Flats), and to intonate them, the bridge moved further 'south' than with the previous La Bella flats, so now there's actually a fair amount of space between the bridge and the bridge pickup.

I've also considered moving the neck pickup, but the stock placement yields a pretty iconic sound, so I won't. My wiring mods, which remove the Solo/Rhythm resistors and can switch out the bridge pickup from the circuit, also brightened up the neck pickup, so that's another reason to keep it where it is.

I've never played a Cavern bass, but to my ears, those pickup positions sound great. Or a third pickup in the middle spot could be interesting. The control panel could be wired so that each pickup has an on-off switch with master volume and master tone.

Yes that is the conundrum is how much the pickups can be moved before you start losing those characteristic Hofner tones, i love the sound of a Hofner with both pickups on and i have a hunch that part of that tone is due to the extreme pickup locations