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Hofner-(not just Beatle Basses)-Group Part 2
- Thread starter Bryan R. Tyler
- Start date
My main bass is a Fender Jazz MIA but just bought myself a Hofner Ignition Club as a cheap plaything. Got curious after ogling the McCartney basses on display when I visited the Cavern club in Liverpool. Then started reading up on the Club version which appealed to me more than the violin style.
Once I’d setup the bridge, action is reasonably low and intonation is surprisingly good (stock strings). Fretboard feels ok for cheap bass, only getting a slight buzz around 13th on G, not touched the truss rod yet but neck could be a little flatter.
But I have noticed the tailpiece looks slightly skewed, right side is about 2mm lower than left relative to bridge pickup, and strap button look’s about 4-5mm to left of neck centre line. Also the bridge height bolt annoyingly sticks out a few mm on the E side. Apart from above it seems to play pretty well, don’t expect Fender MIA perfection at this price. Not sure it’s worth sending back for this?
Won’t replace my Jazz but I’m enjoying the big contrast in sound and feel. The light weight, short neck and unplugged sound make it fun to pickup and noodle around without being so tiring.
Will probably put some LaBella flatwounds on it, tweak the neck and maybe ditch the pickguard as it feels a bit flimsy to me. Also tempted to swap out the bridge for German ebony version, that E bolt really bugs me.
…. weird square is a transparent “adhesive foot” I stuck on as a temporary thumb anchor
... Reposted from dup thread I created last night when couldn't find this one, reading through the history now: Hofner Club
Once I’d setup the bridge, action is reasonably low and intonation is surprisingly good (stock strings). Fretboard feels ok for cheap bass, only getting a slight buzz around 13th on G, not touched the truss rod yet but neck could be a little flatter.
But I have noticed the tailpiece looks slightly skewed, right side is about 2mm lower than left relative to bridge pickup, and strap button look’s about 4-5mm to left of neck centre line. Also the bridge height bolt annoyingly sticks out a few mm on the E side. Apart from above it seems to play pretty well, don’t expect Fender MIA perfection at this price. Not sure it’s worth sending back for this?
Won’t replace my Jazz but I’m enjoying the big contrast in sound and feel. The light weight, short neck and unplugged sound make it fun to pickup and noodle around without being so tiring.
Will probably put some LaBella flatwounds on it, tweak the neck and maybe ditch the pickguard as it feels a bit flimsy to me. Also tempted to swap out the bridge for German ebony version, that E bolt really bugs me.
…. weird square is a transparent “adhesive foot” I stuck on as a temporary thumb anchor
... Reposted from dup thread I created last night when couldn't find this one, reading through the history now: Hofner Club
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Same finish as mine…My main bass is a Fender Jazz MIA but just bought myself a Hofner Ignition Club as a cheap plaything….
…Also the bridge height bolt annoyingly sticks out a few mm on the E side... Not sure it’s worth sending back for this?
…Also tempted to swap out the bridge for German ebony version, that E bolt really bugs me.
Have you had a chance to crank it a bit yet?
I never really understood Hofners- they seemed a bit plunky and meek to me, until I drove a Mesa Walkabout combo fairly hard with a German violin. At a certain point, the hollow, non-f-hole body starts to resonate in a way that gives you a big, round reggae low end.
There’s quite a wide window before feedback, and it’s easy to tame with amp EQ. Very addictive.
Like you, I couldn’t see this as my #1, but it’s a nice arrow to have in the quiver, and a great unplugged/couch bass. Also big fun if you want to dance around a bit and get your Macca on.
I wouldn’t return it, if I were in your shoes.
It should be pretty easy to drive the E string post deeper into the bridge base. Ditto for making adjustments to the tailpiece, and there’s no guarantee the the next one would be better. I actually had to fix a lot more on mine…
Not had chance to really turn it up yet (neighbours), find it nice just for a bit of playing unplugged on couch. Still getting used to feel of it and tinkering with setup.
Unfortunately playing unplugged really highlights any fret noise, stock round-wounds don’t help either LaBellas are on order. 14th fret on G seems a bit high so had to raise action a little more than I’d like to compensate, think it should improve with neck tweak, new strings and a little aggressive fret polishing. Could probably straighten up tailpiece myself but it’s not obvious and doesn’t seem to be doing any harm.
Expect I’d find some problems on any £300 bass, especially when compared next to my Fender Jazz Pro.
Overall I really like it. But still at the trying to get setup best I can stage before I forget about tweaking and just play it.
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I’m slowly getting mine set up and dialed in where I want it now that I have the strings on it that I really like a lot . Höfners are new to me and I love it . It’s a learning experience setting it up being used to dialing in my Precision bass .
totally. The higher string height due to the archtop/tailpiece instead of the fender hard tail bridge takes getting used to. Also the neck is different wider at the nut and slimmer at the pickups where on a fender that is reversed. They are basically exact opposites of fender style basses.
And to me it is a good thing . The Höfner does what it does VERY well and gives me its unique tone and playing experience .
Removed pickguard from my Ignition Club and filled the 2 holes with a drip of hot wax from floor repair kit I had laying around:
Also got it playing nicer after flattening out neck a bit.
Also got it playing nicer after flattening out neck a bit.
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Not sure if this has been shared prior, but for anyone wanting to know how to do simple setup to resetting the neck on their Höfner, EJ does a fantastic job of explaining everything in detail. I highly recommend going through his videos if you have not seen them already. A treasure trove of knowledge.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
sadlly he shut down the shop. I reached out 6 months ago when I needed a neck reset and he said they are closed and done.
Still grateful for the information he imparted through his channel.
He's the reason I picked up my Ignition Club...
totally, i sent that neck reset video to my luthier to give him some ideas on how to do it, he said it was helpful.
Well, the Labella nylon tapewound strings finally arrived at the local shop yesterday so I picked them up last evening and put them on this morning....WOW! what an improvement over the OEM strings.
Over the years I've had a few Hofner Ignition Club basses and an Eastman Club but this new sounds exceptional. I'm going to attribute it to the strings (though I've used them on other Club basses as well) working so well with the more massive neck with some assistance from the thicker bridge saddle.
Funnily enough there is a new Backbeat Vintage video which shows EJ disassembling, restoring and resetting a vintage German 64. Great video!
Backbeat Vintage
Backbeat Vintage
LaBella Flatwound .096's finally arrived for my Ignition Club. Such a huge difference in sound and feel over the cheap stock strings. Not played flats before, loving the silky feel, low fret noise and amazing tone.
My reason for getting the Hofner was to have a second bass for more vintage / P sound in contrast to my modern sounding Fender Jazz. Had a few niggles with the setup at first but think I got them all sorted now and finished off with the new strings.
Really starting to love this bass now.
My reason for getting the Hofner was to have a second bass for more vintage / P sound in contrast to my modern sounding Fender Jazz. Had a few niggles with the setup at first but think I got them all sorted now and finished off with the new strings.
Really starting to love this bass now.
Been spending a lot of time with the control panel and need help/have questions.
Fwiw I’m looking for a thumpy dark tone without the plinky D and G strings.
to start, Rhythm since it gives a treble cut (I’m aware it cuts volume too but the pickups are super hot so not a big deal). Then I’m bass on cause I want neck pickup only, volume 1 is cranked. Now here lies my issue. With treble off and volume 2 completely off, I get more trebly sound and less mids. If I turn treble on (again volume 2 is all the way down so I’m not getting anything from the bridge pickup) I get thick midst beefier tone, and less treble. This is my preferred sound.
im confused because I thought the treble off bass on rhythm would yield the most bass least treble but it seems on my bass that’s not the case.
mine is first run 1965 which could just be that the wiring was still getting sorted at that point? I dunno.
thoughts?
Fwiw I’m looking for a thumpy dark tone without the plinky D and G strings.
to start, Rhythm since it gives a treble cut (I’m aware it cuts volume too but the pickups are super hot so not a big deal). Then I’m bass on cause I want neck pickup only, volume 1 is cranked. Now here lies my issue. With treble off and volume 2 completely off, I get more trebly sound and less mids. If I turn treble on (again volume 2 is all the way down so I’m not getting anything from the bridge pickup) I get thick midst beefier tone, and less treble. This is my preferred sound.
im confused because I thought the treble off bass on rhythm would yield the most bass least treble but it seems on my bass that’s not the case.
mine is first run 1965 which could just be that the wiring was still getting sorted at that point? I dunno.
thoughts?
I did it and there was a massive difference. There was much less mud in the bottom end. The bass came alive with the change.
Nice to see so much love for the Ignition Club instruments. As a long-time devotee of long-scale active solid-bodied fretless basses it felt like time to try something completely different. So I snagged a used Ignition Club and just recieved a shipping notice for delivery tomorrow. Looking forward to hearing what this thing can do - herewith some pictures from the vendor:
Due to intermittant failures of the OEM control panel on my Ignition Club bass I replaced the control panel with a VVT set up and "came alive" is exactly how I describe the difference in tone. I just sounds better, and it's more intuitive for me.
Please show us the new control panel. What values and types of pots did you use?
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