Hofner Violin Bass playing metal??

[El Pelusa]

I use my hofner for heavy rock, I use a sans amp bass driver and a electro harmonix big muff!! It sounds great. Just turn up the presence pot and stainless steel strings to get the growl.

 

[HofnerJack]

I recently played in Europe doing some festivals with my modded vintage 1966 500/1 Hofner. Im playing in a metal gothic band similar to Type O Negative. I first used my musicman and spector in the band. At first my band where not a 100 percent happy on my tone ... Then I found my current Hofner and brought it in.. The first note I played with my Hofner the entire band made me promise to only use that bass. It does have old alembic series pickups and a aguilar op1 thats 18volt now from mods... but still sounds like a hofner completly despite any mods. These basses are massively "type cast" and its a shame. McCartney made the company famous 50-60 years ago.. still people cant use the bass all these years later without the type cast or it being like playing a signiture model? To be honest because of "typecasting".. playing the hofner is like having this hidden treasure. Getting all kinds of great tones and using it for situations you wouldnt think and getting a totally unique and awesome tone no one has .. Ive been getting a very positive response.. For both recording or live at any level Hofners hold up in my experience so far. Go out and get a Hofner put roundwounds and experiment like you never heard of the beatles or hofner basses and see for yourself with a open mind. After my hofner bass got so much attention I started looking up others experiences with Hofner and found many people saying similar things. Its a popular bass for studio recording and even here I was surprised by more metal bands than I thought using them. Hofner basses are so clear and punchy with alot natural low end. I set my tone to a more treble punkish or Rickenbackerish chris squier kind of tone.... and the bass naturally packs a ton of low end behind it. So I'm able to get clear crisp defined notes and at the sametime huge big low end behind it. I also saw people mentioning feedback issues. I use a EBS billy sheehan distortion at a decent level. Sounds great NO feedback issues. But ofcoarse if you overuse gain there could be.. But I put plenty of distortion with no issues.. I did shield the electronics thoroughly. Anyway experiment with them without assuming anything is bad or off limits... assume nothing you've heard about Hofners and have a open mind. Theres a ton of great hidden tone nobody is using. My personal opinion is there are only dumb reasons Hofners where type cast in the first place. And McCartney is like the millionth dude to play a instrument that's a sunburst violin Vibe honestly... Hundreds of years people played similar stuff. So at this point who cares if your the one millionth and one person to use it lol Just enjoy it and make it your own. Half of today's generation sadly don't know who McCartney is anyway... Just my own personal opinion and expierence. Try them and experiment! There's great tone to be discovered

 

[fermata]

Yes, it's past time to get Hofners out of the preconceived notion box they've been trapped in! Out of curiosity, @HofnerJack, which rounds have you used on your Hofner?

 

[HofnerJack]

@fermata Hi thanks for the interest in the post. Its my first on this site. Concerning strings... My band down tunes a great deal, do to string guage requirements and having a relationship with Dean Markley strings... I have been using Blue Steels. Played them my whole life actually on guitar and bass. Always enjoyed them. Dean Markley makes a new kind of string called SR 2000 which Ive used..I believe that are supposed to be better than normal strings. I liked them to me they where better than normal strings. Also enjoy Ernie Ball Cobalts and Rotosound strings. FYI my bass was modded with Schaller tuning pegs so not sure with Hofner scale length and stock tuners if you cant use certain strings. I believe I heard something about stock Hofner basses taking certain strings... I would double check that. When I got my bass it had already been modded with Alembic pickups and expensive electronics.. Schaller tuners, a better made brass bridge and brass nut. I just made it active and put roundwounds on it once I got it. Got lucky with my bass! I love it very much I will say the vintage stuff is built a bit better and sounds a bit better as well or different lets say... But I have a ignition bass thats completly stock that I practice with that I get a awesome sound out of as well. So even with a stock ignition bass that tone I speak of is there...Some pics of my modded vintage hofner bass

 

[fermata]

Welcome to the board! Wow, that's the most hot-rodded Hofner I've ever seen! I've modified the control panel on mine to allow for some different (passive) tone switching and pickup blending arrangements than stock. The main weaknesses, in my experience, with a stock Hofner are the the tiny tuner holes, the bridge saddle design, and the control panel wiring. The tuners and bridge conspire to make swapping strings a pain (the tuners limit which strings one can use, and the bridge is irritating to intonate, although spot on intonation is possible), and the stock wiring limits pickup blending options. But even with those quirks, it's far and away my favorite bass--both ergonomically and tonally. As you point out, Hofners bring the bass, but they're also capable of great clarity, and depending on pickup blending, strings, and EQ, they can go from dubby to upright-ish to deep and heavy to grindy, all with a Hofner sonic fingerprint. Part of me wants the secret to get out and for them to not be pigeon-holed any more, part of me likes playing something a bit unexpected.

 

[El Pelusa]

Ok I’ve started using the hofner again for a new project. I took it on tour with me as a back up to my EB0. Man, this thing cuts like a knife! It’s so warm and fat but it’s clear and balanced. I sounds great with the E string dropped to D. This thing rocks for heavy rock and metal!

 

[Stumbo]

@fermata Hi thanks for the interest in the post. Its my first on this site. Concerning strings... My band down tunes a great deal, do to string guage requirements and having a relationship with Dean Markley strings... I have been using Blue Steels. Played them my whole life actually on guitar and bass. Always enjoyed them. Dean Markley makes a new kind of string called SR 2000 which Ive used..I believe that are supposed to be better than normal strings. I liked them to me they where better than normal strings. Also enjoy Ernie Ball Cobalts and Rotosound strings. FYI my bass was modded with Schaller tuning pegs so not sure with Hofner scale length and stock tuners if you cant use certain strings. I believe I heard something about stock Hofner basses taking certain strings... I would double check that. When I got my bass it had already been modded with Alembic pickups and expensive electronics.. Schaller tuners, a better made brass bridge and brass nut. I just made it active and put roundwounds on it once I got it. Got lucky with my bass! I love it very much I will say the vintage stuff is built a bit better and sounds a bit better as well or different lets say... But I have a ignition bass thats completly stock that I practice with that I get a awesome sound out of as well. So even with a stock ignition bass that tone I speak of is there...Some pics of my modded vintage hofner bass

Cool bass! What year is your vintage?

 

[mankybass]

@fermata Hi thanks for the interest in the post. Its my first on this site. Concerning strings... My band down tunes a great deal, do to string guage requirements and having a relationship with Dean Markley strings... I have been using Blue Steels. Played them my whole life actually on guitar and bass. Always enjoyed them. Dean Markley makes a new kind of string called SR 2000 which Ive used..I believe that are supposed to be better than normal strings. I liked them to me they where better than normal strings. Also enjoy Ernie Ball Cobalts and Rotosound strings. FYI my bass was modded with Schaller tuning pegs so not sure with Hofner scale length and stock tuners if you cant use certain strings. I believe I heard something about stock Hofner basses taking certain strings... I would double check that. When I got my bass it had already been modded with Alembic pickups and expensive electronics.. Schaller tuners, a better made brass bridge and brass nut. I just made it active and put roundwounds on it once I got it. Got lucky with my bass! I love it very much I will say the vintage stuff is built a bit better and sounds a bit better as well or different lets say... But I have a ignition bass thats completly stock that I practice with that I get a awesome sound out of as well. So even with a stock ignition bass that tone I speak of is there...Some pics of my modded vintage hofner bass

Necroposting but do you have any clips that showcase the sound of this bass? It's deadass the most unique looking hofner violin bass I've laid my eyes upon. Also the fact that you play in a metal band makes me curious with how it works in ths context of your music.