Hofner Violin Basses

[iamthebassman]

The violin bass is a one dimensional piece ofwood - if you are only playing sounds from the sixty then it will be fine, but for learning and note definition i would reccomend so many other basses - go for sound and ease not how it looks!!!!

the violin is not a good beginner bass!!

Since we are all simply giving our opinions here, I would say that I completely disagree with everything said.
A hollowbody bass is great for many things other than a "sixty" sound. It works great in an acoustic setting, folk, bluegrass, etc. Plus, there's plenty of current groups I've seen lately that have a hollowbody bass. I'm sure the bassist from BRMC would find your comments laughable.
Any instrument is only limited by the mind of it's player.
Also, a hollowbody will put out enuff sound for practicing without an amp, which can be VERY hand when just learning the instrument.

 

[Edword]

Since we are all simply giving our opinions here, I would say that I completely disagree with everything said.
A hollowbody bass is great for many things other than a "sixty" sound. It works great in an acoustic setting, folk, bluegrass, etc. Plus, there's plenty of current groups I've seen lately that have a hollowbody bass. I'm sure the bassist from BRMC would find your comments laughable.
Any instrument is only limited by the mind of it's player.
Also, a hollowbody will put out enuff sound for practicing without an amp, which can be VERY hand when just learning the instrument.

Completely agree. I have a "real" one and a "fake", and I enjoy them both!

 

[iamthebassman]

I have a "real" one and a "fake", and I enjoy them both!

Me too, I play bass in a Beatles trib band and play a Hofner(and a Ric, and a Jazz) but when we have gigs we have to fly to I take a faker. No reason to subject a $2000 bass to the baggage monkeys.

 

[rfclef]

Cheers & thanks!

I'm all up for a challange so dont mind starting on this one.

Reading though these forums (only registered today) I think that the icon is the best bet (if it doesnt work out it should keep its resale value!).
??

idunno... I absolutely LOVE my Epiphone viola... It was my first bass (I started playing on a Yamaha sumpinorother at my school for a couple months. I have a couple other basses, but my Epi viola is still my most played... I think it is a great beginner instrument. Now my experience is limited, but there ya go. I use it with my Jazz band at school, play it a lot at church, and hope to do some playing with others in a "band"ish typ setting soon... Not for everything, but it is a fine axe, indeed.

Your mileage may vary.

 

[rfclef]

wow such a big difference of opionion !

I dont really want to do anything fancy with it, and i love some of the beatles stuff, infact some of those tracks are what I am looking to start leaning from, which then makes me think.....

Are there any decent "learn bass" type books that use the beatles as example tracks ?

On Half.com or Amazon, you can get the "BEatles Complete Scores" for about 35 bucks... Not a "beginner book" but has all of Paul's lines.. from brain dead simple to "OH MY GOSH!"... A fun book for a bassist or beatles fan...

 

[rfclef]

Oh, and the guest band on the Carwson Daily show last night (7/18) had the lead singer playing what appeared to be a real Hofner... It looked huge on her, but it tuns out she was tiny... She happened to be asian, and had a real kinda squeally type voice... it was like Yoko had stolen Paul's axe... Weird.

 

[Tom Neves]

For me, I have a Love/Hate relationship thing going on with my Hofner.
At the present time I hate it.
2 months ago I took it to every gig.
It is very light and comfy!
On occasion, I may hear one in another band and just love how it fills the sound and cuts thru with that thumpy Hofner tone.
What's wrong with me .......I need help!

 

[KarateKid25]

Any instrument is only limited by the mind of it's player.

Thats a little too 'perfect world' like for me.

 

[Mississippi Al]

Touchy subject! I had a Super Beatle once--beautiful instrument but....well, very difficult to master and it would howl if a certain frequency grabbed hold of the spruce top! On the other hand it does have an easy neck width and radius and an acoustic vibe as well.
Macca only got one because they were "cheap" back in his day--had he had access to the Billion or so dollars he has today one could only wonder what he might have bought???
A great "first bass" IMO would be a 32" Scale

 

[rekesbass]

that black Icon in the OP's link is beautiful,with the white binding and everything..wow..I'd rock that!!

 

[Drifta]

sometimes it blows my mind about what people say about tone on these forums.

If you want a violin bass, get it! especially if you like the beatles.. Don't listen to these people saying it isn't versatile, thats a load of crap.

My buddy has one and sometimes i don't even bring my jazz bass over to jam, i just play on the Jay turser violin bass and its really nice.

Only one problem, the string spacing is tighter than most basses, but if you start out on one it shouldn't be a problem for you, and when you switch to another bass you would probably find it really easy to play.

so many people on this forum are just strange, its like don't use this amp or bass for this style of music! or omgg you gotta have these strings for this music !! thats all a load of crap, you play the note E, it is an E, and it will sound like crap if your fingers play it like crap, not if its flatwound, roundwound, shortscale, hollowbody etc etc i mean i understand the tone arguement but he is beginning, don't start him off on the wrong foot by telling him what sounds bad or not--- thats what his ears are for.

 

[Thornton Davis]

I believe the sediment that these basses "sound like crap" really means that they lack tone definition, especially when they are strung with flatwound strings.

I love the way they record, but in a live situation to get the best tone from mine I'll only use roundwound strings and a cabinet with four or eight tens in it.

IMO, the Violin bass has a huge coolness factor. I've owned one forever.

TD

 

[mark.carline]

If you want a violin bass, get it! especially if you like the beatles.. Don't listen to these people saying it isn't versatile, thats a load of crap.

I was thinking the same thing...

Only one problem, the string spacing is tighter than most basses, but if you start out on one it shouldn't be a problem for you, and when you switch to another bass you would probably find it really easy to play.

Well funny you should say that as one of the reasons I was thinking of picking up the bass is that I have tried to lean a normal guitar and (with having stumpy fingers) find it difficult to get some of the chords etc. I guess with a bass when i'm just playing bass lines that they are a little easier to play - yes / no !?!?

p.s. and I love the old beatles stuff - Just now trying to find some scores / play along cds etc that I can use to learn with.

 

[BobWestbrook]

I have a Douglas violin bass, and used it in the studio recently for 2 of the songs. It works well for some kinds of music (the sound engineer loved it for the bluesy song we were doing), but it is only suitable for certain styles.

 

[J.T. Chester]

My main bass WAS an '85 Ric 4003, that I bought new back then & that they'll have to pry my cold dead hands from, when they lower me down.

I've also had a Jay Turser violin bass for over a year. I originally bought it for its light weight... but I love the sound! I've only used roundwounds on it & it's MUCH more versatile than most people think. We play a lot of Beatles material, but I can still get a good sound out of it for other clasic rock & R&B.

I like it so much that I've ordered a new Hofner Icon from North Coast Music. The Icon just looks more 'correct' in color & proportions, than the Turser. I ordered it from NCM because they weed out the crappy ones & do a setup on it before they ship it. They also only sell them with a hard shell case (GIG BAGS BREAK GUITARS!) & offer the option of real Hofner 'teacup' knobs. Check their site... if nothing else, it's a good Hofner education. I did a lot of online research & it looked like the best deal to me.

 

[Moe Monsarrat]

I do not own one, but have played a bunch including the single cutaway Club or Casino model. In the 1970's I used a friends' Beatle bass for a few rock tracks in a studio. It was strung with rounds & sounded like a mountain on the tape if played lightly with a pick. Live.....no. I toured opening shows with Peter Tosh in the 80s & Robbie Shakespear was using one. It sounded great with flats when it wasn't feeding back. Although he swore by it at the time, he usually used my Fender on sound checks & on the next tour he used a Steinberger & a Jazz. I must agree with the one dimensional aspect of the Hofner. One thing I don't get is how freaking much money they want for one. No way would I pay that for what you get with one. Ever look at the tuning keys?

 

[J.T. Chester]

Received my new Icon yesterday & it SMOKES the Turser, in looks & feel, but I only played it thru a crappy little practice amp.

I'll post more about the sound, after I play it thru my Ampeg B2-R & Avatar Neo-410, Friday night.

 

[J.T. Chester]

Played the Icon thru my main rig, Fri. night. AWESOME... even with the crappy factory rw strings! Great woody tone + great sustain! I get HUGE differences, depending on where I pick it.

I don't understand the flatwound string attraction. I won't give up the sustain I get with rounds. I'll put better rw strings on her this week.

I'm in love!!!

Anyone wanna buy a Turser?

 

[toaster2k3]

I have a Jay Turser. It's the lightest bass I own and very easy to play. The cheap violin bass that Hofner makes is inferior to the Turser.

 

[mark.carline]

Played the Icon thru my main rig, Fri. night. AWESOME... even with the crappy factory rw strings! Great woody tone + great sustain! I get HUGE differences, depending on where I pick it.

What are you playing on it ?
Beatles covers ?

If so which beatles cover would you say is the easiest one to start with as a beginner ?