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hollowbody help

M

morehorn

Jan 22, 2009
155
30
46
the borough of brooklyn
#1
jmj -- much respect

you get a lot of credit for your sound design and grooves but i just wanted to point out the note choice on IMA's 12=3: first chorus and second 1/2 of the second chorus. so good when it drops in.

anyway ---

i'm in the market for a cheap short scale hollowbody. don't mean to get geary on you but you seem like the foremost authority on hollows. have you played any NEW ones that you felt like you could realistically sub-in for your guild/vox/eko/hofner etc.? most of the honky vintage ones are really getting pricey -- especially in NYC ... i blame you and mike elizondo for driving up the demand! Now Adam Clayton is rockin an eb-2 .. can't wait for those to get to $5000.
 
#2
Thanks a lot for the props on 12 = 3. More appreciated than you know...that song is one of my favorite bass performances of mine ever. :)

Cheap Hollowbody? How about those cheap new Hofners? The Club bass? I've played it, (the one that's less than $1K) and it's so great. Especially if you put proper Pyramids on it and get a nice setup - choice! Or: an old Eko or Vox?? Shouldn't be too crazy expensive.

Best,
JMJ
 
#3
cool -- i'll check out the hofner's first. theres a shop in brooklyn that has two -- strung with rounds?? i'll give em a whirl-- another shop around the corner has a harmony h22 -- asking $1200 -- i've heard good things, maybe i'll push for the recession price chew down

thought i'd turn you on to a song with great bass:

the band is called Jingo and the song is called "Fever". it was in the "Last King of Scotland" soundtrack but available on itunes via some Afrorock compilation. Great energy and the relationship between the keys, bass, drums/perc, and guitar is from another planet! I'm feeling things a whole different way after learning it. Check it out!

keep it up -- the more i hear from you the more i'm impressed. and get a baby band together!
 
#4
No, those Hofners need Pyramid flats REALLY badly.

H22's are good basses, probably worth it, though costly.

Thanks for the listening tip, I must check it!

Ad I appreciate the encouragement. I do think it's time to devote some effort into something of my own again, post-Ima Robot.

Best,
JMJ
 
#5
Agreed on "12=3". Definitely a solid one. My personal favorite bass pass is the second half of the verse. "Spiritual and visual....corrosion of humanity" That part. Not exactly sure why. Just grabs me, I suppose. The drums and bass are a sick kind of married right there. Good stuff.

I also REALLY, REALLY dig your tone and attack on "But Julian..." by Courtney Love. And the line is incredibly driving to boot. Any chance you could spill the beans on what you used to get the tone on that recording? Other than them mad versatile fingers, of course. Ha.
 
#6
Hmmm....the Courtney Love sessions.

Sparing you AND myself from anectodes from the time I spent on the project, here's the gear:

'75 Jazz Reissue, stock
'70 SVT blue line head and cab

Some generic DI. That's it.

Best,
JMJ
 
#8
F*^K the times flies -- Feb 09? yikes. finally pulled the trigger on a 500/2 Hofner Club after much scrounging and saving.

In the "string experimentation" phase. I WILL try some flats, i'm a fan of the flats and nylons, but this guy came with rounds on it and it has this garage vibe that i like. The playability is off so i'm going to gauge up.

maybe you have some insight -- have you ever had problems with notes sliding in? i.e. when its first plucked it starts out a little sharp/flat and slowly coming into tune. i'm thinking it could be a combination of strings, my heavy handedness, the very "delicate" build of the instrument. sound familiar? string remedy or back off the attack?
 
#9
Congrats on the Hofner. I like old rounds on hollows...I have a sick Hofner Verythin, and an Eko, that both rock like that and I will never ever change the strings. Probably even if one breaks.

Yes, the notes can take a minute to come in tune sometimes, but not on my Hofner w/ Pyramids. I wonder if that actually might be a function of the strings for the large part? The Hofner requires an excruciatingly delicate touch...more than anything else I own.

Best,
JMJ
 
#10
jmjbassplayer said:
Congrats on the Hofner. I like old rounds on hollows...I have a sick Hofner Verythin, and an Eko, that both rock like that and I will never ever change the strings. Probably even if one breaks.

Yes, the notes can take a minute to come in tune sometimes, but not on my Hofner w/ Pyramids. I wonder if that actually might be a function of the strings for the large part? The Hofner requires an excruciatingly delicate touch...more than anything else I own.

Best,
JMJ
Click to expand...
i don't think it's the strings, j. even my jay turser beatle bass copy takes a delicate touch to play in tune and i've got d'addario rounds on it and i've had roto flats and d'addario half rounds on it as well. and it seems like every hofner i've played is the same way.

but...

i do a little workaround...when i tune it, i fret each string on the 5th fret and tune it while it's being fretted, and i try to tune it so the attack is in tune because once the initial attack is over, it decays pretty quickly, and it's not as necessary for the decay to be in tune as the attack.
 
#11
JimmyM said:
i don't think it's the strings, j. even my jay turser beatle bass copy takes a delicate touch to play in tune and i've got d'addario rounds on it and i've had roto flats and d'addario half rounds on it as well. and it seems like every hofner i've played is the same way.

but...

i do a little workaround...when i tune it, i fret each string on the 5th fret and tune it while it's being fretted, and i try to tune it so the attack is in tune because once the initial attack is over, it decays pretty quickly, and it's not as necessary for the decay to be in tune as the attack.
Click to expand...


nice to know its not just me. i'm going to try to gauge up a bit, break the strings in, and i'll report back. i think i have about a 100 as the E right now and that, coupled with the short scale, is just insanely gummy to me.
 
#12
FYI -- the "sliding into notes" was a result of the strings. have no idea what that bass came with but they were LIGHT ... like .95 or lower

just for others' reference...

tested some others:

D'Addario short XL 105-50 - played surprisingly well with minimal tweaking. in the end, i bagged them because the fundamental was so overwelming that i could barely tell it was a hofner. i guess that gauge is just too much for it. none of that hofner bump, just a big fat note, sounded like "any" bass mixed with the bass freq turned all the way up

Labella Beatle Bass rounds. they feel great on my bass. light, but stay in tune even when thumped on. they have great low mids, and let the character of the bass come though. overtones and high-end are beginning to die out now and that's making them better. really happy with them.
 
#13
rounds on a beatle bass are an acquired taste, no doubt. i like them, though...gives me more than just the typical mccartney-type sounds. but those shop strings are just godawful. you did right by bagging them. i just bought a new danelectro longhorn with those strings on it, and when i put xl's on it, i was shocked at how those shop strings killed my output.
 
#14
I just got a CT-series Hofner 500/2 Club Bass. I have a German version, but it's always been a pig. This new one needs a little setup, but right out of the box it sounds great even with the horrid OEM Chinese round wounds.

This is an excellent little bass in my opinion.
 

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