Jay turser/epiphone violin bass

[JeremyhilaryPhd]

Greetings,

I have a question, for you gentlemen. can a jay Turser or brand or Epiphone violin bass be modded to resemble a Hofner? they are quite a bit less expensive than even the Icon. I have heard they sound similar, with good strings, but i like the McCartney look far better. any comments

Thank you all!

 

[1bassplayinfool]

Only if you ran it through a stump grinder and tried to glue it back together.

 

[coyote1]

IMO the resemblance is already there. Ain't worth messing around trying to make it look exact.

 

[T-Bird]

Hi.

^+1.

I had the Epi back in the day and IMHO it's a decent instrument for what it is.

You can obviously buy Höfner staple PU's for ~100€ a pop if you want more authentic tone.

Can't quite get the price part either. On Thomann, the Ignition is 10€ more expensive than the Epi. Both under 250€.

Regards
Sam

 

[Roger Ford]

I've had a Rogue for 10 years and have never been disappointed. The switch plate on the Rogue and Jay Turser are closest to the layout of the Hofner. The pickups sound great. You can add the Teacup Knobs. You can't change the tuners as the diecast tuner bushings are much larger than the open gear guitar tuners used on the Hofner. The Hofner Icon/Ignition violin bass is a great value for a few dollars more. I just bougt a Hofner Ignition Club bass and love it! I had 2 Hofner 500/1 basses back in the day and short of spending over $2000 dollars, I believe the Hofner Icon/Ignition represents them well.
As far as buying the German pickups, they won't fit/cover the pickup openings in the Asian bass. Also I have not seen that they would sound enough better to be worth the hassle. I'm completely happy with the sound of the Icon/Ignition pickups.

 

[afzoomie67]

Beware though, on the copies, even the Hofner Icon, you cannot get the Staple Pickups to fit. Look for a used CT Hofner. They have most German parts. I have pics I can post or email you if you PM me your email.

 

[Roger Ford]

I think we overlapped in the mail. The German pickups and surrounds won't cover the routed openings in the Icon/Ignition body.
The Icon/Ignition doesn't have a zero fret....so what. None of my other 14 guitars and basses have one either.
There are a few used Contemporary's out there, but, I don't think they are worth the difference. The only thing I miss about them is the three piece neck and the coloring which are gorgeous. Neither of those will make my Ignition Club play any better.

 

[landau roof]

If you're so inclined, have a custom pickguard made and install a Hofner switchplate.

Unless you get a super deal on either part, not worth it though, IMHO.

You can also refinish to a more Hofner style burst, but see the above sentence.

 

[Roger Ford]

One more thing, the Rogue or Turser both have the right shape head stock. The Epiphone has an Epiphone head stock shape. Also, the Epi. has three knobs on the switch plate instead of the two vol. three switch layout, also not like Hofner.

 

[JeremyhilaryPhd]

Thanks everybody, I think i will skip all the hassle, and get around 400 bucks for an icon. If anyone knows where to get one for cheaper, i'd gladly like to hear about it.

 

[CORBS]

I have the Turser one. I have it strung with LaBella Beatle bass flats. The tone is not very Hofner at all, it is very midrangey. It is not bad though and the bass plays and sounds great unplugged (nice acoustic volume too). Neck has been stable for 3 years too.

If I could find cheap replacement pickups I would mod it but I cant drop 150$ for Hofner or tv jones pickups for a 300$ bass. The stock Turser pickups are humbuckers and I think the Hofner had single coils.

 

[Mastermold]

I've had a Rogue for 10 years and have never been disappointed. The switch plate on the Rogue and Jay Turser are closest to the layout of the Hofner. The pickups sound great. You can add the Teacup Knobs. You can't change the tuners as the diecast tuner bushings are much larger than the open gear guitar tuners used on the Hofner. The Hofner Icon/Ignition violin bass is a great value for a few dollars more. I just bougt a Hofner Ignition Club bass and love it! I had 2 Hofner 500/1 basses back in the day and short of spending over $2000 dollars, I believe the Hofner Icon/Ignition represents them well.
As far as buying the German pickups, they won't fit/cover the pickup openings in the Asian bass. Also I have not seen that they would sound enough better to be worth the hassle. I'm completely happy with the sound of the Icon/Ignition pickups.

Yeah the Rogue VB100 is a really nice viola (same bass as the Epiphone but has the Hofner style control plate) and the standard bass tuning keys are more durable anyway for what that's worth. The Icon/Ignition basses from Hofner are also really good, more "authentic looking" in appearance but you pay a little more too for that 'Hofner' label on the headstock. Either bass with some nice flatwound strings broken in will do the McCartney thing well.

 

[Roger Ford]

Something I verified today, looking at a brand new one, is that the Epi. Viola is still made from a cutout block as the early Rogues were. The sides of the Epi. were solid black and it weighted a good 6 or 7 lbs. The Rogue has gone to veneer sides with flame maple on top back and sides, truly hollow, like the Ignition/Icon.