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Making a Hofner sound like an upright bass

stratovani

stratovani

Nov 18, 2007
3,653
1,131
Spencer, MA, USA
#1
I have a Hofner Icon violin bass, and I've been experimenting with making it sound as close as I can make it sound to an upright bass. Of course it'll never sound exactly like a true upright, but you can get it pretty close. It's actually pretty simple, just stick a piece of foam about 3/4 inches thick just far enough under the bridge pickup, and be sure to adjust it so the foam will mute the strings without making the intonation go out of whack. Play through the neck pickup, and set your amp's EQ settings to favor the bass and low mids, and cut back on the treble some. Now, when playing play with your thumb, and play simpler bass lines, in other words play like you were playing an instrument that's as tall as you are, with high action and big strings. You should get a warm, deep, resonant bass sound with a fairly quick note decay, not unlike an upright bass.
 
#6
Resurrecting this old thread, wondering if the short-scale of this bass might make it less than ideal to get this type of sound. I've heard some say the Hofner Club bass might be even a better choice for this (even though that too is short-scale). And some bass players always mention the Fender P-bass being the best upright alternatives.

Trying to decide between these is kinda hard. The long-scale fender promises more bottom end and the Hofners have other things going for them. Any new thoughts on this?
 
#8
Short decay is one part of the electric-cum-upright sound, but eliminating too many highs muffles the sound more than an upright. Dialing in some bridge pickup opens up some more harmonic complexity, which also helps with the upright simulation.
I can't say that I agree that a P-bass has more bottom end. More low mid bark, sure, but not more lows than a Hofner.
 
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#9
Short sustain and a little bit of reverb to simulate acoustic properties of double bass.
IMO bridge pickup is a must, because double bass has huge lows and lots of high mids.
What works for me is: Jazz with roundwounds, foam, pinch of reverb, favouring bridge pickup and EQ bass boost.
 
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#13
I don't think there's an appreciable tonal difference between a Club bass and a violin bass. And rounds can sound pretty righteous on a Hofner. Not like an upright, but excellent in their own right.
 
#17
A shorter string tuned to the same pitch as a longer string will have fewer upper partials, which sounds like more low end.

Quoted from: Why Not Play the Bass That Fits You Perfectly?

ACCORDING TO LUTHER ROB ALLEN

"Many studio pros know the secret of how unique short scale basses sound. The lower string tension provided by the short scale has several benefits - easy playability, sweet upper register tones and fat blooming low end, not to mention the added nuance that comes naturally when playing this type of bass. The lower string tension means less attack, but more “bloom” on the end of the note. The lower string tension also produces a slightly fuller low end. To demonstrate this, detune a string one whole step on any bass and hear the tone thicken as the string tension is dropped."
 
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#18
TI Jazz Flats are where you'd wanna start.
High action
Foam by the bridge
Pluck with your fingers
Neck pickup only (here's the surprising part: turn both pickups on, but put the treble pickup volume to zero, that'll give you more of that clickyness that upright basses have)
Wait until those TI's break in and get dead and it'll sound great!
 
#19
Santol said:
Have you had any experience with the Hofner Club bass? From what it sounds like on YouTube videos, it seems a bit closer to upright. And how do you think it compares to the classic P-bass with flats?
Click to expand...
I've never played a Club Bass, but I strongly suspect that it sounds virtually no different that a violin bass. As far as a P-Bass with flats goes I have one, and with foam under the strings it sounds pretty close to an upright, maybe about 75% of the way there, but getting the same attack and decay of an upright can be difficult to achieve. I would think a fretless P would get closer to an upright sound, as well as a high action and playing it as if it was really an upright.
 

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