NBD - a Gift with Some History

[definenredefine]

As some of you may know, I recently took up bass assemblies/rebuilds/refinishes as a hobby, with the intent of donating the finished projects to charity. My work mom (oh, it's a thing), being a charitable soul herself, wanted to give me her brother's old bass and amp to pass on as well. I expected something kinda cheap but serviceable, another project to put on the bench at some point in the near future. With respect to the amp, I was kinda right - it's a Fender Rumble 40, a bit dusty with some crackly pots but perfectly functional. I'll clean it up and away it goes.

The bass, on the other hand, was much more than I expected. Behold -


I'm...honestly not sure what this is (apart from a Hofner, of course.) Not sure about vintage or country of origin or anything. But I am sure that this thing is gorgeous. I love the inlays in particular. So...I was faced with somewhat of a dilemma - do I clean it up and pass it on, or keep it for myself? When I mentioned keeping it, my work mom said that would make her very happy. At the least, I promised her that I would play it at a gig so she could see/hear it again. As such, I have time to make a decision. In the meantime, I'll clean it up, put roundwounds on it (not really a fan of tapewounds, though they do look cool), and adjust the action/intonation.

As for history, it turns out that my work mom's brother was...I'm gonna guess a session bass player in the 60s/70s, and played with many well known artists, including Tom Petty and a few others that I don't quite remember at the moment. He was at the original Woodstock as well.

As I mentioned, I really don't know much about this bass, so any info the TB Hive Mind can offer is much appreciated.

 

[Pdaddy1978]

I'm not a Hofner expert, so can't give you any info about that specific bass.
But I'm sure someone who is will check in.
But I know somthin cool when I see it!
Who knows how many great examples are hiding under beds and the back of closets?
Pretty sure I'd keep it. Especially where she gave her blessing!

 

[RVRSCO]

Looks like an old Hofner Artist Bass.

 

[jd56hawk]

 

[Johnny Alien]

Solidbody Hofners don't have a huge fan base (likely because a Beatle didn't play one) and don't sell for very much money but they are for sure cool. The sad story with that one is that they replaced the Hofner pickups with something else. The best part about those basses is that they (typically) have the same pickups as the hollow basses. So probably not worth much at all but also likely a cool playing old bass.

 

[C Stone]

Very cool, it looks like it’ll clean up pretty well. Chicago Music Exchange had a couple up for sale with specs. Check ‘em if ya get a chance.

Hofner Artist Bass Black

Hofner HCT-185 Artist Bass White

 

[Johnny Alien]

Interesting that the reissues have this same style of pickup. Maybe there were models that had these pickups by default? I only ever saw vintage ones with the standard Hofner pickups

 

[klyph]

The pickups AND the bridge are not original. That bridge, if located correctly,is probably a big improvement. The pickups might be, too. I happen to like the “blade” pickups that Hofner started using in the late 60’s, but not everyone does. How does it sound?

 

[definenredefine]

Very cool, it looks like it’ll clean up pretty well. Chicago Music Exchange had a couple up for sale with specs. Check ‘em if ya get a chance.

Hofner Artist Bass Black

Hofner HCT-185 Artist Bass White

I think this is the one. So...not as vintage as it seems. No worries - still a looker to me.

The pickups AND the bridge are not original. That bridge, if located correctly,is probably a big improvement. The pickups might be, too. I happen to like the “blade” pickups that Hofner started using in the late 60’s, but not everyone does. How does it sound?

I think they may be original, actually...see the links above - pickups and bridge look the same (tuners too). As for sound, not my favorite but I think that's mostly because of the tapewounds. I use Rotosound Swing Bass strings on my basses. I'm gonna try those on it and see where I'm at.

 

[definenredefine]

Google took me here - Invalid Link Removed

It also took me to PDF from Hofner (posted to TB, incidentally.) Not much info about what sort of pickups these are, etc...but it's got a 43mm (~1.69") nut, which I think is roughly P bass width?

 

[klyph]

think they may be original, actually...see the links above

Ah, I did not realize these had been reissued. I’ve looked at a couple of 50+ year old ones with blade pickups on Reverb. Compared to Fenders or Gibsons they’re dirt cheap, but still too expensive for me to pull the trigger. Would love to hear how this sounds…

 

[WI Short Scaler]

I'm not a big Hofner fan, having only handled one Ignition bass and not a fan of the violin shape.

The history of the bass, your connection with your work-mom, and her being pleased with the idea of you keeping it all seem to point to one likely outcome. Keep it and make it playable for you.

 

[definenredefine]

Would love to hear how this sounds…

Right now, more towards the warm/thumpy side, where I normally prefer a more aggressive tone (probably because I mostly play punk/hardcore/etc music.) I think that's owing mostly to the black tapewounds, whereas I usually play stainless round wounds.

The history of the bass, your connection with your work-mom, and her being pleased with the idea of you keeping it all seem to point to one likely outcome. Keep it and make it playable for you.

This is definitely where I'm leaning. I'll be playing at least a show with it, so my work mom can see/hear it again.

 

[definenredefine]

Forgot to mention, the bass was in a nice SKB gig back. Inside the pockets of said gig bag were 2 new sets of black Fender tapewounds, and this -

 

[Bass1447]

Forgot to mention, the bass was in a nice SKB gig back. Inside the pockets of said gig bag were 2 new sets of black Fender tapewounds, and this -View attachment 7319051

The plot thickens.

 

[definenredefine]

The plot thickens.

Indeed! Perhaps my work mom thinks I'm ready to pick up a new instrument...

 

[spiritbass]

Cool. I didn't know of the existence of solid-body Hofners.