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NBD: Hofner Ignition Violin Bass
- Thread starter Aloe
- Start date
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- höfner ignition violin bass
- Oct 7, 2000
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- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
I've got an Ignition Club in my hands as I'm writing the
. I really do LOVE this bass. Been reluctant to bring it to a gig for some reason, but think its time I get over that.These Club basses offer some serious bang for the buck.
@Aloe conrats! Hope you continue to enjoy it!
My issue is definitely string-related. The E string is just off, even when brought up to pitch, there are weird overtones and it’s not intonating properly. Also there is a big imbalance between the A, D, and G strings, the G being significantly thinner sounding. So my plan is to put the La Bellas on and see if that changes the picture. Otherwise it’s RMA time.
I've got an Ignition Club in my hands as I'm writing the
These Club basses offer some serious bang for the buck.
I agree about the bang for the buck of the Ignition Club bass.
I've used an Ignition Club shows since they first became available and I bought a blackburst "prototype" on eBay. IMO, there's no need to feel reluctant about using them on a gig. As far as their tone goes, I used mine for a demo recording session and the engineer liked the sound so much he offered to buy it from me on the spot.
Forgot to say I use nylon tapewound strings.
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Yeah, that was exactly my issue with the Hofner flats (others have complained about the same thing as well) the e string is dead and can't seem to get it in tune.
What gauge is the E string? I have some short scale basses and SS basses don't seem to like light strings, especially for the E. I use med light La Bellas DTB on my Gibsons and they play and sound great.
today I had a second gig with my reworked Ignition. having all frets usable is definitely a joy.
Ultralites added 70g of weight compared to stock tuners, this is noticeable on 2kg axe, but doesn't really change much: I had to hold it with my elbow to prevent neck dive, and I'm doing the same with heavier tuners. the Ultralites upgrade made it much easier to use any strings, not just designed for shortys. currently rocking a 105-45 SS Super Brights set and I like it very much.
the only thing that stands in my way now that is when playing chords, the bass starts sorta feedbacking (this looks like the middle in the chord suddenly comes very loud and sustained; no such effect in headphones though). I'd try cutting more mids next time, but it seems like now I kinda understand the construction decision behind the Contemporary Series (i.e. the center block which Ignitions lack).
Ultralites added 70g of weight compared to stock tuners, this is noticeable on 2kg axe, but doesn't really change much: I had to hold it with my elbow to prevent neck dive, and I'm doing the same with heavier tuners. the Ultralites upgrade made it much easier to use any strings, not just designed for shortys. currently rocking a 105-45 SS Super Brights set and I like it very much.
the only thing that stands in my way now that is when playing chords, the bass starts sorta feedbacking (this looks like the middle in the chord suddenly comes very loud and sustained; no such effect in headphones though). I'd try cutting more mids next time, but it seems like now I kinda understand the construction decision behind the Contemporary Series (i.e. the center block which Ignitions lack).
I have heard that people sometimes stuff the hollow space with cotton wool to cut down the feedback, not sure how well this actually works. With regards to neck dive I angle the strap on my Hofner so that the headstock points a little upwards like on the attached picture
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Hi Folks, Trying to revive this thread because I just bought one of these and could do with a bit of advice. I have only had it one day but ordered LaBella Beatle bass flats in advance (50-100), so have already fitted them. They do come up a bit stiff! I felt quite nervous that the rather flimsy OEM machine heads were going to break bringing the strings up to tension. Anyway fortunately they proved stronger than they look but they really don’t inspire confidence and they are a bit imprecise when fine tuning. Thomann have a set of the tuners Hofner put on the German made models for around £66 and they have a lot of good reviews, so I might go for those.
The bass came with a little bit of white plastic packing material under the bridge, which I have removed but obviously disturbed the intonation in the process. My previous experience of setting intonation on floating bridges, admittedly on a Godin 5th Avenue guitar, was to set the intonation with all but the top and bottom strings slackened off. I don’t think I have got there yet but noted that the middle two strings are quite a bit out. I am guessing intonation is never going to be ideal on these? Any advice on setting the intonation would be appreciated.
After fitting the heavier LaBellas I had to tighten the truss rod quite a bit and raise the action a little as well. It is rattling a bit when fretting at the first fret but I think that is because the nut is actually a bit too high. With the heavier strings it requires quite a bit of force to fret cleanly down that end. I think there might also be one or two high frets, as there are some random rattles when fretting in some positions up the neck. No fret sprout though. I would be interested to know if it is possible to get down to the recommended 3mm bass and 2mm treble with the 50-100 LaBellas, or am I going to have to accept a fairly high action? One way or another I am probably going to have to ask my local luthier to attend to the nut and frets (as I don’t feel confident to do that myself) but I want to give him a realistic target for the action.
Did other people find that the front pickup was set really low out of the box? I was quite disappointed at first that I was not getting that really deep thumping sound but having raised that front pickup and putting flats on, it is much closer to the sound I had in my head. Have people stuck with the OEM pickups, or changed them and if so, what to? I want to stick with the general vibe of the Violin bass. If I wanted a different sound, I would get a different bass.
The bass came with a little bit of white plastic packing material under the bridge, which I have removed but obviously disturbed the intonation in the process. My previous experience of setting intonation on floating bridges, admittedly on a Godin 5th Avenue guitar, was to set the intonation with all but the top and bottom strings slackened off. I don’t think I have got there yet but noted that the middle two strings are quite a bit out. I am guessing intonation is never going to be ideal on these? Any advice on setting the intonation would be appreciated.
After fitting the heavier LaBellas I had to tighten the truss rod quite a bit and raise the action a little as well. It is rattling a bit when fretting at the first fret but I think that is because the nut is actually a bit too high. With the heavier strings it requires quite a bit of force to fret cleanly down that end. I think there might also be one or two high frets, as there are some random rattles when fretting in some positions up the neck. No fret sprout though. I would be interested to know if it is possible to get down to the recommended 3mm bass and 2mm treble with the 50-100 LaBellas, or am I going to have to accept a fairly high action? One way or another I am probably going to have to ask my local luthier to attend to the nut and frets (as I don’t feel confident to do that myself) but I want to give him a realistic target for the action.
Did other people find that the front pickup was set really low out of the box? I was quite disappointed at first that I was not getting that really deep thumping sound but having raised that front pickup and putting flats on, it is much closer to the sound I had in my head. Have people stuck with the OEM pickups, or changed them and if so, what to? I want to stick with the general vibe of the Violin bass. If I wanted a different sound, I would get a different bass.
you already know, you can move those fretwire saddles individually to some extent, right?
unlike your Godin where that's one piece saddle and that's it.
Yep but I have never seen one that has the saddles arranged other than as it comes standard, in a neat diagonal row. I assumed that gives you the best result. Did you have to set yours differently?
yup. I don't have the bass or pics at hand currently, but I needed to set them up different ways for different strings. in some cases I even needed to insert some of those 'saddles' not fully in to make them a bit higher or slightly shifting the intonation.
It's good to hear from Hofner lovers. They are a bit "quirky" but it's the difference that makes them interesting & a pleasure to play. I have 2 violin basses, a Hofner CT & a Tanglewood. Both have flats. It's essential to get a good setup with the correct strings of your choice, makes such a difference. My CT went to a Luthier but I managed to setup the Tanglewood myself.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Many thanks. I might give the problem to my local luthier but I appreciate the advice, especially as I have just noticed your location. Thank you for taking the time out to address such a trivial issue when much more serious things are happening at home. We are all behind you and we will keep up the pressure on our Government to provide proper assistance.
yeah, if you got an Ignition, a luthier is definitely a good idea. after leveling the frets mine had a much better playability. before that I either had a low action, or playability after 12th fret, after I had both.
it's somewhat common for set necks to have some fret sprouts near the heel, but for this cheap instruments it's kinda expected, so it's worth inspecting and leveling the frets.
It took me over a year to sort out all the little problems on my Ignition. Strange little noises and over tones. I put on a set of Grover ukulele Sta-tite tuners , long shaft , and that made a wonderful difference. I found the LaBella flats for Beatle bass, light gauge to work best form me. It's an inexpensive bass, but I like the thing.
Thanks for the suggestions folks. I messaged my local luthier and he actually came to collect the bass within hours! How is that for service! His initial assessment was some high frets, nut a bit high, I had tightened the truss rod a shade too much (needs some relief) and I might be trying to get too low an action for the 50-100s. He will sort all that and get the intonation right.
After that I am going to talk to him about building me another custom bass. This time a semi-acoustic. I may keep the Ignition, even after the semi is built. We will see. It has already started to grow on me.
After that I am going to talk to him about building me another custom bass. This time a semi-acoustic. I may keep the Ignition, even after the semi is built. We will see. It has already started to grow on me.
