NOBD but I need some help

[CoryB]

New Old Bass Day! I found a listing on FB Marketplace for a Hohner B Bass V and it looked interesting so I went and checked it out. And it followed me home!

Other than a few passing mentions on here, I can't find much of anything about it. There's actually a Hohner board hosted in Germany and I may try to contact them as well.

What I do know about this is it's a satin walnut finish (damage around the volume knob) with gold hardware, neck through construction, ANCIENT round wound strings of at least two different makes, active/passive switch, and two Hohner Select/EMG jazz pickups. I have yet to find a serial number on this jewel yet though. Nothing on the headstock - not even an outline of where a sticker might have been.

The active circuit works just fine, as does passive mode - kinda cool, I've never had a bilingual bass before. It also has a light to show when active mode is engaged.

Can anyone point me to a serial number location of anything with info or instructions on it? There's an pre-amp adjustment pot on the back cavity cover that I haven't fooled with yet.

Any help or info would be greatly appreciated.

Now for the pictures...

 

[ajkula66]

Congrats on your "new" bass. May it serve you well.

Late '80s to early '90s, Korean-built from what I can recall.

Not knowing what kind of info exactly you're looking for I really don't know what else to say.

I've tried a 4-string version when these were new and found it to be perfectly serviceable. The preamp is likely the weakest link but these are easily - and often inexpensively - swapped out nowadays.

Play it in good health and enjoy!

 

[fretno]

no clue but I want to see you fix the damage. It’s totally doable , especially in that finish. Push it back, RBC, epoxy or even wood glue. Use the sanding dust to fill it all in. Go !

 

[el murdoque]

It looks like an Alembic had a child with a Carvin LB75. I like it!

 

[Five or Six]

Congrats! I like it but, I am a natural wood guy. I wouldn't be afraid to clean it up, restring it and play the dog meat out of it. Hopefully the truss is good. Fretboard looks really dirty? That "damage" by the volume pot isn't really damage. Probably just wear n tear. Play on!

 

[Mastiff_5]

Yeah, looks like a groovy bass, brutha!! I wouldn’t sweat the finish damage at all… it looks like a crack in the top coat. Whatever the case may be, play it for a good while before you tear into it. See how much you really dig the bass, then decide if you want to improve the electronics and address the surface damage.
As for me? Meh… builds character! Haha

 

[DWBass]

A friend of mine played one before getting his Fodera. It's a decent bass. Set it up properly and add some new strings. It should serve you well.

 

[Huge]

That's a really cool bass. Change the strings, get the cheese off the fret board while you're at it, and have fun.

 

[red_rhino]

I’m guessing that the pre-amp adjustment affects the pre’s output level. Making it too hot may add noise/hiss to your signal. Lowering it may make it less “active” sounding or maybe too weak. You need to tweak it and find out what it does for you. Also, open up the control cavity, take a pic and post it. There’s a chance that the serial number is in there.

 

[CoryB]

OK, here's the control cavity opened up. I still don't see a serial number though.

I must say they did a lousy job with the shielding paint...

 

[CoryB]

Back with another question - Does anyone know what gauge strings this should have? I was going to put on a set of EB flatwounds with a 130 low B but the silk won't go through the bridge.

The strings I removed have a black ball-end and white silk at the winding end. There is no silk on the ball end.

Thanks!

 

[C Stone]

Not knowing much about the bass I would go lighter, say 120-B it should fit without having to drill out/file the bridge or strip the silk. It’ll also be a tell on how that neck is handing the tension, if you were to drill it out start with the smallest bit that doesn’t quite fit and put a piece of cardboard on the body just in case the bit catches. Congrats, interesting bass.