Opinion on Höfner Basses?

[iiipopes]

Manny's didn't work on it. It was Flip Scipio at Mandolin Bros. on Staten Island. Bass came over from London on Concorde in it's own seat, with equipment manager John Hammel in the adjoining seat... ;-)

Mandolin Bros. Thanks.

 

[iiipopes]

It was Mandolin Bros., on Staten Island. I was there and discussed it with them at that time.

Mandolin Bros. Thanks. It is good to hear from the source.

 

[mankybass]

bassslinger woof,

I got in 2015 an econo hofner from china and love it. black violin one. no neck dive if you know how to where it I discovered. took pickguard off, flipped jack plate around. has very much its own trip. little light labella flats. real easy to play, fun and I do a buttload of composing on it. I keep right next to where I konk. just my thoughts - I speak for no one else. I've made albums w/it, toured w/it. singular.



on bass, watt



mike watt's hoot page

Damn if it ain't the man himself

 

[ndukane65]

It was only 30 quid and wouldn't look daft when i flipped it around to play it left handed.

If Paul had more money and wasn't a lefty, I believe Hofner would have gone out business years ago. And this is coming from someone who owns three German ones.

 

[Doctor Intrepid]

If Paul had more money and wasn't a lefty, I believe Hofner would have gone out business years ago. And this is coming from someone who owns three German ones.

The Beatles kept lots of gear companies in business. Kind of a moot point.

 

[HaphAsSard]

If Paul had more money and wasn't a lefty, I believe Hofner would have gone out business years ago. And this is coming from someone who owns three German ones.

Höfner was a very established acoustic and electric string instrument maker long before Paul bought his first 500/1: they had a distribution network in Britain through Selmer UK, and even started supplying necks and parts to Carvin in the US at the end of the '50s; Italian MI company Eko even started making violin basses, at first solid (but far more likely to have been inspired by Höfner than Gibson) then hollow, well ahead of Beatlemania.
In short, if there were one candidate for a European popular musical instrument manufacturer continuously operating from the Forties (well, before that, but the war happened) up to the present day, even in a Yesterday parallel universe, that would definitely be them.

 

[JO6]

I have a mid-60's, probably around '67. I love to play it. Producers request it for sessions because they love the sound of it. I have tapewounds on it, used to have flats on it. I used to play in a jazz piano trio, the pianist would request that I play it because of its warm, woody sound. It'll only make your life better.

I too have a 67, and love those blade pickups. Same thing, it’s my most requested bass for session work always has been, and since I started using T-I flats for Höfner about 12 years ago, it’s only gotten better. It’s more versatile now because of them, and can easily sound 10 feet tall! Huge sound from a little thing. Shocks most people.

 

[JO6]

I don't care for the small string openings on the peg holes. Standard size bass strings don't fit the Hofners.

And? I’ve used Höfner strings until switching to T-I for Höfner about 12 years ago. What’s the problem?

 

[GIBrat51]

I was thinking of buying a Hofner Violin bass because of that unique sound. but I was wondering if there were any major disadvantages or advantages in buying one. and I also just wanted to know anybody else's opinion on if they are good or not

Hi and welcome to TalkBass! I'm sure you're realizing by now that you're going to get a lot of opinions here based on the experience of the members but the only member's opinion that matters here is yours. You say you want one for the "unique sound." That's a good reason for buying any bass. Most short-scale hollow body basses will deliver something like the sound you are going for, and Hofners are a good instrument for that goal. You may want to consider their budget line (the Ignition series) first to see what you think. They are inexpensive, especially if you can get one used, and will give you that sound without taking much risk on a purchasing a more expensive CT or German model.

I'll pretty much have to agree with Mastermold. I'm the owner of several hollow-body basses with skinny necks; trapeze tailpieces; and floating bridges, so here's what I know:
- Yes, Hofner violin basses - pretty much all Hofner-sized violin basses - do "suffer from neck dive". But, they aren't nearly as bad as some other neck divers I could name - and own. IME, a violin bass tendency to dive is... annoying, but it's tolerable. A decent, grippy strap overcomes it pretty easily. Which are what mine wear...
- I've played all 3 versions of a Hofner 500/1. I don't own any of them, though. I do own an old, MIK Rogue VB-100, and a pretty cheap Chinese Starfire violin bass. I'd class the Hofner Icon/Ignition as better than the Starfire, but not my VB-100. The Hofner CT? About on par with my Korean Rogue, but it loses points with me, because it's really a semi-hollow body (tone block running up the center), and sounds... different. The German 500/1? Blows the others away, but... a new one costs 13 times what I paid for the Korean Rogue - and, wonderful as it is? It isn't 13 times better...
- Basses like these do come with their own problems. That floating bridge will move on you, if you like to thrash your bass. If you are a pocket player, who has a light touch - and plays with a pick? You'll be fine. Otherwise? A violin bass will fight you. They can also be a real bear to intonate; and they all seem to prefer certain strings over others. And, each bass prefers different ones. I've spent... years, sometimes... trying different strings on some of mine, trying to find the strings it likes. Others? I got lucky, right out of the box; strings tuned up and intonated with no problem at all...
- Yes, you can get pretty much the same tone from any other short scale hollow-body bass. I own a German Hofner 500/2 Club Bass (the only choice, if you're a lefty like me), and other than sounding a little "bigger"? The tone is the same as my violin basses. Slightly less neck dive, too... Same goes for my old MIJ Epiphone EA-260. MY Gretsch Broadkaster does sound different, but it's body is huge, and nothing else sounds like those Filtertron pickups, anyway...
So... bottom line? If you just want "a violin bass"? There are others besides a Hofner. But, if it has to be a Hofner? I think I'd either buy used, or get a new Hofner 500/1 Ignition Pro, which comes with pretty decent flatwounds already on it. I bought one for a friend's Christmas present last year, and I was actually quite impressed with it...

 

[JRT64]

I have 2 Hofner basses, a HCT, an Ed Sullivan Ignition, and an MIK Brice copy. All three are fine well built basses. I've done minor upgrades on all 3 to suit me, but the light weight and sound are quite good in each case. Plus being short scale basses, the fingering is much easier for my older hands. I can understand why Macca went back to using his.