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I love my black Douglas. I tell everyone it's the Beatle bass McCartney WOULD have played IF he'd been in Black Sabbath
Definitely the Hofner Ignition. A year ago, I was looking for a bass to use for 60's covers and the occasional pit orchestra gig and the real Hofner definitely tops the competition in feel and tone. It just has that perfect hollowbody thump and warmth, even with the stock roundwounds. The quality on the newer Ignitions is also top notch. All the ones I demoed had perfectly low action and little to no buzz.
I had the viola for a few years, it was a nice bass for the money, plenty of thump but hard to intonate with that floating bridge deal!
I owned a Viola for a little while. At the time, there were no 'budget' Hofners and I wasn't aware of Rondo Music or anyone else making Hofner copies, so the Epiphone was the only choice back then (as far as I knew).
It was a well made bass, but it just didn't knock my socks off. I remember wishing it was fully hollow like a Hofner and didn't have a thick, dipped-in-plastic finish. But other than that, it was a decent bass. I think the Douglas basses are made in the same factory/are the same bass as the Viola.
I'm curious about the Rogue/Jay Turser offerings. They seem to be closer to the Hofner in both looks and construction.
It was a well made bass, but it just didn't knock my socks off. I remember wishing it was fully hollow like a Hofner and didn't have a thick, dipped-in-plastic finish. But other than that, it was a decent bass. I think the Douglas basses are made in the same factory/are the same bass as the Viola.
I'm curious about the Rogue/Jay Turser offerings. They seem to be closer to the Hofner in both looks and construction.
As mentioned, most of these violin basses are made in the same Chinese factory. Same components, same woods, everything...
Name brand and licensing determines the price, really. IMHO, he'd be better off with the off-brand copies like the Rogue or Douglas, or even Epi, by virtue of the machine heads alone. The Höfner has small machine heads, which means it doesn't play well a lot of different strings.
Name brand and licensing determines the price, really. IMHO, he'd be better off with the off-brand copies like the Rogue or Douglas, or even Epi, by virtue of the machine heads alone. The Höfner has small machine heads, which means it doesn't play well a lot of different strings.
Not all of them are made in Korea. I've seen some made in Indonesia, and some in China. Unless they're counterfeits, I guess.
I think the older ones were from China. Mine is from last year, it's Korean. According to the serial number finder from Epiphone it was made in the Un Sung factory in Inchon February 2014.
Oh, and you don't need to buy the Labellas per se. Most medium-scale flatwound strings (and even GHS pressurewound strings) will get you that old school thump. McCartney used foam at the bridge when he recorded with the Höfner, but rarely played up the neck, because the bass couldn't really intonate well. Even the el-cheapo copy versions (including the new Höfners) are a huge improvement over those early 60s versions.
TBH, I got my VB for the same reasons as many others do. They're fun to play, when set up right, pretty easy too, but compared to a solid body, I do find them fairly limited.
TBH, I got my VB for the same reasons as many others do. They're fun to play, when set up right, pretty easy too, but compared to a solid body, I do find them fairly limited.
Um, nope. It's Höfner. With the umlaut. You know, the little dots over the "e". Different sounds and all. You can find the character in the character map of your PC or just one googling away. Never mind you find the company name misspelt all the time. You'd be more correct spelling it Hoefner, which is what German speakers would if in a hurry and without access to a local keyboard. (The little dots actually used to be a superscript little "e" in the past.)
I used to play guitar in a worship band with a person who played a Rogue violin bass through a Marshall 4x10 bass amp. It sounded decent and played well.
I agree with all except I like the RS 77 flats better than the La Bellas.
this x1000
One thing, depending on any of the other factors these things feel as wide as an acoustic guitar. If you're used to a solid body bass this is a bit of an adjustment and as such I don't play mine as much as I thought. Several people in person I have talked to say the same. Nearly all of them have the ignition or the epi. The biggest difference in the sound is flats vs rounds.
I have D'Addario ECB81M Chromes on mine and it sounds wonderful. You need the medium scale length because of the amount of string behind the bridge.
(From Bass String Online, Jason is a good guy to do business with.)
(From Bass String Online, Jason is a good guy to do business with.)
I've owned 5 German made Hofner basses. I now play a Hofner Ignition with Pyramid Gold flat wound strings. You could also use Thomastic-Infeld Jazz flats . It sounds correct and plays very well. It's the inexpensive version and it sounds as a Hofner should. Highly recommended.
