Double Bass Opinions on new Hofners?

[mr.mow]

The Chinesey ones?

The have a solid spruce top, ply backs and sides, ebony board and they are really well priced locally, they are labeled 'Alfred Stingl - Hofner'.

Haven't seen much info on them..

I'm still looking for a budget URB to learn on, keeping in mind in Oz we don't get Shen, Christopher or Upton (ok we get Shen and Christopher, but they are HELLISHLY over priced).

 

[swingingoodtime]

Señor Mow

Still looking, I see; does this mean that the Rattlesnake bass came to nothing?

During my bass-hunt, I gathered that the Chinese Hofners are largely not well regarded, mostly around build quality and longevity (as both an investment as well as an instrument that will help you grow as a player).

What was your budget? I can't encourage you enough to avoid focusing solely on 'as cheap as possible'; you'll most likely end up with a dog that you won't play because it's simply not enjoyable and that you'll wish you'd invested the money in a better instrument to begin with... (I love the fact that I approach my bass with a sense of enthusiasm rather than regret!)

Perhaps try focusing on a good secondhand bass? I got mine on eBay for $2.4K; more than I originally planned, but I've not regretted it one bit, even moreso when I've since played new crappy CCB's and realized how bad they can be...

 

[mr.mow]

Señor Mow

Still looking, I see; does this mean that the Rattlesnake bass came to nothing?

During my bass-hunt, I gathered that the Chinese Hofners are largely not well regarded, mostly around build quality and longevity (as both an investment as well as an instrument that will help you grow as a player).

What was your budget? I can't encourage you enough to avoid focusing solely on 'as cheap as possible'; you'll most likely end up with a dog that you won't play because it's simply not enjoyable and that you'll wish you'd invested the money in a better instrument to begin with... (I love the fact that I approach my bass with a sense of enthusiasm rather than regret!)

Perhaps try focusing on a good secondhand bass? I got mine on eBay for $2.4K; more than I originally planned, but I've not regretted it one bit, even moreso when I've since played new crappy CCB's and realized how bad they can be...

I went to look at the 'rattlesnake'.. The guy who runs the place is away on sea shepherd right now so the girl in the shop couldn't answer any questions.

they get them made to their specs by 'someone' in China (she doesn't know who), honestly it had a lot of filler around the joints, a nasty lacquer run on the neck.. but only minor stuff, its about $2K set up.

I looked at a St. Antonio.. an $1800RRP bass, it was pretty average, ugly and gave me no inspiration.. especially seeing it was for sale at $2250 + new strings..

$2K is really my upper limit budget, I'm just not prepared to spend any more than that. I can get the Hofner cheap through a local store (ie, almost cost).. but like you say if they are crap..

---
Actually on a chance I gave him a ring, its his first day back!
Had a good chat with him, he didn't want to tell me which Chinese factory he buys these direct from, he did reel off a whole bunch of well known rockabilly and similar bands around Oz who own them. But for under $2k, its solid top and fully set up, all ebony parts. He has a ply blonde version for $1500, so ill go have another look I guess! Seemed to be a good guy, didn't give me the hard sell (which I rate highly) and didnt come off as an elitist arsehole! (I rate even higher!)

So.. the question is.. do I want solid or ply?

 

[tifftunes]

Haven't tried a zino Hofner... Not going to either... I have several German Hofners, and can attest to them being "cheap" as stated by McCartney, before he made them expensive! However, also thanks to himself, the German made Hofners have improved from "his day," and are not losing value currently.

Therefore, may I suggest spending your hard earned cash on a German made Hofner - new or used? I've had some decent buys from fleabay, and honestly the best deal came form your neck o the woods (the one in my profile pic)!

In the end, my RI Hofners are fantastic! Delicate, to say the least! But given proper treatment, they should last at least as long as the 60s Hofners!! AND, be worth more come time to sell, if you ever do.

Just my opinion, and I'm sticking to it!

 

[swingingoodtime]

it had a lot of filler around the joints

My concern there would be the quality & strength of the build. What's the return/repair rate been like, did he say? And as a luthier, what warranty/repair recourse does he offer (duration, conditions, costs?)

$2K is really my upper limit budget, I'm just not prepared to spend any more than that

Although you may need to budget for better strings, although (Warning! Potential String Argument Alert!) you can get Corelli's for about $120 shipped from Bob Gollihur. I found the 370TX to be a great string (although maybe not for slapping). Try the TB classifieds; good buys can be found there (even including shipping from the US).

So.. the question is.. do I want solid or ply?

Depends... If you like the sound of the ply bass in question, ply's are far less stress for gigging (more durable, less impacted by the weather). And they cope better with being stood on at a rockabilly gig

 

[swingingoodtime]

Therefore, may I suggest spending your hard earned cash on a German made Hofner - new or used?

tifftunes, are you talking guitars? Because any German-made DB will be very expensive...

 

[mr.mow]

My concern there would be the quality & strength of the build. What's the return/repair rate been like, did he say? And as a luthier, what warranty/repair recourse does he offer (duration, conditions, costs?)



Although you may need to budget for better strings, although (Warning! Potential String Argument Alert!) you can get Corelli's for about $120 shipped from Bob Gollihur. I found the 370TX to be a great string (although maybe not for slapping). Try the TB classifieds; good buys can be found there (even including shipping from the US).



Depends... If you like the sound of the ply bass in question, ply's are far less stress for gigging (more durable, less impacted by the weather). And they cope better with being stood on at a rockabilly gig

All good points! For me really.. its a toe in the water thing, I don't know if I'll like DB, my bass teacher (experienced DB player, but doesn't own one and plays electric 90% now) tells me 'dont do it!', that nearly all of his students go through the DB thing at some stage and nearly all of them end up with a large wooden box gathering dust in the corner!

hence me not wanting to spend over $2K, if I DONT like it, I haven't put too much cash into it..

 

[swingingoodtime]

With all and absolute due respect to your teacher, he really shouldn't be trying to make that decision for you or be superimposing his personal biases onto your decision making processes. What if you love DB? Will he discourage you still? It sounds like he may not be the best person to remain with if you're looking at learning as (1) he MAY be a bit out of practice on the DB & (2) he's biased against learning it to begin with (the greater of the two reasons). It strikes me as an exercise unfairly slanted towards failure, if you'll excuse my (honestly) humble opinion...

btw, assuming you give it a fair go & still decide to drop it, you'll get more back on the resale of a decent instrument compared to a bad CCB/unknown brand...

 

[mr.mow]

With all and absolute due respect to your teacher (who, given that he migrated off DB to BG, doesn't surprise me in making such recommendations), he really shouldn't be trying to make that decision for you or be superimposing his personal biases onto your decision making processes. What if you love DB? Will he discourage you still? It sounds like he may not be the best person to remain with if you're looking at learning as (1) he'll be out of practice on the DB & (2) he's biased against learning it to begin with. It strikes me as an exercise fated to fail, if you'll excuse my (honestly) humble opinion...

Assuming you give it a fair go & still decide to drop it, you'll get more back on the resale of a decent instrument compared to a bad CCB/unknown brand...

Hes a pretty experienced guy! His argument really was 'look, what music do you listen to?' (funk, soul, punk, old R&B).. 'see, all those guys play electric..

I see his argument!

 

[swingingoodtime]

Hes a pretty experienced guy! His argument really was 'look, what music do you listen to?' (funk, soul, punk, old R&B).. 'see, all those guys play electric..

I see his argument!

I'm sure he is, and I utterly respect that. If it's based on the style of music you want to play, ok, as not all styles lend themselves to DB. But conversely, just because you listen to & like those styles doesn't mean that you shouldn't learn. If you're that interested, you may find it broadens your musical taste by opening you up to styles that are more DB friendly...

 

[robobass]

All good points! For me really.. its a toe in the water thing, I don't know if I'll like DB, my bass teacher (experienced DB player, but doesn't own one and plays electric 90% now) tells me 'dont do it!', that nearly all of his students go through the DB thing at some stage and nearly all of them end up with a large wooden box gathering dust in the corner!

hence me not wanting to spend over $2K, if I DONT like it, I haven't put too much cash into it..

Funny, I'll bet that a good percentage of the members of this forum will say exactly what I have to say. I started on slab, and really dug it. But when I started learning upright, the slab just didn't seem so important anymore, and 95% of my practice time went to upright. Your teacher is one of those who simply - for whatever reason - didn't "get the bug". If you do decide to get one, you should really try to find another teacher.

Just to be P.C. I have nothing against slab, but this is a DB Forum!

 

[nealw]

+1-I played electric for almost 20 years before I picked up an upright and I fell in love immediately-and I'm not a jazz guy. I still play electric, but I don't love it the way I love the big bass. That said-I agree with not spending too much as a novice. Go used if at all possible. I have 2 uprights: a 1940's Epiphone ply and a 1/2 size German hybrid no one has ever heard of (Franz Forster). They're both beat to hell-the hybrid was a high school orchestra bass-but they play & sound great and I got them both for $2000 total. (I realize I have a lot more opportunity for deals here in the USA.)

 

[MingusAmongUs]

All good points! For me really.. its a toe in the water thing, I don't know if I'll like DB, my bass teacher (experienced DB player, but doesn't own one and plays electric 90% now) tells me 'dont do it!', that nearly all of his students go through the DB thing at some stage and nearly all of them end up with a large wooden box gathering dust in the corner!

hence me not wanting to spend over $2K, if I DONT like it, I haven't put too much cash into it..

Sorry, but I can't resist interjecting. Sounds like before you get a new bass, you need to get a new teacher. That is a sh*tty thing to tell students. Anyway... carry on.

 

[Rastus_01]

Hi Mr Mow,

I have a Hofner.

Here’s the story:

My (guitar playing) girlfriend and I were on a trip to Brisbane, and wandered through the music shop. At the time I had never played an upright, but managed a few simple lines on the beat up Hofner on special with a large discount. It had been abused in the store room, had missing endpin, and lots of dings around the edges. She was blown away with the sound and I have to admit, so was I at the time (so little did I know). Being a girl (phew), and not being able to resist a large discount, she bought it for me. Yes it was an impulsive buy. We did check other stores and tried a few other crap UB’s but the Hofner did stand out due to the solid top.

While waiting for delivery I found this site and started reading. My heart sank. I realized we had bought a CCB. Anyway it finally came and I have to admit, with poor setup, crap strings, even with my lack of ability, we had a ball jamming with the new beast. I was sold on the upright, but as I was realizing, not on this particular bass.

I new which direction I wanted to take, so sold as much as I could and saved and ended up getting a cheap solid. A “Lachlan Parker” from Bassworks. I tried selling the Hofner but had no luck there. Anyway the Lachlan Parker is still not what would be called a great bass, but it walks all over the Hofner tone wise.

Having the Hofner standing around doing nothing, I decided to try the setup myself and got to work on the neck. I had realized it was not ever going to be as good as the solid, so decided to try to make a slap bass out of it. A bit more research on this site and I decided on Silver Slap strings and they have bought the bass to life. I hadn’t realized how bad the original strings were until I put the Silvers on it. It now has good volume, an acceptable sound (though a bit nasally at higher registers), and I am not afraid to take it anywhere. With its narrow shoulders and low tension strings, it is easier to play than my good bass, but I still don’t reach for it first.

So now I have two basses that are completely different, the solid with steel strings and tone for jazz and arco. And the “Slapper” (Hofner). I am glad to have the Hofner at the moment as I can work on my triple slap but I also know it may well fall apart on me one day. If that happens, I will not be that bothered as I have another bass, but if it was my only bass, I may think differently.

If I could go back in time………….
I would not have bought the Hofner. I would save up that extra cash towards a better solid bass.
That being said, It did get me into upright. It was cheap (on special) and apart from strings, I have not spent any money on it. If we didn’t see that beat up Hofner on special, I may not be spending every spare minute playing this wonderful instrument (Upright bass) and would have missed out on this great adventure. It may not have happened. So at the end of the day, I am glad we did it.

Be aware, (if you get it) you will need setup and strings. It is not a great bass for arco with its nasally sound on the high end, (Listen for it if you go back to try it, it wont go away). But it is OK for pizz and slap especially with low tension strings.

This is just my experience, I am a pro musician so therefore don’t have much money to throw around. I do not recommend buying a cheap bass and following my path, (immediately buying another) but it did work for me. This is not an electric bass on end, this is a completely different instrument, and you may just fall in love with it like I did. I am glad I discovered the upright when I did, and not in another ten years time. The Hofner did this for me.

+1 Get a different teacher

Rastus

 

[swingingoodtime]

Great post, Rastus! Awesome & insightful information that will be incredibly useful for many newbies to come. You've just made a great site that much better for all of us.

I was quite fortunate in that I had some very good DB players around me to guide me & let me use their (very old & delicious) basses to get a feel for what was good & what was not. I went from trying cheap crappy CCB's (& thinking they were great!) to realizing just how good a bass can (& conversely, CANNOT) be so that, along with reading stuff here on TB, I came to the realization that cheap in this game almost certainly means nasty & a likely waste of money. I'm SO glad I bought better; I love my bass, which makes playing it such a joy!

 

[mr.mow]

Thanks for all the posts guys, I'm going to pass on the Hofner, bit more digging, yeah they seem to be a bit suspect..

I'm booked to check out the Blonde basses at Hayes on Saturday, solid top/ply and a solid/solid priced at $1500 and $2000 inc. setup, but not strings. All ebony parts too which is nice.

As for the teacher thing, he's an exceptionally experienced guy and has been playing bass professionally for years.. He was just passing on his experience with all of his students.. lots of them get the DB itch, go out, buy one and in nearly all cases don't continue with it.. he didn't really say 'don't'.. more think carefully!
I'll add to that his reasoning was really the music I listen to, he said 'llok if you were bringing me lefarro, carter etc, then I'd say yeah DB is YOUR thing'.

The more I think about it.. a $1500 solid/ply is a pretty good match for me, its the cost of a Mexi PBass really.. I figure worst case I don't like it, it makes its way on to ebay and I don't lose too much (percentage wise yes, but dollar wise no).

The solid/solid worries me a fair bit, the weather here in Melb can be pretty volatile, and living in an 1800s build weatherboard means climate control is impossible.. or am I over thinking it?!

 

[swingingoodtime]

No worries; happy to help prevent an avoidable DB calamity...

Have fun on Sat; try to take either your teacher or another experienced DB player to get their experienced opinion on the instruments. Re the weather, my understanding is that it's either (1) temperature extremes (generally heat here in Oz), (2) extreme humidity or (3) rapid changes in either that are the problem for solid wood instruments; things that will cause the wood structure to expand more than it's natural cellular limits or faster than it's cellular structure can adapt. That's when cracks develop...

 

[uprightbass.com]

Why won't the teacher just hook you up with one of the many people who ended up with a "big box". I'm sure that they'd be more than glad to recoup some money and the space.

In that teacher's defense, it is true that there are quite a large number of slab players who buy an upright because they think they'll get good at it fast since progress on the BG came fast, without frustration and with instant gratification, but the discipline and commitment that it takes to get good at the upright just isn't there. But this doesn't mean that a person shouldn't try, because some actually have the ability and right mindset to get good at it.

 

[Dr. Jake]

Chinese Hofner?!? My (relatively new) Hofner is German-made and received stamps of approval from both of my working pro teachers.

 

[Steve Swan]

I think that it's always a marketing mistake to pollute a strong existing brand name by using it also for lesser quality import lines. Paesold did the same thing.