Strings for Hofner

[Jakelorenz]

Hey Justin,
I have two Hofner 182s (I think they’re more or less the same model as your 185, with staple pickups).
Since I have two—well, the second one is arriving next week—I was thinking about changing the strings to get two different tonal flavors. I currently have La Bella flats on my old one and it sounds great, but I’m wondering if putting a set of Pyramid flats on it could make it even better, and maybe using tapewounds on the second bass.
Do you have a favorite tapewound set for a solid short-scale bass? I know the classic Beatle tapewounds are Rotosounds, but since this isn’t a violin bass, I’m not sure they’d work quite as well.
What would you do in my situation? Those old solid Hofners are so cheap here in Europe and sound so good that I’m tempted to get a third one and put rounds on it—lol.

 

[jmjbassplayer]

Hiya,
I've only ever had Pyramids on mine, literally the same set forever, so I'm ignorant of any other option! I also don't ever feel like going away from Pyramids for any of my Hofners...I find they have even more character and shorter sustain than LaBellas (a plus for me), even if they are sometimes less consistent and wonky. But as far as tapes, I suspect the Rotosound Beatle tapes might work, because the scale length is the same as the violin bass, no? Perhaps the only issue you'd run into is the length of the silk winding between the ball-end and the bridge, but you could measure that out. And then there are the LaBella short scale tapes and Beatle Bass-specific tapes, obviously. Unfortunately, all this might involve some trial and error.

 

[Jakelorenz]

Thanks a lot Justin!! Very useful insight as always