Hofner Bass

[JUr Bass]

Dear all,

I'm considering to buy a Hofner bass, because I really like the sound,
warm & deep, and I'm looking for an instrument like Paul McCartney
used to play. Thing is, I really don't know what I'm looking for when
it comes to models, years of birth etc etc... I hope you know what I
mean.

Is there anybody who can help me and tell about the do's and don'ts
when it comes to buying a vintage bass like this? And does anybody
know what reasonable price would be?

Thanks!!!

grt
JUr

[Stronger Than Dirt (John)]

On May 3, 7:24?am, JUr Bass <poly2b...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> I'm considering to buy a Hofner bass, because I really like the sound,
> warm & deep, and I'm looking for an instrument like Paul McCartney
> used to play. Thing is, I really don't know what I'm looking for when
> it comes to models, years of birth etc etc... I hope you know what I
> mean.
>
> Is there anybody who can help me and tell about the do's and don'ts
> when it comes to buying a vintage bass like this? And does anybody
> know what reasonable price would be?
>
> Thanks!!!
>
> grt
> JUr

Hofner reissued both of the Hofners that Paul played as the 500/1
Vintage '62 (Cavern bass) and 500/1 Vintage '63. A more modern
version is also available.

A word of warning: Paul's Hofners (and thus the reissues) have no side
position markers, making them tough to play.

[klaw]

On May 3, 7:24 am, JUr Bass <poly2b...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> I'm considering to buy a Hofner bass, because I really like the sound,
> warm & deep, and I'm looking for an instrument like Paul McCartney
> used to play. Thing is, I really don't know what I'm looking for when
> it comes to models, years of birth etc etc... I hope you know what I
> mean.
>
> Is there anybody who can help me and tell about the do's and don'ts
> when it comes to buying a vintage bass like this? And does anybody
> know what reasonable price would be?
>
> Thanks!!!
>
> grt
> JUr

$550 would be reasonable.

[Larry Shaw]

This is a pretty good reissue:
http://www.thomann.de/gb/hoefner_500-1_paul_mccartney.htm

or a nearer entry level one:
http://www.thomann.de/gb/hoefner_hct5001_sb_contemporary.htm

I think you'll probably like the more upmarket Gibsons and Epiphone's (think
Animals, Gerry and the Pacemakers - ad infinitum), mostly the hofner had a
poor reputation back in the 60's and I prefered my Framus Star Bass at the
time.....

www.union-revival.com


"JUr Bass" <poly2bass@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1178191489.826571.276350@n59g2000hsh.googlegr oups.com...
> Dear all,
>
> I'm considering to buy a Hofner bass, because I really like the sound,
> warm & deep, and I'm looking for an instrument like Paul McCartney
> used to play. Thing is, I really don't know what I'm looking for when
> it comes to models, years of birth etc etc... I hope you know what I
> mean.
>
> Is there anybody who can help me and tell about the do's and don'ts
> when it comes to buying a vintage bass like this? And does anybody
> know what reasonable price would be?
>
> Thanks!!!
>
> grt
> JUr
>

[Mini]

> I'm considering to buy a Hofner bass, because I really like the sound,
> warm & deep, and I'm looking for an instrument like Paul McCartney
> used to play. Thing is, I really don't know what I'm looking for when
> it comes to models, years of birth etc etc... I hope you know what I
> mean.
>
> Is there anybody who can help me and tell about the do's and don'ts
> when it comes to buying a vintage bass like this? And does anybody
> know what reasonable price would be?
>
> Thanks!!!

That was the first bass I started out on in '69

Here's what I recall..
It had Poor balance (neck heavy).
Sound was not great and the "rhythm" selector switch pretty useless.
Playability good - the short scale makes it an easy task for a former guitar
player.
Feedback issues - in those days we did not have or use PA and turning the
volume up on a Laney full stack created feedback.

What good is a hollow body bass if it needs to be stuffed with padding and
the sucker still being neck heavy?

I switch to a short scale Fender (Mustang I think) waiting for a second hand
P-Bass to shove up in the store.
In my view the McCartney bass is way overrated - yes its light - yes the
neck is fast but that's it.

My best advice is try it out at a realistic volume before buying.

Mini

[Stronger Than Dirt (John)]

On May 3, 11:15?am, "Mini" <minia...@removemsn.com> wrote:
> That was the first bass I started out on in '69
>
> Here's what I recall..
> It had Poor balance (neck heavy).

The bass only weighs three or four pounds, so neck dive is not a real
issue.

> Sound was not great and the "rhythm" selector switch pretty useless.

Agreed. It's a one trick pony, but if its one sound it what you
like....

> Playability good - the short scale makes it an easy task for a former guitar
> player.
> Feedback issues - in those days we did not have or use PA and turning the
> volume up on a Laney full stack created feedback.

How did you have feedback problems in a bass with no soundhole?

> What good is a hollow body bass if it needs to be stuffed with padding and
> the sucker still being neck heavy?

With no soundhole, how did you stuff the body with padding? Are you
sure you had a Hofner 500/1?

> In my view the McCartney bass is way overrated - yes its light - yes the
> neck is fast but that's it.

Overrated? Not really. Nobody claims it to be a great general
purpose bass.
Overpriced? Without a doubt. The workmanship is very good, but not
$2,000 good.

[Brian Running]

>> Feedback issues - in those days we did not have or use PA and turning the
>> volume up on a Laney full stack created feedback.
>
> How did you have feedback problems in a bass with no soundhole?

For feedback, all you need is a bass that vibrates enough to move the
strings in relation to the pickups, and a frequency at which everything
vibrates sympathetically. Soundhole or no soundhole.

>> What good is a hollow body bass if it needs to be stuffed with padding and
>> the sucker still being neck heavy?
>
> With no soundhole, how did you stuff the body with padding? Are you
> sure you had a Hofner 500/1?

I don't think he meant he actually did stuff it with padding, I take
that to mean that you would have to stuff it with something to get it to
stop feeding back, i.e., what's the point of a hollow-body bass that you
can't use as a hollow-body bass? It's a matter of taste, of course, but
I concur with that point of view. A bass needs to be heavy and rigid
enough at least to eliminate the chance of feedback, if it's going to be
used in a loud stage environment. Semi-hollow bodies are the best
compromise, I think.

[Stronger Than Dirt (John)]

On May 3, 12:28�pm, Brian Running <brunn...@XXameritechXX.net> wrote:
> > With no soundhole, how did you stuff the body with padding? *Are you
> > sure you had a Hofner 500/1?
>
> I don't think he meant he actually did stuff it with padding, I take
> that to mean that you would have to stuff it with something to get it to
> stop feeding back, i.e., what's the point of a hollow-body bass that you
> can't use as a hollow-body bass? *It's a matter of taste, of course, but
> I concur with that point of view. *A bass needs to be heavy and rigid
> enough at least to eliminate the chance of feedback, if it's going to be
> used in a loud stage environment. *Semi-hollow bodies are the best
> compromise, I think.

I owned a Hofner and gigged with it for a number of months. All sound
came from my amp so stage volume was relatively high. I never had
feedback. But with the same rig and an acoustic bass (a Washburn) I
did have feedback problems.

I sold the Hofner because it's not a good general purpose bass (for
me, anyway) and I found I wasn't using it enough.

[klaw]

On May 3, 12:56 pm, "Stronger Than Dirt (John)" <skoki...@aol.com>
wrote:
> On May 3, 12:28?pm, Brian Running <brunn...@XXameritechXX.net> wrote:
>
> > > With no soundhole, how did you stuff the body with padding? ?Are you
> > > sure you had a Hofner 500/1?
>
> > I don't think he meant he actually did stuff it with padding, I take
> > that to mean that you would have to stuff it with something to get it to
> > stop feeding back, i.e., what's the point of a hollow-body bass that you
> > can't use as a hollow-body bass? ?It's a matter of taste, of course, but
> > I concur with that point of view. ?A bass needs to be heavy and rigid
> > enough at least to eliminate the chance of feedback, if it's going to be
> > used in a loud stage environment. ?Semi-hollow bodies are the best
> > compromise, I think.
>
> I owned a Hofner and gigged with it for a number of months. All sound
> came from my amp so stage volume was relatively high. I never had
> feedback. But with the same rig and an acoustic bass (a Washburn) I
> did have feedback problems.
>
> I sold the Hofner because it's not a good general purpose bass (for
> me, anyway) and I found I wasn't using it enough.

mine used to feedback and the pickups always dropped into the body at
the worst times.
fun for the studio every now and then, tho.

[Mini]

> The bass only weighs three or four pounds, so neck dive is not a real
> issue.

Ehr - neck diving is an issue for me regardless of weight.

> How did you have feedback problems in a bass with no soundhole?
Obviously by playing lauder than you - the whole band played full stacks in
those days.

> With no soundhole, how did you stuff the body with padding? Are you
> sure you had a Hofner 500/1?
I got the bass used in '68 and it was the real Hofner - not sure if it had a
model id since it AFAIK was the only Hofner bass around at the time.
Eventually it was traded for an early sixty P-bass which I sadly don't own
anymore.

Since I'm a player not a collector I had no sense for model year etc. - but
somewhere I have some old black and white posters and I'm pretty sure the
Hofner is on one of these.
I can look and have it scanned if you like - in fact I think I scan it
anyways

> Overrated? Not really. Nobody claims it to be a great general
> purpose bass.
> Overpriced? Without a doubt. The workmanship is very good, but not
> $2,000 good.

Agreed - I completely fail to see justification of existence unless playing
in a Beatles cover band.

Mini

[Mike Rieves]

"JUr Bass" <poly2bass@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1178191489.826571.276350@n59g2000hsh.googlegr oups.com...
> Dear all,
>
> I'm considering to buy a Hofner bass, because I really like the sound,
> warm & deep, and I'm looking for an instrument like Paul McCartney
> used to play. Thing is, I really don't know what I'm looking for when
> it comes to models, years of birth etc etc... I hope you know what I
> mean.
>
> Is there anybody who can help me and tell about the do's and don'ts
> when it comes to buying a vintage bass like this? And does anybody
> know what reasonable price would be?
>

GC in Nashville has a '65 Hofner that looks to be in very good shape for
about $3900.

[Mike Fleming]

In article <4639fc8b$0$14034$edfadb0f@dread15.news.tele.dk>, "Mini"
<miniauth@removemsn.com> writes:

> Playability good - the short scale makes it an easy task for a former guitar
> player.

I thought the playability was awful - however, that was when I tried
one out after I'd been playing bass a few years. The neck just felt
horrible. Wish I'd had the foresight to buy it though, for the sake of
sticking it in a cupboard for twenty years and ignoring it, I could
have turned a tidy profit.

--
Mike Fleming

[Benj]

Mike Fleming wrote:

> I thought the playability was awful - however, that was when I tried
> one out after I'd been playing bass a few years. The neck just felt
> horrible. Wish I'd had the foresight to buy it though, for the sake of
> sticking it in a cupboard for twenty years and ignoring it, I could
> have turned a tidy profit.

You got the ONLY reason for owning a Hofner and playing it ain't it!
I knew a guy with one who was quite proud of it and quite frankly it
was the biggest bass POS I ever held in my hands! Horrible tone.
Horrible playability! Nasty quality parts that because of age were
already in various stages of decay. Awful electrics. Nasty feedback.
Nasty EVERYTHING!

Add to that a monster price because some famous band once used one,
and the set is complete. So, as an investment it's top of the line.
As a bass to play or even stand there just to be looked at, I'd
strongly recommend a Jay Turser or other of the quite good clones out
there.

Benj

[Llarry]

In Spring '87 I bought a '71 Hofner for about $400. Sold it about 2 yrs
later for about the same price. This was long before the market went
berserk...

Nice enough, but limited (I replaced it with an Ashbory, so go figure...).

Your best bet may be to look at either some of the less crazy-priced
comparable models from the '60s, or else one of the newer copies. I've
actually heard good things "right here in this very newsgroup" (JMiller)
about the Jay Turser.

YMMV, but the Hofner is medium scale, some folks are happier sticking to
long (standard) scale rather than having to adjust between different basses.




--
--Llarry Amrose

In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice, but in
practice, there is.
-- Jan L.A. van de Snepscheut



"JUr Bass" <poly2bass@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1178191489.826571.276350@n59g2000hsh.googlegr oups.com...
> Dear all,
>
> I'm considering to buy a Hofner bass, because I really like the sound,
> warm & deep, and I'm looking for an instrument like Paul McCartney
> used to play. Thing is, I really don't know what I'm looking for when
> it comes to models, years of birth etc etc... I hope you know what I
> mean.
>
> Is there anybody who can help me and tell about the do's and don'ts
> when it comes to buying a vintage bass like this? And does anybody
> know what reasonable price would be?
>
> Thanks!!!
>
> grt
> JUr
>