4001s vs The Hofner

[coolingitdown]

Paul probably uses flatwounds and only the neck pickup.

I think he actually uses roundwounds these days. When I saw him live I could hear finger noise on the strings when he would run his fingers over the strings between songs. I wouldn't be surprised to find out his tech put them on to get his tone to cut through better, and, not being terribly picky about his gear, Paul probably just went with it.

You have to remember, this is the man who, when asked what kind of strings he preferred, replied, "long shiny ones."

You might have a point because his sound on the Hofner nowadays is a lot better than it used to be.

Indeed. This was about 8 years ago, so the change certainly could have been made between when you saw him and I saw him.

[AndyM]

My Ric is a 4003, otherwise I also own both. The Contemporary model, as Peter noted, is the next best thing to the German model of 500/1. Ignition not so much.
The Hofner is a 1.5 trick pony. Just a bit better than a one trick unit. I don't have the bridge pickup on - ever. There's no comparison of build quality or tone - Ric wins hands down.

Nice to have each. BTW I also own the Hofner Contemporary Club Bass and other than body shape it is identical in every way to the Contemporary Beatle Bass and in a blind sound test, I'm not sure I could tell which was which.

[Wiker]

Myself I have a more affectionate relation to the Hofner violin bass than to the Ricenbacker bass, but I like both - different type of basses that does different things.
The Hofner has a much more articulate attack, much more sensitive to how hard the string is played. Compared to a Hofner the Rickenbacker bass doesn’t have much attack at all, but has much longer sustain. When it comes to tone the Hofner bass could benefit from rewired electronics to bring out a wider range of useful tones.

I’ve never touched an Asian made Hofner and have3 no idea how they are.
When it comes to build quality of German Hofners there is nothing setting them back compared to the quality of Ricks. On the contrary. Hofner basses have no specific problem areas. Except they might need a neck reset when they get old (which is the nature of set necks), there are no neck or truss rod problems with Hofners like what we see a lot of here on the forum.

[Kiddwad57]

Nice comparison Wilker! The workmanship on a German Hofner is on par with any of the great basses. Any intonation issues may have to do with the (mis) placement of the floating bridge. Hofners do have lots of presence, a fat sound and if you were a guitarist switching to bass the string spacing would probably feel great. But hey, let's talk about Rickenbackers. Better yet, I'm going to go play mine! Fretless jetglo, HBs fun, fun, fun!

[Kiddwad57]

Wiker, pardon my spelling.

[iamthebassman]

Every show I'm SO happy when I can set the Hofner aside and move on to the 4001S, or the Fender Jazz.

[ch willie]

Hi,
I have the Höfner Contemporary and I played the Ignition Bass in the shop too. These are worlds !! The Contemporary is that much better !! So if you dont have the bucks for the german made Höfner, try the contemporary bass and leave the Ignition to where it belongs, in the rocketscience !
Just my two cents.

Peter

I did it, man, I just ordered the HCT Hofner. Got a good deal on a used lefty.

[rickenbrother]

Hofner basses leave me absolutely cold.

Don't like the way these play. Hate the look...

So put me in the 4001S camp.

+1

[bassduke49]

LOVE the look.

Yeah, I know, I'm supposed to be the Rickenbacker bass guy, but the look of the Höfner in PM's hands on the Ed Sullivan Show 49 and a half years ago had me transfixed. What is that? You can imagine how difficult it was back then for a 14-year-old freshman in high school in a small town to determine what that object of desire actually was. Eons before the Internet, decades before VCRs, and long before there were books about the Beatles, my quest was Herculean. All I had to go on was my memory of that show and photos in fan magazines or album jacket covers. Oh, and Beatle bubble-gum cards (man, I chewed a lot of bubble gum in 1964). I remember distinctly making a rather detailed and fairly accurate full-page pencil drawing of the Höfner in my spiral-bound notebook during homeroom time before classes my sophomore year. I had no formal art training, but remember shading the sunburst with the side of the pencil "lead" and using a ruler as a straightedge to draw the strings. The pencil eraser and I were best of friends. Not long after that, I borrowed an uncle's cheap acoustic guitar and started thumbing notes on the four "big" strings, playing along to Beatle 45s. A bass player was born.

I never touched a real Höfner "Beatle Bass" until my sophomore year in college in L.A in late 1968 or early '69. I bicycled over to what may have been the first Guitar Center (?) near Hollywood (or was it Sunset) and Vine (?) where I was able to actually hold and play one. As I recall, it cost a little over $300; I hadn't the money for it, but I coveted it. I remember seeing one of the blonde 5000/1 Deluxe models there (Dino Martin played one in Dino, Desi, and Billy), and I remember being curious about the Rickenbacker convertible 6/12-string, and the Hagstrom eight-string bass. I went home to my aunt & uncle's (where I was staying) empty handed, but eventually found one of the first Japanese knock-offs in a small music store on Vermont Avenue, and bought my very first bass for $89 brand new! It looked nearly identical to my preciousssss, and to me, sounded the same (I knew nothing about how it should sound), but noticed right away that it was neck heavy.

That was my only bass until 1975. In 1970, I had allowed it to keel over and broke the neck behind the nut. I had a fabrication shop implant a steel brace covered with sturdy epoxy for the repair, and it soldiered on until I formed a "real" band and figured it was time for a change. That's when I bought my first Rick, a used 1972 Mapleglo 4001 (which I still have, now refinished in Berryburst). The Japanese (no label) Beatle bass was borrowed by that "real" band's lighting guy/roadie to monkey around with, and I never saw it again.

I now have three genuine German-built Höfners, a 5000/1 Deluxe, a special blueburst 500/1, and a one-off super deluxe in cherry red that needs to be rebuilt.

[johnallg]

.... and a one-off super deluxe in cherry red that needs to be rebuilt.

What's the story with that?

[Keef]

Great story Paul. Thanks for sharing!

[bassduke49]

.... and a one-off super deluxe in cherry red that needs to be rebuilt.

What's the story with that?

I'm sure I've told it before, but it's likely impossible to search for. I took it to several of the early Confluences. I found it on eBay back in '04 or '05. I bought it from the retired president of Boosey & Hawkes (U.S.) who had commissioned Höfner to make it along with several others as experiments on doing "other colors" than the usual antique brown burst we all know and love. I've seen photos of two others of these experimentals, but this one is the fanciest of all: fine birdseye maple top, back, and sides; gold-plated hardware; large MOP block inlays; raised plastic Höfner logo -- just a stunning instrument. The other two I've seen photos of were another that was cherry red but had simple dot position markers and likely no binding on the neck, and another that was a red burst with block inlays. Eventually (around 2000), they settled to make 50 or 100 each of red burst and blue burst with the same trim levels as the 500/1V63 basses then being made; no binding on the neck, dot markers, decal logo, and chrome hardware. I have one of the blue bursts from this production run.

Years later, suffering from disuse, a chemical reaction between the pickguard material and any metal parts near it caused a lot of corrosion which I didn't know how to stop. I eventually found it was some sort of acid that leaches out of pickguard (the guard actually felt wet!) that ate the nickel parts (including the strings!). I've since ditched the pickguard and will someday spend some time and money to get new gold-plated pickups (or covers) and tailpiece and put it back together. Here are some photos before the grunge and during ( ):

[jps]

IIRC that is due to the pickguard being made of nitrocellulose.

[ilan]

My first bass back in 1975 was a late-60's Höfner 500/1, with the blade pickups. I never liked the violin shape or the neck-dive. Sold it to my teacher. 37 years later, he still plays it!

Now I own this lovely 1964 Senator bass. To be honest, it sounds better than any 500/1 I've ever played... The f-holes add clarity and definition. Balances well on a strap. After a pro neck reset and fret dressing, it plays effortlessly. Any one who picks it up immediately falls in love with it.

[Medicus1963]

Hi,
I have the Höfner Contemporary and I played the Ignition Bass in the shop too. These are worlds !! The Contemporary is that much better !! So if you dont have the bucks for the german made Höfner, try the contemporary bass and leave the Ignition to where it belongs, in the rocketscience !
Just my two cents.

Peter

I did it, man, I just ordered the HCT Hofner. Got a good deal on a used lefty.

Congrats ! Please share your experience when you getthe bass !!

Peter