Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Kiddwad57 wrote:Every guitar and bass I've owned has required minor adjustments at one time or anther.

YES.....minor adjustments ARE to be expected, but NOT the amount of effort required to get those basses in tune!!!!!!!!!!

Lefty4003S8 wrote:

Kiddwad57 wrote:Every guitar and bass I've owned has required minor adjustments at one time or anther.

YES.....minor adjustments ARE to be expected, but NOT the amount of effort required to get those basses in tune!!!!!!!!!!

Come on, after all, they're only 30 Quid (or something like that) to buy, right? You shouldn't expect it to be set up like an expensive, custom bass.

It's about time someone gave a Hofner the old Pete Townshend and put us all out of our misery! Darn things. Post it on YouTube.

Postby Todd Bradshaw (teb) » 31 Oct 2013 12:08 pm

I never had any sort of intonation problems on my fretted or fretless V63s.

While the comical aspect of this may be rather obvious, it IS a real issue, and playing a fretless with intonation issues is just as annoying as playing a fretted one with them. Having to "choke-up" a little bit on one string and "choke-down" a little on another because the intonation is off is a real pain in the rear. I generally have at least four different fretless basses in the rack and they all have different scale lengths. I won't tolerate bad intonation caused by the instrument. If it's there, it's my fault, as it should be.

Hofner fretless V63 samples:
http://webpages.charter.net/tbradshaw/M ... r%20FL.mp3

Having owned four twelve-strings, I can safely say that I've had a lot more intonation problems with Rickenbacker instruments than with Hofners. Luckily though, with some work they can be fixed. Having see the video of the Hofner bass construction process though (lots of whirling blades close to fingers, guys with bottles of glue and a tremendous amount of rather low-tech hand work) it does make you hope that those guys are having a good day on the day they build your bass.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCOycca1ezo

Kiddwad57 wrote:It's about time someone gave a Hofner the old Pete Townshend and put us all out of our misery! Darn things. Post it on YouTube.

Somebody already did that for me...

OUCH!!!!!!!!

Lesson learnt- A hard case is no substitute for a proper flight case and 'Fragile' stickers don't work.

Never had any intonation problems with the '63 reissue before the 'incident' though and i've never had any issues with the '62 reissue that replaced it. Both Hofners did their job sufficiently.
I prefer my Rickenbacker though......

Sorry to see that happen to your Hofner. I wouldn't really give a Hofner the old Pete Townshend.

Lefty4003S8 wrote:OUCH!!!!!!!!

hmmm if I buy another bass I think my wife might do that to one of my Rics. Just kiddin!!!!! I hope.

teb wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCOycca1ezo

Was that luthier eye-balling those fret and nut slots?
Wow!

He had a template that he put on top of the fingerboard and then hit it to make marks in the wood where he needed to cut.

IMO & IME, it's a matter of opinion and experience. And, a case of some mutually exclusive traits. In the 1970s it was a Hofner, all the way! In the 1980s it was a 4001, all the way! The Hofner didn't have that heavy sustained low end that I had gotten used to. But, since the 1990s it's been a Hofner all the way until today. The 4001 doesn't have the mid range and punch that I have gotten used to for 2 decades with a Hofner, not to mention the light weight. (I'm talking about the real made in Germany Hofners, BTW.) The Hofner also has a very fast neck. There's NOW WAY you can get the very precise timing of notes on a longer scale bass. Though I'm talking fractions of a second it does change your playing. Unless the Hofner has very low action, you have to dig in a bit and work. Granted it is also work playing a longer scale bass, but a different kind of work. I feel weighed down by a RIC these days. My playing style was affected by playing a Hofner. I get compliments on the sound of my 1966 Hofner with rounds all the time. No way you can judge a Hofner if you haven't played one for sometime. Then there’s the type of music you're playing, and then there's the player's style & feel.

Just got a German Höfner in today. A new one. So now I have both:)

I wouldn't sell my 78 Ric for anything, no matter how many good Hofners I had. I really like my Hofner CT 500/1. It's a mid-entry bass but sounds better than that. I like it well enough that one day, I'll buy a German Hofner. But I'll always go to the Ric.

It's just not 'or or' but 'and and'. You can have both and use 'm in different ways.

Best thing is to buy a HCT. very good basses and not expensive.