Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

It's been posted on the DudePit that a new Chinese made Hofner of the 500/1 model will be available mid Sept. that suppose to be the real deal except for some cheap knobs. I ordered on from Music 123 for $299. Heck, for that price I'll just have to sell my Rogue Beatle bass.
Read all about it.
http://www.vintagebass.com/thedudepit/showthread.php?t=12528

Are they listed on M123's web site? There's some conflicting info on what actually is different between the German & Chinese basses.....I talked to the biggest US Hofner dealer and he had more questions than I did about the Chinese basses.

I can't afford a new Hofner and am wary of their "delicate" nature...so $299 sounds like a great deal if it sounds decent. Thanks for the info Bob!

Bob, I have been toying with the idea of getting an Epi Viola. If I'm not mistaken the Epi has a zero fret. How is your Rogue?? I've heard that they are pretty well made.

Alisha, The bass is only being offered by catalog. You must go to Music 123's website, and click on "by quick order form" on the left-hand side. Enter Catalog # 360455 and submit.
I just got an email from them saying the bass will be in 9/14/06.

Scott, my wife is kicking me off the PC. I'll post later about the Rogue.

Scott, I heard the Epi has the zero fret, and it is also smaller than the Rogue. As a matter of fact when I first got the Rogue I picked up an Epi case for it and it was too small. For $199 the build quality on the Rogue is good. It has a nice flamed finish on it, but it's a bit too yellow. The first thing I did was change the cheap tuners for some perloid banjo tuners to make it look more like the Hofner. The knobs, and pickguard are cheap too. The only real problem with mine was the volume controls for the pickups. The pups are really hot, and if I just barely turned the volume on, the volume would be at max. I learned to adjust to that. I would be curious to see if anyone else had a similar problem with the pups. The sound is pretty darn close to the real Hofner however, and makes up for some of the cheap quality, and for the price you can't beat it. I'm just hoping the far east Hofner import lives up to what people are saying about it.
If so, I'll sell the Rogue for a couple new sets of strings.

I just ordered one. Funny thing is, when you input the item number, it says Hofner, but when I check the order, it just says violin bass.

Same thing here Mark, but yesterday I received a follow up email from Music 123, and the order says Hofner HBB.

FYI, is everyone aware there will be two different series of Hofner Chinese made basses available, the Contemporary Series and the Icon Series.

The Contemporary Series (CS) pictured on the Hofner website have German made Pickups and electronics in them with the hardware and body being made in China. This model has a center block in the body. They should sell for approximately $599.00 and are available in either black or standard brownburst finish.

The Icon Series (IS) have yet to be seen. So far there are no photos of them on the web. This series is 100% Chinese made and are the models that Music 123 are selling for $299.00
I haven't heard what finish these will be offered in other than the standard brownburst.
I can tell you that they do not have a center block in the body, so they will sound different.

Apparently both lines are in production right now in China and being closely monitored by Hofner staff for quality control. They will also share the same Hofner 500/1 standard body and neck/headstock style we're all so familiar with.

You should start to see both series in the stores in mid to late August or early September.

With the exception of a few lines, China is fast becoming the home new guitars. Thank goodness for Rickenbacker. The quality control problems must be quite significant in the beginning when moving a factory to China.

I agree Peter that American made can't be beat. With that said, I've seen many a Mexican Fender instrument scream with a few small adjustments.

Just couldn't pass up a Hofner with a $299 price tag. Hopefully since it should be an early one, the quality control will be a bit stricter...

When I think of all the old Hofner basses that were in NYC in the early 80's with price tags of $100-200 I get sick.

Peter, you do realize that Hofner are not opening a factory in China. They're using a existing guitar factory to make their new Contemporary and Icon Series of guitars and basses.

I'm told the German factory is back logged with orders for guitars and basses, so the demand is still there for them.

We should see photos of the Icon Series posted on the Hofner website by the middle of August.

And how will these new instruments affect people on eBay trying to sell a Chinese made "Hofner" from the real, German made deal?? Will there be any markings on the bass to distinguish?

From what I have learned on other forums, the initial test run of Chinese instruments was on display at the winter NAMM show and were all purchased by Northcoast, and they were virtually indistinguishable from the German made guitars. Those guitars are now out in the market somewhere. It looks as though the Hofner Contemporary series, at least, with German electronics, may be the same.
I think it's a disastrous move by Hofner to make guitars that compete with themselves.
I know a lot of people, including me, would like a less expensive short scale "viol" shaped bass guitar that says Hofner on it, but I also think it Hofner should somehow clearly and irreversibly identify the Contemporary (expected price $600 US) and Icon (expected price $300 US) series from the premium original units.
That is what Rickenbacker has done, and it seems to have worked for them.

That being said, I searched Music123.com to see if I could find it...I didn't find that, but I DID find THIS! Surely this is NOT a Rickenbacker, right?
http://www.music123.com/Music123/Rickenbacker-ID-JMH-06-Jumbo-Series-i250734.music