Tone of a 3001 ?

rickengrowl · Post by **rickengrowl** » Sat Jul 26, 2003 11:59 pm

Hi,

There's a sweet 3001 for sale at a very affordable price, and since I need a "bass basic tone" bass (Hofner, Epiphone Viola...) for my Beatles tribute band, I was wondering if this 3001 would be a good bass for that. It's half the price of a Hofner and only twice that of that cheapy Viola.

Please can anyone tell about the characteristic tone of the 3001 ?

Thanks in advance,

All the best,
JL

ojobob2 · Post by **ojobob2** » Sun Jul 27, 2003 12:24 am

I hear its rather like a P bass. Its a bolt on neck and the pickup is in the mid position so....

ojobob2 · Post by **ojobob2** » Sun Jul 27, 2003 12:26 am

A hollow body bass would be better......like a Epiphone Rivoli or Gibson EB2 or something

dave4004 · Post by **dave4004** » Sun Jul 27, 2003 4:34 am

For a Beatles tribute band, IMHO an old EKO or Vox Violin Bass would be a much better choice tonally than a 3001 or an EB2.

iamthebassman · Post by **iamthebassman** » Sun Jul 27, 2003 7:15 am

I play bass in a Beatles tribute band, and while for years now I have been playing a Hofner and Ric, I started with an Epi Viola. It arrived with RW strings and didn't sound so good, but I put flats on and it was fine. I own a '66 EB-2 and a reissue Rivoli and don't think either is quite the right tone. I did have a Vox Violin bass for a while, it was close but it was the one with the built-in boosts, and fuzz.
On the Epi Viola I used the neck pickup with the tone rolled off, and flats. It was close, but I'm afraid nothing sounds like a Hofner.
Anyway, from someone who did it, I would suggest the Epi. "Solidly" built, good case, decent tone, and most people didn't realize it was different than what Paul played.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Sun Jul 27, 2003 8:55 am

How about a Gibson EB-1? very cool bass, it was the original violin shaped bass, even before Hofner, I think a Hofner would be better for a Beatle's tribute band though. I have an Eko violin bass, but it needs a lot of work, and is actually much cleaner and punchier sounding than a Hofner, is almost modern sounding, this has good pickups in it.

ricnvolved · Post by **ricnvolved** » Sun Jul 27, 2003 9:28 am

The Gibson EB-1 would get you close to the Hofner 500/1 looks-wise but probably would be nowhere near it in tone. Those old Gibson neck pick-ups are incredibly strong and thick sounding. Being a big fan of Felix I personally like the tone of the EB-1. Just plug it into a huge wall of vintage Sunn amps & cabs and you're there. But you ain't gonna sound like Paul on his Hofner.

Jean-- I'm afraid that if you're in a Beatles tribute band and you want to replicate Paul's tone, your choices are pretty limited. I'm not personally familiar with many of the basses mentioned in the previous posts of this thread; the Epi Rivoli might be a good one to look into. However, you may find that there's no satisfactory substitute for the Hofner 500/1 as far as tone for that particular situation.

rob · Post by **rob** » Sun Jul 27, 2003 9:46 am

When was the last year of 3001's?

rickengrowl · Post by **rickengrowl** » Sun Jul 27, 2003 9:50 am

Thanks to all,

Basically, an Epiphone Viola goes for about 550 EUR, and a Hofner 500/1 goes for about 1275 EUR. According to good feedback heard here and there about the Viola, I just wonder if the Hofner is worth the difference in price. Any opinions ?

All the best,
JL

ricnvolved · Post by **ricnvolved** » Sun Jul 27, 2003 10:27 am

Jean-- That is a huge question I have wrestled with for almost 10 years. I *LOVE* the look of the Hofner 500/1V63 but I simply cannot convince myself that the instrument is worth the approximately $1,659 one sells for new. And forget about buying a vintage model; the price point for one now is outrageous and probably not as well-built as the current production basses. If it were possible to locate a nice used one in excellent+++ or better condition for around $800 to $850, then I *might* spring for it. Otherwise, it's very unlikely at this point that I'll ever have a Hofner 500/1V63 in my collection. And if I ever found myself in a Beatles tribute band (also very unlikely considering my geographic location), I'd just have to play my Ric.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Sun Jul 27, 2003 10:28 am

I'd buy the Hofner, just to have it besides the fact that it should sound just like the early Beatles bass sound, and you'd always know that you had THE bass. Even though the EB-1 was the first, Jeffery is right it wouldn't sound like a Hofner and they are hard to find anyway. Gibson let that shape slip right through it's fingers, even though the Hofner is a Gibson copy all the world thinks that any violin shaped bass is a Hofner copy, even the Gibson's.
Jeffery, I saw Mountain around 1972-73, 2 times, after the keyboard player left, Felix had his EB-1 and about 6 Sunn 2000S cabs with probably 3 heads, and this was not in a stadium, it was in a medium size room at a local college. They were great even though I missed the keyboards.

rickengrowl · Post by **rickengrowl** » Sun Jul 27, 2003 10:34 am

Good point, Jeff. Thanks.
The fact is, I'm not a violin-bass "fetishist", and I acknowledge my 4003 can fit the whole of the show. The reason why I wonder about a violin bass is for stage visions. Just to make the most accurate "revival" possible.
But of course, I also need a good tone if I ever pick up a violin bass.
I have time. I can wait. Probably one day or another, I'll go and check the Viola. If it fits my needs, I'll get one. Otherwise I'll probably get a Hofner. But in this case, I'll first get the more Rics I want...

Thanks again,

All the best,
JL

shamustwin · Post by **shamustwin** » Sun Jul 27, 2003 10:55 am

I just played my '82 4003, '67 4005 and '67 Hofner back to back, same amp, same settings. The Hofner appeared to be twice as loud as the rics. Consistant tone and volume top to bottom. People rag on em, but they are a nice player, set up right. BTW, I just sold it. The 4005 is the coolest, though. What a neck, and no need for an amp to practice! That'll be up for sale soon.

ricnvolved · Post by **ricnvolved** » Sun Jul 27, 2003 11:00 am

Bob-- I never had the opportunity to see Mountain, though I did see West, Bruce, & Laing in October, 1972 at Wait Chapel on the campus of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. It was a great show and the *only* time I got to see my Bass God hero in concert.

The tone Felix got from that bass/amps/cabs combination was supposedly legendary and I sorely regret not getting to hear it live for myself. I also remember reading somewhere (Rolling Stone magazine?) about when Mountain keyboard player Steve Knight left the band. According to the article, Knight was very angry & frustrated about his role in the band and how he was treated as a nominal sideman. I implicitly understood his anger. Leslie West probably had an ego even bigger than his massive physical size, so I don't question Steve Knight's attitude for one second.

ricnvolved · Post by **ricnvolved** » Sun Jul 27, 2003 11:10 am

Jerry-- I don't mean to imply that a Hofner 500/1 is a total piece of junk. I have heard from several sources that build quality can be erratic in vintage models, less so in current production models. I've also heard that a Hofner can be difficult to set up correctly, even a newer one. My perception of the 500/1 is that you simply don't get good enough value relative to the price.