New Old Bass Day

JezWynd

Just taken delivery of this beauty -



It's a 1962 Hofner Artist bass and it's in incredible condition. It's vinyl covered and save for a couple of minor dings it is immaculate. I'd been seeking a bass with a narrow neck for a while and this is just what I was hoping to find - neck stays slim right up the fretboard, frets are low vintage style, pickups are punchy and focussed and it's a joy to play. A typical Hofner quirk in the controls mean that treble is anti clockwise/ bass clockwise. Amazing that 58 years after being built the vinyl covering is still completely secure, bright and clean. If I had to pick out a flaw, the tuners are a bit fiddly to tune in but they seem to hold okay once they've settled down and I don't want to swap them out cos they look so cool.Couple more pics -

Funkfingers

Nice and tidy … PLUS that model is something that Harry Seven does not have.

mart

Funkfingers said:

 … PLUS that model is something that Harry Seven does not have.

Now, that is concerning. The only thing more alarming than H7’s collection is the thought that somebody, anybody, knows what is in the collection and what is not.

JezWynd

Funkfingers said:

Nice and tidy … PLUS that model is something that Harry Seven does not have.

Are you certain? I'd have thought this one was very much to H7's taste.

Btw, weight is exactly 7lbs, largely due to the very slim body I imagine.

ICBM

That's one of the best-condition old Höfners I've ever seen. Absolutely stunning.

lasermonkey

Ooh, I like that!

JonHosker

Tasty bass ... enjoy!!

JezWynd

Thanks guys. I’m a little surprised at how good an instrument it is. Intonation, while not spot on, is certainly good enough to play up above the 12th fret and the action is very low (approx 2mm@ 12th). Newer examples of the Club HCT I’ve tried recently were 4+mm at 12th and felt nowhere as good quality as this model.

Apparently they used vinyl covering to speed up the production process;  the vinyl dried in 30mins whereas the paint finish took days.

ICBM

JezWynd said:

Apparently they used vinyl covering to speed up the production process;  the vinyl dried in 30mins whereas the paint finish took days.

The vinyl could also be used to cover all manner of knotty and mismatched wood! These were not intended as refined instruments really... if you've ever seen a stripped one you might be shocked at how poor the wood is.

Don't change the machineheads - they can be made to work very well with some grease as long as the gear teeth aren't actually stripped, and if they are the gears can be replaced if necessary.

Sadly the pickups do have a tendency to die too - it's almost inevitable sooner or later, the wire coating degrades and emits an acid which eats through the wire - but luckily there's a world-class expert at rewinding them right on this forum... @OilCityPickups ;

LastMantra

Way cool!

JezWynd

ICBM said:

JezWynd said:

Apparently they used vinyl covering to speed up the production process;  the vinyl dried in 30mins whereas the paint finish took days.

The vinyl could also be used to cover all manner of knotty and mismatched wood! These were not intended as refined instruments really... if you've ever seen a stripped one you might be shocked at how poor the wood is.

Don't change the machineheads - they can be made to work very well with some grease as long as the gear teeth aren't actually stripped, and if they are the gears can be replaced if necessary.

Sadly the pickups do have a tendency to die too - it's almost inevitable sooner or later, the wire coating degrades and emits an acid which eats through the wire - but luckily there's a world-class expert at rewinding them right on this forum... @OilCityPickups ;

Thanks for those tips. I’m definitely keeping the tuners, they have been overhauled and greased by the seller and I have some flats on the way, so I’ll examine them in more detail when I change strings.

The pickups are one of the highlights, they give a really detailed sound - not woolly or muffled at all, so if/when they do start to fail I’ll definitely get them overhauled by OilCity.

Funkfingers

mart said:
The only thing more alarming than H7’s collection is the thought that somebody, anybody, knows what is in the collection and what is not.

The H7 collection is a self-perpetuating, sentient lifeform. It grows in some directions by shedding redundant things.

I must have been offered every bass guitar H7 has owned since I originally met him. I have yet to be offered a vintage Höfner Artist. Therefore, H7 did not have one to offer.


CORRECTION:
I was half right. As seen on his Wixsite, H7 definitely did own a dishevelled and incomplete Höfner Artist Bass. IMO, it would be an ideal candidate for the OCP pickups mentioned three posts down from here.

OilCityPickups

JezWynd said:

ICBM said:

JezWynd said:

Apparently they used vinyl covering to speed up the production process;  the vinyl dried in 30mins whereas the paint finish took days.

The vinyl could also be used to cover all manner of knotty and mismatched wood! These were not intended as refined instruments really... if you've ever seen a stripped one you might be shocked at how poor the wood is.

Don't change the machineheads - they can be made to work very well with some grease as long as the gear teeth aren't actually stripped, and if they are the gears can be replaced if necessary.

Sadly the pickups do have a tendency to die too - it's almost inevitable sooner or later, the wire coating degrades and emits an acid which eats through the wire - but luckily there's a world-class expert at rewinding them right on this forum... @OilCityPickups ;;

Thanks for those tips. I’m definitely keeping the tuners, they have been overhauled and greased by the seller and I have some flats on the way, so I’ll examine them in more detail when I change strings.

The pickups are one of the highlights, they give a really detailed sound - not woolly or muffled at all, so if/when they do start to fail I’ll definitely get them overhauled by OilCity.

The trick is not to disturb the pickups in any way, don't be tempted to look at the backs of them or mess about, the slightest disturbance can kill them. ... and they are detailed by the way because they are just Hofner guitar pickups with four poles instead of six!
And congratulations, that's a spectacular instrument.

JezWynd

OilCityPickups said:

JezWynd said:

ICBM said:

JezWynd said:

Apparently they used vinyl covering to speed up the production process;  the vinyl dried in 30mins whereas the paint finish took days.

The vinyl could also be used to cover all manner of knotty and mismatched wood! These were not intended as refined instruments really... if you've ever seen a stripped one you might be shocked at how poor the wood is.

Don't change the machineheads - they can be made to work very well with some grease as long as the gear teeth aren't actually stripped, and if they are the gears can be replaced if necessary.

Sadly the pickups do have a tendency to die too - it's almost inevitable sooner or later, the wire coating degrades and emits an acid which eats through the wire - but luckily there's a world-class expert at rewinding them right on this forum... @OilCityPickups ;;

Thanks for those tips. I’m definitely keeping the tuners, they have been overhauled and greased by the seller and I have some flats on the way, so I’ll examine them in more detail when I change strings.

The pickups are one of the highlights, they give a really detailed sound - not woolly or muffled at all, so if/when they do start to fail I’ll definitely get them overhauled by OilCity.

The trick is not to disturb the pickups in any way, don't be tempted to look at the backs of them or mess about, the slightest disturbance can kill them. ... and they are detailed by the way because they are just Hofner guitar pickups with four poles instead of six!
And congratulations, that's a spectacular instrument.

That doesn't surprise me; on the bridge pickup only with full treble, the sound is very guitar-like, 4 string chords above the 10th fret sound very good, chimey, with lots of harmonics. I'll heed your advice and leave well alone. 

OilCityPickups

JezWynd said:

OilCityPickups said:

JezWynd said:

ICBM said:

JezWynd said:

Apparently they used vinyl covering to speed up the production process;  the vinyl dried in 30mins whereas the paint finish took days.

The vinyl could also be used to cover all manner of knotty and mismatched wood! These were not intended as refined instruments really... if you've ever seen a stripped one you might be shocked at how poor the wood is.

Don't change the machineheads - they can be made to work very well with some grease as long as the gear teeth aren't actually stripped, and if they are the gears can be replaced if necessary.

Sadly the pickups do have a tendency to die too - it's almost inevitable sooner or later, the wire coating degrades and emits an acid which eats through the wire - but luckily there's a world-class expert at rewinding them right on this forum... @OilCityPickups ;;

Thanks for those tips. I’m definitely keeping the tuners, they have been overhauled and greased by the seller and I have some flats on the way, so I’ll examine them in more detail when I change strings.

The pickups are one of the highlights, they give a really detailed sound - not woolly or muffled at all, so if/when they do start to fail I’ll definitely get them overhauled by OilCity.

The trick is not to disturb the pickups in any way, don't be tempted to look at the backs of them or mess about, the slightest disturbance can kill them. ... and they are detailed by the way because they are just Hofner guitar pickups with four poles instead of six!
And congratulations, that's a spectacular instrument.

That doesn't surprise me; on the bridge pickup only with full treble, the sound is very guitar-like, 4 string chords above the 10th fret sound very good, chimey, with lots of harmonics. I'll heed your advice and leave well alone. 

I'm debating actually producing modern copies of the Hofner vintage designs, not only so as people can bring back to life old instruments back to life that may have lost their originals, but also that folks can have that great sound in modern guitars.

JezWynd

OilCityPickups said:
I'm debating actually producing modern copies of the Hofner vintage designs, not only so as people can bring back to life old instruments back to life that may have lost their originals, but also that folks can have that great sound in modern guitars.

I'm not at all knowledgeable about pickups; the variation between one make and another of P90 mostly passes me by but I was immediately struck by the sound of these Hofners. The neck and bridge pickups provide very different sounds - the only comparable I've can think of is a Ric 4001. The neck is deep and rich, P bass like, while the bridge is bright, sharp and can sound slightly driven with treble cranked. I usually play with flats, while it currently has rounds fitted, so this undoubtedly accounts for some of the difference but I've never heard a sound quite like it; detailed, clean and focussed (poor descriptors but hopefully you get the idea). 

I think you have a good idea, they certainly have their own, very pleasing sound and I've not seen much in the way of replacements for Hofner style guitars and basses. Came across this -
https://www.seymourduncan.com/blog/the-tone-garage/sd-mini-humbuckers-and-the-hofner-beatle-bass

ICBM

JezWynd said:

I'm not at all knowledgeable about pickups; the variation between one make and another of P90 mostly passes me by but I was immediately struck by the sound of these Hofners. The neck and bridge pickups provide very different sounds - the only comparable I've can think of is a Ric 4001. The neck is deep and rich, P bass like, while the bridge is bright, sharp and can sound slightly driven with treble cranked. I usually play with flats, while it currently has rounds fitted, so this undoubtedly accounts for some of the difference but I've never heard a sound quite like it; detailed, clean and focussed (poor descriptors but hopefully you get the idea).

One big reason for this is that the pickups are much further apart than normal - almost all basses have the bridge pickup in particular further from the bridge, and usually the neck pickup further from the neck as well. One of the only other ones like your Höfner is the Rickenbacker 4005 - even the 4001 really has a neck pickup and a middle pickup, rather than bridge.

maw4neu

1962 is my birth year :-) Wow . . .that's a beautiful Bass . . . It brought back memories of my first electric guitar which was a Vinyl Covered Hofner Galaxy . . . It was a Browny Orange as I remember  with White piping similar to your bass . . . but I cant quite recall where I picked it up from . . . It was most probably a place called Second Chance in Chadderton  . . . You could drive a bus under the strings as the action was not great but I tried my best with it and eventually traded it for a Hondo 11 Les Paul with Dimarzio pickups . . . I paid £20 back then in 1975 . . . It sounded amazing though my Realistic Transistor Amp . . . 

JezWynd

maw4neu said:

1962 is my birth year :-) Wow . . .that's a beautiful Bass . . . It brought back memories of my first electric guitar which was a Vinyl Covered Hofner Galaxy . . . It was a Browny Orange as I remember  with White piping similar to your bass . . . but I cant quite recall where I picked it up from . . . It was most probably a place called Second Chance in Chadderton  . . . You could drive a bus under the strings as the action was not great but I tried my best with it and eventually traded it for a Hondo 11 Les Paul with Dimarzio pickups . . . I paid £20 back then in 1975 . . . It sounded amazing though my Realistic Transistor Amp . . . 

The Galaxy is a cool looking guitar, Hofner’s version of a Jaguar perhaps?

PhilKing

That really is in great condition.  I sold a few of the vinyl covered Hofners in the 70's and don't think I ever saw one as nice as that.

fretmeister

I quite like that.

What does it sound like? I've never played one.