| Author | Message | ||
| jlpicard
Advanced Member Username: jlpicard Post Number: 224 Registered: 7-2002 |
I know this is way off the topic for the Alembic club but has anyone had any experience comparing the Hofner Beatle Bass with any of the Asian knockoffs? It's been too many years since I've played a real Hofner to tell. I'm sure ther must be some difference but it always seemed to me to not be worth paying ten times the price for the real thing. | ||
| jetbass79
Member Username: jetbass79 Post Number: 78 Registered: 2-2005 |
The imported ones won't fall apart the way the Hofner basses do. Apparently the Rogue (Musician's Friend's house brand) version is made in Korea which is a good sign -- it's probably the same bass as Epiphone's Viola. They are a better value than the "real thing." Hofners always have a neck block cracking problem which causes them to rattle inside and the neck to separate rendering them unplayable. Paul McCartney paid like $45 for his back in the day and now they want $2K for new ones. They're made the same way they were in the '60s and they are no better on any level. I played a real one some 9 years ago and couldn't for the life of me figure out how Paul McCartney played the damn thing. Notice he's the only one who has used them on a regular basis. | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 569 Registered: 7-2004 |
And let us not forget that McCartney is notorious for caring little about his equipment Bill, tgo | ||
| bassman10096
Senior Member Username: bassman10096 Post Number: 766 Registered: 7-2003 |
I have a friend (a fairly credible bass player) who swears the Jay Turser Beatle copy nails the Hofner sound and is well-built. Never tried one myself. Anyone out there tried a Turser? | ||
| jetbass79
Member Username: jetbass79 Post Number: 79 Registered: 2-2005 |
I would imagine that instrument is built in the same factory as the Rogue and Epiphone, which incidentally the Samick factory (for real). I don't think anyone could wrong with a Turser or any other import version of the "real thing." | ||
| bassman10096
Senior Member Username: bassman10096 Post Number: 767 Registered: 7-2003 |
I'm sure you're right about that. | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 441 Registered: 9-2002 |
As a real Macca fan, I always knew one day I'd play a Hofner . . . and when I did, I realized that Sir Paul must surely have been a genius to get ANYTHING out of that little toy of a bass. But, I realize he was essentially 'doubling' on bass, was originally a guitar player in his little group(!), so I suppose it was not near as big a jump as if he'd gone to a PBass, etc. When he later played Rics, of course they had very slim, guitar like necks as well, so maybe that's the deal. Not to mention the difficulty of finding real left handed instruments. And of course, in the Quarrymen/Beatle days, we tend to forget just how new the electric bass guitar was, and how few choices he had. J o e y | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 442 Registered: 9-2002 |
PS If I had to have something like that, I wish Hamer would offer a production version of that Hofner-looking axe that Jack Blades played on the Ringo tours. J o e y | ||
| bassman10096
Senior Member Username: bassman10096 Post Number: 768 Registered: 7-2003 |
You really have to get along with short scales to warm up to a Hofner. Even then, they feel like a toy. Many years ago, I used to play a Hofner that belonged to a friend on occasion at impromptu jams. After a couple of hours, it would warm right up to me. Still an unusual instrument to play, though. | ||
| trekster
Junior Username: trekster Post Number: 44 Registered: 7-2004 |
bigred: Can you point me to a pic of Blades with the bass you mentioned? I always thought that he was playing Hamer's version of an SD Curlee bass (like the one he used in the first Night Ranger video "Don't tell me you love me" -- always loved that 2-sets of P-bass pickups set opposite of each other look -- not sure how it really sounded -- and the Hamers didn't have them!). --T | ||
| adriaan
Senior Member Username: adriaan Post Number: 595 Registered: 6-2002 |
The first ever bass guitar I ever laid hands on was a genuine Hofner violin bass, and it must have been in 1975. I was 10 years old, and a bit short for my age, so it was a good size instrument for me. It was on loan from a friend of my dad, and so it had to go back to the owner after a few months (and a couple of packets of Pyramid flats later). After that came a genuine Egmond - so yes, I do have warm memories for the Hofner. | ||
| hydrargyrum
Intermediate Member Username: hydrargyrum Post Number: 136 Registered: 3-2004 |
Sorry for the Non-Alembic, but here is a Giffin guitar this thread recently brought to mind. I am sure Roger would be happy to make a similar bass . . .  | ||
| richbass939
Advanced Member Username: richbass939 Post Number: 351 Registered: 11-2004 |
A while ago a club member (I don't remember who it was, a NYC session player, I think) said a few words about THE Paul Hofner. He said he knows Will Lee (who, last I heard, owns it). He said he has seen it, but didn't say whether or not he has played it. If you're out there reading I'd like to hear what you have to say about it. Rich | ||
| bigideas
Junior Username: bigideas Post Number: 47 Registered: 1-2004 |
if you go a bit further down the page from that guitar in Giffin's custom archive there is a short scale violin style bass. | ||
| flaxattack
Senior Member Username: flaxattack Post Number: 562 Registered: 4-2004 |
here is my old eko bass- circa 1965 it still sounds awesome sometimes they are on ebay but its hard to find one with all original parts  | ||
| hydrargyrum
Intermediate Member Username: hydrargyrum Post Number: 137 Registered: 3-2004 |
D'Oh . . . I mean oh yeah. That was just a test . . . | ||
| gare
Advanced Member Username: gare Post Number: 233 Registered: 11-2003 |
Way back when, '68 to '71, I played both the Hofner violin and Cavern basses. Thought they were great..for the time. They worked well for the basic rock tunes of the day. But they were fragile. My 1st one delveloped a crack along the binding on the body, but the dealer replaced the bass for me. They had very nice tone for its size. Think I paid something like $300 each for them...now they're like 2300..owww. But once I heard Yes, ELP, etc, and couldnt get that sound out of them I ended up swicthing to a Ric and a jazz bass. The Eko bass..can remember lots of people using those during that era too. | ||
| jlpicard
Advanced Member Username: jlpicard Post Number: 226 Registered: 7-2002 |
Rich, Everything I've ever read and the McCartney tour video entitled "Back in the US" insists that the one you see Sir Paul playing is "THE ONE". Mike | ||
| gare
Advanced Member Username: gare Post Number: 234 Registered: 11-2003 |
Opps..whatever happened to proof reading..I meant to say Club bass..not Cavern. I'll go along with Mike, most references to Paul's bass say its the one he used Beatles in their heyday. I remember an article about it years ago that had a picture of it with one of their orginal set lists taped on the side of the body. Gary | ||
| richbass939
Advanced Member Username: richbass939 Post Number: 355 Registered: 11-2004 |
Maybe I'm just hallucinating. I seem to remember a Will Lee interview in Bass Player in the last year or so. What I remember is: He said it had a set list taped to the side, too. He has played it on Letterman. It was really cool to play Paul's bass on the Ed Sullivan Theater stage. There was a club member who said he knows Will and has seen it. Maybe it said it was another "Beatle Hofner" that Paul owned. Does anyone know if Paul owned another one later? I've dreamed some pretty cool stories before. I should have all my recent BPs somewhere. I'll see if I can find it (or find out that I'm totally wrong). Rich | ||
| gare
Advanced Member Username: gare Post Number: 235 Registered: 11-2003 |
Maybe I'm just hallucinating.<---please share ! Please ? I havent read the Will Lee interview. But I would think he would have owned more than one..I'd also think he'd have gotten a 'gimme' from the manufacturer. The early pictures I've seen showed him playing whats now known as the Cavern model, pickups in neck and middle positions. I've also seen that bass in the background on some stage shots as a backup. So theres at least two. G | ||
| jetbass79
Member Username: jetbass79 Post Number: 80 Registered: 2-2005 |
Paul owned a couple of Hofner 500/1 (that is the CORRECT model name for the instrument) basses. The first one he bought in Hamburg and it had two pickups close together at the neck, and the second one he got is the one with the set list from 1966 taped to the side. It is said though that he played a number of 500/1 instruments through the years. My guess is that the one that's got the set list taped to the side is his primary Hofner 500/1. Not to offend anyone, but I hate when people refer to it as a "Beatle Bass" particularly since it came out in 1956. | ||
| rxbassman
Junior Username: rxbassman Post Number: 18 Registered: 1-2004 |
I agree with the above. He was given a few Hofners after his purchase of the 1962 model and 1963 model. The '63 model was always his favorite and the one he played on his Back in the U.S. tour. I also owned a left-handed Hofner bass back in '67. I could never understand his appeal for this bass. After root/5s and pentatonic scales, I could find no further use for this bass. I have read that the only reason he bought it is because he couldn't afford a Fender. The Hofner was 30 pounds and the Fender was 100. He also liked the symmetrical shape of the body after years of flipping over right-handed guitars and basses. I suppose he continues to play it for the physical and mental comfort it provides him. Even though it lacks the quality and playability of great basses, I love the look and the sound he gets out of this bass. Paul and his Hofner have created some of my favorite music. Dale | ||
| jlpicard
Advanced Member Username: jlpicard Post Number: 229 Registered: 7-2002 |
Well, I have heard that Jaco once said that, " the sound is in my hands" Perhaps that's the explaination. | ||
| bassman10096
Senior Member Username: bassman10096 Post Number: 781 Registered: 7-2003 |
How's this for a different take on the venerable Beatle bass copy?   Long scale Two piece solid maple body Bloodwood top w/ flush canarywood inlayed faux pickguard Three piece ash and maple neck Dual action truss rod Rosewood fingerboard Bloodwood dot markers Kind of cool. | ||
| 57basstra
Member Username: 57basstra Post Number: 76 Registered: 4-2005 |
Neat bass. What is it? (aside, I am a Complete Beatles freak and Sir Paul is tops in my book as player/singer/songwriter/performer | ||
| bassman10096
Senior Member Username: bassman10096 Post Number: 782 Registered: 7-2003 |
Lecompte. Made in Texas. http://www.lecomptebass.com/. He's also planning a chambered solid body in what looks like the shape of a Guild Starfire (except in long scale). | ||
| blazer
Member Username: blazer Post Number: 71 Registered: 12-2003 |
Preceeding the Hofner in only a couple of Years. The Gibson EB1 was the very first electric bassguitar to feature a Violin body shape. Felix Pappalardi of mountain, and currently Jack Bruce are long time users of that bass.  | ||
| jetbass79
Member Username: jetbass79 Post Number: 82 Registered: 2-2005 |
The Gibson Electric Bass appeared in 1953 and was superceded in 1958 with the EB1 which was identical except for the name. It went with the EBO, EB2, and EB3 basses at the same time. The EBO and EB3 were both restyled in 1961 with the SG shape. The EB2 was the 335 based bass guitar that was produced between 1958 and 1970. There was the Epiphone Rivoli that was identical and a two pickup version was released in 1970 and all USA Epiphone production ceased at the end of 1970. The Animals' Chas Chandler is the most famous user of the Epiphone Rivoli and it sold very well in Britain during the mid and late 1960s. The EB1 was discontinued in 1959 and brought back briefly in 1969 to compete with the popularity of the Hofner 500/1 at the time. There is little evidence to suggest Gibson's Electric Bass was copied by Hofner since 1) the Hofner was hollow and the Electric Bass was not and 2) very few of the Gibson Electric Bass were produced and fewer of them were exported throughout the world. The EB1 also had a protruding spike so it could be played upright which the Hofner 500/1 did not. Jack Bruce started life on a Fender Bass VI that was painted by "The Fool" similarly to Eric Clapton's Les Paul/SG. He then switched to the Gibson EB3 and is its most famous user. It's funny that Gibson basses are far more usable today with current bass amplifier technology than when they were new though I could never justify owning an EB except maybe the EB2 or Epiphone Rivoli but I would only want to spend the money on a used Korean Rivoli just because vintage EB2's are worth a good chunk of change. |
