Great video! I'll try clarifying some confusion in the comments... There currently are three primary "lineups" of Hofner violin basses: Hofner 500/1, Hofner Contemporary 500/1 (HCT), and Hofner Ignition. The Hofner 500/1 is their flagship, top-of-the-line and German made. The HCT is made in China, but uses mostly the same electronics and similar hardware as the German. But the HCT control panel has 500K pots while the German's are 250K. It also comes with round-wound strings as opposed to flat-wound. But perhaps most consequentially, the HCT has a center-block, thus not being truly hollow like the German. The Ignition is the cheapest, made in China like the HCT, but tonally sits between the German and HCT. Like the HCT, it's got 500K pots and round-wound strings, but the Ignition is a true hollow-body like the German. I own the Ignition and have made many upgrades for it to look, play and sound like the German. There's a lot to swap to make this happen that you end up spending more than you would've on the HCT, but you can't really remove the center-block, so IMO, it can't get as close to matching a German as the Ignition potentially can. What you did in your video is interesting, and I'd definitely love to hear a more detailed explanation. I replaced the stock Ignition control panel with a German panel, and that (along with a set of flat-wounds) is what really transformed the instrument. Although I'm sure the German panel is of higher quality across the board, the differences in pot values (I believe) is what's ultimately responsible for the sound difference. Then I just turn the bridge pickup off. I read in a comment that you got burned purchasing a German pickup only to find out it was the same as the one already in your HCT. It's true, HCTs use the same pickups as the German, so no point to swap those, but the panel is different though, namely the 500K pots vs 250K.
One other difference is the Ignition does not have a zero fret, as the Contemporary and German 500/1 do. The Hofner were never a very expensive instrument, and the zero fret was a good way to ensure great intonation and tuning/pitch.
@@glennwallace9203 Yep. I bought a Zero Glide kit to add the zero fret onto my Ignition. I also replaced the bridge and trapeze tailpiece with the German versions. It has great intonation now.
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do you know if there's any effective way to remove the black mounting plastic piece where the pickup sits and "simulate" the missing piece of wood below it? so that it looks closer to the 500/1 model .
I am not sure I understand. It sounds like you are saying that in order of quality (and cost) the Hofner line goes, 500/1, Contemporary and Ignition but that it’s more likely you would be able to modify the less expensive Ignition to sound like the 500/1 because it doesn't have a center-block? I am curious what it cost to replace the panel on the Ignition with a German panel? I'm curuous what the overall cost was to your modifications?
Very informative as always, Galeazzo. Curiously, I just had some Pyramid flatwound strings arrive today for my first guitar, an Epiphone Casino. Very exciting!
I just got a Hofner Cavern reissue for my wife who is a real fan of Paul. Our drummer is very happy with the sound of it already. It sometimes feeds back a little bit though, so we have to keep on top of that, I got her a fret wrap to deaden the strings and keep them from ringing when not played. I did the same direct connection trick on my Esquire copy that I built where I have one pickup selection going straight to the output bypassing tone and volume, one regular, and one just mutes everything. Works for me.
Hey man !! Because of you half of the world learned how to set up their guitars. You have now idea how many people speak about you in these circles.👍👍👍👍
Hi Galeazzo. Just want to say that the production quality of this video and the sound quality is fantastic. Really professional and informative video! 😃
I think the main change people can make easily is the flat wound strings. That gets you most of the way there. Using palm muting where he does and a pick instead of your fingers gets you along another good chunk of the way. I wouldn’t be a fan of wiring direct to the jack because firstly there’s not much evidence that that’s what Paul has done that I’m aware of, but also because I like to sound like myself too, so having the option to use the bridge pick-up is handy. Also there’s no tone control on an ignition, so sone of the benefit of wiring direct is lost . A great mod for players using these fun instruments would be adding an actual tone control in place of the rear pickup volume, as the switching allows you to turn it on and off anyway. Great video, as always!
Agreed! I have always tried to have my own sound, but I did by a Rogue Violin bass for $189 US, standard price was $230 when I got it a few years ago. I won't mess with the pickups, but did switch to flat wounds because I play lots of fretless, so the roundwounds didn't feel right.
Ah, a new video! You are the best! You've done so much for the beatles community. I just put flatwounds on last week actually and will absolutely give your recommendations here a shot.
I LOVE your enthusiasm for Hofner basses! I, too, will often have my Contemporary Bass on the stand just to look at. Additionally, I going to do your modifications on my Contemporary bass. Thank you so much for your excellent video!! (Great info about Sir Paul only using the neck pickup.)
I'm glad that as an English speaking Italian ,you pronounce "solder" the correct way, unlike the American "Sodder"! Why they drop the letter L is beyond me. Picky I know ,but it grates me how they re-hash all correct English words.
HCT tone stack has two main problems: 1. It uses two 104k capacitor. It's a big mistake! in original schematic, on neck pickup there should be 103k capacitor. 2. Also it's necessary to replace stock B500k pots to B250k pots for more bassy sound as original Hofner!
what about the pickups? My ex fiancee bought me a Hofner but I'm sure she didn't buy the most expensive one. The pickups in it aren't very hot... as i found out when i tried to use ur for open mic the other day.
@@davidtyler2012If it’s an HCT model (Contemporary) they are the same German pickups so no need to swap. If it’s an Ignition model it’s better to swap the pickups and circuitry.
If you added a small dpdt switch to the panel, you could have the modified and the old configuration with one click. 2 poles for old socket connection , 2 poles from pickup, center poles to socket.
Great tone. I tried an Ignition at a shop the other day and was impressed with the semi-hollow, woody tone when playing it unplugged, but as soon as I plugged it into an amp I was very disappointed in the amplified tone. None of that woodiness came through.
Great video. The only thing I would caution on is soldering a wire NEAR the terminal using the solder as a lone conductor. Would be better to clear the hole out in the terminal and bring the wire through the hole and twist it tightly to the terminal first, and then solder the wire and terminal. Surprisingly (I've had this happen), by not directly connecting the wire to the terminal, you can introduce an unwanted capacitance to the circuit. This can drain some of the high frequencies to ground causing a muddy sound.
Wow, that was some vital information! Never thought of that. But it makes sense. Will check on all my basses that they are properly wired/ soldered. Thanks for this comment!
I thought you might mention damping the strings with your palm. I have done the James Jameson trick and put some foam across the strings by the bridge, and that has made my Hofner sound better!
Listening to early period outtakes when he noodles around or played some bass parts from the songs inbetween takes, it sounds like he din't palm-mute the Hofner. However his Rickenbacker did have the string mutes, and so did his 1966 Jazz Bass. Obviously he used a big piece of foam on his 1961 Hofner in 1969, but not on 1963 model.
Interesting video, thanks for posting. In case anyone is interested, I'll relate how I modified MY Hofner Club Bass. (essentially the same as the "Beatle Bass", with a less wimpy body style). First, I use LaBella short-scale flatwound strings. In my opinion, they're comparable to Pyramids, only less expensive. The BIG change I made, was to remove the original control plate, and made a new one, with ONE master volume and ONE master tone. Then, I installed two mini-toggle switches as pickup selectors. I would have liked to have used slide-switches, for a more authentic look, but the toggles were easier for me. This arrangement gives me more control of the overall "tone" that the preset tone sliders don't allow. Finally, I use a piece of foam under the strings between the bridge and bridge pickup....as a "dampening" mute, for a great "thumpy", almost upright sound. Now my Club Bass is appropriate for many styles of music.....not just Beatles'. Thanks for listening.
Most excellent. Just tried Pyramid strings on my German-made Höfner bass, 500/1 and am extraordinarily pleased with the flat wounds! (I usually use Optima strings but they do not make gold flat wounds - at least, not that I found).I don’t want to make a permanent change to my wiring, however I have found the bass pick up to be very pleasing when going through the appropriate amp EQing. (I suppose I cheat a little by using the Härtke EQ pedal with it’s Shape control … 😁). Thank you so much. This is my first video with you. Looking forward to more … 🎸👨🏼⚕️🎸✌️💟😎😉
I believe Paul is using la Bella flat wounds now that's what I have on my 67 and I put a set on and ignition cavern bass my brother gave me for Christmas a couple years ago the labellas even say beatle bass strings
Excellent, informative video! ... These videos take a lot of time and a great deal of effort to do. I'm very happy to make a donation! Thank you for posting these videos. And I would encourage all my fellow viewers to contribute too if you can. Whatever you can. Every little bit adds up to a big difference.
It must be made clear the budget violin basses are made different to original German ones. Paul's is a hollow instrument, the budget basses have a block running down middle of body to suppress feedback
Having watched the 'Get Back' movie, Paul favoured the Hofner over the Rickenbacker (which had some nut issues) mainly because it was physically lighter.
Typically running a pickup straight to the amp will make the guitar's output brighter and hotter. Most guitar pickups are voiced assuming the will go through some controls before the amp. These controls will shunt to ground some of the signal even when the controls are wide open unless the electronics are modified. I brighter and higher output Hofner bass might not be a bad idea since the pickups are passive and these basses are notoriously muddy and tubby sounding. You aren't going to get satisfying modern bass slapping and popping on a Hofner.
So so cool.. So much passion and insight. Thank you for sharing! How is your left hand guitar playing by the way - do you play only left handed bass or have you managed to master any Paul McCartney classics like Mother Natures Son or Blackbird on the guitar yet? :D
Interesting my friend Galeazzo. I have a suggestion for people and it is the best of two worlds. That would be to replace one of the pots with a pot that has a DPDT pull switch. This way you could go direct or not.
Hey! First of all I love your work for years… I have a question though to this video. Why don’t you recommend to get a German switch panel and change it with the one that came with the bass?? This way you would keep all the other beautiful sounds of the bass including the Macca sound…. I did it this way and it was amazing what difference it made to the sound even after changing the strings into Pyramid flatwound strings?!?
Thank you! The problem of the overall tone is elsewhere and I will explain it further in a following video. Anyway, to reply to your question, this is because 90% you'll get the same panel and 99% the components on it and the schematicss are the same. I analyzed new and vintage circuitsharnesses and the components values are exactly the same. Of course the old ones are different brands and types but it could be a disadvantage and not an advantage, as resistors and capacitors dramatically changes values over decades. I feel uncomfortable in suggesting to buy "German" replacements because I bought a "German" neck pickup, from a famous German website before I used this trick in the video, and I received exactly the same pickup I had on the Contemporary. I sent it back and was refunded.
An interesting concept on a Höfner bass, wiring the neck pup directly to the output jack. That, as you clearly warn, does limit you to having no adjustment on the bass for tone or volume though. Also, this is NOT how McCartney has his bass wired up, which is not standard.
Why? Paul only ever used the neck pickup. Are you using the volume on your beass? Nope right? You loose high end if you do. And again it should be a true bypass and still you have longer wires, a soldering in between, more noise. I'll reply to you in a dedicated short video.
I only have the cheaper ignition version. I tried flat wound strings and I could not tune it. The intonation was off. It would be in tune some places on the neck and out of tune in others. In the end after spending hours trying to sort it, I gave up and put the original strings back on and I could tune it again. So, you can understand my reluctantance to shell out £50+ for some Pyramid gold strings. I may try the pickup trick though. 😉👍
Did Paul McCartney modify has hofner bass to wire the bridge pickup direct to the output jack? I thought he used black tape bass strings Teflon tape bass strings I heard him using?
Why does McCartney not use the Pick Gaurd on his Primary Hofner Bass Guitar? Did he loose it, if he did, did he not have a spare Pick Gaurd from his extra Hofners? If McCartney took it, why? JPS.
The Pick Gaurd missing from a guitar is sort of like driving a car but without all 4 hubcaps. It does not alter the sound but looks visually strange... JPS.
I think it's just a matter of look but who knows. The one without the pickguard is the original from 62/63. Paul brings a spare one on tour which I don't remember seen him using and this is sometimes seen with and sometimes without the pickguard.
When McCartney plays a Hofner Bass Guitar without the Pick Gaurd in public or on film or tape, the performance, visually to me, looks less 'Beatleish.'.. And I blame McCartney for his refusal to replace it... I'd like to play a practical joke on him by replacing the Pick Gaurd on the primary Hofner he uses in public. What do you all think Sir Paul would do to me when he found out I was the one who did it. JPS.
I've waited for this ever since the "trailer" video on this subject, and it turned out to be such a smiple modification! However, there's a question - did Paul's Hofner basses have this done? I'd think he had everything stock and standard.
I think too, in fact with this trick you're not ONLY compensating a bass problem (old Hofner pickups are anyway different than current ones), you're mainly compensating today's low impedance input amplifiers tone. Too long for a comment, I'll explain this with a short video.
Ciao!! I love your videos! You should be in Paul’s band 😜 I’ve been a few metres away from Paul and he played his Hofner, he used the volume switch….he turned it down between song….I’m pretty sure he had a different colour knob on the volume switch, in fact one of the guys asked him about it and he said he only used the volume knob….it was over 20 years ago so maybe I’m mistaken….
Thank you Sir!! I agree about the Pyramid Strings. They are flatwounds made of Nickel/Chromium and have that McCartney sound. Suprised you didn't hang a bone nut on the Bass. That'll help with the sound as well. Love the idea of the direct wiring!! Peace
@@TheBeatlesVocalHarmony The originals did, obviously, but it always seemed to me that the Chinese Copies used plastic nuts. I'll assume, by your response, that the Ignition series uses a zero fret. I've never handled one, but they looked like black plastic nuts in any pictures I've scanned, hence my suggestion. Thanks for the clarification. :)
@@jomamma1750 Ignition series uses a plastic nut exclusively, whereas the HCT line (contemporary line) does feature a zero fret. Those are the ones priced above the Ignition line, but below the German line. Both Ignition and HCT lines are made in China.
@@Separys I wonder what this guy is talking about then? He was pretty specific that the Chinese copy had a zero fret. I couldn't imagine a cheap copy doing that and now you're telling me it doesn't have a zero fret, just a plastic nut. Curious? Bottom line: if I get one, and I very well may, after I directly wire the pickup I'll hang a bone nut and that will improve the sound as per usual. Thanks for the heads up.
I scored a Cavern Ignition Pro SE with flatwounds and after some research i installed a zero fret. The company is Zero Glide, The nut is customized so the fret fits partially on it. It is also bone. Even without changing any electronics there is a massive amount of woody tone and this is also a hollow body. I call this an inexpensive loop hole to sound as close to Paul's original bass as possible.
Thank you so much for your videos! I notice there is no ground connection to the bridge/tailpiece. Why? Guitar builds I have seen always have a ground to the strings via the bridge. Thanks again!
is he playing a bass this bass with a pick ? first bass lesson was taught to get rid of the pick , having 4 fingers in motion much better than one pick
Can this also be done to connect both pickups direct to the output jack? I tend to always use both pickups with the volumes up completely... this seems to be a clever way of achieving a direct sound without any need of volume/treble/bass switches.
Greetings. I've got a Hofner bass and have a question about the Pyramid strings. Your close-up of the strings showed the "Long-Scale" box checked, but you were discussing the proper strings to use with the Hofner, which is a short scale bass. In short, which string length is needed? Much thanks for any carlification you can provide.
I recently bought a contemporary series 500/1 and I'm underwhelmed by the tone. It's noticeably duller sounding compared to other 500/1s I've played. Can someone recommend a good set of replacement pickups? I'm not seeing much info about it on the internet. Thanks
@@McDoinky the Club bass and violin bass both are short-scale, so you'd use the same short-scale strings. in fact, they're identical basses, only the shape is different.
