Hofner H500/1 Vintage 1964 Violin Electric Bass Guitar Sunburst (Used)
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An iconic bass with a slim neck and warm, woody tone.
The Hofner H500/1 Vintage 1964 Violin Electric Bass Guitar has a slimmer neck profile than previous year models. White celluloid neck binding also distinguishes the V64 from the other German made violin basses. The light weight of the fully hollow body will be appreciated after a long night's playing. Includes Hofner case.
In 1956, Walter Hofner had an idea for a violin shaped semi-acoustic bass. Launched at that years Frankfurt Music Show, his idea revolutionized popular music & with continuous production from 1956 this bass is one of the few guitars available today that can trace it's origins back to the very beginning of Rock 'n' Roll.
Many players revere Hofner’s Violin Bass as a legend because of its historical significance and its warm, woody, double-bass-like amplified tone. The Hofner Violin Bass is a unique instrument with a smooth, sweet sound and a playing ease that simply eludes most ordinary basses.
Features
- Authentic replica of the '64 model
- German spruce top
- White celluloid neck binding
- Flame maple back and sides
- 2-piece maple neck
- Rosewood fretboard
- Mother-of-pearl dots fretboard inlays
- 22 frets
- 30" scale length
- 1-5/8" nut width
- Ebony bridge
- Brass tailpiece
- Floating celluloid pickguard
- 2 'Staple' humbucking pickups
- Electronics: 2 volume controls, 2 on/off switches, rhythm/solo switch for volume boost
- Nickel-plated hardware
- Antique-brown sunburst finish
Don't accept imitations: order the real Hofner Violin Bass today.
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Comments about Hofner H500/1 Vintage 1964 Violin Electric Bass Guitar:
Great sounding bass when equipped with new original strings.
Unexpected poor finish in some places. For examble the bindings on the body, and the neck as mentioned above.
I have bought this bass a week ago. I find the sound (after I changed to a new set of original Hofner strings) very original and fine, and I love it.
However there are some flaws. The tuning machines are working very bad. The gear ratio can almost not take the tension of the bass strings. I am most dissatisfied with this. Compared to the Contemporary model I owned. Those machines work prefectly.
There is also the fact, that the fretwire is sticking out, that I almost cut myself when playing.
At first sight the finish looks fine, but after some time I have found many small finish problems.
This will not affect the sound wich is great (and much better than the contemporary model), but one could expect more from a 2000 euro instrument.
By the way. The vintage case sucks.
So I am not satisfied with the quality of finish. But the sound is very fine.
Value in terms of sound is fine. Much better than the contemporary model I unfortunately have sold in order to buy the german original.
Comments about Hofner H500/1 Vintage 1964 Violin Electric Bass Guitar:
I recieved my Hofner 500/1 '63 the other week, and the instant I laid eyes on it, I fell in love. The finish was beautiful, and the bass came completely set up (low action, perfectly tuned, the whole nine yards!). Upon playing it for the first time, I noticed that the upper register (15th fret+) tends to sound a bit muddy, but it is rare that one will be there very often. It is surprisingly light (lighter than my acoustic) but the neck/headstock is much heavier than the body so if you don't keep a hand to support it when standing, you may feel like you're about to drop the thing. A word of warning, do NOT put roundwound strings on this bass. It was built for flatwounds and flatwounds only so the sound is utterly atrocious if you use anything but.
I've played Fenders, Rickenbackers, Schecters, and Music Man basses, but none quite compare to the 500/1. Sure, you can't slap/pop it, but the warm, hollowbody/humbucker tones make it a sublime instrument for playing jazz licks and most classic rock (particularly the Beatles). I would definitely say this instrument is fairly priced, the quality of craftsmanship and electronics on this bass are comparable to Custom Shop Fenders. I would highly recommend this bass to anyone who can get their hands on it.
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