A Hofner Violin Bass is one of the few mainstream basses I hadn't ever played in my 15-year bass playing career. I had messed around on a used Epiphone Viola bass at the Shoals Guitar Boutique in Muscle Shoals, Alabama (which is about an hour from my home) a couple of years ago. I'm all about short scale basses since I bought my Gibson SG bass in 2016. Earlier this year, I obtained one of Fender's new Mustang basses--Fender's only short scale bass--and after years of disappointment with Fender, I finally started loving their basses again.
Not only is the Hofner Violin Bass a short scale instrument, but it's also completely hollow-bodied--something I had also never owned before (other than the acoustic basses I've owned).
So, Musician's Friend was having a sale--need I say more? Long story short, I bought one at a killer price, bought a case to match (also on sale) and waited a few days for it to be delivered to my door. I also bought new D'Addario Nylon Tapewound strings to go with it because I read that the round wound strings that come on it are crap.
The bass sounded pretty good out of the box, but I was anxious to get the new strings on it. The strings arrived in a separate shipment, so I had to wait a day or two before I could put them on.
Here's the rub: Standard sized bass strings don't fit Hofner basses. No one says this in the bass description...and it wasn't until after the fact (when I was doing research) that I found out that these basses need special, smaller-sized strings. Bummer. Sure, I can use the tape wounds on my other short scale basses (I ordered short scale strings because the Hofner violin bass is a short scale bass), but it sucked that I had to reorder special strings after the fact.
Several days later, the new strings (LaBella flat wound strings for the "Beetle Bass") arrived and I finally got to hear my bass with quality (flat wound) strings on it. It sounds great, to say the least, and because of its lightweight body, it has become my go-to bass for quick practices in the living room (where I keep my little 10-pound Vox bass amp).
This is a cool little bass that sounds and plays great. You'd never know it was below the $400 range. Usually, you get what you pay for with musical instruments, but as I've found with this bass, there are exceptions to every rule.
See this bass's specs on Hofner Guitars website.
See pictures of my Hofner Violin bass here.
Not only is the Hofner Violin Bass a short scale instrument, but it's also completely hollow-bodied--something I had also never owned before (other than the acoustic basses I've owned).
So, Musician's Friend was having a sale--need I say more? Long story short, I bought one at a killer price, bought a case to match (also on sale) and waited a few days for it to be delivered to my door. I also bought new D'Addario Nylon Tapewound strings to go with it because I read that the round wound strings that come on it are crap.
The bass sounded pretty good out of the box, but I was anxious to get the new strings on it. The strings arrived in a separate shipment, so I had to wait a day or two before I could put them on.
Here's the rub: Standard sized bass strings don't fit Hofner basses. No one says this in the bass description...and it wasn't until after the fact (when I was doing research) that I found out that these basses need special, smaller-sized strings. Bummer. Sure, I can use the tape wounds on my other short scale basses (I ordered short scale strings because the Hofner violin bass is a short scale bass), but it sucked that I had to reorder special strings after the fact.
Several days later, the new strings (LaBella flat wound strings for the "Beetle Bass") arrived and I finally got to hear my bass with quality (flat wound) strings on it. It sounds great, to say the least, and because of its lightweight body, it has become my go-to bass for quick practices in the living room (where I keep my little 10-pound Vox bass amp).
This is a cool little bass that sounds and plays great. You'd never know it was below the $400 range. Usually, you get what you pay for with musical instruments, but as I've found with this bass, there are exceptions to every rule.
See this bass's specs on Hofner Guitars website.
See pictures of my Hofner Violin bass here.
