hofner ignition bass – your thoughts?

[nosuch]

A couple of weeks ago I was in a store just ready to buy a hofner ignition violin bass when the clerk talked me out of it (a real selling genius ;-) saying it would be cheap and tried to convince me to buy the more expensive korean versio instead od the epiphone violin bass. well I am just a part time bass player and thought maybe I'm wrong, but I liked the resonant tone of the cheaper bass (it has no sustain block as I understood) just like the pricey german made version which is fine (but I just could not justify shelling out that much money for an instrument I only use from time to time). Somehow I thought that I may be wrong liking the bass – or any shortscale bass (the said clerk said that with a shortscale I would "loose at least 10 % of sound"). So I went out of the shop without a bass.
what do you guys think about the ignition bass?
it is about 250 euros, the korean version 550 and the german original is about 1500 euros.
that sound you know:

[psychetelec]

Ya mean the Hofner Icon Bass?
I never allow a guitar store clerk to talk me in to or out of anything. 99.8% of them are morons, and the remaining .2 just wanna make a sale.

[tito0515]

"loose at least 10 % of sound"

That is the funniest out and out lie I have ever heard!

[jrfrond]

Here's the deal:

The Icon bass is built in China, and seems to be identical to the Epiphone, which shares it's pedigree with a half-dozen others or so I've seen floating about. The difference is you get some Hofner appointments like the knobs, logo, and small-button tuners.

The Korean (Contemporary) model has a cantilever neck design like the original, and sports German hardware and pickups. This one sounds and feels pretty close to the original, though the original still has a nicer tonal vibe.

For my money, the Contemporary is the best bet. You can get the Icon vibe cheaper in another lower brand name.

Losing 10% of the sound? The guys an idiot! In fact, the body resonance of a hollow-body short-scale bass adds roundness to the tone, a certain body and warmth that you couldn't get from a long-scale solidbody.

[Johnston]

I recently went short scale, for full time players I whole heartedly recommend it for learning or practising ;) i ended up with the Epi Viola mainly because locally i had two choices £219 for Epi ebo with starter kit or £220 for the Viola. Last thing I needed was more pruck about the house so got the Viola.


1st thing original strings are bloody awful I stuck hofner flats on. Once I set the truss rod the action is low the intonation is great despite the antique style bridge. The neck is as a thin as the come The Eb0 is thinner at the nut but the Viola stays fairly parallel the whole way down. So the string spacing is a bit tight and takes some getting used too.

The hardest bit was probably setting the amp to suit I have a 15" combo and it was really double bassy once the flats went on but some fiddling away from the norm was well worth the effort . Lack of tone, is a load of nonsense. It's different but not lacking, it has a good range, even more so if you vary your picking technique. if I started gigging again tomorrow I would use it without hesitation.

My only problem with the Epi would probably be that the pickups are a little microphonic hit them with the pick and the click comes through the amp. But hey at the money its not going to be perfect.

Oh and I'm on the look out for a piezo bridge I reckon that would totally make it !

[Old Cane]

Originally Posted by tito0515

"loose at least 10 % of sound"

That is the funniest out and out lie I have ever heard!

No, that's a well known fact. At least 10% of the people stop listening when they see they bass player is using a short scale. Oh, wait, that's losing 10% of your audience.

[Tim Armstrong]

The angels sobbed...



Tim

[Old Cane]

Yeah, I know you have one but like you anyway.

I used to have a Steinberger copy short scale. It was fun but on us big boys it just looks funny.

[KCKC]

Short scale = short on sound? don't think-so - they all need amps!!

One thing I've learned is if I like the feel and sound I like the bass!

Go with your gut!

KC

[psychetelec]

Here's a shot from one of last week's shows, my Hofner's looking pretty ragged, maybe I should polish it sometime.