The Last Bass Outpost
Gear Discussion Forums => Other Bass Brands => Topic started by: amptech on December 22, 2019, 03:02:22 AM
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Hi, guys.. Ok, so I just got this 1964 Höfner 182 solidbody bass (project) on the workbench. I really am not sure what to do with it; the body is molested by a junkie probably in the 70's. It's cut down to a 'Ampeg Devil Bass-ish' shape. other than that, it just miss one original tuner. Action at 12th fret when strung up is a healthy 1,7cm... But, the electronics are OK, that is - one staple pup working and one just needs reconnecting inside (both coils are OK). I guess there will never be original value left at all, so if the neck can be adjusted I can just cut out a straight centre section and add body sides. And sell the complete electronics. Atually, the neck feels rather nice in my hands.
But after Googling away yet another breakfast, I still have not fond much info regarding what wood they used? Does any of you guys here know what they used?
Don't ask for pictures - it's actually the ugliest wreck I've ever seen!
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Did Höfner ever specify the body wood of their solidbodies in their catalogs? I don't think so.
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No, I have read through that vintage Höfner vintage site and various catalogs. No luck.
I just assumed some of the accomplished gentlemen here had some inside information :)
There is practically no weight. Its cut down, but I remember a 185 bass i had in for pickup repair a while back, very light weight.
I took the neck off yesterday, and shimmed it so I could try to play it. There was a patch in the neck pocket without paint.
I first thought it looked like korina, then alder. But that's only guesswork. It's extremely dent prone and must be less dense than alder.
I'll strip the body and probalby know more (or less) later. It's not really that important to know, but once you start thinking..
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IIRC most were plywood and some (the vinyl covered bodies?) chipboard.
182's are dirt cheap in today's market. With a good set of flats they are actually nice basses, if you like that vintagey tone and feel - even the vinyl-covered ones.
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IIRC most were plywood and some (the vinyl covered bodies?) chipboard.
182's are dirt cheap in today's market. With a good set of flats they are actually nice basses, if you like that vintagey tone and feel - even the vinyl-covered ones.
Yes, they are cheap - that's why I'll sell the electronics rater than restore the bass. But it's short and light so I just have to make something out of it🙂 btw, all restored/vinylless 182's I've seen have had solid wood. Just wonder what it is..
EDIT: I think it still had the original flats on it! One nanosecond of thump🙂
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You can e-mail nick.was [at] hofner.com
Nick retired last week but will still ding some marketing a day a week, so an answer can take a while. He wrote the 500/1 book and knows a lot.
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You can e-mail nick.was [at] hofner.com
Nick retired last week but will still ding some marketing a day a week, so an answer can take a while. He wrote the 500/1 book and knows a lot.
Allright, I will! Thanks Chris👍
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If it has been butchered up that much, you might want to replace the body with one that's a light wood.
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https://www.ebay.com/itm/333436809460
A really nice one just sold for $495
(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/xbsAAOSwo-5d83kn/s-l1600.jpg)
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I guess every builder has copied a P at one time or another.
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If it has been butchered up that much, you might want to replace the body with one that's a light wood.
Yes, the plan is to just keep the center section and add body sides of a similar wood, and cut out a shape.
I'm even leaning towards the first (non-P body) shape/style of the 182.
I guess every builder has copied a P at one time or another.
I think it's much more amazing that they copied the Gibson SB series!
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Ok, if I find out what wood is used I'll post here for reference. I did find a suggestion to a wood Höfner used for solids in the 60's on Steve Russel's site, Abachi (Triplochiton Scleroxylon).
That would be great, as it's used for building saunas (plenty of stores stock it). I have seen examples and description that in a stretch looks like the bare patch in the neck pocket, and it's light weight and not very dense. Hope Höfner can confirm..
(https://i.imgur.com/o761bfj.jpg)
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Here it is in all it's glory....
(https://i.imgur.com/KvscFlq.jpg)
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Not that bad really.
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I've seen a lot worse than that. You should be able to make something nice out of it.
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I've seen a lot worse than that. You should be able to make something nice out of it.
The easiest would be to 20/20 it :mrgreen:
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The easiest would be to 20/20 it :mrgreen:
You would still have to add to it. Better to make something more Höfner-like.
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Actually, I'm leaning towards the first edition of the 182 bass. It was available with one or two pickups, and even though it was made only for a short time and is very rare - I've seen it with singlecoils, 'cavern' style humbuckers and humbuckers with adjustable polepieces. Geddy Lee has a couple of them, featured in his book..
Like this:
(https://i.imgur.com/MMn3wDF.jpg)
or this:
(https://i.imgur.com/rL91nua.png)
The Italian made Höfners are quite cool as well:
(https://i.imgur.com/pxEviSF.jpg)
EDIT: The instrument above was made in Spain, it turns out. Enrique Keller, a German immigrant, made guitars and basses under Höfner licence in northern Spain in the 60's. The first Spanish Höfner's was made from imported German parts, but in the late 60's he started making necks and other parts too - including pickups and control plates. The Keller factory opened in 1944, and actually still exists and is connected to the Höfner factory, according to Steve Russel's site.
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The one pickup on the pic has a 'toaster'. That is a single coil.
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Wow. An Italian Höfner, that's what I would do. With that glittery top and cream back and rim.
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The one pickup on the pic has a 'toaster'. That is a single coil.
Yep, those are pretty cool. New ones are dirt cheap, but from what I hear nothing like the originals so I'll stick with staples.
I'm making a template for my bass pickup testbed now, to compare new and original staple pickups. I guess it's about time I made something out of the last old Höfner pickup bobbins I have as well, now that I can compare with originals.
Wow. An Italian Höfner, that's what I would do. With that glittery top and cream back and rim.
It does look great, hard to decide. But I lean towards a cavern pickup placement, just because I don't have that kind of setup on another bass.
Does the Italian shape justify the name Höfnerbird? :)
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I looked up abachi wood, turns out it's the same as obeche, which Gibson was using on many guitar fretboards after the rosewood raid. It was called black obeche but it was stained black. There was a lot of talk about it on a few guitar forums b/c it's supposedly on the softer end of hardwoods, but there didn't seem to be any complaints about them being too soft.
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I saw some no brand Chinese toasters. Those were cheap. Don't know how they sound.
I have a couple of modern German Höfners, with three types of pickups: staples, cavern and toaster:
Staples and Caverns are the same with a different housing. The are a bit overwound, compared to older ones so a bit too oomphy to my taste. If I'm correct the ones in the relic Höfners are less hot and they will use or are using them in the normal Germans now too. More vintage correct.
My favourite of my three staple/cavern Höfners is the Club with the close pickup spacing. The 'middle' pickup can be used as a thumb rest and it ads a bit more mid to the bass. Both pickups is very very wide warm and open and the middle one soloed gives a push in the sound and it's usabe for more rocky songs. I play fingerstyle mostly and sometimes those humbuckers can be 'too much'. They do sound great played with a pick.
But then i got a 500/1 with the single coil toasters. I bought it for the looks, haha. I plugged it in, in my little home amp and.. nothing. I thought the bass was broken, but the output is a lot lower than the other Höfners so I just had to turn up the volume. I did it and wow! It is my favourite sounding Höfner, especially for fingerstyle playing. It's not big and oomphy, but warm and woody. So nice! And the middle pickup is even more aggressive so really usable. By far my best sounding bass. A guy borrowed some basses and wanted this one for recordings, I recorded with it, the other half of my duo only wants me to use this bass.
But it became even better: I got a set of Pyramid black nylon tapewounds. I didn't want to put them on my bass, because I dislike black strings. And I don't like the sticky feelings of the Rotosounds. But in the end I tried and those pyramids sound and feel so good! It made the bass even warmer, better, a bit more sustain. Still very warm and clean and nothing of the edge roundwounds always have. So it was like plugging in a better amp.
This year Höfner made me a one of Club Bass, officially called 500/2 Chris Dekker haha. Of course with close places staples. I asked for the tapewounds and they forgot. No problem. I got the bass with normal Pyramid flats and I loved it. I played it for a while, but for a recording I decided to put on some nylons... .. and wow again! That tone! The studio engineer was a Höfner hater and he told me this was the best bass sound he recorded. Not the best bass player though :D
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Thanks for the review, Chris! I'm starting to get in Höfner mood, this will be a fun project.
Oh, and happy new year everybody!
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I didn't know Pyramid made tapewounds.
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I'm just wondering what happened to the Contemporary basses. It doesn't matter to me personally since I bought two a few years ago--one of them a Cavern model. Still, I didn't expect the Contemporary basses to start vanishing so soon like that. You can still find one here and there, but places like Sweetwater and MF no longer offer them at all. Usually, when something like this happens, it's when I try to buy something and then find out it has been suddenly discontinued. This time I was able to draw first.
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Comntemporary's are still available. The newest one have a burst very close to the German ones. I see them here a lot. I know it is sometimes hard to find 'm cos they get produced in batches, they sell out, it takes a while, new ones get produced and so on.
While Rotosound nylons are a bit glossy and sticky, the Pyramids are rougher feeling and have a matte colour. I like that more.
Höfner strings are made by Pyramid too. Almost neighbours.
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Comntemporary's are still available. The newest one have a burst very close to the German ones. I see them here a lot. I know it is sometimes hard to find 'm cos they get produced in batches, they sell out, it takes a while, new ones get produced and so on.
While Rotosound nylons are a bit glossy and sticky, the Pyramids are rougher feeling and have a matte colour. I like that more.
Höfner strings are made by Pyramid too. Almost neighbours.
The only reason I even bought those Contemporary basses is because I read your reviews of them here. But there haven't been many here for a long time. It would be nice to have one closer to the German ones. I didn't know they had made a change. Oh the other hand, it's very doubtful I would ever find such a deal as I found on the Cavern one. The other one was at the regular price, though. But that's okay. It was a good time for me to be buying some basses.
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Wow. An Italian Höfner, that's what I would do. With that glittery top and cream back and rim.
EDIT: I just found the page I got that pic from, turns out it´s made in Spain! It must be the glitter and plastic trim that made me jump to a conclusion.