The Last Bass Outpost

I bought it thinking I'd "mod" it, or at least strip off the paint to see what's underneath but haven't done anything other than strings, it does everything I need it to do just as it is.  Since I got it I've seen pix of their guitars that were neck-thru, but never a bass.

I think it sounds great, better than they did in the Gretsch. I do have CTS pots and a Switchcraft switch/jack in the Hofner now, the G had pretty cheap looking electronics  (mini-pots and a loose, cheap switch) originally so that helps. The one thing I did have trouble with is the bridge PU isn't angled the same as the strings, so before I had it screwed down it was louder because it's kind of like... /[ if that makes any sense (angled strings, horizontal PU seen from the side) I wasn't skilled enough/ambitious enough to make an angled PU surround for the bridge one. THe neck PU doesn't seem to have the same problem though, that one is on a much similar plane to the strings. I thought I'd use the neck one more than the bridge one anyway, but I seem to use both. The guy who put the active PU's in my bass cut the original surrounds and the metal covers to hold the "Jazz" style PUs in place, which of course didn't work, and the wiring was screwed up enough that when I did plug it in all I got was an air-raid siren shriek that blew out the speaker on my amp. (Cheap solid-state practice thing, so no big loss). I always wondered what the Hofner sounded like originally but since the original parts were long gone when I got it, and I've never seen another one who knows.

OK this is weird, I've been lurking here for a while but never had anything constructive to post. I also have a 500-4 that I've had for 20 years, and never seen another one, on line or in person then 2 different posts about them in the same day...strange.
http://www.carvinmuseum.com/decade/74-basses.html has some good info
"In the 1960's and early 1970's, Carvin bought necks from Höfner, and used them on their own guitars and basses.  Höfner was founded in Schönbach, Germany in 1887 by master luthier Karl Höfner, and was the largest manufacturer of stringed and fretted instruments in Germany in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His two sons, Josef and Walter, joined their father's company in 1919 and 1921, and they successfully expanded Höfner's worldwide market, enabling them to survive the years of recovery following World War II.
Carvin's relationship with Höfner began in the mid-1960's, and would last until the late 1980's.  Carvin guitars and basses from 1964 until 1978 had bolt on Höfner necks, and the SH225 was made by Höfner and sold under the Carvin name. The Höfner 500/4 bass above is remarkably similar to the Carvin AB45.   Obviously, Carvin got the body as well as the neck from Höfner, as the body shape, F holes , binding and finish are identical.  Note that the headstock logos are also the same.  The significant difference is that Carvin used their own electronics and pickups in the AB45."

my bass. When I got it, the PO had cut it up to put active Bartolini "J-bass" pickups in it, and of course screwed it all up. It's better now, but only slightly original, none of the electronics were there when I got mine so all that's been replaced now. I searched for years for any info about it, and only found anything in the last couple, like the Carvin connection. As far as Ovation having similar stuff, I know Teisco, Kawai and Aria all made a nearly-identical bass, the O's might just be re-branded ones since Matsumoku/Kawai made dozens of brands in the same factory. http://www.matsumoku.org/models/aria/hollow/sem/semi.html