Höfner 500/15 "Federal" Bass... drop dead gorgeous

Thornton Davis · December 03, 2013, 11:13:40 AM

As ilan mentioned in his opening thread, only 11 were made. The price is 2500 Euros each. Hofner claims that if this was to become a production model the cost would increase substantially as they would have to specifically manufacture the components to made it.

TD

Granny Gremlin · December 03, 2013, 11:37:30 AM

Yeah, that makes sense.

ilan · July 26, 2014, 01:15:33 PM

~~It seems that as of yesterday, this is a production model.~~ EDIT: Some basses from the limited run of 12 basses were not sold, and are now offered on the corporate website. But sadly it's not a production model.

http://www.hofner-guitars.com/electric-basses/other-bass/h500-15-bk-0.html?___store=guitar_store_en&___from_store=guitar_store_de

Chris P. · July 27, 2014, 06:00:23 PM

I have one at home for some weeks. My impression will follow later

Dave W · July 27, 2014, 08:52:35 PM

Is this made in Germany?

Andrew · July 27, 2014, 11:14:02 PM

Wow, I really like the look of this bass.

Chris P. · July 28, 2014, 02:06:07 AM

Yep. I believe it's written above earlier. It's a German one. Only twelve made of which two are left handed. The idea came from Budge Magraw from the UK. It's a bit like a President, but with the neck of a violin bass and two toasters in the 'J'-position. They even had to make/order special cases for it. It's more expensive than a White Falcon. I have it in for a review, but it just arrived and I was away.

Dave W · July 28, 2014, 09:57:23 AM

Quote from: Chris P. on July 28, 2014, 02:06:07 AM
Yep. I believe it's written above earlier. It's a German one. Only twelve made of which two are left handed. The idea came from Budge Magraw from the UK. It's a bit like a President, but with the neck of a violin bass and two toasters in the 'J'-position. They even had to make/order special cases for it. It's more expensive than a White Falcon. I have it in for a review, but it just arrived and I was away.

I saw that earlier, but that was talking about a limited run. Now that it's apparently a production model, I wondered if it would would be German or a less expensive Asian version.

Chris P. · July 28, 2014, 10:44:21 AM

I asked it to Höfner's. No production model, but not all 12 are sold and that's why it's on the website. If all 12 are sold there are no further production plans.

Dave W · July 28, 2014, 04:19:13 PM

That's too bad, but not really unexpected.

When you have time, please do let us know what you think of it.

Chris P. · July 29, 2014, 02:03:24 AM

I will come back with a full review:)

ilan · July 29, 2014, 06:58:34 AM

Hand-carved front and back... If this means what it means in uprights, then I'll bet it sounds like a dream.

Chris P. · August 04, 2014, 03:29:00 AM

First the bass is very beautiful. Great lacquering. very deep black but not a thick layer. You see the wood. Not the grain, but.... My English fails now... You see like some stripes. Same as on my violin bass. It's very well made, all feels well and I think the Höfner toasters are the prettiest pick ups around. All looks well. It's big, black and it looks so luxurious, I wanted to put on my tuxedo before playing it.

Although I prefer the headstock of the Verythin/President on such basses, the violin neck looks and feels good on the bass. I'm used to the shape. It's narrow but round and it's playing well.

The last note, before going further on the sound, is that it's really very light. Totally hollow. It comes with a case.

Normally Höfners have or the pickups at neck and bridge, or the 'Cavern' spacing: Neck and middle. This has middle and bridge which makes it unique. The review bass came with roundwounds and the combination makes it special. It's more growly and mid-ish than one would expect from a Höfner. Still warm, boxy, wide and big, but with a good growly, aggressive sound and almost modern sounding. Haven't tried it with a band on large sound volumes, it might feedback easily, but this bass is usable in any rockband. Curious how it will sound with flats.

This is my first opinion after trying it for like ten minutes on a tube amp at home. More to follow.

IMHO: it isn't within my price reach, but having to choose between this or a German made Warwick Star Bass or a Gretsch White Falcon Bass would be a tough choice. I tried the Gretsch WFB once and it's so big sounding and good looking....

ilan · August 04, 2014, 09:04:58 AM

Thanks for the review.

Modern sounding, you say? That's a bit of a turn-off for me. For that job I have my Fenders and Rics with fresh roundwounds.

My Senator bass was once strung with rounds - for like ten unforgettable (not in a good way) minutes. Rounds with their clank and emphasized overtones mask ALL the nice acoustic qualities that a full hollowbody Höfner (without a center block) can produce. These hollowbodies are very different wearing flats, and I'm sure that with flats, this bass - with its fully carved solid wood top and back - will do the Höfner trick extremely well.

What do we know about reissue toasters? Surely they are not built like the original engineer's nightmares. Are they single-coil? Humbuckers like the staple-tops?

Chris P. · August 04, 2014, 09:33:22 AM

I will definately try flats on 'm asap. Modern sounding... Well, it's not only low, woody and boxy like my 500/1, but growly.