Newest addition: mid-60s Höfner 185 "Artist" Bass

[ilan]

That was Bubenreuth's answer to the Fender Jazz Bass 

Pot codes are 1964.

Paid  €410 for it.

[godofthunder]

  Nice!

[66Atlas]

I love those inlays. Were these a short scale?

[Pilgrim]

Lotsa cool knobs.  What do they do?

[ilan]

I love those inlays. Were these a short scale?

Yep. 30".

Lotsa cool knobs.  What do they do?

v/v/t/t and two on/off slider switches, basically the same options like a Les Paul but with the addition of a kill switch (when both are off). UK-distributed 185's didn't have the switches.

[westen44]

A very appealing old school bass.  I have a friend who would love to have something like that, although I would, too. 

[ilan]

Just ordered LaBella medium-scale black nylon tapewounds for it.

When I was 14 and still had my first bass, a '67 500/1, I used to play with a girl in my class, she played piano, and her older brother was 16 or 17, played in a jazz band and had a vinyl-covered red 182. He let me use his amp. I envied him so much. I hated the little violin bass and wanted a strat-shaped solid bass like his, that looked like rock and roll... his 182 had black tapewounds, so that stuck in my mind as the 'correct' strings for those red solid body Höfners (-: So I should at least give them a try, and if it's not great I can always go back to the TI Flats.

[nofi]

i have used labella tapewounds on everything. fender, ric, abg etc. they sound great on everything. they are expensive now but when i discovered them in the early seventies they were only eight dollars a set.

[ilan]

I love the sound of Rotosound tapewounds (Tru Bass RS88LD), have used them on my '68 Gretsch 6070 and '77 Fender Jazz, but the Roto's are very high tension and the Höfner needs, I feel, a more friendly set.

[Dave W]

Under the nylon wrap, the LaBellas are a 44-98 roundwound set. Richard Cocco told me that, and I measured and confirmed it after unwinding a set that had gone dead after several years use. They're much more flexible than the Rotos (and sound better, IMHO) but not as flexible feeling as TI flats although the tension on the neck is about the same as the TIs.

[exiledarchangel]

That was Bubenreuth's answer to the Fender Jazz Bass 

Pot codes are 1964.

Paid  €410 for it.

Cool bass!

Crazy off-topic, but I just realised that Hofners workshop is about 20 minutes drive from my house...