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Hofner HCT 500 Violin Bass

 

Review of the Hofner Violin Bass by The Man in the Jar

Made in China to make this Rock n Roll icon affordable for mere mortals.

Features of the Hofner Violin Bass

Tuners - Surprisingly small open-geared tuners with pearloid knobs. The tuners are branded Wilkinson and worked really well.

Headstock - The diminutive headstock bears the Hofner logo and the truss rod cover carries the legend "Contemporary Series".

Nut - The nut is made from three-ply white/black/white plastic. But due to the presence of a zero fret the nut is really only a string spacing device.

Neck - The neck material is not specified and the thickness of the black gloss lacquer obscures any grain that might give a clue. But as the body is made from maple it might be safe to assume the neck is too. For a bass guitar this is a really comfortable neck with dimensions that I find reminiscent of a Les Paul six string - a definite advantage of the short scale neck.

Fretboard - The medium brown rosewood fretboard has a nice close grain and traditional dot markers are inlaid in pearloid.

Frets - There are 22 medium fat frets (excluding the zero fret). Zero frets are very useful for obtaining the best action possible on an instrument, but can become problematic after time when a slight groove is worn by the constant contact of the string. This can cause slight pinging noises when the strings are bent, but by its nature is less of a problem on a bass than it is on a six string. 

Action - Very low and playable from the box.

Body - The classic violin shaped body was made famous by that lovely geezer from the Beatles. Here it is presented in maple with a spruce top and covered in shiny black lacquer. Although the body is semi-hollow, this particular model does not sport any f-holes. There's also a centre block to increase sustain, reduce feedback and make the guitar more balanced on the strap. The guitar is bound front and back in white.

Bridge - The bridge is an interesting and attractive piece of woodwork that nods towards the classical instruments that inspired the design of the bass. The lower part of the rosewood bridge rests on the body, held there by string tension. This supports another nicely worked piece of rosewood on adjustable screws for setting the action. In the top of this set in staggered slots are small metal saddles that support the strings. The strings are anchored in a trapeze style tailpiece.  

Pickups - Two Hofner HS11B "stapletop" pickups which I assume are single coil sit in black plastic surrounds.

Controls - The controls are set in an oblong pearloid control panel. There are two rotaries and three two-way sliders. The rotaries are independent volume controls for each pickup, there's an on/off slider for each pickup and a solo/rhythm slider which basically boosts the volume when in solo position. Interestingly the controls are wired backwards, that meaning the controls marked for the neck pickup actually affect the bridge pickup and vice versa. Apparently the original models were produced incorporating this error so Hofner have reproduced it in these re-issues.

Scratchplate - The pearloid scratchplate floats about a centimetre off the body.

Strap-buttons - There is only one strap button on the bottom of the body which forms part of the tailpiece.

Output Jack - Set in the lower edge.

Finish - Very good throughout.

 

Sound of the Hofner Violin Bass

This is an unashamedly vintage-style bass and the sound is also unashamedly vintage. Both the semi-hollow body construction and the single coil pickups are going to make this a "light" sounding bass. That doesn't mean it lacks depth or character, it has a lovely, optimistic airiness about its tone that I find completely appealing. And with the individual volume controls offering the opportunity to blend the pickups that voice has an added flexibility.

 

Overall Impressions of the Hofner Violin Bass

I love the look, style and understated voice of this instrument and I can see it finding a home in function and party bands where an element of showmanship is all part of the package. But I can also see it making inroads with indie bands looking for a new twist in anti-style to shock their parents. The legacy of the Violin Bass is very big and Macca shaped. Get past that, and the backward wiring, and you'll see a fun and versatile pop bass with great playability and bags of character.

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