Several of you regular posters here are familiar with the recent "Hofner Club reduced" thread... Well also as several of you know I was able to snatch up the last Club Bass (I think) at this killer price and I love it. Well the bass had a couple minor issues when I got it. The Hofner flats that came on it frankly sucked donkey balls. The E string was completely lifeless and the other strings, while having plenty of volume and sustain, were incapable of having
any sort of tonal variation. Yes they are flats, but still... Second issue- the "bass on" slide switch was bad. When I would solo the bridge pickup (ala McCartney) the bass simply cut out. Now on a Hofner I usually run everything wide open, so this technically wasn't an issue for me. But still, I just dropped $1100 on a new bass, so that f*cker better work. Anyway, getting the bass fixed under warranty was a moot point for me as shipping the thing to Hofner USA would've cost me more than the price of a new switch which I can install myself. However, Hofner was very helpful nonetheless, so they get an A+ for customer service/communication.
ANYWAY, I install the new switch and it may be my imagination, but the bass seemed to come to life in
every pickup setting. I don't know if I am correct here or if I was just stoked that I fixed it
Also, I just put on a set of roundwound LaBella Beatle Bass strings, which are absolutely killer, but are rather heavy gauge wise for this bass. They have a great tone, but are somewhat rough feeling, sort of like Rotosound rounds. I felt like I was fighting the bass a little because the rougher, heavier gauge strings felt a little disproportionately big for the tiny neck if that makes sense. Anyway fast forward to today and I just put on a new set of light gauge LaBella Beatle Bass
flats. Now we're
really in business. The lighter gauge strings seem to be slightly easier on the neck and they are way more comfortable to play. They are also more sensitive to amp EQ, so I can get the good ol' Hofner "tubbiness" as well as a nice bit of snarl when I add more mids and highs. They feel nice too. Not as slick as say D'Addario Chromes (which I love), so I like it. This is my first experience with Labella strings and I am enjoying them so far. They really do seem to bring out the best in my Hofner.
