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Round Wounds


WRGKMC

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I'm using light flats on my Hofner and broke a string the other day. Hadn't done that on a bass in 15 years or more.

 

I'm using special Labella flats made specifically for a Hofner which requires slightly longer short scale strings because of the tail piece.

I put a set of stock round wound Hofners back on the bass which were only on the bass for a short time. Then I did some recordings with it.

 

I like the brighter talkative top end those strings have. I just don't like having to adjust the action higher to prevent string buzz.

The bass has a very flat neck even with the truss loose. The frets on these Hofner Icons aren't the dandiest either. They are about the same as a squire is to a fender or Epi to a Gibson.

The basses are made in the orient with the same quality many instruments from there have.

 

I'm quickly becoming tempted to remove the nut and use my extra long radiused beam to level the frets and re-crown them. I don't need allot of height on bass frets but I cant stand string buzz.

The flats can be set to factory settings of 2mm on the high side and 3mm on the low and it plays as good as most basses with fixed bridge intonation.

 

What I'd really like to find is a fixed bridge that would work on this bass. My buddy had a Hofner back in the 70's which he had that done and it played like a dream.

I have no idea what kind of bridge it was other than a TOM type with the adjustment wheels for a 4 string bass. He had the screws planted into the top and used round wounds for it.

The tone I get currently is very close but the only intonation you have is by moving the entire bridge The last set of flats I had on there I got the top and bottom strings intonated but the two center strings were still off. You often have to tweak things so every string is off a little to have everything relatively in pitch which drives me bonkers because of my perfect pitch.

 

I suppose I'll keep searching for a permanent bridge with adjustable saddles and deal with the instruments inadequacies. It does fine for most music, especially if you keep checks on tuning.

It may be an issue with the nut too. The first frets tens to be slightly sharper. I've resisted in lowering it because I may wind up doing a re-fret. The fret metal on these imports is garbage. Very soft metal. I figured if the leveling does work I'll just rip them out and put better frets in there.

 

I love the tones I can get from this thing, especially when playing softer tones, you can replicate many of the sounds you'd get on an upright bass too. Makes me wish I had a second one so I could make it into a fretless. The semi hollow has all those midrange tones you cant get on a solid body. You can EQ the pickups to boost mids but its not there in the strings themselves naturally like it is on a semi.

The bass in by no means lacking bottom or sustain either. Its got more bottom then my long scale precision or any of my other basses. It easily gets under the kick if I need it. The flats have a good 800~2000hz finger tone. The rounds allow me to raise that up even higher and bring out more metallic tones.

 

If the bass didn't have that unique scale length I'd be able to find other strings that might have the best of both worlds. I guess I'll just have to swap strings to experience those two worlds.

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McCartney was well known for using them on his Hofner. He's switched back to using the Labella flats since then.

 

I tried tape wound on my short scale Gretsch bass awhile back. They weren't my cup of tea. The tape adds inertia and dulls an otherwise bright metallic tone. You can bend the strings more easily while the tape lasts, but the tape does get ragged out pretty quickly.

 

My bass player back in High School used them on his guild bass. Never did like the tones he got from that bass. too much mids and rolled off highs.

The set I tried several years ago lasted a whopping 3 weeks. Never did get used to the feel. They were a bit easier on the finger tips picking strings. They turned into mud tones, notched out at the frets and intonation went down the toilet. My be OK on a bass you don't play hard, but definitely not for me.

 

I'm not worried about fret wear. I'm in fact looking forward to replacing the frets on that Hofner Ignition. Those basses are made in China and they use cheap fret wire. I'm having to level and crown frets on that bass quite often. I think they cut the slots thin and hammered the frets in making the neck dead flat with no truss tension. I like having at least a little relief. Right now I'm getting it from the fret contour which doesn't feel the same. The string tension isn't quite right on the low frets. I could use heavier strings but these basses aren't designed for that. The tuners are smaller guitar like tuners and heavier gauges wont thread on them.

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