Hofner Icon Series Vintage Violin Bass Transparent Black Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)To qualify this, I have only been playing the bass for a few months at the time I'm writing this review...
I fell in like with the look of the Hofner Icon at the local Guitar Center and bought it. After a month of practice, lessons, and research, I happened upon a Hofner 500/1 vintage '63 reissue violin bass (hand made in Germany) at a hole-in-the wall music shop in downtown Chicago and fell in LOVE with it and it's amazing flatwound strings! I dropped nearly $2,000 and brought this beautiful instrument (such high quality that it should qualify as a piece of furniture) and returned my Icon with no regrets.
I may actually purchase another Icon soon and throw some flatwound strings (Hofners from North Coast Music) and use it for my travel bass when on vacation.
Here's what you need to know about the available Hofner basses:
ICON ($400ish)
-Made in China with Chinese electronics that can be quirky
-Fit and finish is adequate for the price point
-Regular roundwound strings with some fret buzz depending on setup
-Hollow body
-A pain in the butt getting a case sometimes! Go EBay or Amazon!
-Available in lefty (often with a case oddly)
CONTEMPORARY ($700ish)
-Made in China with German electronics
-Fit and finish adequate...slightly better than the Icon
-Has regular roundwound strings
-Hollow body BUT has a sound block inside giving it more sustain and a more modern, hence "contemporary" bass sound
-Has a neck bridge so you can slap on a McCartney-style Hofner strap!
-Available in lefty I believe?
-No case
GERMAN-MADE HOFNERS ($2,000 +)
-Hand-made in the Fatherland
-Fit and finish are amazing! Beautiful wood, stain, finish, feel
-Hofner (Pyramid) flatwound strings that give the most mellow "thump" and feel like butter!
-Comes with either a German vintage bullet case or flight case
-Available in lefty of course!

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Hofner Icon Club Bass - Vintage Sunburst Review

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(More customer reviews)I'll qualify my remarks by noting I've been playing bass over 40 years. I own, and have played, good stuff, and stuff that looks better than it plays. This Hofner Club Bass (C-Bass, C-Series), made in Indonesia, is designed as a vintage guitar, and achieves that look and feel completely. It is short-scale, with a body the same size and dimensions as a Les Paul. It is finished caringly, and the woodgrain in both the spruce and maple is handsome. The gloss (lacquer?) finish is flawless. There is no neck binding. The pickguard is nicely executed in a too-white pearloid-look plastic, which does not detract aesthetically. The sunburst coloration has an accurate '50s/'60s vintage look. The volume knobs are tiny and crappy, and I replaced them. The rosewood fingerboard has a high-quality finish and look to it. I replaced the factory roundwound strings with Labella Beatle Bass Flatwounds, and the hollow (I don't believe there's a sustain block) body with flatwounds yields the bottomy, woody sound you'd expect. The guitar has a quite broad tonal range, and unconventional switches. It very comfortable on the knee or over the shoulder. It DOES feel extremely light, and one is tempted to say, CHEAP, as a result. However, it plays great right out of the box (no set-up), has great tone, is effortless to sling for 3 hours, and you don't see them around, either in Indonesian, Chinese (Contemporary $700) or German ($2000+) iterations. The "cool" factor is big, and the price makes it a no-brainer as a second or back-up bass.

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Dean Hillsboro Jazz Electric Bass, Transparent Black Review

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(More customer reviews)The sound in this bass is perfect. the strings it comes with it has a great durability and you will not have to worry about getting new ones in a long time. This bass beats the fender's jazz bases by the sound it gives to you and to the audience and this will give you a better impression by the design and confterablilty you'll get when you are playing it. The exception of all the great things in this bass is where you insert the amp cable. It is very easy to break it and you'll have to repair several times if you are not careful with it but when it is delivered to you'll be amazed as I did when i first got it and started playing and you will not regret paying for those $300. The color is just beautiful and specially with the white design on top of the body.

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