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Hohner B2 / Steinberger 4-to-5 string conversion possible?


italiancross
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I've recently acquired an early example of Hohner B2A, a headless bass that I looked at with curiosity since it came out in the mid 80's as a cheap (but official) imitation of the Steinberger.
I finally found one in very nice condition and at a reasonably low price and it only took a few hours to have it cleaned, revived with fresh strings and a good setup and to get used to it.
I think it's very comfortable with a fast neck, and the small body and its light weight make it very easy to play even for a few hours.

Having read somewhere of old 4-to-5 string conversion kits for Steinberger, my request is: is the conversion possible for these basses by simply changing the headpiece and bridge? Do they share the same neck?

The B2 bass is still in production with minimal differences and Hohner still sells these Steinberger-licensed parts (though not at a cheap price!), so I wonder if the neck is the same and the 4 and 5 string parts are interchangeable.

Has anyone experimented such a conversion on a Hohner bass?
Or can anyone help me giving me the exact size of the headpiece and bridge of the 5-string B2 bass?

Here are some pictures showing the size of the 4-string parts:



Headpiece width: approx.39mm



Headpiece depth: approx 25.4 mm



Headpiece: 2 fixing screws + truss rod hole



Bridge width: approx. 92mm


I'm now selling here on Basschat my only 5-string bass, an Ibanez Roadstar RB855 because I never use it, but what if I had to have a 5-string bass from time to time? Having a convertible bass like this would be a good solution!

Hope someone can help me!

Augusto

Edited by italiancross
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I couldn't find detailed specifications, but I seem to remember that I read on some reviews that the B2V (5-string version) do have a narrow neck and I wonder if it has the same size as the 4 string.
In this case the headpiece and bridge could be easily swapped because with the zero fret the bass has no nut.

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Update:
It seems that my project is impossible, I just found a 2016 thread on Basschat dealing with narrow necks and someone gave the exact measurement of the Hohner B2V 5-string nut, which is 43mm, hence wider than the 4-string although it definitely is a narrow neck.
Thanks anyway for the attention!

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