Wonky2

I use these, 100-45. They’re great strings.

I use Ernie ball cobalt flats, have done for a very long time now, first set 9 years, current set been on about 5 years. cant fault them at all. better tension than chromes, better feel than labellas ……

My 76 jazz is pretty much my #1. my first car was a dyane too !

Tame Impala - inner speaker live from the wave house fantastic bass lines with classic hofner tone, drumming is epic too. Love this album ❤️

It’s such a nice bass, plays and sounds great but that pursuit of that last few % has just shown up all the aspect that a Chinese attempt on a proven classic fails on. im sure this is where the German models differ but honestly, the build quality is questionable. it’s right now, and probably had the same amount of “luthery” that a German made one would see … maybe that’s to be expected at half the cost of a German one , but at double the cost of the ignition bass it certainly isn’t twice as good 👍

I’ve done a proper fret levelling, recrown and polish, and I also purchased a new bridge. The original bridge was poorly seated and the bass lost tone because of poor contact through the top/deck. bybthe time I had corrected it by sanding there wasn’t much meat left and it kind of lost some mass. So a new bridge to fit tomorrow….. will take a while but this bass will be very right when finished. will pribably put some upgrade tuners on too because these are crap Wilkinson…. as I say, paid extra for the Contemporary over the base ignition model, and honestly, it’s still Chinese , requires a lot of attention to get that last 5% of quality into the bass

To move it over, it was off by about 4mm. I glued and dowel plugged the original screw hole to put strength back in and then moved the tail piece over . the steel string retaining block (the bit that sits horizontal to the bridge pup, now measures equal distance on both sides (e&g) to the bridge pup. I’ve strung it up and normal intonation is now restored rather than the backwards inverted saddle positions I had to have to counter the wonky tail piece! tomorrw I’ll be fitting a new ebony bridge. illnake this bass right and I’m sure it will be lively when finished but it just goes to show, it’s still a Chinese made thing and you get what you pay for !

Did the work tonight ti out this bass right….. here is a pic of the tailpiece showing where it was fitted in the factory when made , you can see the centre line is of centre with the centre grain line in the top /deck

Ok…,, so if anyone is reading this , here’s what I found. the tail piece was on the wonk. the centre rail in the metal tail piece SHOULD line up with : 1) the centre line in the deck/top where the two halfs of top wood are bonded. My centre line was about 4-5mm obef to the right from the centre line in the wood on the top/deck. 2) the centre of the neck, using fret markers ,it didnt 3) the steel block on the tail piece, which the string ball ends locate into, the left (e) side was 4mm closer to the bridge pup the the right (g) side, confirming the tail piece was on the wonk. When I take into account , this bass played 95 % ok. But to a good player, that last 4% is crucial, and that final 1% is the difference between a nice bass and a special bass. i specifically paid more for a ct series than an ignition. im glad I did because when I’ve put it right it should be terrific. whereas their a a few things on the ign which simply have limitations. that said, I did expect the ct to be much better. it has required: fret levelling fret crowning fret polishing nut slot refinement zero fret refinement pick up surround emplacement (split) bridge seating bridge saddle adjtstment bridge contouring tail piece repositioningTrue alignment teplacment machine heads Teacup nob replacement string replacement (labella) i mighty still dull the laquer finish, I just hate the finger prints…. i appreciate it’s this level of luthery is what makes German models cost what they do….. well that and much better quality parts. Ah well,it should be good in the end….

Having owned mostly Fender bassses my entire playing life, I now TRULY understand why Leo Femder named the P bass the “precision” bass, and from where I’m sat it’s got little to do with frets, markers or lined fret boards ….. nope, it’s the fact those things can actually be agjusted with At least SOME degree of “precision”. Other manufacturers, Hofner being one, clearly didn’t think Intonation to be a “thing”🤣 anyhoo……. I’ve wasted 3 days of my life trying to get this CT bass set up well, I’d say I’m at 98% but like always I chase that final 2% because to be frank , that’s the difference between a nice bass and a special bass…… the bridge on this thing is a dog, very poorly seated and in trying to correct its seating in not satisfied I’ve got any better a result, mostly because previous owner has sanded the heck out of the lower bridge so I’ve ordered a new one, I’ll start again. BUT….. my issue is with the intonation on this bass. i appreciate that with a floating bridge it’s near impossible to get perfection but I’m almost close enough now ti be happy. BUT here my thing……. EVERY other hofner I see has the string saddles on the bridge sat in this order: e string bridge slot 1 nearest tail piece. a string bridge slot 2 d string bridge slot 3 g string bridge slot 4 nearest neck BUT on my bass, when intonation properly , it’s the other way around: e string bridge slot 4 nearest neck a string bridge slot 3 d string bridge slot 2 g string bridge slit 1 nearest tail peice every bass I’ve ever owned has the d and g string shorter with the saddles pushed forward closer to the neck, ibvuously to account for the thinner Dianeter if the strings than e and a….. but how can it be on this bass it’s inverted. Not least since every picture Ive ever seen of a hofner shows bridge saddles as per the stock image below. move shown mine as well to show how I have it. the bridge is a mess now after having saddles in and out a million times, new bridge is in its way. i also had to make some saddle myself from some brass fret wire. (it actually looks better than stock too)

Yep has all the right bits for a ct, zero fret and stripes nut included 👍

Yeah your right, don’t think there’s any question it’s a proper CT model, I just thought it strange that every other one I’ve seen has this “made in Germany” stamped on the back of headstock… I’m not sure on what year the bass was made so it may be an early model and released they had the brain wave to at least mention it’s German heritage 😂

Sorry guys another question……. I’ve noticed on most pictures of CT series Hofner 500/1’s I’ve seen online, they have the serial number and the words “designed in Germany” written in the back of the head stock? mine doesn’t have anything ? im gonna have the electrics out later today to see if there is a paper data badge inside the cavity , where I’m hoping I’ll find a ct serial number. ? the bass , which I bought second hand, although it needed a fair amount of “work” to set it up well, it’s is otherwise very well made. every part of it that should Be found on a contemporary bass is there and I have no real reason to suspect it’s not a genuine CT or rather an ignition bass which has been upgraded and sold to me as a CT mistakenly…. di t think that’s the case here…. set up issues where more a case of my own ocd with fret levelling, crowing, polishing and neck adjustments….. lots of people would have found it fine as it was I guess but I always seem to be able to find just a little room for improvement on most instruments….. y try he only thing that is of not very good quality on it is the machine heads which from what I read is the norm on a Ct bass and upgrades needed are not in common. so…. Why doesn’t mine have writing on back of the headstock? im Not sure in it’s age, or how to age it from its sn, maybe they only started doing the writing after a certain year?

tha ks Jack, more expensive is a given…. But better finish, I assume you mean refind to a much higher standard in terms of attention to detail and set up, ie the neck and frets? im not concerned much with laquer.paint finish , just actuall quality of the workmanship/build…..(which I’m sure is exactly what you mean)…. the difference in price is whopping, are they THAT much better ? or would putting German electrics in a well set up ct achieve any near similar at a fraction of the cost?