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Getting pleasure from fighting a bass!


warwickhunt
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I've always liked the look of the Hofner Club basses and one popped up locally at a good price so I snagged it.  This wasn't a totally random purchase as I have a shoulder injury/issue which flares up now and again and I'm liking short scale, light basses for when it gives me gip.  

 

Any ways... bass arrived needing a massive set up as it had a stupid high action: nut cut 3mm lower (yes it was that bad) and I took out the floating bridge adjuster grub screws so I could get the bridge down and not have 5-7mm of grub screw ripping my palm.  Got it all fettled and started playing it in earnest...

 

Well it's a feisty booga and notes seem to bloom in odd places, where others are slow to sing.  Added to which it sits nice on a strap but I like to play/mute over the bridge and I ended up wrapping my finger around the piece of wood (yes it is basic, check it out), this lead to filing and sand papering to avoid discomfort.  This all aside, I decided to gig it straight away. 

 

This is where the challenges set in 'big style'!  The bass is hollow bodied and the bridge is floating which gives some interesting resonances, this lead me to tweak EQ but I was constantly aware that playing in certain ranges/areas I was going to need to moderate my style... it also meant I could border on creating feedback/sustain and on some passages I was muting to stop it going off on one.  I generally never have to do this on any of my regular basses (34" solid bodied basses); maybe the odd room resonance.  It was really good fun, trying to manipulate the instrument to get what I wanted or to use to add/enhance.  It wasn't life changing and I've encountered stuff like this in the past but to have to work with and around an instruments weaknesses (or is it a strength?) was good fun.  

 

Maybe I'm just tired and bored of the songs I'm playing!  LOL

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