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Stringing a Hofner Beatle Bass: Ain't No Thang!
Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 6:14 pm
by CBA
Hi hi.
Also hello.
SAAAAAAY I just purchased a Hofner Icon Beatle Bass that is sure to be fun. Does anyone have one of these and do you have any extra tips on stringing the damn thing? I got a set of La Bella Beatle Bass extra light strings that are arriving tomorrow. Maybe I'll just take it TO THE STORE and have them do it.

C
Re: Re-Stringing a Hofner Beatle Bass Helpz?
Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 6:44 pm
by bob the r0bot
I think they seat like rics where you have to slide the ball end into a little groove under the tail piece and hold in place till you get some tension on it.
Re: Re-Stringing a Hofner Beatle Bass Helpz?
Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 9:06 am
by Holy Schnikes
bob the r0bot wrote:I think they seat like rics where you have to slide the ball end into a little groove under the tail piece and hold in place till you get some tension on it.
This looks to be the case. Just seat the ball end under that trapeze tailpiece (you'll see the groove) and get to stringing! I know someone else here rocks one of those, maybe it was stopreferencing???
Re: Re-Stringing a Hofner Beatle Bass Helpz?
Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 9:19 am
by D.o.S.
You should totally just tune it to C and jam Masters of Reality cuts exclusively through a twee Markbass 1x12.
Bonus point if you do it in a Hawaiian shirt, jorts, and sandals-in-socks.
Re: Re-Stringing a Hofner Beatle Bass Helpz?
Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 10:58 am
by CBA
Hey dudes. Thanks for the tips... I was speaking mostly about the tuning pegs. Should have been a little more clear. I've read that Hofners are really sensitive in the string area, and must be threaded a certain way through the tuning pegs. The strings I got are specifically made for the Beatle Bass, but I guess there is a lot of shit about like looping this way and that and bending the string etc. etc.
Perhaps it's the same as any other bass?
I'll see if I can track down mauerkraut. I think he may have some info.
C
Re: Re-Stringing a Hofner Beatle Bass Helpz?
Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 2:29 pm
by StopReferencing
Hi, yeah, I use a Hofner. I use these, as recommended by a guy I know on Cape Cod who uses the Beatle bass:

The pegs/heads are sensitive, yeah. One of the heads is cracked on mine, don't know if the peg's okay, but I beat the fuck out of my instruments, so

I string it like I string anything else, no tricks. It's the constant beatings (particularly one in Los Angeles smashing the headstock into a PA speaker) that cracked the tuning head.
Re: Re-Stringing a Hofner Beatle Bass Helpz?
Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 2:40 pm
by 01010111
I have an Eastwood copy of the hofner bass and I just string it like normal. The strings sit in the tailpiece in the grooves. One thing you will want to do is keep track of where the bridge is sitting, you'll probably have to reintonate anyway for the new strings, but keeping the bridge in the same place will help a lot.
Re: Re-Stringing a Hofner Beatle Bass Helpz?
Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 4:49 pm
by CBA
Geez... that was way easier than it was described on a few forums I searched. I expected some kind of weird unique tuner... it's just a tuner, like a regular modern tuner where you stick the strings in and wind. It came with roundwounds which were awful, so I quickly put the La Bella flatwounds on and it looks and sounds excellent. I haven't played it through my big bass amp yet (only my little Fender Rumble 15), but it sounds really sweet so far.
Thanks for the advice... I don't know if I've ever had an easier time stringing a guitar... that's what I get for reading, well, anything on the internet.
THANKS!
C
Re: Stringing a Hofner Beatle Bass: Ain't No Thang!
Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 5:25 pm
by mauerkraut
Glad it worked out, sorry I couldn't offer my two cents soon enough. Great bass.