If you remove the foam from under the bridge, you might be very pleasantly surprised, rather than your announced 'disappointment' with the instrument. The foam is only manufacturer protection of the finish and is meant to be removed before playing. Please post another review after removing the under-bridge foam!!!!!!!!

@BackToTheBlues

Жыл бұрын

I agree entirely - it's a bit like reviewing the taste of a banana by eating it with the skin on!

@davedixon2167

Жыл бұрын

1. It's more like paper than foam and we didn't want to potentially scratch a loaner bass while moving the bridge around. 2. If the problem was only with one string, then it's safe to assume that strip under the bridge didn't cause it.

@TheBassfresh

11 ай бұрын

@@davedixon2167 the bridge feet have to make full contact w/ the body, just like a double bass, especially on the E string

@davedixon2167

11 ай бұрын

@@TheBassfresh That makes sense, but I did not want to scratch up a loaner bass - and the fact remains that the weird sound quality was only on one string.

@g.s.3074

7 ай бұрын

Don’t hold your breath. This guy will not admit that he is clueless. I appreciate you pointing this out to everyone about the bridge.

I've got an ignition club in sunburst. First of all, it's beautiful! Lots of compliments on how it looks and I love having it hanging on the wall. Mine came really well set up. Very easy and comfortable to play. I will say the original strings felt kinda cheap but I swapped to labellas and it's great. It did need some intonation work which isn't as easy as on a fender style bass. The only mod I did was sand the bridge down a bit so it makes better contact with the body for good resonance. Just tape some printer paper to the body with painters tape, then tape some 200 grit sandpaper to the printer paper and sand the bridge till it makes good contact all the way across. I love my cheap Hofner

Interesting I have an ignition club bass and it’s fantastic. I did need to do some normal setup stuff but it came out great. Plays like butter and sounds great.

I still want one. Love that sound.

Surprised! I have a Club Ignition (amongst others) and it’s really good. I bought it used (private sale) but it hadn’t been set up at all. Had that done, and put La Bella flatwounds on it. No problem with the A string sounding odd, or any other string. No tuner issues either. The controls are weird but that’s Hofner, but you misled us. When you switch BASS ON, it switches the bridge pickup off. Switching TREBLE ON switches the neck pickup off. So strange - but logical. Personally I leave both switches on in the OFF position and use the pots to get the sound I want. Don’t touch the other switch either.

@davedixon2167

2 жыл бұрын

oh thanks for the clarification! that’s very strange indeed but I certainly did not mean to mislead. I did say maybe we should try another of the same series OR a higher spec to compare, because I definitely don’t assume all of these to be bad

The overtone you're getting around the A note is a physical property of hollow body basses, which will have a more obvious resonant frequency than a solid body instrument.

The A string problem is a wolf tone, nearly every double bass has one to varying degrees around A. It's a property of the instrument, bass guitars get away with it because they usually don't resonate enough for it to be noticable

I have two Hofner Clubs and both are wonderful basses. It did take some time to sort out the control panel,but you do get used to it. Granted, both of mine are German made.

Great bass, I own a couple of these and they work fine. Easy to play and sounds the way it's supposed to, especially with flats. I never had any of the challenges you had.

@daveoppelt1340

Жыл бұрын

Right...flat wounds. Also, Paul usually played with a pick. Easy on your back too.

Mine is perfect. I did’t expect a P bass. Stays in tune, looks good, sounds great.

Bought a used one in green. No issues with flatwounds. It has a thick resonance and is easy to play. It has neck dive and the electronics aren’t the best (pickups aren’t bad though) but it plays and sounds good to me.

Tried to adjust the intonation and didn't take off the packing foam? Wow.

@davedixon2167

2 жыл бұрын

copypasting my own response to another comment: I didnt think it was styrofoam; I thought it was just a sliver of paper (i didn't even touch it, myself). but we didnt set the bass up, per se; just tried to do a minimal adjustment for intonation. I assumed it would scratch if we removed that while futzing with the bridge placement, and this one was only a review loaner. And if the problem was only with one string, then it's safe to assume that strip under the bridge didn't cause it.

@christianmanon

Жыл бұрын

😂

Hopefully you guys try the rickenbacker 4005

I'm willing to be the issue with the A string is due to the packing foam under the bridge. You can't demo with packing still in the instrument. Also sounds like you aren't familiar with Hofner basses. Not fair to ding the instrument based on not knowing the layout of the control panel or that small tuners are on the bass. They seemed to work just fine.

@davedixon2167

Жыл бұрын

1. It's more like paper than foam and we didn't want to potentially scratch a loaner bass while moving the bridge around. 2. If the problem was only with one string, then it's safe to assume that strip under the bridge didn't cause it.

LaBella Beetle Bass Flatwounds, lube and adjust the tuners, graphite on the nut. 12th fret 3mm bass side 2mm treb. Pickup height in line with the neck. Neck dead streight. Sounds like you have more of a set up problem with bad strings. Good set up and strings will solve intonation and playability problems. The switches, that's the way the do it.

@Therealchuckbailey

2 жыл бұрын

there is no amount of Lube, Nuts or strings that can save this piece of Driftwood with tuners. Dave is a pretty fair guy... stable and unbiased. he is not a lunatic... like... well like me lol. If he is saying this is bad... its bad.

@davetuttle9701

2 жыл бұрын

@@Therealchuckbailey I'll give you $150 for it. 😊

@Therealchuckbailey

2 жыл бұрын

@@davetuttle9701 we already gave it a Vikings Funeral. 🤷🏻‍♂️

@davetuttle9701

2 жыл бұрын

@@Therealchuckbailey Wow

@davetuttle9701

2 жыл бұрын

@@Therealchuckbailey no offense, I was offering that info to help and for conversation. I play a Jazz Bass, Rickenbacker 4003, and a Hofner Contemporary. Stay warm, safe, and healthy........

Great sounding bass other than the honest and clear faults. Would you try any of the Hagstrom basses? Ideally not the Viking

Why haven’t you removed the foam piece under the bridge?

@davedixon2167

Жыл бұрын

1. It's more like paper than foam and we didn't want to potentially scratch a loaner bass while moving the bridge around. 2. If the problem was only with one string, then it's safe to assume that strip under the bridge didn't cause it.

I have a Ignition Viola and the Ignition Club. Have had then for years. Mine experience has been great. I replaced my tuners on both. But I suspect you don't know much about Hofner. Problem is probably you, listening to your review tells me not to check in again.

@TheBassChannel

2 жыл бұрын

See ya!

@Therealchuckbailey

2 жыл бұрын

😂😂😂

Take the packing foam from under the bridge. Might help some of your problems. I'm playing my Contemporary Club Bass now. Sweet as a nut.

@davedixon2167

2 жыл бұрын

copypasting my own response to another comment: I didnt think it was styrofoam; I thought it was just a sliver of paper (i didn't even touch it, myself). but we didnt set the bass up, per se; just tried to do a minimal adjustment for intonation. I assumed it would scratch if we removed that while futzing with the bridge placement, and this one was only a review loaner. And if the problem was only with one string, then it's safe to assume that strip under the bridge didn't cause it.

Fun little bass, pretty and super light weight but.... First, replace the dull factory strings immediately with either LaBella or D'Addario flats and (probably) raise the neck pick up. It will sound significantly better. The floating bridge and saddle system design is archaic but if you take a few hours to intonate bridge and fret wire saddles it's well worth it. (When you're happy with the intonation...mark bridge location with painter's tape, slacken strings, remove bridge and add thin two sided tape to on underside keep it in place). A nice addition to the home studio.

We're so sorry, uncle Albert....

What is this riff at 5:16? I'm getting a brain cramp trying to figure it out.

@sirbenjaminarthuriv4019

2 жыл бұрын

Alice In Chains

Can you demo a Dan Electro Bass?

I have one in Green Burst that needed a bit of setting up but it plays just fine. The neck needed a little turn to get it just right. I have tape wounds and for early Brit invasion or 50's rock it fits the bill. It is what it is.

@JOHNWLOUCKS

Жыл бұрын

P.S: it came with horrid strings so they were gone in a minute !

Thank you for adding the metric units when talking about weight.

I enjoyed your review. I had bought a second hand Contemporary Series Club Bass, and really like it. My problem was that the original owner outside of changing the strings to LaBella flats, did absolutely nothing to the bass... and this was a gigging musician. When I bought it I found the action to be high, too much neck relief, and a grimy fretboard. I ended up removing the strings to clean the fretboard, lowering the action, and the pickup heights (pain in the arse job as the CT series has the original German made pickups, with four slug bolts holding the pickups up from the sides of the pickup surrounds. The neck pickup surround had a split in the plastic and I am ordering a replacement. This bass is the only Club Bass in the series to have a solid wood centre block installed, and I believe that makes it a better bass to gig with. I am waiting for some Thomastik Infeld short scale flatwounds to arrive, along with a new pickup surround, but all up I really like this bass, and despite the extra work, would recommend it to anyone who would like a retro 60s short scale tone. What I liked about your review is that you called it as you see it, and you clearly received an Ignition series bass that had some quality control issues. These things happen, but I believe it wouldn't kill them to set these basses up a little better before they leave the factory.

Change the strings and remove the packing foam from under the bridge dude. I am sure this would have solved many of the sound issues you were getting. Overall, I kinda got the sense that you didn't want to like this bass pretty much from the start of the video. I've played this bass before and it sounded great, esp. for the price. I had none of the issues you mentioned.

@davedixon2167

Жыл бұрын

1. It's more like paper than foam and we didn't want to potentially scratch a loaner bass while moving the bridge around. 2. If the problem was only with one string, then it's safe to assume that strip under the bridge didn't cause it.

I had a club bass in the 60's. I wish I still had it. My brother bought a new, high end Beatle bass for over $3,000.00.

You could have tried removing the packing foam from under the bridge...

@davedixon2167

Жыл бұрын

1. It's more like paper than foam and we didn't want to potentially scratch a loaner bass while moving the bridge around. 2. If the problem was only with one string, then it's safe to assume that strip under the bridge didn't cause it.

I have the black one,E string was dead changed to Labella deep talking.problem solved

Hi i have one and it is brilliant and i cant hear much wrong with the one your playing just a little more effort from the presenter to have set it up would have presented a true picture of this beautiful Bass instead of the tripe he was spouting out so 10 out of 10 for the Bass and 0 out of 10 for a poor presentation and he should present it again and listen to the many who adore this beautiful Bass my very best wishes to all who own this beautiful Bass Brian,

Re the foam: yes it should be removed, but my luthier friend says it doesn't affect the sound in any way.

@TheBassChannel

5 ай бұрын

And even if it did, as everyone keeps claiming, it would have affected more than just the one string. I still maintain it was paper and not foam, though; we are thinking of trying a revisit here just to satisfy everyone's claims on both sides.

I picked up mine new for $319 shipped. Definitely worth that price for what you get. I'm definitely not going to try and record Beatles covers on it but it's plenty good enough to break out for half a set and an even better value to to learn on as a beginner. And it looks pretty great in all colors, here in your video the red really pops along with the some of the stylings, I have the silver one and it's an eye catcher. Definitely more than a novelty bass but if you want Beatles sound and playability quality-wise you have to spend a lot more obviously.

"Don't you dare go hollow"

The string issue is solved by changing the strings, sometimes if you put the string in s wrong way it sounds like that, it happens at the moment of putting it

@davedixon2167

2 жыл бұрын

I know the issue you're talking about, I believe that is the "chorusing" kind of sound that happens sometimes and we are well aware of that - but this A string didn't sound like that, the beating 'extra note' was so far out that it was crazy. That said, if it *was* a stringing problem, then at least we captured a QC issue that people will now be aware of.

I would love to send you guys my mini squire. Pretty solid small bass!

The German Ones are good! Check the tailpiece that may have something to do with the A string problem

@davedixon2167

2 жыл бұрын

Definitely think we should try the higher-spec ones just to be sure. I wanted to like this one!

@PhillipAlcock

2 жыл бұрын

@@davedixon2167 they really aren’t that bad. I have an Ignition Club and it’s absolutely fine. It’s a different sound to my other basses (woody?), but it was good value. See my separate post…

Where is the Fender Rascal bass?

@davedixon2167

2 жыл бұрын

I'd love to find one to try - all the used ones for sale currently are over 1k and I don't think they're made anymore.

I just got one of these in black. I've never used flatwounds before and I like them...although I think the strings may be the reason it doesn't stay in tune for more than 15 seconds at a time. Granted, I got this on ebay from MusiciansFriend so I figured it would be a decent bass, that they'd look it over before they sold it. Looks great, love the tone, but it doesn't stay in tune. I don't have the eyeballs to tell if it's warped or not. I put it on the tuner and get it tuned up and play it and it suddenly goes sharp at random, then it resolves for a few bars, then it goes a little flat, then goes way sharp again. I stop and hit the open strings to retune it and it shows perfect initially but I thump the string again and it'll show way sharp. I don't know if I should keep this and see if it needs work, return it, or put roundwounds on it which I don't really want to do...but if the strings are the culprit, I can't use them.

The comments are more informative than the video.😂

I was just talking to a bass player in a pub who had one of these - he really loved it and said it was 'really versatile'. He demonstrated several tones including one that was really soft which I thought was excellent. I asked him about McCartney's problem with intonation with the upper frets and he said he rectified this by lowering the action. Maybe you got a faulty one - lets see what Dave (World of Fun) found when he had to do a setup on one - seemed unusually pleased with it... kzread.info/dash/bejne/lXWNj5qpabHSlrw.html

danelectro DC bass next!

@Therealchuckbailey

2 жыл бұрын

Hell yea!!!

Try out a contemporary 😉

Packing foam need to come off for a start.

@davedixon2167

2 жыл бұрын

copypasting my own response to another comment: I didnt think it was styrofoam; I thought it was just a sliver of paper (i didn't even touch it, myself). but we didnt set the bass up, per se; just tried to do a minimal adjustment for intonation. I assumed it would scratch if we removed that while futzing with the bridge placement, and this one was only a review loaner. And if the problem was only with one string, then it's safe to assume that strip under the bridge didn't cause it.

You set up this bass, yet you left the styrofoam under the bridge?

@davedixon2167

2 жыл бұрын

I didnt think it was styrofoam; I thought it was just a sliver of paper (i didn't even touch it, myself). but we didnt set the bass up, per se; just tried to do a minimal adjustment for intonation. I assumed it would scratch if we removed that while futzing with the bridge placement, and this one was only a review loaner.

@oddeotek6242

2 жыл бұрын

I have an Ignition Club as well as 9 other basses including Fender, MusicMan, Guild and Steinberger. I’ve been playing professionally for 55 years and enjoy setting up my own basses. First of all, you must remove the protective material under the bridge since it slightly decouples the bridge from the body of the bass and decreases the sustain. The strings that are on the bass out of the box are horrible. LaBella makes low tension flatwound strings specifically for the Hofner Beatle Bass which made a huge difference in the sound and playability of the instrument. It is a small, strange bass with close string spacing and a distinctive “thump” as opposed to a sustained twang like a full scale bass with round wound strings and it takes some getting used to. That being said, I get more compliments on my tone and the looks of my Club than any of my other basses, some that cost ten times as much. I play in a busy rock trio in Seattle and my band mates fell in love with the tone of this bass from the first night I tried it on stage and because of that, I have been using it almost exclusively for the past 3 1/2 years. If you expect a sound like a Rickenbacker you’ll be very disappointed but if you want deep bass with a strong fundamental, try one of these out. I also enjoy the fact that it’s about 4 pounds. I am sorry to hear that you had such a bad experience with the Ignition Club but it can be set up to play very comfortably with the right strings and bridge adjustment.

YOU HAVE TO REPLACE THE STOCK STRINGS. The stock strings are terrible. You need to put some Labella flat rounds on it. I play professionally and have a bunch of basses. I mostly use one of my ignition club basses for it's beautiful full tone that sits nicely in the mix. I have two old Fenders and 4 uprights. The Hofner Ignition is killer. Nice and light on my neck too. I gig with it .

@TheBassChannel

4 ай бұрын

If we'd had more time with it before we had to send it back, I'd be willing to bet we could have fixed the issues we had with it. But most of the time when we review loaner instruments, we don't do any more than maybe tweaking the truss rod or action to make it playable - the rest is meant to be "here is what to expect out of the box if you buy this bass"

Granted, the stock Ignition tuners and strings are crap. But the foam has to go, and the bridge bass has to be matched to the curvature of the top, but that goes for Epiphone Violas, etc. as well. Thankfully, Wilkinson offers cheap, smooth 19:1 ratio vintage tuners with butterbean knobs that drop straight in. Medium-scale flats from Pyramid, DR or La Bella transform the intonation and tone. Also, Goldtone offers the ZS-18 bone nut with a zero fret, which really helps the sound of the open strings. Put a little effort into an Ignition Club, and it sounds bigger and better than the violin version, plus it's still thousand$ less than a German one.

The FOAM under the bridge has to be taken out! I have owned several of these Hofner basses, and this review just does NOT add up for such a nice instrument! 👿👿👿👿

Wow, you really should have taken the foam out from under the bridge and put flat wounds on it before you try to review something.

@davedixon2167

2 жыл бұрын

copypasting my own response to another comment: I didnt think it was styrofoam; I thought it was just a sliver of paper (i didn't even touch it, myself). but we didnt set the bass up, per se; just tried to do a minimal adjustment for intonation. I assumed it would scratch if we removed that while futzing with the bridge placement, and this one was only a review loaner. Bass came with flats on it already. And if the problem was only with one string, then it's safe to assume that strip under the bridge didn't cause it.

It does look good, but I'm a sucker for metallic red anything, especially with binding. I'm also a sucker for pearl white guitars. After watching your video on the Gretsch Jet, I was checking them out online and stumbled upon this very guitar...the Hofner. I'm glad that I saw this video so I can scratch this one off of my list.

I had one, seeemd ok, but the cheapness pf the build got to me, sold it...looking at HCT now. Missing my "mersey" german 62.

I wanted to like these, but I've played several of them at my local Guitar Center and they were all really really bad.

Where to start here... Firstly you have left the foam underneath the bridge, Tone killer #1. Secondly the factory strings are shit and should have been replaced strait away, which in turn would have prompted you to remove the foam from under the bridge and made it easier to solve any "intonation" problems Tone killer #2. Third, setting up the nut and a level and polish is a "have to" on any import, They are rarely done properly. tone killer #3. Four, the electronics are shit no getting around it at $399. however there are replacement control panels loaded that Look vintage and sound great. Really should just wire the neck pickup to the output jack and bypass the controls if you don't want to spend the cash.. The pickups are fine. The Tuners work fine just a drop of mineral oil, or a dab of Lithium grease and problem solved. You seem like a nice guy, passionate about what you do but you are mistaken about this. Cheers

@davedixon2167

Жыл бұрын

1. It's more like paper than foam and we didn't want to potentially scratch a loaner bass while moving the bridge around. 2. If the problem was only with one string, then it's safe to assume that strip under the bridge didn't cause it. I do appreciate that you were a bit more cordial in your feedback.

I have the ignition violin bass, basically the same instrument, the A string sounds just fine. This guy obviously did something wrong. What could be a physical reason to have a half tone added to the tone you play ??? Check your strings, dude, your bridge and neck - and fingers.

Another guy demoing an instrument with the thick foam under the bridge, why not leave it in the plastic bag and "play" it like this ? And then he talks about "setup". Ridiculous.

@davedixon2167

Жыл бұрын

1. It's more like paper than foam and we didn't want to potentially scratch a loaner bass while moving the bridge around. 2. If the problem was only with one string, then it's safe to assume that strip under the bridge didn't cause it.

Clearly you had a Friday afternoon instrument. There clearly is a heck of a rattle on that A…. Ouch.

No offense but you say this is one of the worst short scales you have gone across but a lot of what has been mentioned is non issues, having to move the bridge to intonate is standard on a bass with a floating bridge, the control panel is easy to use once you have used it for a few minutes and if you are not a fan of it then just leave the bass and treble switches in the off position and blend the pickups with the volume controls. The A string was likely a bad string or pickup to close, it happens, maybe changing the string and adjusting the pickup height may have sorted it, the tuners are cheap tuners as per the entry level price of the bass

Change strings now it's great.

Video: Great! Bass: Mierda!! (That means sh!t).

See a lot of people saying change strings to Labella flats. So you buy a new bass that has tons of quirks you have to straighten out them you have to shell out another $50 for string. No thanks I'll find something set up decently at the factory that doesn't need new strings immediately ! Hofner is stuck in the 50's . McCartney plays one because he was a kid when he bough it and has his tech to keep it on track. I think most people should pass on this one !

The issue is the Chinese made flat wound strings. Change them to LaBella's and the problem will be solved.

It will not help having a piece of felt under the bridge. My son has an IGNITION which is very good so maybe you just got a dud or ??

@TheBassChannel

5 ай бұрын

Read the other comments on this. 1. It was not foam or felt, it was paper. 2. We did not remove it because it was a loaner, and we did not want to potentially scratch the finish messing with the bridge. 3. The bad sound only happened on 1 string; if it were caused by the packing paper, that would have impacted all strings. Could have been a dud, sure.

How can you be taken seriously when you haven’t even taken the foam shipping pad out from under the bridge? You obviously no nothing about setting the bass up properly. I bought an Ignition bass years ago and gig with regularly, it sounds great. The only change I made was to put a set of LaBella flat-wounds strings on it, as the original strings we’re the usual crap found on most new guitars. Look at the other reviews from the satisfied users in the comments. Get an expert to do the initial setup for you and set the floating bridge properly with good strings and you might want to do more honest review.

@davedixon2167

Жыл бұрын

1. It's more like paper than foam and we didn't want to potentially scratch a loaner bass while moving the bridge around. 2. If the problem was only with one string, then it's safe to assume that strip under the bridge didn't cause it.

Next time get the real thing instead of the Squier. You know how notorious economy guitars can be from any manufacturer.

Sometimes I get that feeling this guy complains just for the sake of complaining. It's a sub $400 bass made in Asia It's going to need work out of the box to play the way you want it to. Just say that. And the fact that he can't recognize that wolf tone on a a string being a matter of pickup height makes me wonder if he knows what he's talking about at all.

@davedixon2167

Жыл бұрын

There is no way that A-string sound was a simple pickup-height wolf tone. We mitigated about 50% of the problem before putting it to video. "This guy" has been playing for nearly 30 years and while I may not be a very good player these days, I have at least a modicum of experience to draw from...

😂 Expert huh?

We're supposed to trust somebody who doesn't notice there's still packing foam under the bridge? FO rookie.

@TheBassChannel

5 ай бұрын

Read the other comments on this. 1. It was not foam, it was paper. 2. We did not remove it because it was a loaner, and we did not want to potentially scratch the finish messing with the bridge. 3. The bad sound only happened on 1 string; if it were caused by the packing paper, that would have impacted all strings.

Hofners were crap during the 80's ....been overpriced since Macca got fame

This video: just no. No.

Yes... this is a bad bass. There are plenty of great playing budget basses these days like squier, harley benton, sterling, etc. Hofner simply missed the mark.