ash

Just bought a wonderful Hofner Club Bass off Matt - perfect deal, great bass. I am a happy Ash! Cheers Matt.

I've already been in touch with the seller - he's on this forum and also active on the Shergold site. These Ned's are good British instruments for the right price. There's a thread relating to this bass elsewhere on the forum.

[quote name='the hand of john curley' timestamp='1388962076' post='2328275'] So....are we to think he really didn't know what it was?......or was he trying to pull a full on sh1tbag manoeuvre ? [/quote] Many people simply see a recognisable name on something and take it as being legit. People are commonly duped - buyers and sellers - by fake goods with authentic looking logos. Old Hofners go for decent sums of money even in these lean times so the seller may not want to believe their instrument is fake....however I see it's ended again.

[quote name='Steff' timestamp='1388780538' post='2326074'] Great thanks mate. Funny as this one looks genuinely old but I now recall all the Hofners I've seen have two knobs with 3 sliders indeed... A vintage copy perhaps? [/quote] Looking closely it doesn't look very old to me - perhaps it's just the design, after the Fender basses the Hofner is surprisingly one of the most copied bass guitars and there certainly were many copies manufactured in the 60s and 70s from the Far East. There were also European versions from brands like Klira and Eko but there's something about the pickups and hardware that makes me think more recent Korean manufacture - Shine, Epiphone, etc. Have a look here - http://www.fuenfhunderteins.de/index1.htm

I have a Hofner '62 and this is nothing like it - Hofner Violin basses are actually very well made and have quite refined features - wave headstock shape, smaller decal, small guitar tuners, two knob control panel with three sliders, etc. they are handmade basses - at leat the German ones are. This looks like a Shine copy with a fake decal. I'll post a pic of mine for comparison sake Steff.

Good man

Hmmmm....... Shall we tell them? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271361741287?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1388627931' post='2324265'] I think if the seller had let the auction run its course the bass would have found its level in the market. I'm sure that plenty of people apart from Basschatters knew what they were looking at and the seller would have got a reasonable amount for it. I don't think anyone would have snagged it on the cheap. [/quote] Agreed - however in that condition and the 'risk aspect' I wouldn't have bid anywhere near £500.

It doesn't look like a scam to me and I think they are right to hold out if they are not sure of its value - given the condition - they also invite potential punters to come and have a look at it in the Q&A section. I'm tempted - could be a nice winter project.

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1388347444' post='2321103'] I'm a great fan of all Shergolds and the Marathon 6 is no exception but they are silly money now for most punters now they have become 'fashionable'. Even in the early 90s you'd be lucky to get £175 for one if you were selling one but now as you know as well as me it's name your price. I blame Hooky and New Order. [/quote] Yep you are right - mine wasn't cheap and I had to get a NOS fretted neck for it too! I'm now lucky enough to have the parts to renovate a second one. I actually have three spare Marathon 6 string bass necks to work with; one fretless (my original), one NOS oil finished and one NOS just sealed and sanded. I think these were the last available. I love the sound of chords on the Marathon 6 - and the Fender VI for that matter, great through a Copicat echo.

I think the Shergold Marathon 6 is a much more viable option as a bass 6 - the string spacing is far more comfortable and 'bass-like'. I have had Squier, Fender MIJ and Pawnshop versions of the Bass VI and have found them great sounding instruments but uncomfortable to play on account of the string spacing. I have used my Shergold live and not had any problems getting tangled up in the strings like I did with the Fender VI so I sold mine on.

You might find this link useful - http://www.watkinsguitars.co.uk/index.htm

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1388244520' post='2319894'] In fairness the wording is a bit "cart before the horse" and could be mis-read to give the idea that it's a genuine Fender. That said, is it really like the Fenders of the 60s? [/quote] Exactly and the start price is a joke too!

Ha ha ha! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/fender-1960-jazz-bass-/121239813509?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item1c3a74bd85

Get a Hofner violin, the a Ignition will be within your budget from eBay and they are not bad, you can pickup a contemporary series if you are lucky for £300. I own a German Hofner '62 reissue which I have used a lot recently after injuring my shoulder these are great but a bit expensive. Good luck!

This is fantastic, great piece of work, well done!

I have one of these and it was incredibly heavy - the heftiest bass I have ever picked up in fact. I very quickly sold it and have since stuck with my featherweight Grabber!