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I found an LM Tube 800 circuit diagram here if that's of any use - https://el34world.com/charts/Schematics/files/_miscellaneous/Little_mark_tube800_sm.pdf

The more I look at reference pics the more I'm coming to think the variations are just down to the vagiaries of production methods in the 60s. For example, there are plenty of Artist models with the same tailpiece and neck positioning as my German/Euro model (1965 btw). There's even one on the vintagehofner site with the same tailpiece position as mine but the same neck position as yours - a hybrid (pic below)! I think the clear lacquered neck on yours probably does support the idea that it's an Artist model though.

Here's another comparison pic - Artist at top, then yours, then mine (which is a native German model). Yours matches the Artist with the bridge being further away from the endpin and the neck being set correspondingly further out of the body. Add the lack of a neck rout and I think it's pretty conclusive that yours is an Artist. Now all we need to do is get to the bottom of the original paint job being white rather than red 🤔!

Just a one off then by the look of it! Re the lack of a neck pickup rout, I just found this pic of a Hofner Artist in the process of being restored. The Artist was the Selmer version of the 185. Most of them didn't have the slider switches and ... drumroll ... it looks like the neck pickup was mounted to the pickguard as there's no rout.

It's all very mysterious, but I agree it does look original. Does the neck heel show any signs of having been redrilled? Here's a pic of mine for comparison. I'd expect yours to show the holes repositioned towards the heel end with more overhang of the body/neck join.

Nice job. I'm still a bit baffled by the lack of an original neck pickup rout!

Ah, well that removes nut issues from your list which at least narrows it down to neck relief, string action or frets. As you've already raised the string action that leaves neck relief or frets. If the bass has seen a lot of use, the lower frets are generally the first to show signs of wear so that's the first thing I'd check. With a fret rocker if you have one, or a short straight edge (10cm or so - enough to cover 3 frets). If that doesn't show up any high/low frets then your probably right in thinking a small tweak of the trussrod is what's needed. Although that depends on how much relief you've already dialled in - too much relief will give you other problems. If the neck is currently pretty much dead flat (or has only the slightest smidge of relief) then loosen the trussrod 1/8 turn and see if that helps. It's easily reversible so no harm in giving it a go.

When you say 'some fret buzz on the 1st fret of the E string' do you mean the first fret buzzes when you play an open string, or that you get buzz when you fret the first string and play an F?

Here's a recent thread that may be of interest -

This article explains what is happening - https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/29161-mod-garage-three-ways-to-wire-a-tone-pot I know it's titled 'three ways to wire a tone pot' and your issue was with the vol pot, but if you look at the 'standard wiring' (top) and swap the hot and cold wires on the vol pot, this is the electrical equivalent of the ''50s wiring' option (bottom). The big difference being that, when the vol is rolled back, the tone control is no longer directly connected to the pickup and this 'decoupling' results in a change in how the vol and tone pots interact with each other. Read the blurb in the article on '50s wiring and all will be revealed!

Well spotted!

It's a beauty. But it does have one heck of a high action!

The 450 series are advertised as being the highest quality guitar pots in the CTS range - are the 282 and 284 series with plastic tracks even better quality than the 450?

It sounds like the freq point of the treble on the preamp is just too high for your taste. How about leaving the treble flat on the preamp and EQing the treble end at the amp instead?

Here's vid demonstrating output measurement with a multimeter. Jump to 4m 30s if you want to skip the preamble.

Do the preamps have any input/output gain adjustment to play around with?

Yes, the bridge pup is surface mounted on the pickguard. The neck pup is fitted from below and has more adjustment. Here are a couple more pics. I have a spare tuner from a 60s 185 and a neck pickup mounting plate. If they're of any interest for your restoration drop me a pm. Ian

The body is a bit of a mystery. Here's a pic of my old 185 for ref. Is it possible that the neck cavity and other channels have just been filled and overfinished so well as to be invisible?!

I've measured the DCR and inductance of the stock higain pickups in my 2019 Ric 4003S which come out as: Neck - DCR 11.2k / inductance 4.0H Bridge - DCR 11.0k / inductance 4.6H Measurements were made via the output jack with the pickups wired in circuit. I realise they won't be exactly the same as if measured out of circuit but should be close. I was surprised that the inductance of the bridge pickup was so much higher than the neck. The wind is pretty much the same as the neck so would the difference just be down to the larger magnet used on the bridge pickup? The bridge pup lacks a bit of high end to my ears and doesn't clank like an 80s/90s Ric. I guess this is due to the current higains being somewhat overwound in comparison with earlier versions. I know that one way to extend the top end would be to de-wind the bridge coil (say down to 9k) which would reduce the inductance and raise the resonant peak. Would using a smaller bridge magnet (or cutting down the existing one - it's made of a magnetised rubber-type material) be another way of reducing the inductance and extending the top end response? Thanks for any input.

Here's a vid comparing bridges made from wood and metal. As he says, far too many variables between the basses for this to be a scientific comparison but interesting nevertheless. The wooden bridge has a fuller and much more balanced sound to my ears. Hmm, I'm tempted to do a bit of experimenting myself!

Might be worth having a chat with Alan at Project Guitar Parts ([email protected]). They have a lot of replacement parts for vintage Hofners. No pickguards for an Artist model on the site but they may be able to make you one or point you in the right direction. I think the pickguard material for the Artist is somewhat thinner than modern vinyl sheet so that's something to check if you go to a regular custom pickguard supplier. https://projectguitarparts.co.uk/Pages/hofnerparts.html

Well to be fair, all I was really saying in my first post above was that I'd experienced similar intonation issues to those mentioned by the OP. In my case the string taper went too far beyond the saddle and I believe that was part of the problem. I've obviously inadvertently ruffled a few feathers with my subsequent blabberings so will now reel my neck in!

The same applies for exposed cores. If it also has an exposed core at the nut then the open string will be well balanced. But fretted notes will still have the same imbalance issues mentioned above. Also, forgot to mention, the higher the fretted note, the more pronounced the imbalance will be due to the proportionally longer element of exposed core over a shorter speaking length.

The big difference with a piano is that the wound/tapered strings (ie. lower strings) have exactly the same amount of exposed core showing at the witness points at each end. The speaking length of the string is completely symmetrical - it has a taper at each end and has a straight pull across it's length from the anchor point at one end to the tuning key at the other. It is designed to produce a single note only, and the string geometry and mechanics of installation are optimised for that purpose. By contrast, a typical tapered B is only tapered at one end, generally has a different break angle at the bridge and the nut, and has the full string gauge passing over the nut. Which is quite assyemtrical. On top of which, it has to produce many different notes. When you fret the string you introduce yet another type of witness point, at the fret itself, which again is at variance with the taper at the saddle. In effect, whether open or fretted, a tapered string is heavier at one end than the other, which can give rise to unbalanced vibrations, which then causes the wierd intonation issues.