Wich of the currently available Hofner violin basses has the thinnest, narrowest neck? Ignition? Contemporary?

[BELA]

Looking for a lh violín hofner with tinny neck.

Must be affordable so made in Germany ones are out for the time being

Opinions?

[Obrienp]

I can see why you are asking, even the Hofner website doesn’t give much detail on them. The Bass Direct site gives the best info I could find. This is for the Ignition version for instance: https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Hofner_Igintion_Violin_Limited_Edition.html.

42mm at the nut to 50mm at the 12th fret is pretty narrow IMO. By comparison my Ibanez EHB 1000S shorty is 42mm to 58mm. You can get the Ignition a lot cheaper if you shop around a bit: under £300. 

Edited February 22, 2022 by Obrienp

[Wylie]

As far as I know, all the Hofner violin basses and club basses are built to the same specs. My Contemporary Club had a fairly chubby neck, not at all what I'd call tiny.

 

Edited March 3, 2022 by Wylie

[jd56hawk]

Ignition neck is so thin it's a big turnoff for me.

[Maude]

The thing with Hofners is that the neck aren't particularly narrow, 42mm nut, same as your usual Precision, but it barely tapers out as you move up the neck giving a very tight string spacing for your plucking/picking hand. 

They are 14mm at the bridge compared to a Precisions 19mm. 

[Owno]

All Höfner necks are quite chunky, but broomstick like as they don’t taper. I think the dimensions are the same on the two models you mentioned. If you want a similar, yet thinner, neck I would suggest a 60’s or 70’s Hagström bass. 

Edited March 4, 2022 by Owno

[grandad]

Yes, I would say that all Hofner models are a similar broomstick shape & not thin. Other makes can be thinner, my Tanglewood is. 

Edited March 5, 2022 by grandad

[Obrienp]

Would a Bronco be better from that respect? I found the neck pretty thin on mine.

 

One that would really fit the bill from the neck size/width perspective is the Nordstrand Acinonyx but probably above budget. Obviously a different aesthetic as well.

Edited March 5, 2022 by Obrienp

[Obrienp]

I’ve been thinking about one of these too, as I am struggling a bit with my 5 string and 19mm string spacing basses these days: so much so I have put my 5 string up for sale. I would be interested to know if you settled on one and how you found it?

 

Very few web sites give full specs but it seems from one of the box shifter sites that the Ignition models have a marginally less deep neck at the 12th fret than the Contemporary and German built models. However, I have seen so many errors on shop websites, that I take them with a pinch of salt. I guess the other thing is, if you think you are going to keep the bass, you can always shave the neck a bit. Most modern builds with a decent truss rod can take it. Some people say this affects the tone but I would have thought a few millimetres won’t make a significant difference.

Edited April 10, 2022 by Obrienp

[Doug Fsrwig]

Guys, those of you looking for that thin, narrow neck need to check out the Icon series. I am trying to find out if the '63 500/1 also has the thin neck. I believe it was made in Germany.

I read something somewhere about this and I'm trying to find out more about it.

It could also be the '66 500/1 also German made.

If you know which one it is please post it.

Most Hofners are to chunky for my liking.

I bought a Ignition series Hofner and I sent it back because of this.

I also bought a Contemporary Series that I just received and I will be selling it for the same reason.

I know there is a model that's better than the Icon Series that has the thin, narrow neck.

It might be the '66 Re-Issue.

I'm searching so if you know, please let me know which one it is.

If you like thin and narrow necks, check out the Icon Series.

I have and love it.

It doesn't have a bound neck and the one I'm looking for does I believe. 

Thanks guys

 

[RichT]

Just for clarification, I thought the Icon series and Ignition series are the same thing, Ignition just being the newer name for the Icon.

 

Having had both an Ignition Club and a contemporary HCT Club, unless you specifically need it to be fully hollow then everything about the HCT is better - better quality finish, better pickups, better tuners & hardware, even a better quality pickguard. The HCT is simply a class above the Ignition build-wise. 

 

On paper the HCT neck spec is thicker, but in the hand my perception is that the carve feels much more refined, and despite the numbers it somehow feels slimmer and more tapered. I was actually really surprised to discover that the HCT had the thicker neck, it certainly didn't feel like it. Obviously one of those things where numbers aren't the whole story and you have to try it for yourself.

[Sparky Mark]

On 19/09/2023 at 01:28, RichT said:

Just for clarification, I thought the Icon series and Ignition series are the same thing, Ignition just being the newer name for the Icon.

 

Having had both an Ignition Club and a contemporary HCT Club, unless you specifically need it to be fully hollow then everything about the HCT is better - better quality finish, better pickups, better tuners & hardware, even a better quality pickguard. The HCT is simply a class above the Ignition build-wise. 

 

On paper the HCT neck spec is thicker, but in the hand my perception is that the carve feels much more refined, and despite the numbers it somehow feels slimmer and more tapered. I was actually really surprised to discover that the HCT had the thicker neck, it certainly didn't feel like it. Obviously one of those things where numbers aren't the whole story and you have to try it for yourself.

Agreed the HCT is a much higher quality bass than the Ignition series, but it should be as it costs twice as much.

[shoulderpet]

This is the first time I have ever seen anyone say that Hofner necks are chunky, I always found them pretty thin and found that they don't cope well with heavy strings for that reason