Höfner files for insolvency

[scrumpymike]

I've just read that Hofner have filed for bankruptcy protection in Bavaria. I assume this is the same as filing for 'Chapter 11' in the USA, which means that the business will be run by administrators in a way that protects the company from market forces for a limited period of time. The idea is to give them a last chance to avoid bankruptcy.

[LawrenceH]

7 hours ago, Bass Direct said:

Some big names there in the bass world, shocked...

This came up in the Sky Arts thread (where I also mentioned Robbie Shakespeare to general blanks). For some reason they've got to be punk/new wave/prog to get the basschat radar pinging!

[RichT]

Oh look, successful musicians playing Hofners and none of them pretending to be in the Beatles...

 

Curt Smith of Tears For Fears

 

Kevin Parker of Tame Impala

 

Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads

 

Nicolas Godin of Air

 

Johanna Soderbergh of First Aid Kit

 

Robbie Shakespeare of Sly & Robbie

 

Paul Weller of... you know

[ajkula66]

43 minutes ago, RichT said:

Oh look, successful musicians playing Hofners and none of them pretending to be in the Beatles...

 

Tina is the only one on that list who played a Hofner for most of her career. 

 

Nothing against Hofner instruments, but they've been a niche offering for more than 50 years now. Time for a change.

 

 

[Downunderwonder]

What do you expect with an endorsement from Richard Nixon?

[Cato]

I wonder if the McCartney association is as much of a curse as a blessing for the violin bass.

 

In the same way that some people are put off by signature models because they don't want people to think that they are trying to emulate that player.

 

And the association between McCartney and violin basses is very strong indeed, to the point where it's one of the few models where non playing audience members might actually recognise it and think of it as the 'Beatles Bass'.

 

Obviously McCartney is a great player, but not everyone wants their playing to be associated with or compared to someone else.

 

 

[prowla]

8 hours ago, RichT said:

Oh look, successful musicians playing Hofners and none of them pretending to be in the Beatles...

 

Curt Smith of Tears For Fears

 

Kevin Parker of Tame Impala

 

Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads

 

Nicolas Godin of Air

 

Johanna Soderbergh of First Aid Kit

 

Robbie Shakespeare of Sly & Robbie

 

Paul Weller of... you know

 

Well, there are people there who have played Hofners at some point, but I don't associate them with those instruments.

Of course, they're not bad instruments; I've played one and was surprised at how good it was (but I didn't buy it).

[Geek99]

2 hours ago, Cato said:

 

Obviously McCartney is a great player, but not everyone wants their playing to be associated with or compared to someone else.

 

 

I’m not proud - I’d happily play a (standard) one if I thought 0.01% of his undeniable talent would rub off - much as I dislike much of his output. 

[BigRedX]

The sad fact is that without the McCartney connection Höfner would have probably folded decades ago.

 

Even so there's a limit to how many "Beatle Basses" they can sell, and they have obviously reached now.

[RichT]

9 hours ago, ajkula66 said:

Tina is the only one on that list who played a Hofner for most of her career. 

 

1 hour ago, prowla said:

 

Well, there are people there who have played Hofners at some point, but I don't associate them with those instruments.

 

Curt Smith has played them for best part of 20 years I believe, a lot longer than he was a 'pop star' in the 80's. Johanna from First Aid Kit switched to playing bass live around 2017 and consistently alternates between a Mustang and Hofner for specific songs.

 

Tame Impala primarily uses a 500/1 for recording, it's all over multiple albums of his. Air have used them on a couple of albums, but most importantly all through Moon Safari for classic basslines such as La Femme D'Argent - which is the reason I wanted one...

 

They've all used Hofners extensively for live work and/or recording. I'll let you off with Weller, although I've seen multiple photos of him playing both Clubs and 500/1 😉 

 

[Rosie C]

18 hours ago, p4ul said:

I still have a 63 Hofner Verythin that I picked up 30 years ago for a song, plays lovely, bit battered and not all OG but the neck is a joy until you hit the dusty end of the dusty end, sounds great and light as a feather. Way nicer than the recent VT offering imho.

 

 

I bought a modern Hofner violin while recovering from a back injury - it had a good thumping bass sound and weighed so much less than a solid body bass. I wasn't so keen on its 'look' so sold it once I was recovered. Lately I bought a bass ukulele and that reminds be a bit of the Hofner.

[prowla]

16 minutes ago, RichT said:

 

 

Curt Smith has played them for best part of 20 years I believe, a lot longer than he was a 'pop star' in the 80's. Johanna from First Aid Kit switched to playing bass live around 2017 and consistently alternates between a Mustang and Hofner for specific songs.

 

Tame Impala primarily uses a 500/1 for recording, it's all over multiple albums of his. Air have used them on a couple of albums, but most importantly all through Moon Safari for classic basslines such as La Femme D'Argent - which is the reason I wanted one...

 

They've all used Hofners extensively for live work and/or recording. I'll let you off with Weller, although I've seen multiple photos of him playing both Clubs and 500/1 😉 

 

OK - just not really ubiquitous though and I've not heard (of) a couple of those bands anyway.

Is Tame Impala a person or a band?

As per my previous comment, I'm not saying they're bad instruments, but the numbers starkly say they're not inspirational must-have choices.

[RichT]

6 minutes ago, prowla said:

OK - just not really ubiquitous though and I've not heard (of) a couple of those bands anyway.

Is Tame Impala a person or a band?

As per my previous comment, I'm not saying they're bad instruments, but the numbers starkly say they're not inspirational must-have choices.

 

Re Tame Impala - both! It's the one man psychedelic pop/rock band of Kevin Parker. He plays everything on all his albums, as nicely depicted in this video he made back in lockdown days: 

 

 

I get what you're saying, Hofners are a particular vibe and I certainly don't want to play mine all the time, but they're also more versatile and can fit into more genres than most people would have you believe. 

[Jack]

1 hour ago, RichT said:

 

Re Tame Impala - both! It's the one man psychedelic pop/rock band of Kevin Parker. He plays everything on all his albums, as nicely depicted in this video he made back in lockdown days: 

 

 

I get what you're saying, Hofners are a particular vibe and I certainly don't want to play mine all the time, but they're also more versatile and can fit into more genres than most people would have you believe. 

It bothers me that some of the cables don't go all the way to the edge of the frame!  

[LawrenceH]

On the other hand I've never seen a 'name' band toting a Dingwall, for example, and the only Warwick player on my radar ever is/was Zender. Before the inevitable deluge, yes I'm sure there are multiple examples to prove my ignorance but that's the point

 

But Hofner is a brand I'd associate more with guitars, more with jazz, and more with players on the continent - not so much the Anglosphere.

Edited 9 hours ago by LawrenceH

[jd56hawk]

Guitars?

I thought everyone associated Hofner with this. 

Never saw anyone playing a Hofner guitar.

 

Edited 9 hours ago by jd56hawk

[Bass Direct]

4 hours ago, BigRedX said:

The sad fact is that without the McCartney connection Höfner would have probably folded decades ago.

 

Even so there's a limit to how many "Beatle Basses" they can sell, and they have obviously reached now.

Not sure how much I agree with this, we still sell many per year

[tauzero]

On 17/12/2025 at 11:51, Geek99 said:

I’ve never tried one but maybe I should 

 

Some time in the 80s, I was offered one for £75. I had a play on it, hated it, and passed on it. That could have been my pension.

[Machines]

1 hour ago, LawrenceH said:

On the other hand I've never seen a 'name' band toting a Dingwall, for example, and the only Warwick player on my radar ever is/was Zender. Before the inevitable deluge, yes I'm sure there are multiple examples to prove my ignorance but that's the point

 

But Hofner is a brand I'd associate more with guitars, more with jazz, and more with players on the continent - not so much the Anglosphere.

 

I can call out lots of 'name bands', but they are names to me and the style music I listen to. All the Hofner bands are styles I do not listen to. This is perfectly normal for people to have different experiences.

[tegs07]

Don’t Hofner still make high quality hand built acoustic instruments?

 

Strongly suspect that their financial situation is more to do with a sluggish economy and high energy costs. I doubt Macca can help, unless he can broker a peace agreement with Russia.

Edited 8 hours ago by tegs07

[Cato]

Worth remembering that there's another side to Hofner's business making classical stringed instruments that I  imagine most of us here know very little about.

 

Who knows which part or parts ofthe business are actually failing?

[ASW]

Does anyone know the difference between the German Artist series basses and the other German basses. Looks like the vintage ones are a "relic" finish, but not sure what the differences between the other models are.

 

[Chienmortbb]

The Hofner Verithin was quite common in the 60/70s and my first electric 6-string guitar was a Hofner red solid body with one pickup. It played really well BUT it did not look like a Fender or a Gibson, in those days I was a little more fickle than I am now. The Hofner Jack bass really was a fine instrument IMHO, except for having the name and lots of writing on the body. 

[MichaelDean]

2 hours ago, LawrenceH said:

On the other hand I've never seen a 'name' band toting a Dingwall, for example, and the only Warwick player on my radar ever is/was Zender. Before the inevitable deluge, yes I'm sure there are multiple examples to prove my ignorance but that's the point

 

But Hofner is a brand I'd associate more with guitars, more with jazz, and more with players on the continent - not so much the Anglosphere.

It all depends on the music you listen to. Have a look at the artist pages on their respective websites, you might be surprised! Leland Sklar features on both.

What surprises me about Hofner is that they didn't come out with a Macca endorsed copy of his original Hofner aafter it resurfaced. I imagine they'd have sold like hot cakes to bassists and collectors.

[BigRedX]

8 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

The Hofner Jack bass really was a fine instrument IMHO

 

Except it was made by HOHNER, not Höfner.