Description
Not as well known as the 500/1 Violin 'Beatle Bass', the Hofner 500/2 Club Bass adapted the Club guitar body to a bass neck, helping to meet surging demand.
This Hofner 500/2 Club Bass dates to the fall of 1965 and is in good and largely original condition. It has had some necessary repairs, including a neck reset and repairs to the neck heel. Currently strung with Pyramid Gold strings, it plays well, definitely has the Hofner thump, and is perhaps more comfortable than the Violin bass to play.
This bass is sold with its original hard shell case and a secondary gig bag.
Hofner had built the single-cutaway Club guitar since the mid 1950s. When The Beatles really took off and Violin Bass demand skyrocketed, Hofner had to find ways to meet demand. As they could not easily ramp violin bass production up, they instead joined a 30 inch scale bass neck to the Club body. As the two instruments shared materials and construction principles, they sounded very much the same.
Materials and Construction
The single cutaway Hofner 500/2 Club Bass and 500/1 Violin Bass were constructed very similarly, just with different shapes. The tops are laminate Spruce, providing an authentic upright bass-style 'thump' when the strings are struck. The sides and back are figured, laminate Maple with Spruce or Basswood kerfed lining. The neck and tail blocks are either Spruce or a Beech/Spruce laminate. The bound fingerboard is Indian Rosewood, and the bridge is Ebony. The head plate is a celluloid plastic, and carries an injection molded styrene Hofner logo.
For this version of the Club, Van Gent tuners were used, as on countless other European instruments. The short trapeze tailpiece is made by ABM, again a common parts provider.
The electronics start with a pair of Hofner Type 511 humbucking pickups. The bridge pickup has been replaced. These lead to the classic Hofner control panel with 'Teacup' knobs and three slider switches. The pickguard is a genuine Hofner part, but is a replacement. The output jack is on the side.
There are two strap pins, at the tail block and on the bass side of the heel.
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There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here |
DETAILS:
- Instrument Model: 500/2 Club Bass
- Instrument Manufacturer: Hofner
- Instrument year: 1965
- Instrument Finish: Sunburst
- Instrument Class: Hollowbody Electric Bass Guitar
- Instrument serial number: N/A, dated by features and pot codes to later 1965
- Country of Origin: Germany
- Instrument Condition: Good
- Right-handed
- Instrument Weight Imperial: 4.4 lbs
- Instrument Weight Metric: 2 kgs
- Scale Length Imperial: 30 in
- Scale Length Metric: 762 mm
- Nut Width Imperial: 1.572 in
- Nut Width Metric: 39.94 mm
- CITIES Documentation Required: No
- Case included: Yes
- Case original: Yes
- Items in Case: N/A
- Case Type: Original Hard Shell plus Gig Bag
- Consignment: Yes
- Product ID: 190966
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There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here |