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Thanks for watching!

Right on! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and for watching!

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for watching! Lots of short scales featured on this channel. Good luck in the hunt!

Right on! Thanks for watching and for sharing your thoughts! I totally agree with you that the Rumblekat is much more sonically versatile. But absolutely, the Hofner does 'Hofner' and nothing else does. It's got a vibe!

Thanks so much for watching! Yes I can speak to the ergonomics and the comfort factor. I had initially filmed this section, but it droned on and the whole thing became too long, so it got edited out.... One of the biggest drawbacks of both of these (and semi and fully hollow basses in general) is the lack of a forearm contour/cutaway. So there will be a right angle sharp corner/binding that will contact your forearm. Depending on one's size, body shape, arm length etc, this will contact a different part of your forearm. The problem is whether or not such contact will pinch superficial nerves, or deeper nerves, resulting in pain. I've seen people remedy this with towels, pool noodles and other assorted strategies. But they're all rather unsightly. The Hofner Club's lower bout is quite a bit less wide than the Rumblekat and you'd think that would make it more comfortable.....but for me, I actually found the Rumblekat to be easier to get around on. This is very specific to your body size and shape so best to try them out if possible. Both of these examples balanced pretty well and both were on the light side. The Hofner's tailpiece design does shift the playing position further away/a little towards the headstock so it feels a little longer, despite both having the same scale length. You might notice this even more if you were standing up with the bass hanging on a strap. The Hofner's neck is deeper, yet more narrow. It's like a deep D shape. The Epiphone's neck is much more similar to a 'normal' electric bass neck in terms of profile. So I felt instantly 'at home' on the Epiphone whereas the Hofner takes some getting used to. But that's also a selling feature, as I like instruments that make me play differently - specific to the instrument. This is what gives it vibe. It does something different! The Hofner's body thickness is a hair over 2". Along with the curved top, it does put the playing position slightly further away from the body. The epi is slimmer that way. In summary, despite the wider bout dimensions, the Epi was surprisingly comfortable to play and I found transitioning back and forth between it and my solid bodies to be pretty easy. Whereas, the Hofner is a distinctly different playing experience. I hope this answers some of your questions! If possible, it's still best to try them in person. I realize it's more difficult these days and a lot of music stores either don't carry what you're looking for, or are closing down unfortunately. Good luck in the hunt!

@@jonathanwong458music Thanks again -- extremely helpful assessment! Your reviews are among the most thoughtful and insightful ones out there. Really appreciate what you do Dr. Wong :)

Ahh, you're so kind! Thanks for the encouragement!

I haven’t! Must be a vintage model? Thanks for watching and sharing!

The older Starfires have tons of vibe! The bisonics are dark and vibey. Thanks for watching!

I’ve tried the Labella low tension. Very similar to the TIs at a fraction of the price. Different midrange though, as you suggested. Not sure they’d fit on a Hofner. Haven’t tried. Thanks for watching!

@@joegoesretro I've got those on my Bronco, put a lipstick pickup in it... Now I call the Bronco my butterball because of how smooth and creamy it feels

Nice!!!

No, the Epiphone Rumblekat is a 30" scale length (measures closer to 30.25" in real life). The Hofner is also a 30" scale. Thanks for watching!

Right on! It’s tonally limited, but as you suggested, it’s got such a vibe!! And it makes you play differently, which further adds to the specific vibe. Thanks for sharing your experiences and for watching!

@@jonathanwong458music your stuff is great, I also like that you focus on reasonable/blue collar models. I've found 3 cheap basses with new pickups and pots to be a lot more fun than 1 American bass, but yeah... I want to find a rewire for the hofner. I like the series/parallel switch I put in my Affinity Jaguar and think that would be cool, not sure what I'd change the other 2 switches to though

Thanks so much for the encouragement! I've been toying with the idea of swapping out the Hofner controls for vol and tone pots. But I'm afraid it would make it brighter than I want it to be and then take away the vibe. Too big of a cap value and you'll just end up with mud and no tone. Practically speaking, I use the Hofner for 2 sounds, and for the rest, I just take another bass. So I will likely just leave it as is. (for me and my needs) Appreciate your viewership!

@@jonathanwong458music I bought the Hofner because I had a hunch it would sound good with acoustic guitars at church. Turns out I was spot on, then Covid hit and I did not play with anyone for a year and a half! ..I might have just wanted that to be true and played into my gut opinion (but isn't that we all do with the groove?) ... complete aside, but open up the tone cover on your Hofner and then just take a whiff, smells wonderful! :)

That’s exactly how I often use my Hofner too (with acoustic guitar). It’s replaced what I used to do on electric upright.

Thanks for watching! Yes! The Rumblekat is a super cool bass! I had Beatle bass Labellas on my Hofner for about a year. I never got on with how they felt, but I also gravitate towards lower tension strings. I also love flats!

The Rumblekat is a super cool bass! I personally think it sounds better with rounds on it, over flats. Makes it more versatile. The deeper neck and tight string spacing on the Hofner is quite different and takes getting used to. I think it's much easier to switch between instruments with the Epi in this case. Thanks for watching!

The Rumblekat was indeed hotter in output. More extended low and highs, makes it sound bigger compared to the much more narrow sounding Hofner. Thanks for watching!

Thanks for your continued viewership!!

I would have preferred the Cavern pickup config too! The Rumblekat is much more sonically versatile, compared to the Hofner. Thanks for watching!

That's a good point. In my own usage of the Hofner, I typically leave it on 'rhythm' for two main reasons. The first, is that the output is more similar to my other passive basses and I don't need to fiddle around with gain settings when I'm just playing around with and switching back/forth between instruments at home. The second reason, to my ears, the 'rhythm' volume pad gets rid of a little bit of a high-mid spike, which is more apparent on 'solo'. I just find it more tonally pleasing. Interestingly, the 'solo' setting makes it slightly louder than the Epi! Thanks for watching!

Thank you so much for watching and for the encouragement!

Didn’t have a chance to make one. Maybe I’ll try to get a hold of the newer 2229. Thanks for the idea!

The Novak, Lollar and Nordstrand could fit if you purchased the ‘vintage’ size 40mm option. I do not think the Trues come in that size. You would need to measure the widest point of one of your pickup shells. On a Classic vibe Squier, I believe it’s the smaller 40mm size. Thanks for watching!

Thanks for watching from across the ocean!

That’s great to hear! For the price, it’s pretty great! I would be very interested in hearing about the quality control and consistency. Thanks for watching!

Thanks for watching! I've recently discovered that the GHS precision flatwound 45-95 set's E string is slim enough to just get through the tuner hole on my Hofner Club Bass Contemp series. However, the medium scale set is too long (!) and you'll get flat windings around the post. Fortunately, the short scale is long enough to get the silk past the zero fret and the nut. I've been enjoying them more than the Labella set I had on! But not intuitive.....I've burned a lot of strings on my Hofner, unfortunately.

Transitioning from a 24-25.5” scale guitar to one of these 28.6” basses will hopefully feel less foreign than going up to a 34”! Good luck and thanks for watching!

I think so! If your daughter likes the look of it, and if it’s inspiring her to play, it’ll be great! Thanks for watching!

Hi! Thanks for watching! If you watch Ep.8, I show how i enlarged the pickup cavity and installed a set of EMG Geezer Butler P pickups. Hopefully that will answer your question!

@@jonathanwong458musicthank you for your prompt reply, Jonathan! I was wondering, did you mount the pickup directly to the body and used some foam under the pickup?

@@kostasmargaritakis the P pickup is screwed into the wood, but like all P pickups, you’ll need either foam or springs underneath to allow for height adjustability. Need something to push the pickup up while the screws pull it down.

@@jonathanwong458music thanks a lot Jonathan! Really appreciate your comments

Good luck with your mod!

Can’t beat the price either! Thanks for watching!

I hope you like it when it arrives! Best of luck to you and thanks for watching!

The absence of a forearm cutaway (if you’re used to one) can definitely cut into your arm. Suppose it’s the nature of these semi and hollow body basses. Warwick made a semi hollow bass for Lee Sklar with a forearm cutaway. Cool execution, but if I’m honest, it looks weird and out of place! But I’m sure it makes longer sessions way more comfortable. Thanks for watching and sharing your experiences!

The tuning pegs are pretty small in diameter on the Mini, so I can see how the stiffer Labellas made the snapping noises; the outer wraps likely separated from each other and also from the core. The Labella flats I used in this Mini P series were the set dedicated for the Mini's 28.6" scale length and they fit perfectly. You 'might' be ok if you just leave your flats on and never take them off! Loosening the tension might make the string unravel. That's happened to me with several sets in my endless experimentation. I hope the strings behave for you! Thanks for watching!

Absolutely! Silk or a step taper over the fingerboard is a no-no. For those viewers interested, I have a dedicated video on finding strings for short scale basses. Thanks for watching!

Right on! Setup was a breeze with the Babicz. Did it change the tone on your Cassidy? Thanks for watching!

That’s an interesting suggestion! Thanks!

​@@jonathanwong458music Yes, there was a slight change in tone. I would describe it as more compressed. The bass does have more sustain (very subjective!! They never really do 😊) and is more focused in the lower range and on low E string. I think this pays off if the E is tuned to a Drop-D. Try that plate sometime when you change strings. You are doing very well with this channel. The live drums are the special sauce!

@@sethbrown8912 thanks so much for the encouragement!

This warmoth build was from a while ago, so more than likely, the option menu has changed. Thanks for watching!

Thanks for watching and writing! If you check out the video episodes where I install the EMG Geezer Butlers and the Artec soapbar Humbucker, I'm pretty sure I have photos of the cavity!

That sounds like a very cool project! Re the neck pickup string spacing. You're probably right that the pole pieces may be a bit wide. However, if you look at a Musicman HH, the neck pickup pole pieces look a bit wide for the string spacing too. Not sure why. Thanks for watching!

@@jonathanwong458music I put a MM style pickup in my Affinity Jaguar and the poles don't line up well at all, and honestly, still sounds fine- but that is more in the Precision position, a short scale HH would be even higher

Probably a wide enough magnetic field with those big pole pieces.

That's a cool interesting project! These Nordies have more of a P bass bark than a more traditional Mustang tone - which depending on what you're after, might be awesome! Thanks for watching!

Thanks for watching! I have a dedicated video on how to find strings for short scales. For the 28.6" scales, unless you want flatwounds, there are not very many dedicated strings. Using the 'short scale' sets meant for 30" may be the only option depending on where you live. If you wants flats, then Labella makes a dedicated set for the Mini P. I haven't tried the CNZ mini J yet. The deciding factor may be whether or not you want a bridge pickup. Thanks for watching!

Right on! Thanks for watching and commenting!

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for watching! Good luck in the hunt!

Probably not convincingly. Maybe with rounds, but it’ll lack that high end click. Having said that, one’s tone is limited only by one’s imagination. Thanks for watching!

@@jonathanwong458music what about like rock pop? i mean like creed song maybe green day same like tht? is it cool?,

I would say, don't let the genre define or limit what instrument you can play. If you like the instrument, it feels good in your hands and you play well on it, do it and make music with it! Let your ears be the judge. It only becomes an issue when somebody is hiring you to play or record. Then it comes down to pleasing the artist or producer.

@@jonathanwong458music thanks dude✌🏻✌🏻 appreciate tht

The nut width on this bass is 1.5", like a J bass. Thanks for watching!

@@jonathanwong458music Thank you. I could not find that on the description.

@@jameslawrence6767 Best of luck in the hunt!

As a classically trained musician, I do to! On a bass gig though, if I can’t tune silently in between songs or if the artist is talking, I’d get the stink eye!! Thanks for watching!

@@jonathanwong458musichah hah. Yes of course. So, with my electric Telecaster bass, I turn down the volume so nobody can hear it on stage. But the Snark hears the vibration. And I find that the tuner works much better with harmonics than with open strings.

Right on! Thanks for sharing! I managed to break the neck of a snark tuner once…probably took an impact inside a gigbag, unfortunately…the 360 folds pretty flat.

Cool fun fact! Thanks for watching and for the encouragement!

Thank you so much for watching!

Thanks for watching!

I’ll see what I can arrange. Not sure when, but that’s a cool idea!

The Babicz is expensive, unfortunately. Thanks for watching!

They are expensive but it makes a huge difference on my Jack Cassidy bass. String changes, action, and tone. Worth the $150

@@sethbrown8912 Awesome! Great to hear from a satisfied user!