Hofner Basses..

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

I will be taking my Hofner 5er out this weekend (or at least tomorrows dress rehearsal) to play an Orchestra concert. With my Neuner gone now, I have to choose another 'work-horse' instrument or at least for Orchestra. Maybe, just maybe I can use the Hofner and not play any accidental double-stops in place of single notes.

Well, if anyone cares, I used the 5er on Saturday as well. It was better than expected as the low end of this bass is better on stage than I thought from just testing it in the office. I was playing next to a full sized Pollmann Maggini model (looks more Panormoish to me) and was worried I might not have enough power to compete. On the break, the 3rd bassist commented how deep and plush as well as powerful the Low B-string notes were as I did take a few notes down the octave to smooth out the passage. I was happily surprised to hear that I was cutting thru the bigger bass between us. Tomorrow, I have a Beethoven rehearsal and will take it out again. I think the more I play it, the easier it becomes to play with the tighter spacing and extra string.

The key things in playing a 5er so far as compared to a 4-string is remembering the A is in the middle and the B is the lowest string. Also, I have to reach over a bit more for the G.

I think the few hours of play the bass had this weekend was maybe more than it had the past 35 years. It feels like it's just opening up after being asleep for the past 3 1/2 decades.