mellowgerman
Senior Member
For years I've felt like I should maybe pick up a Höfner bass. Not just because I too am of German design just like their instruments, but I've long appreciated good ol' Paul's tone on the Beatles recordings. I also like to use a pick and palm-mute sometimes (especially when playing folk/country type stuff along with acoustic guitar players) and those Höfner pickups paired with the floating wood bridge are such a good combo in that context. The problem for me was always the tiny bodies of the Violin basses (and even the Club basses) were too small for me when playing sitting down. My lanky stature makes me slouch over small basses like that. So having ruled out the two most common Höfner designs, the Verythin model caught my eye; super sleek and Starfire-esque. The problem is, it's hard enough to find a Höfner in a store to play, let alone any of their less-common models. Just the other day though, I came across a good price on a "Contemporary Series" Verythin bass, hardshell case included. The perfect opportunity to give one a try.
It arrived yesterday and I figured it might be fun to do a comparison thread between the Verythin and the Starfire, given the obvious and not-so-obvious similarities. Also worth noting is that our very own JP has a Höfner Club bass that has been mentioned in bass discussions on LTG.
Right off the bat, when I received the box, I was worried that there was no way this bass could be inside of a hardshell case (as had been promised) inside of this slim and relatively small Fender shipping box... surprisingly it was! Since the bass itself is so... well... ya know... very thin... the form-fitted hardshell case is surprisingly small. I would have appreciated a larger box to accommodate more than the negligible amount of packing material inside the box, but luckily it made the journey safely from CA to FL. When I pulled the case out, I also heard the dreaded metallic clang and rattle inside. Luckily no damage from that either but it was a truss wrench (that's too big to fit this bass!) and case-keys floating around, loose inside the case.
The Contemporary Series basses are imports, but they differ physically and cost a bit more than the "entry level" Icon/Ignition series. I should mention, I played an Icon/Ignition Club bass once and aside from the physical issue of the size I encounter, it was a great sounding bass and good value for the money.
The main difference with the Contemporary basses is that they get center-blocks to combat feedback, but also German Höfner pickups. So not only is the double-cut design similar to a Starfire, there is also a solid center block making it a semi-hollow like the Starfire. The scale is slightly shorter with the Höfner clocking in at an even 30". Nut width is 1.65" and though I didn't measure the bridge spacing, there is virtually no taper of string spread from bridge to nut. The most notable physical difference between the Verythin and the Starfire though, can be seen in the second photo. Both the body and neck are way thinner from front to back. So far, the bass is very comfortable to play and my only complaint is that the frets could use a little bit of leveling, but nothing major. Still sets up and plays quite well.
Sound-wise these two basses are obviously quite different. The Verythin is pretty much spot on McCartney, even though his lil' Violin basses are fully hollow. Those staple humbuckers are noiseless as expected and have that nice wooly punch. Not muddy like many vintage neck-position humbuckers can be, but certainly not airy and crisp like a Bisonic single coil.
I'm not yet committed to keeping it long-term, but if I do keep it, most likely my Casady/Newport hybrid will go on the block. I promised my wife I'd keep the collection to containable-within-the-music-room and the cases are gradually approaching the door...
So far it's a fun little bass, but the new flats on it still need to break in, gotta give these frets a little bit of lovin, and log some time with this bass in the band context.
Anyway, I figured this might be useful to Starfire fans that might be looking for a little different flavor to add to their stable, while still staying within the semi-hollow, short-scale family.
It arrived yesterday and I figured it might be fun to do a comparison thread between the Verythin and the Starfire, given the obvious and not-so-obvious similarities. Also worth noting is that our very own JP has a Höfner Club bass that has been mentioned in bass discussions on LTG.
Right off the bat, when I received the box, I was worried that there was no way this bass could be inside of a hardshell case (as had been promised) inside of this slim and relatively small Fender shipping box... surprisingly it was! Since the bass itself is so... well... ya know... very thin... the form-fitted hardshell case is surprisingly small. I would have appreciated a larger box to accommodate more than the negligible amount of packing material inside the box, but luckily it made the journey safely from CA to FL. When I pulled the case out, I also heard the dreaded metallic clang and rattle inside. Luckily no damage from that either but it was a truss wrench (that's too big to fit this bass!) and case-keys floating around, loose inside the case.
The Contemporary Series basses are imports, but they differ physically and cost a bit more than the "entry level" Icon/Ignition series. I should mention, I played an Icon/Ignition Club bass once and aside from the physical issue of the size I encounter, it was a great sounding bass and good value for the money.
The main difference with the Contemporary basses is that they get center-blocks to combat feedback, but also German Höfner pickups. So not only is the double-cut design similar to a Starfire, there is also a solid center block making it a semi-hollow like the Starfire. The scale is slightly shorter with the Höfner clocking in at an even 30". Nut width is 1.65" and though I didn't measure the bridge spacing, there is virtually no taper of string spread from bridge to nut. The most notable physical difference between the Verythin and the Starfire though, can be seen in the second photo. Both the body and neck are way thinner from front to back. So far, the bass is very comfortable to play and my only complaint is that the frets could use a little bit of leveling, but nothing major. Still sets up and plays quite well.
Sound-wise these two basses are obviously quite different. The Verythin is pretty much spot on McCartney, even though his lil' Violin basses are fully hollow. Those staple humbuckers are noiseless as expected and have that nice wooly punch. Not muddy like many vintage neck-position humbuckers can be, but certainly not airy and crisp like a Bisonic single coil.
I'm not yet committed to keeping it long-term, but if I do keep it, most likely my Casady/Newport hybrid will go on the block. I promised my wife I'd keep the collection to containable-within-the-music-room and the cases are gradually approaching the door...
So far it's a fun little bass, but the new flats on it still need to break in, gotta give these frets a little bit of lovin, and log some time with this bass in the band context.
Anyway, I figured this might be useful to Starfire fans that might be looking for a little different flavor to add to their stable, while still staying within the semi-hollow, short-scale family.
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