One for Bassist Barry..

[Hello Goodbye]

The Beatles - Love Me Do (HD)

[nimrod]

The Hofner is more suited to a guitarist Baz because it has a short scale, whereas the Rick & Fender basses have a long scale ie the frets are wider apart because the neck is longer

Bill Wyman always played short scale basses because he had small hands and short fingers

[Hello Goodbye]

I noticed the difference when I tried out both the Hofner and the Ric, Kev.  The Hofner neck and fret spacing was a bit more comfortable for me.  The difference in neck lengths is pretty substantial; 30 inches for the Hofner and 33 1/4 inches for the Ric.  I preferred the tone of the Hofner also.  I'm happy with my choice.

[nimrod]

I guessed you'd choose the Hofner the tone is lovely, very 'woody'..........Ive always wondered if you removed the frets whether it would sound very much like a double bass

Its also very light, the only drawbacks I can think of is the tuners are a bit weak and it does go out of tune more than a Fender or Rick (the humidity and temperature affect it more as its not as solid), also its not balanced so unless you tie a strap to the machine head (like Paul used to do) you get some 'neck dive' as you stand on stage, so you have to keep your left hand supporting the neck.

[Hello Goodbye]

They held true to the original, Kev.

I sit when I play guitar and never bother with straps.  But I can see why it would be necessary to tie the strap to the head with the Hofner if you were to play it while standing.

[peterbell1]

I guessed you'd choose the Hofner the tone is lovely, very 'woody'..........Ive always wondered if you removed the frets whether it would sound very much like a double bass

Its also very light, the only drawbacks I can think of is the tuners are a bit weak and it does go out of tune more than a Fender or Rick (the humidity and temperature affect it more as its not as solid), also its not balanced so unless you tie a strap to the machine head (like Paul used to do) you get some 'neck dive' as you stand on stage, so you have to keep your left hand supporting the neck.

Hi guys.
When did Paul used to tie his strap to the machine heads? I couldn't find a pic of this when I did a Google search.
I saw a reference to the fact that he had strap buttons fitted to his Hofner, and before that he had a dog-clip strap which he clipped to the tailpiece end of the guitar, with the other end tied under the neck.
To be honest, I had never really considered how the strap fitted on the Hofner before reading the post above (never having played one!) so I'm sure you will be able to fill me in.

And what is the "zero fret"?

Sorry for my ignorance 

Pete

[nimrod]

The strap button on a hofner is where the neck joins the body, Paul used to use a longer strap and tie it round the machine head, thereby eliminating the 'neck dive' you can see it in this pic.

[Hello Goodbye]

Right.  He did that very early on...

[nimrod]

And what is the "zero fret"?

google was invented for things like this Peter 


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_fret

[Hello Goodbye]

Peter, here's the zero fret on my Hofner.  It holds the strings the proper distance above the other frets on the neck.  The nut (white with a black stripe) provides the correct spacing of the strings. 

On many guitars there is only a nut.  My Gretsch Country Gentleman has a zero fret too.

[Hello Goodbye]

Kev, my guitar was built last year.  It's got decals like this on the headstock.

[Hello Goodbye]

Right.  He did that very early on...

The Beatles were coolest when they looked like that!

[Hello Goodbye]

This guy would soon change all that...

[nimrod]

they were probably happiest too Baz

[Hello Goodbye]

I think so too, Kev.