Höfner H500/1 LH Artist Violin Bass

Looks and sounds great

Looks just as pictured, no false advertising. Colouring is exactly as shown, the sunburst shading and wood finishes are identical and look just like ones from the ‘60s, unlike the ‘burnt’ edging and orangish appearance of the Chinese models. It’s lightweight but doesn’t feel cheap and is definitely of Germany quality, very well built.

I noticed the back of the headstock includes the “Made in Germany” sticker and the tuning pegs are connected by patterned metal plates, but they aren’t shown in these images, they are for the right handed 500/1 Artist images though which is strange - doesn’t bother me though, I was hoping for these features so I was glad to see them on the bass when it arrived.

For this price range, I think this is as close as you can get to the feel, look, and sound of an original Höfner, plus finding a left handed one was hard enough so I was really pleased to find one that wasn’t wildly expensive. Including flatwounds and a hard case was a good addition for the price point.

Service was very helpful and accommodating for issues relating importing and delivery. Delivered safe with no damages and relatively quickly, and basically no setup was needed out of the box

Plays really well, sounds great, and looks great. Would definitely recommend.