Höfner Ignition SE Reviews

Nice with a bit of work.

Fun instrument to play with, especially if you use flat wound strings. The sound is good but lacks a bit of power. Does not play well out of the box, and needs a proper setup. The fretboard was super dry, the frets needed a bit of polishing, and the action was too high. Not the most versatile bass you can find, but does great for all retro music. Very good for the price.

Great all rounder

The bass is lightweight making it perfect for live performances. The sound versatile as ever. And it’s cheap.

hofner ignition bass se

great looking guitar problem is . its unplayable out of the box the fret buzz is bad i am not a guitar tech so i will have to get it set up properly by someone who is. i am a 6 string player normally this is my first bass guitar so i was a bit disappointed not to be able to start learning the bass straight away. never mind i am sure it will be worth it in the end. P s dont be put off buying one its a beautilfully made instrument im glad i got one.

A Great Bass

A beautiful instrument and a great sound at a great price. I changed the roundwound strings for flats and added a sponge damper between the bridge and the bridge pickup to try to get the "McCartney " sound. It sounds great.

Just Awesome!!

The best quality and price!

Nice but...

A beautiful looking instrument, lovely colour. I liked the short scale and the diminutive size, also the very light weight.

Comes with round wound strings which are rough on the fingers and I'm guessing would wreck the frets and fret board. Not a great deal of tone variation.

Awful fret buzz and intonation was out.

I might have been unlucky with my bass, however, I wasn't prepared to buy flatwounds and spend time setting it up so it was returned.

Good old Beatles sound

Great to get the authentic Beatles sound and the looks of the violin bass of Paul. Impressive build quality even though I needed to do some tuning on the bridge height. Frets are great and overall feel is good with nice features like the tea cup volume knobs

The pursuit for the right string!

I already knew before I ordered the Ignition SE, that change of strings was essential for it to sound better, because the default strings sound terrible. So I ordered a set of flat wounds, that were unfortunately too long for this violin bass. I had to reorder a set of medium scale, from the Hofner brand itself, and finally the bass was set up! It sounds amazing with the warm low end from the flat wounds, and the shorter neck makes it super playable. Let's not forget about the bargain you get for this price!

Perfect Bass for a The Beatles fan on a Budget

I've been watching hundreds of videos of a Hofner reviews, demos and dreaming of owning one, one day.

And here we are!

it's my first bass guitar. I'm on a budget which I can only afford this one. I'm using it through my audio interface with Reaper as my DAW. It's absolute eargasm when I picked the strings with a flatwound strings.

The only cons for me are the plastic nut and the fret buzzing everywhere. but I adjusted the truss rod to lessen the buzzing to some extent. I'm planning to repaint the black pickup switches to white.

Other than that, it's an excellent budget beatle bass a fan can buy without breaking the bank!

Bought this bundled with a gig bag.

Disappointed

Received the bass today looks the business but completely unplayable I had to do a set up myself, the strings are awful cheap and nasty. I would advise if buying the bass to firstly change the strings. You will definitely need to set the intonation or take it to a luthier. Pickups are cheap and nasty. Will probably end up getting new pickups as well. Lesson learnt try before you buy

Novelty Hofner on a budget

I wanted a violin bass but didn’t want the expense of a German made original as it is a novelty instrument for me. The contemporary series were out of stock so I opted for an ignition. I was shocked at how bad the set up was out of the box. The fret board was so dry and part of the finish on it was cracking. The frets were so dull they scraped against the strings. Disappointingly came with round wounds strings meaning I had to spend another €30.00 for Hofner strings bring up the price further though I was aware I’d have to do this. I also had to pay for a pro-set up at my local music shop which I was not expecting. These two things considerably increased the price of the bass. Neck was far too straight and buzzing out and the intonation was haywire too. Neck is so thick on the Ignition SE it’s almost unbelievable. I did give serious consideration to sending it back!?! Now the good news-once the bass was set up it played great and with the flatwounds it took on a whole new character. It certainly looks the part and has a nice finish. There was a nice cert and a bass man sticker included and also a lovely high quality booklet. The SE comes with tea cup knobs and the tuners are excellent given the price point. The pickups and electronics are okay and the bridge and tailpiece may be getting switched out for original parts at some point. It sounded better than I expected to be honest. I’m quite fond of it now though. Overall a good bass at a fraction of the price of the German original. I would recommend the Hofner Ignition SE but be prepared to get a decent set of flat wound strings and a professional set up and add these into the purchase cost . Out of the box these things are unplayable. Happy I bought it but still annoyed at the issues on the fretboard. Average at best but the novelty and nostalgia factor (and a set of nice flatwounds) rescues it from a totally negative review. Overall, average value for money but with a great fun character and fantastic retro style and sound.

Viola

Put some round wounds on it and have a blast. Getting Motown, Tame Impala and Beatles kind of vibes with this beauty.

unbelievable value for money

Was hoping to get the contemporary model but it wasn't in stock so thought I'd give the Ignition a go. I was lucky enough to get the shop demo model that had been set up really well and I'm kind of blown away by the sound I'm getting out of 330 euro bass. It has a unique tone and I've been using it with the neck pick-up only. It's also great for recording - plugged straight into my A&H Gsr24m. Sounds lovely if you stroke the strings near the neck pick-up. Highly recommend. I actually changed the height of teh bridge a little bit - piece of cake!

Quality for the price

The finish and details of the instrument are top. Sound is what I expected from this: a classic.

Smashing product and service

Fantastic product reviews online, including YouTube

Sounds Great, Looks Great, Perfect.

If you want a high quality traditional 4 string fretted bass that is light & easy to handle for Rock & Pop this is it. It won't break your back or your bank balance & there is low end to die for. It may be cheaper than the vintage models but this one has the full Hofner sound. Wonderful.

I've dreamed of owning an hofner ever since I was a kid! I do recall bawling my eyes out when I first saw it at a store and couldn't bring it home with me (I was only 14 then). Needless to say, as soon as I got my first ever paycheck, this bass was the so-long expected gift for myself. And I couldn't be happier with it! Its sound is surprisingly brilliant (even though I might upgrade it to labella strings), and I do love the vintage details of this version. Worth the buy!

almost sent it back but glad I didn't

out of the box it was terrible! the nut was waaaay too high, the set up was all over the place! ding in the front of the guitar (from factory) buzzed a lot! was going to send it back but out of pure laziness could not be bothered with it in mind to fix it myself at some point. so after all the work into it and most importantly FLATWOUNDS! I absolutely love this bass!

What an iconic bass!

Lovely looking, lovely playing, just a beauty in every way! And THAT Bassman sticker is the icing on the cake for me.. :-)

Sound better than expected

Received my ignition SE some days ago and tested it on a pair of venues qith my usual gear. love the weight and lenght.

At first i got scared of the not so clear sound but after setting it and a bit of eq on my amp it did sound great.

My new fav for the gigs (i play latinoamerican musics)