Dedmans HB4S

Yup, its been a while. Nearly a year since my last build and this has been sitting on the bench since Feb.
So... Found a more Hoffner looking tail piece for it and some "staple" style pick ups, I'll be making a new control panel from red tortoiseshell material that will hold a more conventional 1 Vol, 1Tone, and a 3 way switch.
To get under way I have glued the neck in, filled around the join and while waiting for the filler to dry I put the red dye on. It will have a black burst so there was no point in taking the red to the edges. It's looking a bit orange in the pics but there was a few more coats went on after the pics and its darkened up a bit.

With the flame maple top on special I was considering one of these to round out my Bass collection.

Deddie....how has the build gone for you? Are there any traps to this kit you have found?

I see you found a different tailpiece for it....have you considered anything different for the bridge? How was the neck angle out of the box?

I have made mostly bolt on necks as I can fit a shim in them.

Thanks mate....I like the colours and the design choices....tortoise shell would be great.

Sticking with the stock bridge as its what the Hoffs had anyway. I'm hoping the neck angle was right from the factory I did a test string before I glued it (clamped) and it seemed OK,haven't done a complete reassemble since. I may file some off the bottom of the nut as it did seem a bit high and the supplied strings weren't a great fit on the E and A . I will be using lighter strings so I wont file them till I have the thing complete

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Originally Posted by Dedman

Sticking with the stock bridge as its what the Hoffs had anyway. I'm hoping the neck angle was right from the factory I did a test string before I glued it (clamped) and it seemed OK,haven't done a complete reassemble since. I may file some off the bottom of the nut as it did seem a bit high and the supplied strings weren't a great fit on the E and A . I will be using lighter strings so I wont file them till I have the thing complete

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Thanks for the info. I too found a closer to real Hoff look tailpiece...not that expensive. Two “Staple” style pickups not that expensive either....but them seem a very low output...only 6.4k resistance.

Maybe I should have a go at a not bolted neck. Mmmmmm.

Got the first clear coats on. I got a bit of staining of the binding despite using a liquid masking product, I have to presume in sneaks into the tiny cracks from underneath and the back, no stains on bound kits for me from now on.
Attachment 32584

Well, it's finished. I made some real dumb mistakes with the painting which just goes to show how quickly I can forget how to do things properly. But it's light and it sounds quite good. The action is a little high but I'll address that when I get some better strings (flats I think). I discarded the Hoff style switch gear for a traditional 1 tone, 1 volume and a 3 way switch in a switch plate I made from a thin peice of red pearl acrylic and a piece of a LP style electrics cover laminated together. Pick ups are some Ebay hoff style staple type and sound surprisingly good especially with the "scrambler" turned on on the Ampeg amp.Some real dirty bass. Anyway, its not perfect but I'm happy with it. More photos when I get time.
Attachment 32712

Looks really nice. Well done.

finished. A couple of marks on the top that I could have avoided had I been thinking straight, but it plays OK so far and sounds really nice through my little Ameg combo with the "scrambler" turned on, lovely and dirty ;D

So you've reached 'The End' of the build. It was certainly 'getting better' as you were going along and it's 'Come Together' really well. You did it all yourself and didn't need any 'Help'. And it being hollow, you don't need to 'Carry That Weight' around.


So have you been practising your Paul McCartney bass lines at all? ;)

Very nice!!!

* hands Simon a shiny "Tish Boom"
and actually....yes

Excellent result.
Always look better to me in a different colour scheme to the original Macca version.
If not for the diversion bass playing would take, and the expense,
I'd be taking the plunge on one of these.
(I used to have an original Hofner like this back in the 80's)

cheers, Mark.

Another Deddie masterpeice.

Looks great.