Hofner HCT500/2 Short Scale Contemporary Club 4-String Bass (Pre-Owned) - Black

Very good condition! All electronics functioning properly, set-up feels great! Some pick swirling and various minor blemishes on the front and back of the headstock. Case or bag sold separately. 

Manufacturer's Specs and Details:

The Höfner HCT500/2 Contemporary Club Bass is a short-scale, four-string bass with a single-cutaway body, spruce center block, and two original Höfner Staple pickups. It combines the classic Höfner bass sound with a center block designed to increase sustain and reduce feedback. The Contemporary model has a semi-hollow construction.

Detailed specifications 

Feature Specification Model HCT-500/2 Contemporary Club Bass Strings 4 Body shape Single-cutaway Club Top Spruce Back and sides Flamed maple Center block Spruce Body binding Black/white/black; white side binding Neck Three-piece maple/beech/maple Neck attachment Set neck; joins at 16th fret Scale length 30" / 762 mm Frets 22 Fingerboard Jatoba, current specification Fingerboard appointments Dot inlays, white binding, side dots Nut Plastic Nut width 42 mm / approximately 1.65" Fingerboard width, 12th fret 48 mm / approximately 1.89" Neck and fingerboard thickness 22 mm at first fret; 24 mm near heel Bridge Ebony Höfner fretted bridge Tailpiece Nickel trapeze Tuners Individual nickel tuners with pearl buttons Pickguard White pearloid Neck pickup Höfner Staple, nickel Bridge pickup Höfner Staple, nickel Factory strings Höfner HCT roundwound Approximate weight 3.01 kg / 6.64 lb Overall length 1,070 mm / 42.13" Overall width 320 mm / 12.60" Published setup, 12th fret Bass string: 3 mm; treble string: 2 mm

Electronics and control operation

The traditional Höfner panel uses two pickup volume controls and three switches. Its Bass and Treble switches also select pickups, so they operate differently from conventional tone knobs. Höfner explains the controls as follows: 

Control Function Volume 1 Bridge-pickup volume Volume 2 Neck-pickup volume Rhythm/Solo Solo provides the higher overall output Bass On Disables bridge pickup and produces a bassier sound Treble On Disables neck pickup and produces a brighter sound Bass and Treble both Off Both pickups available Bass and Treble both On No sound

For both pickups together, Höfner recommends setting both switches to Off and starting with both volume controls fully up.

Finish and production details

The standard finish codes are HCT-500/2-SB for Sunburst and HCT-500/2-BK for Black. Current product pages and Höfner’s catalog advertise Tea Cup knobs, although the online specification table still lists black-and-silver knobs. That inconsistency makes it sensible to describe the knobs actually fitted to your instrument.

For the fingerboard, Jatoba is the current published manufacturer specification. If you have an older instrument, verify its production details before identifying the fingerboard wood in a listing. Höfner’s current sheet does not specify a fingerboard radius, fret-wire dimensions, or factory string gauges.

Sound and background

The original 500/2 Club Bass debuted in 1964, offering an alternative body shape to the 500/1 Violin Bass. Höfner describes the Club’s sound as very close to the Violin Bass, with its characteristic deep, vintage “thump.” The Contemporary version adds the center block for greater sustain and feedback resistance while retaining the easy reach of the 30-inch scale.
Since 1979, we at Mom's Music have worked hard to make the Louisville, KY music scene something special.  Now, we’re working hard to share what makes us great with the world.  We take pride in our care and attention to detail regarding every instrument and musician that comes through the store, and every instrument we receive gets a thorough inspection and setup when it arrives in our shop and prior to shipment. All orders placed will require a signature upon arrival.  If a different arrangement is preferred, send us a message or give us a call.