Hohner B Bass V

Scale = length 34" / 863.60mm
Body = Solid American Maple
Neck = Neck-Thru Maple
Width at Nut = 44mm
Width at last fret = 68mm
Fingerboard = Rosewood
Frets = 24
Inlay = Pearl Dot
Pickups = Dual Select EMGtm J-Style
Electronics = Active Preamp w/ Dual Vol,
Stacked Bass/Treble cut/boost,
active/passive switch
Tuners = Hip-Shottm Y-Type
Bridge = Fully-adjustable
Hardware = Black

THIS BASS SUITS MY STYLE PERFECTLY.MY MUSIC STYLES INCLUDE METAL/FUNK/SLAP/ROCK AND IT WORKS FOR ALL OF THEM.
I PLAY THROUGH A TRACE ELLIOT AH350SMX HEAD AND AN AMPEG 6X10 CAB.
I HAVE HAD NO PROBLEMS WITH NOISE EXCEPT FROM A BAD JACK AND IT WILL PICK UP MY CELL PHONE RINGING IF IT IS IN MY POCKET.
I LIKE THIS FOR ITS TONAL QUALITY,IT IS VERY CLEAR WITH LOTS OF PUNCH AND BIG LOW END.IT WORKS VERY WELL FOR TAP,SLAP AND FULL ON POUNDING.
I LOVE THIS BASS FOR STAGE USE AND HAVEN'T USED IT MUCH FOR THE STUDIO(MY FIRST ONE WAS STOLEN AND I HAD TO PLAY ANOTHER BASS).
MY LIKES FOR THIS BASS ARE: PLAYABILITY,FOR A FIVE STRING THIS BASS FEELS LIKE A FOUR STRING.THE SPACING BETWEEN STRINGS IS VERY COMFORTABLE BUT THE NECK DOESN'T FEEL LIKE A 2X6 PIECE OF LIMBER.I HAVE AVERAGE SIZE HANDS WITH SAUSAGE FINGERS AND SOME OF THESE BASSES CAN BE HARD TO PLAY.THIS BASS HAS NEVER LET ME DOWN,IF SOMETHING WERE TO HAPPEN TO IT,I HAVE ANOTHER ONE JUST LIKE IT FOR A BACK UP.
MY DISLIKES FOR THIS BASS ARE: VOLUME KNOBS ARE IN MY FIELD OF PLAYING AND I TEND TO TURN DOWN MY VOLUME.I'VE REMOVED THE KNOBS AND THEY AREN'T AS BAD BUT I MAY REMOVE THEM ALL TOGETHER.

MY FIRST NEW HOHNER SEEMED FINE WITH FACTORY SETUP,BUT THAT WAS A LONG TIME AGO.THE CURRENT ONES I OWN WERE PURCHASED USED AND I HAVE HAD TO DO MINIMAL MAINTENANCE.
I HAVE HAD THE NUT COME UNGLUED ON ME ONCE,AND SOME OF THE SADDLE/ACTION SCREWS HAVE RATTLED OUT ON ME.I USED LOCKTITE ON THEM AND THERE HASN'T BEEN A PROBLEM SINCE.THERE IS ALSO THE OCCASIONAL BAD JACK BUT I THINK THAT'S JUST WEAR AND TEAR.

I BEAT THE **** OUT OF THIS BASS AND IT JUST ASKS FOR MORE.IT HAS BEEN DROPPED,KNOCKED OVER,AND PROBABLY STEPPED ON.I'VE BASHED THE HEADSTOCK INTO OTHER GUITARS,CYMBALS AND SINGERS,SPILLED BEER ON IT,FROZE IT(FORGOT IT IN THE CAR IN THE WINTER)AND I HAVE MINIMAL PROBLEMS.THE OCCASIONAL TRUSS ROD ADJUSTMENT USUALLY TWICE A YEAR WINTER AND SUMMER.

THIS IS THE REASON I WROTE THIS REVIEW.TODAY THE TRIM POT FOR THE ADJUSTABLE PREAMP GOT NOISY.I CALLED THE MANUFACTURER TO FIND OUT WHAT THE OHM VALUE FOR THE POT WAS.THE MAN ON THE PHONE TOLD ME HE REALLY DIDN'T KNOW,HOWEVER HE WOULD JUST SEND ME A WHOLE NEW PREAMP,WITH VOLUME POTS AND ALL OF THE WIRING,FREE OF CHARGE.I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYBODY DO THAT BEFORE,HE DIDN'T ASK FOR A RECIEPT,DATE OF PURCHASE OR ANYTHING,JUST MY ADDRESS.
THEY BOAST A LIFETIME WARRANTY AND THEY MEAN IT!

I HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOR ABOUT 20 YEARS.I OWN TWO OF THESE BASSES AND A 6 STRING VERSION AS WELL,A G&L L2000,AND A KRAMER FERRINGTON ACOUSTIC BASS.
MY FIRST HOHNER WAS STOLEN AND WHEN I HAD THE MONEY I BOUGHT ANOTHER.
I WILL BE DOING SOME MODS TO THIS BASS IN THE FUTURE,MAYBE SOME BARTOLINI PICKUPS,BUILT IN WIRELESS,DETUNER AND SOME BODY MODIFICATIONS.
THE FIRST ONE I BOUGHT NEW FOR 7 OR 8 HUNDRED.NEW AND USED ONES ARE VERY AFFORDABLE ON EBAY NOW.
MY FAVORITE FEATURE IS THE LITTLE LIGHT THAT COMES ON WHEN THE PICKUPS ARE ACTIVE.

Its a bass, so standard features. As described, it has: 24 frets, 5 string EMG select J style(active or passive)pickups, thru-neck construction.
The tone controls can give a good range of sounds.
The finish on mine is a 'see through' red, which looks real good.

It has a really versatile sound - it reacts well to different tonal configurations with the bass tone controls, you can really tweak it to your liking. It helps add versatility to an amp which might not give you enough of a certain tone.
Really can shine through during band play, for me. Bumping bass and nice popping treble. Can suit many different styles.

Its very comfortable to play - I didn't need to mess around. The neck plays real nice - I enjoy the size very much. The finish on the back of the next lets your hands glide easily.

Its neck through and solid wood, so it can take a beating. Feels good in your hands.

Never had to deal with them - but the company is quite established in the music business, so they'll be around.

Its amazing that they don't sell for more - they are quite high quality. If lost, I would look again for one because of how high value they have for the price.

I write this review for one specific reason, to address the narrow string spacing that is talked about in the earlier reviews. I have two of these, an older one that I bought used, and one just purchased new. The neck was thrashed on the used one so I had it defretted. I have a few high end basses but these are my only 5 strings. I like them very much for all the reasons listed below. The stock bridge has a 16mm string spacing, and I tried to get used to that, but ultimately found it too cramped for my pudgy fingers. I measured the neck width, researched the EMG selects and found that this bass can handle a 17mm string spacing. I found a Schaller bridge, model 496, in black, for about $70 that has adjustable string spacing from 15.8mm to 17mm. The Schaller has the exact same footprint as the stock bridge, though I had to drill new holes. 17mm has totally transformed the playability of this bass. Now I know I will keep them and enjoy playing them for many years to come. If you have issues with the narrow string spacing, I highly recommend this upgrade.

I have been not too impressed with the EMG selects in other applications, but with this active EQ I like them very much. Escpecially when I set my amp with the "smile" EQ, (scooped mids). I find the low B to be more defined than lots of "better" basses I have tried in stores. The active EQ seems to bring out lots of overtones which help distinguish the Low B. With the B and T turned up on the bass, and my Traynor Bassmaster cranked, this thing is a monster. Huge and aggresive, not mellow.

My new one has a nice quilted maple top with a red "violin" finish. Very spiffy looking. It wouldn't matter how it was set up at the factory, I do my own setups and truss rod tweaks. It didn't need much for starters. I replaced the stock bridge with the Schaller, and someday I will replace the plastic nut with a bone. The stock bridge was not positioned optimally. To get proper intonation I had to take it to the extreme position. It looks way more expensive than it was.

My new one has a three piece laminated neck thru the body. It feels like it will go the distance. The older one had a one piece neck thru the body and it had been played hard. The neck was thrashed and needed work. I expect the new one to last better.

I have been playing bass for 32 years. These are my first 5 strings. I really like having the extended range in the bottom, and with the 17mm string spacing I have made them supremely playable. Big bang for the buck. Of course I'd rather my first 5 string be an Alembic series II, but 10 grand is harder to come by than $350.

Not sure when mine was made, but I've still got it after ten years and i've never had any truss rod issues. 24 fret, 5 string EMG select J style(active or passive)pickups, thru-neck construction. I rarely use it nowadays, as I've developed a liking for a more 'wide five' feel to my instruments. Paid ??370 UK for this about ten or eleven years ago and for the money it's a really great bass, no matter if it's DI'd or amped.

I play a variety of musical styles and have never been disappointed with this bass, admittedly it goes through Ampeg and Trace Elliot kit, but a bad bass always ever sounds like a bad bass no matter what it's going through, right? This bass has a real wealth of tonal variation - dark rumbling Reggae sub, snappy slappy punch and anywhere in between. Can't fault the broad sonic spectrum available from this instrument. This has mainly been used for live work and always performs - a real workhorse, but couldn't really comment on the studio side of things, clean enough on the output, so I'm assuming that it's pretty good at that too.

Right from day one this was a really comfortable bass to play, not had any issues with the finish, fretwiring, electronics (except for replacing the 1/4" jack after about 6 years due to wear and tear from incessant gigging) or noise. I had to raise the action on mine a little as the factory setup was a little too low for my liking, but not by much. The only reason I have with the 'skinny 5' neck is that I outgrew it as time went on, but ideal as a starter 5 for a 4 string player, will last for ages too.

As mentioned above, I've replaced the jack socket after a good few years of road usage but other than that it's a real workhorse, hardware lasts as does the finish, obviously rosewood fingerboards do require regular maintenance as opposed to maple, but that's not a design flaw, more a choice for the player when buying an instrument. I outgrew the spacing on mine, but up to that point I gigged up and down the country (UK) most weekends with out a backup and never gave it a second thought. A well made bass.

Had to deal with Hohner (UK) to replace the jack socket (these being somewhat longer than conventional sockets) and found replacement parts easy to find and quickly delivered. No other issues.

I've been playing for 14 years now and this bass has seen me through countless gigs in a wide variety of outfits and styles (from lounge jazz to funk, pop to metal) and I've never been disappointed with its performance, running through Ampeg and trace Elliot stacks will help any bass sound good, but you can't polish a turd... If it were lost or stolen I'd probably not replace it, but this would only be due to my change in string spacing preferences, not a failing of the instrument. I particularly like the wide spread of sounds available from the active circuitry (though the passive sounds are more than useable too). I chose this bass over the others in the shop (so long ago that I can't remember what they were) because for the money nothing else came close. I just wish it had a wider neck

-2005 model
-Korean Made
-Gloss black finish
-Active electronics
-similar to a precision style body
-SELECT by EMG active pickups (single coil)
-Black Gotoh tuners (3 + 2 Combo)
-24 Frets
-Slim, Slim neck. Feels like a four string.
-Simply Amazing

I consider myself a jazz musician. The Hohner B Bass V is perfect for jazz. I prefer the five string in jazz because it enables me to use more scalic patterns with a low string. Also, it lets me vamp more on arpeggios. The active sound really sets this bass apart. It ranges from the mellow sounds of an upright to the sharper high tones of Victor Wooten's Foderas. Rich, Full jazz sound. I am currently using it with an Ibanez Soundwave 35, as well as a Peavey Scorpion 105. A studio or nightclub stage would suit it well. EMG makes great pickups for this bass (SELECT single coils).The Deluxe Active V String Jazz Bass from Fender would be the ideal instrument on a very large stage. Hohner is now my favorite company to deal with after buying this great bass.

-No flaws whatsoever
-The action was at a perfect height. Not too low, not too high.
-The pickups are great. SELECT, made by EMG, the best bass pickup in the market next to the high dollar Bartilonis.

This bass is very light. For a five string, it has one of the slimmest necks i have seen. This is a plus for me, a natural four string bassist. After using the Hohner B Bass V, i have prefered five strings over four strings.

Ive been playing four 2 years, and its one of the best i have seen.

Hi I will try to give an in depth review of this Hohner B Bass V Five string bass. (Yes, the harmonica people.) Made in Korea, it has 24 frets, neck thru construction maple body and maple neck with rosewood fretboard. Black overlay on headstock with the letter "H" in fancy shmancy cursive. Mine is upgraded with real EMG pickups with volume, blend and concentric treble/bass control. This one has a natural finish. Black hardware, 34" scale. 1 3/4 " at nut, 2 11/16" at end of fretboard. Two jazz style pickups, with the bridge one staggered toward the bass side. For such a small body on this bass, it has substantial weight due to the maple construction. A solid built bass.

Sounds great with real EMG pickups. I haven't heard the Hohners with the EMG-select pickups. These pickups in it are all active and can't be switched to passive which kind of sucks, but the sound of it overides this. It has an even response and u can hear just a bit of noise if u turn up your treble control all the way. If u like the emg sound then you should upgrade to the real EMG's when you buy this bass. My preamp has the selector dip switches that changes the frequencies a little bit. BTC preamp maybe?

I bought this bass off an online auction so the setup was a little too low for my tastes, and so i relaxed the truss rod a bit and now I'm happy. I was very pleased with his upgraded electronics and I like the sound of this bass. The looks are okay maybe a little geeky for some people, and the body is sort of small, like the size of a soundgear's. IMPORTANT NOTE: These basses have a tight string spacing so beware if you like "wide 5's". My hands aren't overly large and I don't have to slap every second, so its okay. There is room on either side of the B string and G string on the neck to accomadate a wider bridge if need be. I may upgrade the bridge in the future to be a little wider who knows?

I have only played this at home but i'm sure it'll withstand live playing. Its solid thanks to hard maple and neck thru construction. The hardware could be upgraded but it is okay for a guitar in this price range. Why they build a neck-through bass and sell these for 4 or 500+ bucks and put "Emg-select" in them i'll never know. Arent those pickups like 30 bucks?
They should have always put better electronics in them to begin with but then they'd have to tack on 200 more dollars I guess.

No warranty. I tried to contact them for a new truss rod nut, in case i strip this one but they didn't email me back. Oh well.

I have been playing for 14 years. This bass is well built and is sturdy as any bass Ibanez puts out, or any other Korean made basses. I wish the body was a little wider or the horn a little bigger but I got it so cheap I don't care. This is Hohners Professional series, but they put cheaper pickups in the stock models. I lucked out in buying this one with the upgrades. I've played a SR 500 that didn't sound as good as mine. I choose this bass because of the need and the price. This is the perfect bass to play in clubs and leave the warwick or Alembic at home. This is not meant to be a collectors bass by any means, it just gets the job done.

The body has nice finish good balance between glossy and flat. It has volume knobs for each pickup as well as bass/treble with a active switch.

My style is reggae and this bass is great for it especially when I use DR Hi Beamer strings. I never use it with the active switch off....not much tone adjustment availble there. It is by no means a noisy bass, it gives great bottom and hi top end if needed.

The action from the time I bought it was great it is an easy bass to play. I would say it is not the greatest for funk as the strings are really close together, however practicing your slapping and plucking on this makes it easier more spacer 5 sring or even a 4 string.

I have had this bass for 8 years...one chip in the wood, but no other problems.

never had any reason to contact them

I have been playing for about 15 years. I had a fender jazz 4 string before this bass. I wanted a 5 string for the low notes in reggae.I love this bass if I were to lose it I would buy the same model again. It is not the best bass for slapping, but it has sharp highend and big fat bottom. I think the strings you use really make the difference with it. This is a top bass for the price I paid.

This is the first 5-string I've ever bought. It has a maple body and maple neck with neck thru construction. Mine has a simple clear-coat finish which allows you to see the grain of the wood, but it's not glossy. The electronics are active with 2 jazz style pickups. Separate volume knobs for each pickup, bass/treble tone control, and an active/passive selector switch. The body is just your basic design, kinda like a P-Bass lyte. The neck is very thin, with very narrow string spacing, which is why I chose it to be my first 5-string. Nothing came with it as far as literature or tools. Just a gig-bag.

I like to just kinda lock in with the drums and groove, and this bass works out okay. It can be hard to get the right sound out of it sometimes, but this isn't for a lack of ways to try. It can make lots of differant tones, good tones. It's just hard to find the one you want when you need it. I play carvin amps and cabs, which may have something to do with it. It can be too bright sometimes. Also, unless the pickup volumes are the same, it hums like crazy, but this doesn't effect me as I play full on anyways. It does cut through the mix though, with some very awesome mid range growl. It's a good live bass for those who can't afford something more, but in the studio it's lacking.

I found my bass to be set-up close to perfect at the store where I bought it, which helped my choose it. The action, pickup adjustment, and overall playablity were and still are just as good if not better than bass costing twice as more. But, you see that the money went into playablity and not much else. My bass has many flaws in the finish, one on the top side of the neck that gets bothersome after a while. Also, the stacked knob for treble/bass fell apart after about 2 months. the controls still work fine, but no knob. All the fret work is neatly done though. No buzzes or dead spots.

I have had no problems with this bass on stage or in the studio. I have owned mine about a year and a half, and I stoped bringing my backup after about 6 months. The hardware isn't the greatest, but everything that needs to last seems like it will. And other than a quick tweek of the truss rod and bridge every other string change or so, it has the same great action and intonation that made me want to buy it. The finish is a little weak, seeming to chip at times when my p-bass would show no damage at all, but I bought it to be used, and if it gets a few chips in it here and there, it still plays and sounds good for what it costs.

Haven't had a problem.

I have been playing for 7 years, and I also own a mexican standard fender P-bass. I use a carvin r1000 head with a carvin 4x10 and 1x18.
The thing I love most about my hohner is the active/passive switch. It saves lives when a battery is not in reach. I don't like that I can find a great tone in it, then 5 minutes later be stumped as to where it went. I don't know if I'd buy another one, because that fender active jazz 5 string is pretty much the same price, with Fender quality(more or less).

This bass is not much more than a typical modern neck-through geek bass. As construction goes, it's about as solid as a musical instrument could get. Everything's maple-maple-maple with a black overlay at the headstock. It origionally came with active electronics but the owner before me had blown it up (how?) so I proceeded to gut it until it made some sound. I play it lefty so it's got this bass-Hendrix feel to it. The knobs (only one left) don't interfere with my playing style.

With the active electronics removed, the pickups have no guts at all. They sound great, just no power. It definately has the sensitivity and presence I expect from a pair of J-style single coils. This would be a good bass to crack the horn tweeter with. It can be used well as a rock bass because it can conjure a pretty hot growl from a tweeterless bass rig.

The Slap-happy-pappy in me doesn't like this bass, the string spacing is almost guitar like and can lead to quite a sloppy funk session. That aside, the neck is straight as an arrow and the action rivals anything else I laid my hands on. I'm not sure what the previous owner did to toast the active electronics, but I hope it wasn't a design flaw. Add a point to my quality rating if you believe that my bass' previous owner was a sick twisted electronics hobbyist...

Okay, I dropped this bass (see my Epiphone Explorer Bass review) all by myself and it recovered COMPLETELY unscathed. I watched it fall from a "watch the headstock snap" distance only to say "darn, I chipped the clearcoat". It's not called rock-maple for nuthin'

I fix my own gear.

This is my first of two basses and I have three other guitars. Ever since I got a Carvin catalog, I have been impressed with neck-through bodies. I bought this one on a whim and overlooked the burn marks under the cover plate. Still, I'm not dissapointed. I later bought a four string Explorer bass for the string spacing but this is still my main bass. I hope to find or build a preamp to bring the pickups back to life, but, until then I'll just turn the volume on my Kustom 250 amp way up.

I bought the bass about a month ago. It's my first 5-string. I had been looking at and lusting after a Curbow (Cort) 5, but when I played it again, I was disappointed. After playing about five other basses, the Hohner was theone I chose. I like the look, which is a solid wooden finish with neck-through construction. 2 active EMG's with separate volumes and a bass & treble control. Especially nice is the active/passive feature for the very same reason as expressed by the other reviewer. I bought my bass from Mars and it was on the shelf. I got no case, no hardware (had to get all that myself), no documentation (when I contacted Hohner, they said they don't provide any written materials for their stuff. They did give me a two year warranty though). It was listed at $800. I got it with a case and a setup for $625.That's about the only thing that's pissed me off with this purchase. Even my no-name Series 10 four-string has a little manual with it AND allen tools.

I play reggae music and this bass fit the style just right. A good mix of bottom, but with good snap when I need it. Very quiet. I hear more noise from my amp, which isn't the greatest amp in the world (Peavey Mark III) and an Ampeg 15 with a horn, but I get what I need out of it!! I haven't done any studio work with it yet, but I think it can do well in either setting. It's quiet enough and adjustable enought to get the sound that you want, and seems to be very durable for live work. Could use slightly more precise bass & treble adjustment tho. I like the two strap holders on the bottom and the finish is just plain sexy. A beautiful bass

The action was pretty decent right off the shelf. I get a setup for any bass I buy, even if it feels right, and this one was free. There is a little fret buzz present around the 12th fret, but so far not enough to make me want to carry it back. I'll probably find someone else to do it when that happens. The electronics compartment seems to be a universal weak point and mine was no exception. All my wires are firmly soldered, but it's little rat's maze in there. I'm think ing about rewiring it and using a slightly heavier guage wire to try and get some more sound out of it.A small rough edge around the battery compartment cover.

I'm pretty careful with my stuff. My Series 10 is still going strong (I did a review of it in this site too). I don't see why this would be any different. Since it is neck-thru, tho, I take a little extra care of it. I will probably buy a bass case for it later. It feels good to me. Nothing was loose or flapping around. Not too comfortable using it alone yet, nut having the ability to go passive is great PLan B!!!

I contacted the company directly via e-mail about documentation and the lack of a warranty. A gentleman by the name of Matt Ertel responded personally and sent me a warranty/registration stuff within a week. It's a two year warranty. I still say when that much $$$ is spent, the LEAST one could do is print up some quick intro/manual stuff. I'll bet their bass/ frontwoman gets whatever she wants. Their bass spokespersonis woman from L.A.

Been playing about 6 to seven years now.I don't know if I would get it again. I like to move on. There was a Fender 5 with Actice jazz p/u's that was just out of my reach.....I have to get used to the finger spacing. That's about it.

This 5-string bass is made in Korea. It has 24 frets and is a 34" scale neck. The nut is plastic (bummer) but it works. It is a neck-thru instrument. It has two jazz humbuckers made by EMG with their active/passive electronics. The body material is all maple. It is really impressive for such a hard wood that it isn't too heavy. The fingerboard is rosewood I believe which is okay. I could stand to upgrade the fretboard to ebony... The tuners are Schaller, and the bridges is the run-of-mill bridge like you'd see on Ibanez's and the like. The neck is fairly comfortable although a little contouring would be nice. It's moderately thin, but there are others that have it beat. It came with to allen wrenches (truss rod, bridge).

The sound isn't bad, but it's not always clear. For rock, blues, country, and limited jazz, it's awesome. But at church, it's a monster for the sound guys no matter what the style is. It doesn't offer the definition you need for a big sanctuary. The bass doesn't offer a lot of highs passive or active (IMO). It's very quiet in active mode. When you're in passive, I have to open it full on both pickups to get the hum out. I refuse to run it otherwise since quiet is best to me. This bass fits the warm sound category. My best times with Hohner is in the studio. It sounds great through headphones and monitors, and especially in a final mix. The occassional live settings I've done really do vary. Overall, the bass does have a good sound, I wish there were better quality electronics in the sound cavity. The input jack is getting to be a bit touchy and doesn't hold a plug in very well anymore. I tend to get a some minor shorting out due to this creating that loud pop/crackel effect that scares everybody.

The setup was great for the set of strings that came stock. After burning those up, I had to reset to accomodate taper-cores. Pickups have been fine from the start. I haven't messed with that at all. The bass came to me in great condition. No complaints whatsoever.

GREAT! No problems with the exception of those that I have created myself. Whoops! :-)

??? Never needed them.

*How long have you been playing?
12 years.

*If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else?
I would probably buy something else at this point. I'm a better player and I like going with more exotic type basses for the sound (when I can afford it).

*What is your favorite feature?
The active/passive switch.

*What do you love about it?
It was my first bass to actually own and not borrow.

*What do you hate?
I dislike the lack of tone control in passive mode, and the plastic nut and cheapy bridge.

*Anything you wish it had?
I wish it had a string-thru B and E. That would offer some better tone to the low notes as those generally come off thuddy. A better bridge and nut to help sustain notes longer.