Höfner Ignition Cavern SE

Electric Violin Bass

Spruce top
Flamed maple back and sides
Maple one-piece neck
Jatoba fretboard
White binding on the top and back
Scale: 760 mm (30")
Nut width: 42mm
22 Frets
Pickups: 2x Höfner Ignition Staple
Original Tea Cup potentiometer knobs on the control panel
Individual machine heads with pearloid plastic buttons
Colour: Sunburst

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3-Year Thomann Warranty

Available since April 2020

Item number 492045

Sales Unit 1 piece(s)

Colour Sunburst

Soundboard Maple

Neck Maple

Fretboard Jatoba

Frets 22

Scale Shortscale

Pickups HH

Elektronic Passive

Incl. Case No

Incl. Bag No

Top Maple

Back and Sides Maple

Body Maple

Pickup System HH

Neck Width 42,0 mm

Mechanics Standard

1.265 AED 326,89 €

Plus 269 AED shipping

The price in AED is a guideline price only

Since we ship from Germany, additional costs through taxes and customs may be incurred

Sales Rank

in Miscellaneous 4-String Basses

A touch of history

Electric violin bass Hofner Ignition Cavern SE as played by Paul McCartney

There is probably no bass that has contributed more to music history than the Höfner Violin Bass 500/1, which has been the instrument of choice for none other than Sir Paul McCartney since 1961. The affordable Ignition series is based on this cult instrument. One variation is the Höfner Cavern SE Bass, on which both pickups are located close to the neck to deliver even more low end. SE stands for the limited Special Edition within this series and therefore comes with the original "Tea Cup" potentiometer knobs. Apart from all that, this bass with its shorter scale, a hollowbody design, and two Höfner humbuckers offers the typical vintage sound you'd expect. But the best thing is that you don't have to dig deep into your pocket for this piece of music history.

body of the Hofner beatles bass Ignition Cavern SE

Styled on the violin

Following its introduction in 1956, the Höfner 500/1 was given the nickname "violin bass", since it was modelled after the shape of classical stringed instruments. The Ignition Cavern SE is no exception. The compact body with its "Sunburst" finish is made of maple with a spruce top. Similar to an acoustic instrument, it is hollow and thus brings a woody touch to the sound. The neck with its jatoba fingerboard is fairly short and slim, with a scale length of 76cm and a nut width of 42mm. The bridge design is also based on classical stringed instruments. The sound of the two Höfner Ignition Staple humbuckers is blended via passive electronics with two volume controls. The humbuckers can be switched off or boosted via three switches, providing a wide range of retro sounds.

Neck on the Hofner Ignition cavern SE violin bass

Lightweight and easy to handle

This instrument is not only interesting for Beatles fans on a budget: Its low weight and compact shape make it very light and thus a blessing for bassists who want to go easy on their backs. Thanks to its short scale length and slim nut width, the Ignition Cavern SE will also make the transition to the bass very easy for guitarists and feel familiar quite quickly. This is an important point, especially if you only play bass occasionally (the keyword here being "occasionally"). For all those who are looking for an iconic backup bass with a touch of history at an attractive price, we highly recommend the Höfner Ignition Cavern SE.

Close up of the body an pickups of the Höfner Ignition Cavern SE electric bass

About Höfner

The Höfner company has a long tradition and was founded by Karl Höfner in Schönbach at the end of the 19th century. Initially, the product range consisted mainly of bowed string instruments, and the first guitars were added around 1930. After the Second World War, the company was relocated to Möhrendorf in Bavaria. In the 1950s, the company flourished thanks to new musical trends, and basses were now introduced in addition to guitars. Legendary models were created during this time, such as the President, the Committee, and the 500/1 short-scale bass, which made music history a short time later with the Beatles. The subsequent boom in Beat music quickly brought Höfner enormous demand and enduring world fame. Today, Höfner is one of the best-known and largest manufacturers of bowed string instruments and of archtop, semi-acoustic, and solid-body guitars, as well as a wide range of basses.

Authentic in every way

Music is all about authenticity, and the Höfner Ignition Cavern SE bass has plenty of that. Not only does it offer the right sound for 60s Pop and Rock, 60s Soul, Blues, Vintage Rock, etc., it also has the iconic looks to match. The twin-humbucker setup and electronics that this bass brings with it put a variety of retro sounds at your disposal, always providing a respectable bass foundation for your sound thanks to the placement of the pickups close to the neck. In conjunction with the body's resonance, this generates a rather distinct sound compared to that of other basses, which is perfect if you want to stand out live or need added variety in a studio setting.

28 Customer ratings

5 19 Customers 4 1 Customer 3 7 Customers 2 1 Customer 1 0 Customers

4.4 / 5

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21 Reviews

A nice-to-have in the collection - not a great bass

Chapel 17.09.2021

The Hofner looks great and weighs very little. The sound is ok, not fabulous but not bad. The guitar feels a bit like a toy compared to a solid-body bass, but the main issue is the machine heads and strings feel flimsy. A lot of buzzing, though I'm sure that could be improved by some set-up changes. Happy with my purchase but glad it's not the only bass in the collection

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best quality

vincenzobua 23.01.2022

extremely light,very confortable fretboard,superb sound

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Beautiful

A1technical 13.10.2023

It is just lovely and a piece of history love the sound it is a warm sound easy to play and very light. Just what I wanted, I have it hanging on my wall with my six other guitars.

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Hofmann 500/1

Kyrios 1 25.02.2024

I was looking forward to getting this as I wanted to try out a lighter bass. It arrived well packaged and on time.
To my immediate delight it looked great. After taking it to my tutor he suggested that it would benefit from a good tune up and new strings as the sound wasn’t too good.
After re setting the neck bolt it tuned better but still buzzes on the E string. The A string has snapped due to the continuous tuning so new flat wound strings ordered. Disappointed yes but will still keep persevering.

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Höfner Ignition Cavern SE

Electric Violin Bass