Been slowly working on this the past month. Found it at a flea market for $5.
It was in pretty bad shape. Coming unglued in places, and missing some electronics.
Ordered new wiring and bridge.
I'll post more photos shortly.
1960s? Hofner Bass Knockoff Refurb
Here's how it ended up. A lot of Titebond, new narrower nut and tailpiece, new bridge. Rewired and some cosmetic cleanup.
Will always have some bumps and bruises, but she's playable, and a hoot to play.
Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk
Will always have some bumps and bruises, but she's playable, and a hoot to play.
Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk
The original tailpiece was actually mounted off-center. The bass had been dropped on it's end at some point, and the side where the strap button should go was cracked and literally had a piece broken off. Had a heck of a time gluing that back together. The tailpiece was wide enough that the E and G strings were (IMO) too close to the edge of the fretboard. But yes--the E string was virtually off the saddle in the original photo. The new bridge, nut, and tailpiece are (supposedly) Hofner specs width-wise, and I was able to remount the new tailpiece in the proper spot.
Definitely Japanese, for sure.