Hils HNB3 Ivory

An extremely lightweight (~2.7 kg), travel friendly and great sounding instrument. Despite being short-scale and passive, it comes extremely close to sounding like a Stingray with the stock pickups, and there are empty slots in the body cavity should you choose to add your own pre-amp or modify the pickups. For the price range, it leaves little to be desired, and it came in with barely any setup needed, apart from tuning.

This is my first headless bass and fourth short scale. Out of the box and bag everything looks good. I tuned it up and checked the string height and intonation. Tuning is very easy and accurate. String height and intonation nssded no adjustment out of the box. The neck relief was good to go. The fret edges are smooth. The neck is a joy to play. The guitar is very light. The ergonomic body shape makes seated playing in various positions extremely comfortable. I played it through a Joyo Tidal Wave preamp/HB 600 head/HB 2X10 cab. The tones were very useable. I have no hesitation in recommending this bass.

HILS HNB3 Short Scale — unexpectedly became my weapon of choice

I bought the HILS HNB3 expecting an interesting addition to my bass collection. I did not expect it to become, in a surprisingly short time, the bass I reach for first.

I’ve owned and played several very different basses over the years, including instruments whose sound I may actually prefer in isolation. But the HNB3 taught me something important: the best-sounding bass in the room isn’t necessarily the bass on which you sound best.

At 30" scale, the HILS simply fits me. The neck feels fast, compact and effortless, without feeling like a toy or a compromised instrument. Fast runs are noticeably easier, stretches are more natural, and for slap playing it may be the most comfortable bass I own. There is something about the combination of the short scale, narrow neck and headless design that makes the whole instrument feel extremely immediate.

And that matters when the music gets difficult.

“Won’t Get Fooled Again”? YYZ? Here we go.

These are bass parts I spent years wrestling with on standard-scale instruments. On the HILS, passages that previously felt like physical exercises suddenly start feeling like music. I can concentrate more on timing, articulation and expression instead of fighting the instrument.

That doesn't mean it plays itself, of course. Geddy Lee's fingers have unfortunately not been included in the box. But the HNB3 removes enough unnecessary physical resistance that I can get much closer to what I actually want to play.

The other surprise is how versatile it is. I originally thought of it as the fast, modern, technical bass in my collection, and it absolutely excels there. But I've increasingly found myself reaching for it regardless of what I'm playing. It balances beautifully, feels wonderfully compact against the body, and the headless construction makes it particularly comfortable for long sessions.

My Danelectro short scale had been almost untouchable as my favourite bass because it is such a brilliant all-rounder. The HILS has now managed to pull essentially level with it—and for speed and slap, I actually prefer the HILS.

I still have basses in my collection with tones I adore. My old Ibanez, for example, probably produces my favourite sound of the lot. But it is considerably harder for me to play, and that ultimately matters. An instrument is supposed to translate what is in your head into sound with as little obstruction as possible.

The HILS HNB3 does exactly that for me.

If you're a bassist who has spent years assuming that 34" is simply what a “proper” bass is supposed to be, I would seriously recommend trying a good 30" instrument before making that assumption permanent. I now know very clearly where my own ergonomic sweet spot is.

For me, the HNB3 isn't merely a convenient short-scale bass anymore.

It's become a weapon of choice.

Now excuse me. I have some Rush to butcher considerably less badly than before!

Kurz vorweg: Ich bin blutiger Anfänger. Ich hatte Hils auf der letzten Guitar Summit gesehen und hab mich gleich in den Shortscale und headless Bass verliebt.

Dafür wartet man doch gerne so lange, bis Thomann die Guitarren (und den Bass) ins Programm aufnimmt.

Spielt sich sehr gut und Shortscale kommt dem Anfänger doch sehr entgegen. Praktisch: Durch Shortscale und headless ist der Bass überraschend mobil.

Für das Geld bekommt man auch gute Qualität. Das Bag passt wie angegossen und bietet Griff, Trageschlaufe und Schultergurte.