Paul's Hofner Bass?
Jamsburton
close togather and in later pictures I see a bass with the Pu's spread apart
farthur. Does he still have both of them?
PAUL MACCA
Paul's 1960 Hofner was stolen. It's last known appearance was at the
Revolution promo video. He still has the 1963 model with the conventional
pickup placement.
Paul also is known to have been given a Hofner with gold-plated hardware in
1964. That one was also stolen and later auctioned off.
Antony Fanelli
appearance was on the Revolution video, but I noticed Paul playing it while
watching a bootlegged video from the "Get Back" sessions in 1969.
It was stolen during the making of the Let It Be film in the winter of 69.
PAUL MACCA <paul...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:19990707233258...@ng-ck1.aol.com...
PAUL MACCA
>The bass that was stolen was a 1961 model.
READ the July 1997 issue of 20th Century Guitar. In an intro to an in-depth
interview with Paul McCartney, Craig Brady says that Paul purchased a USED 1960
Hofner 500/1 in 1961. This would be in line with the ethic he learned from his
father about being thrifty and not going into hock to pay for an expensive
instrument he couldn't afford to pay in cash for up-front.
CrutchFink
Hamburg, stolen whenever 2)the biggo one that he still has 3) another two-pick
up one, instead of sun burst, it had a reddish tint. You can tell this is
different than the first one because the pick-ups are closer together and the
pick guard is different. He probably got this after the first one was stolen. I
seen pics as early as '65 of him with this bass 4) is the supposed gold
hardware one...
HeyJude
> READ the July 1997 issue of 20th Century Guitar. In an intro to an in-depth
> interview with Paul McCartney, Craig Brady says that Paul purchased a USED 1960
> Hofner 500/1 in 1961. This would be in line with the ethic he learned from his
> father about being thrifty and not going into hock to pay for an expensive
> instrument he couldn't afford to pay in cash for up-front.
Well, I don't now whether it's a 1960 or 61 model, but Paul can
be seen playing it in the "Ballad of John and Yoko" promo film, from
footage during the Get Back sessions. Paul had his original cavern model
(which is either a 60 or 61) refinished with a different burst and new
pickups around 1963 or 1964. This is why a lot of people think the bass
seen in the Revolution promo and the Get Back outtakes is not the same
bass he is seen playing in early clips like the Cavern performance of
Some Other Guy. But they are one and the same bass.
Antony Fanelli
indeed a 1961 model. That year was the only one using the closed pickups
with a diamond logo. Bass number(1) and bass number(3) are the same bass. It
was refitted and refinished in a three tone sunburst color in 1963/64 by a
London based company called Sound City. The book shows photos of it before
and after. The pickup reinforcements, scratchguard, and control knobs were
altered as well as the volume pots. (2)The "biggo" one was a 1962/63 model
given to Paul by the managing director of the Selmer Company as thanks for
increasing Hofner sales.
In the summer of 1964, the Selmer Company presented Paul with another Hofner
(4)which had a raised logo, binding on the neck and gold plated hardware.
This bass was made to endorse a licensing deal that Brian Epstein had done
with Selmer. Paul did not use this bass in public performances and it was
eventually stolen.
It turned up in Yorkshire,England at a store called Music Ground and was
auctioned off.
Paul McCartney owned 3 Hofner Violin basses. He is now down to one.
CrutchFink <crutc...@aol.com>
wrote in message news:19990708033550...@ng-fm1.aol.com...
Antony Fanelli
reworked because it had been through alot.....gigging nonstop in Hamburg and
the steamy Cavern club can be rough on a fragile little violin bass and its
electronics! After it was refinished it had a reddish tint to it. When the
pickup reinforcements were changed, it made the pickups look like they were
closer together because the new reinforcements were slightly larger. There
were very few versions of this bass made let alone lefties! The main Hofner
he was given was a slight improvement over his first because the neck was
slimmer and the pickups spread apart gave a more balanced sound. Why would
Paul go shopping for another 1961 version left handed violin bass? He
already had one. Let's not make things up ok? The pics you've seen as early
as '65 were of Paul with his newly refinished "Cavern Bass". Notice how the
knobs are different. Those are not Hofner knobs. They some knobs out of a
parts bin from Sound City, the firm that did the job.
Antony Fanelli <ndu...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:7m27p6$fc6$1...@nntp8.atl.mindspring.net...
Jamsburton
there. I don't own a beatle guitar but I have a few that are kinda close, a
Ric330 black and white, a epi dot(that i put casino tail piece, tuners, and
trussrod cover on) I call it an Epiphone Casinot. I also have a strat, and a
les paul (but it has p90s), my two George guitars. LOL.
Even though I was born in 82' and missed Beatle Mania I'll tell you that the
first time I saw the beatles "A Hard Day's Night" film when i was about 5 I
wanted a hofner bass.
PAUL MACCA
>According to Joe Dunn's book "Hofner Violin Bass", Paul's first bass was
>indeed a 1961 model. That year was the only one using the closed pickups
>with a diamond logo.
According to the very detailed Hofner dating chart on Joe Baiardi's web site,
it very clearly says that the close-mounted diamond logo pickups were used on
1960 AND 1961 models. Check out:
mikep
As I remember, one of Paul's basses was stolen, but he got it back not
too long ago. I believe he persuaded the auction company to turn it over
to him, since it was stolen.
HeyJude
> According to the very detailed Hofner dating chart on Joe Baiardi's web site,
> it very clearly says that the close-mounted diamond logo pickups were used on
> 1960 AND 1961 models. Check out:
According to to "Hofner: Violin 'Beatle' Bass" by Joe Dunn,
Paul's model was a 1961 model. If the dating chart says it could be a
1960 or a 1961, that doesn't rule out Paul's could be a 1961 model. It
also stated the most of the basses changed to seperate machine head gears
in 1961. Paul's bass has seperate gears, so there is a good chance it is
a '61.
Anyway, this book also gives more information on his other
Hofners. In the summer of 1964, Alby Paynter of the Selmer comapany
commisioned a special Hofner bass for Paul which, among other things, had
gold plated hardware and a raised logo. This bass was date stamped but
had no serial number. This is the bass that showed up for auction several
times in the 70's and onward. A picture of it is included in the
afore-mentioned book. At this same time, Hofner also offered
specially-made guitars to Lennon and Harrison, but they declined them.
As for the refinishing and refurbishing of this 60/61 model, the
book says Paul took it to Sound City in 1963 or 64 and had the pick-ups
reinforced, a new pickguard put on, had the volume pots and knobs
changed, and had the color changed to a three-tone polyester sunburst
color. Interestingly, although I thought we didn't get to see this
refinished version of the old bass until the Revolution promo, there is a
picture in the book of Paul on an unknown television show or performance
that has to date from either '63 or '64 in which you can see the Hofner
in the state that it was in 1968/69.
PAUL MACCA
>PAUL MACCA wrote:
>
>> According to the very detailed Hofner dating chart on Joe Baiardi's web
>site,
>> it very clearly says that the close-mounted diamond logo pickups were used
>on
>> 1960 AND 1961 models. Check out:
>
> According to to "Hofner: Violin 'Beatle' Bass" by Joe Dunn,
>Paul's model was a 1961 model. If the dating chart says it could be a
>1960 or a 1961, that doesn't rule out Paul's could be a 1961 model.
Nobody said it did. But it does put to rest the earlier notion that diamond
logo pickups alone are "proof-positive" that Paul had a 1961 Hof.
Ace Zappa
-Ace