Maccas Lost Hofner 500/1 - I know it's a bass but thought it would get lost in there...

Boromedic

I'm sure many of us have heard or read the story about Macca asking Hofner to locate this bass.

Wonder why, after all these years he wants it back, perhaps closure or the recent Beatles revisits have sparked an interest? It's certainly the most iconic Beatles instrument for me because George and John changed guitars a few times.

Which made me wonder two things, does the person who has it, know what it even represents? Would it fetch the biggest auction price on the market, surpassing even the Kurt Cobain guitars? 

guitars4you

It has been talked about today on R5 - Especially with regards to does the current owner know what it is and whose it was/is - Remember that it was not that long ago that John's J160E turned up  again - I believe the owner and Yoko came up with a suitable financial arrangement when it was sold at auction for 2.4 million dollars - Verification was carried out by a host of pics from when John was playing it and the actual guitar itself 

Apparently there will be no financial reward to the current owner of the Hofner Bass if found ??????? or !!!!!!!! - I haven't got a clue as to the legal rights to who owns the bass, be it in the UK or overseas 

I dare an interesting story to follow if any news crops up

guitars4you

I read the news today that Paul wants some Help, but it may well be a Long and Winding Road before we get anywhere with this - So let's Come Together and try and help Paul  - Later he said please Don't let me Down as I want to find it - Rumour is he has been looking Here There and Everywhere, but Yesterday the press launch was announced 

CavemanGrogg

I actually don't think his 61 Hofner is his iconic instrument, that was stolen from Pinewood Studios during the filming of Help in 63, and then replaced by a 63 Hofner - the difference being different pickup spacing, which to me is his is iconic instrument as he's not only owned it for longer than the 61, but played it a hell of a lot more, been seen and photographed with it a lot, and recorded more with it.

As for who owns it, that's simple, Paul does, he never sold it, it was stolen off of him

thermionic

Paul’s first Hofner was unfortunately destroyed in the fatal 1965 car crash.

JezWynd

Macca asking Hofner to locate this bass.

What are Hofner supposed to do, hire detectives to track it down? 

Funkfingers

Missed opportunity if you ask me.

Höhner are more than capable of making super accurate re-issues of the 1961 500/1 bass. McCartney could endorse them. Both parties take a cut. Obsessive/completist fans could indulge themselves. People desiring the early Beatles recorded sound would choose the 1963 specification.

ICBM

The other missing iconic early Beatle instrument is George’s Gretsch - traded away in the late 60s through several owners and now lost. It would be difficult to positively identify because the wood grain and fingerboard inlays are very plain in photos, but unless it’s been destroyed, someone unknowingly has it. (And legitimately, since it wasn’t stolen.)

Boromedic

I hope it shows up tbh, would be cool if it did, and the auction listing would be cool to watch!

scrumhalf

I can imagine that, as we discuss this, several individuals are "discovering" the bass in their workshops. 

Kilgore

scrumhalf said:

I can imagine that, as we discuss this, several individuals are "discovering" the bass in their workshops. 

 Essex Recording Studios?

RocknRollDave

I find it hard to believe anyone could own a 60’s bass of this type and it’s never crossed their mind it could have been Macca’s….but perhaps you’d say to yourself, “Nah, he’s still got his, surely…?” Most people wouldn’t (until now, perhaps) have any idea of the history of it going missing.

Winny_Pooh

Let it be Paul

stickyfiddle

I feel like this is more like both Macca and Hofner know exactly where it is and they know the owner has just died so they're making as fuss now in order that the estate can quietly hand it back without any legal drama. 

Certainly conceivable, imo

It's apparently an open secret among LP collectors where the Clapton Beano guitar is, but noone says anything because it's technically stolen goods. This could easily be a similar situation.

SRD81

I’d love to see the ‘61 found, a proper piece of Beatles history.

Speaking of vintage 1961 Beatles guitars….I’d also love to know what happened to Lennon’s ‘61 Sonic Blue Strat. We know Harrison’s got the ‘Rocky’ treatment and still belongs to the Harrison family, but Lennon had one too (reportedly used on Nowhere Man).

Kilgore

Boromedic said:

Which made me wonder two things, does the person who has it, know what it even represents? Would it fetch the biggest auction price on the market, surpassing even the Kurt Cobain guitars? 

The Taxman will take 95%.

stickyfiddle

Kilgore said:

Boromedic said:

Which made me wonder two things, does the person who has it, know what it even represents? Would it fetch the biggest auction price on the market, surpassing even the Kurt Cobain guitars? 

The Taxman will take 95%.

Nah pretty sure he used the Rick on that one  

Neil

Well Peter Frampton's LP Custom turned up after 31 years so anything is possible. 

RandallFlagg

CavemanGrogg said:

I actually don't think his 61 Hofner is his iconic instrument, that was stolen from Pinewood Studios during the filming of Help in 63, and then replaced by a 63 Hofner - the difference being different pickup spacing, which to me is his is iconic instrument as he's not only owned it for longer than the 61, but played it a hell of a lot more, been seen and photographed with it a lot, and recorded more with it.

As for who owns it, that's simple, Paul does, he never sold it, it was stolen off of him

It is reported that the '61 went missing in 1969, it had been refinished and repaired after the early years of touring with the 2 pickups installed in a wooden mounting ring.

The difference between the '61 and '63 is the pickup positions and Hofner logo orientation on the headstock, with the '63 having the pickups spaced bridge/neck and the '61 neck and neck/middle. You can see pics of Paul McCartney using the restored/modified '61 in the Get Back sessions although he used the '63 on the rooftop gig. 

Trace The Bass: Paul McCartney's lost Höfner guitar | The Beatles Story, Liverpool

ICBM

It’s worth remembering that despite Paul describing it as ‘ancient’, even the ‘61 was no more than eight years old in 1969 - the ‘63 was less than six years old when he used it on the rooftop, and yet they looked like relics of a bygone age.

That’s like using a “vintage” 2015 or 2017 instrument today, which I’m pretty sure most of us would consider completely modern, if not actually ‘new’. It shows just how much the Beatles changed music and the world in just seven years.

stickyfiddle

ICBM said:

It’s worth remembering that despite Paul describing it as ‘ancient’, even the ‘61 was no more than eight years old in 1969 - the ‘63 was less than six years old when he used it on the rooftop, and yet they looked like relics of a bygone age.

That’s like using a “vintage” 2015 or 2017 instrument today, which I’m pretty sure most of us would consider completely modern, if not actually ‘new’. It shows just how much the Beatles changed music and the world in just seven years.

This is a good point. I guess when he first got one in 1961 the Hofner was a relatively normal electric bass and while Fender had been developing the P bass and the Rickenbacker 4001 had just reached the market but basically noone in Europe had seen either regularly. Gibson had the EB-1 which is a weird thing, and the EB-2 was a new thing.

 Whereas by 1969 the Precision, Jazz, 4001, and the Gibson EB-1-3 and Thunderbird were relatively more commonplace and all far more modern than the old creaky Hofner. Certainly with the Fenders - most bands could get those by the late 60s if they wanted them. 

And of course Paul played the shit out of his Hofners in that time so they wouldn't have felt like new instruments at all