Take a look at McCartney's bass action.

GianGian · #1 10-17-2010, 08:02 PM

Hey people
I was browsing wikipedia as usual and I decided to see a big sized pic of Paul. Take a look at the high action!!! I know that he is not a fast player, that the Hofner is not a very well constructed bass, and that it is short scale. Still, it looks painful to play.

**JxBass** · #2 10-17-2010, 08:11 PM

Jamerson used very high action. Worked pretty well for him too

Matt R. · #3 10-17-2010, 08:16 PM

Hofners are very comfy in my experience. That may just be his preferred setup, but I've been able to have very low action on mine.

GianGian · #4 10-17-2010, 08:52 PM

Taking another look at it, the neck looks bowed. What do you think?

Darkstrike · #5 10-17-2010, 08:56 PM

In fairness, it's a bad angle to judge both action and neck relif.

odysseios · #6 10-18-2010, 12:04 AM

IMHO, Hofner requires an action not exactly low.
And the bowed neck is easy to restraighten, consider some years ago Macca brought his bass to Mandolin Brothers, a NY luthier, for a total revamping.
Anyway, this is the action on mine (even if i'm going to my luthier today):

rubato · #7 10-18-2010, 12:09 AM

I think I need some suspenders...

odysseios · #8 10-18-2010, 01:59 AM

Add the fact McCartney's bass is a 62-63 model, which has the thickest neck among the Hofners.

GianGian · #9 10-18-2010, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by odysseios

IMHO, Hofner requires an action not exactly low.
And the bowed neck is easy to restraighten, consider some years ago Macca brought his bass to Mandolin Brothers, a NY luthier, for a total revamping.
Anyway, this is the action on mine (even if i'm going to my luthier today):

That looks very high to me, but if it works for you, it is all good.
I just find it interesting to see the set ups of some big names. People who can get pretty much any bass they want, with a perfect set up, confortable, low action, etc, often prefer "less desirable" instruments and set ups, like Paul and his old Hofner.

JAUQO III-X · #10 10-18-2010, 09:56 AM

Every bass player doesn't want what you would call low action. And some bass players feel that what you would call high action isn't even high at all.

RFord04 · #11 10-18-2010, 10:01 AM

I just spotted a pic of Chris Squier in another thread from a similar angle, and his action looked really high as well. It could just be the angle of the shot.

THORRR · #12 10-18-2010, 10:06 AM

In the old days when the Beatles were just coming forward, lots of good guitars weren't readily available in England and the musicians had to make do with what there was.

I have always suspected that that's how Paul wound up getting a cheap Hofner bass to learn on and just wound up sticking with it.

I picked up a Hofner bass the other day and it felt like a "toy" in my hands . . . short scale for sure, and high action. But for some reason the narrow neck and shorter scale made the action feel "soft" and comfortable even though it was way-y higher than I'd ever entertain on my Jazz basses.

Again, I believe it's just what Paul got used to and he stuck with it.

pjmuck · #13 10-18-2010, 10:13 AM

Since the Hofner is a short scale bass, string tension tends to be looser than a standard/long scale instrument. I agree with another poster here: the action may be high, but it doesn't mean it's uncomfortable or difficult to play. IMO, a Hofner's thumpy tone improves with higher action.

**JxBass** · #14 10-18-2010, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by THORRR

In the old days when the Beatles were just coming forward, lots of good guitars weren't readily available in England and the musicians had to make do with what there was.

I have always suspected that that's how Paul wound up getting a cheap Hofner bass to learn on and just wound up sticking with it.

As I recall, much of Paul's choice on picking the Hofner had to do with finding a bass that was light and comfortable to wear for prolonged periods on stage.

BulbousMoses · #15 10-18-2010, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JxBass

As I recall, much of Paul's choice on picking the Hofner had to do with finding a bass that was light and comfortable to wear for prolonged periods on stage.

+1 Paul, being a lefty, was intrigued that the Hofner was symmetrcal and the price was affordable for him as well. I recall him saying that the Hofner cost him about 30 pounds and a Fender was about 100 pounds at the time and he didn't have the money for a Fender.

makkE · #16 10-18-2010, 11:05 AM

I like a bit higher action, even if it's not that comfortable, but the tone gets a lot fuller and bloomier on my bass at least.

GianGian · #17 10-18-2010, 01:13 PM

Yeah I had already heard the story about the cheap and symmetrical instrument. I think it is cool to see that a lot of pros don't use the one that is expected to be the most desirable set up. I have tired to use higher action but I just can't. I can't play fast stuff and my arm hurts. Good if it works for you, because it can deliver a different and cleaner tone.

Ric5 · #18 10-18-2010, 01:19 PM

When McCartney had his Ric serviced in the 70s. They replaced the bridge pickup and a few other things. But they had instructions not to lower the action.

Stevie Ray Vaughn used high action as well.

Skitch it! · #19 10-18-2010, 01:24 PM

Short scale, nice soft tension, Linda bought him a Wal 5 at some point (his birthday), never saw much of that though?

lunarpollen · #20 10-18-2010, 01:28 PM

Short-scale Pyramid Gold flatwounds would feel OK even with action that high