John Entwistle playing a Hofner bass

[cdef]

...the J thing wasn't meaty and present enough for him.

I see Who pundits maintaining that My Generation was a J strung with tapewounds.

 

[Vitrius Humor]

McCartney bought the Hofner because he was living in Hamburg and that's what was available there back in the Pete Best days. It's true that it's symmetrically shaped, but Paul never played it "backwards." The model he bought was specially designed for him as a left-handed bass with the pickguard, control knobs and input jack on the treble side (i.e. he never played it upside down). The only bass he ever played upside down was Stu Sutcliffe's Hofner President, which he used briefly while his 500/1 was being made.

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Paul's was the very first left handed bass Höfner made.