Paul McCartney Dings His Hofner

[DJ Bebop]

He's just like us!!

 

[Williethump]

I thought it meant Sir Paul dumps on his Hofner.
I had a Rogue clone Beatle bass for a short while that about crippled me- arthritis. It made exactly one tone, a nice woody thump, similar to an ABG.
Some incomprehensible controls were stuck on to it but didn't appear to do anything useful.
The tiny viola style body was too short to play comfortably sitting down and neck dived like the Kursk. Arthritis maybe colors my view of it.
And the knowledge that other basses are not such one trick ponies, nice as the trick is.
How SP made such nice noises on such an instrument is another demonstration of his genius and skill. No doubt his Hofner was higher quality than my Rogue Beatle bass. But you can see why he'd want to move on to Rickenbacker and such

more versatile basses.

 

[DJ Bebop]

I thought it meant Sir Paul dumps on his Hofner.
I had a Rogue clone Beatle bass for a short while that about crippled me- arthritis. It made exactly one tone, a nice woody thump, similar to an ABG.
Some incomprehensible controls were stuck on to it but didn't appear to do anything useful.
The tiny viola style body was too short to play comfortably sitting down and neck dived like the Kursk. Arthritis maybe colors my view of it.
And the knowledge that other basses are not such one trick ponies, nice as the trick is.
How SP made such nice noises on such an instrument is another demonstration of his genius and skill. No doubt his Hofner was higher quality than my Rogue Beatle bass. But you can see why he'd want to move on to Rickenbacker and such View attachment 4778933 more versatile basses.

Those incomprehensible controls on the Rogue are a copy of what comes on a Hofner

 

[ardgedee]

Is William Shears Campbell right or left handed?

Yes.

 

[MrB64]

I have no idea how many times I've done that very same thing. Lots, that 's for sure.

 

[Blazer]

The first lefty was lost, stolen, whatever. The second one he stripped the finish completely off and still has it.

Where do you get the idea that he stripped the finish off of his Hofner?

Sunburst, just as how it was when he got it.

 

[dkelley]

also this...

i imagine if this bass was to one day be auctioned, it would be the most expensive musical instrument purchase... ever?

really depends on which uber-weathly collector is into it.

not that i ever expect it to be auctioned anyway.

naw.... not compared to classical violins, violas and cellos. Possibly a classical bass or two, classical guitar or two.

I was just talking with the concert master of a show I'm performing in and she told me about playing Anne-Sophie Mutter's violin's twin (she owns one of the world's legendary Strads, and it has a "sister" violin Strad made at the same time that is virtually identical.). Along with being the most amazing violin my friend ever played, it is invaluable. Her "backup" violin, also a legendary strad, is insured at 2.2milion. Her main violin, the one I'm describing, is likely valued much higher.

Every major concert violinist owns similarly priced violins.

 

[Smoove-Groove]

Where do you get the idea that he stripped the finish off of his Hofner?

Sunburst, just as how it was when he got it.

I've always wondered how his Hofner got that little wear mark by the bridge pickup.

 

[Blazer]

I've always wondered how his Hofner got that little wear mark by the bridge pickup.

Here's the answer, it got there from Macca placing his fingers on that spot for years on end.

 

[iiipopes]

Paul's Hofner would go for way more than $500,000. The last time I remember it was insured for over a million. That was a long time ago. In today's world I bet it would be a way heavier price.

How do you insure something that is essentially priceless? No different than any other work of fine art?

 

[Dang75]

He dings them more Hofner than not, these days.​

i loled - i never lol

 

[MVE]

I mean, ultimately, it's all speculation, right? The joke about Sting's relic'd P was just that - a joke.

The more serious point is, why risk losing or irreparably damaging your favourite instrument when 99.99% or your audience will never pay that much attention to what you're playing as long as you're playing their favourite songs?

I think the obvious answer to that is simply, thats the instrument they like to play that they feel will help them put on the best show for their audience.
Those instruments are only legendary only because they have been played in so many live shows by legendary players.
Stevie Ray Vaughan owned several different Strats, but only one was his #1.

 

[groooooove]

naw.... not compared to classical violins, violas and cellos. Possibly a classical bass or two, classical guitar or two.

I was just talking with the concert master of a show I'm performing in and she told me about playing Anne-Sophie Mutter's violin's twin (she owns one of the world's legendary Strads, and it has a "sister" violin Strad made at the same time that is virtually identical.). Along with being the most amazing violin my friend ever played, it is invaluable. Her "backup" violin, also a legendary strad, is insured at 2.2milion. Her main violin, the one I'm describing, is likely valued much higher.

Every major concert violinist owns similarly priced violins.

the big number we often hear is joshua bell's strad. it's "value" (just an estimate) being 17 million.

not that it's particularly important, but i think certainly interesting to note is why they are so valuable.

of course, this all starts with their intrinsic value. guarneri, del gesu, stradivari and others all truly made remarkable violins. There is no argument as to the pedigree of some of these amazing instruments.

the next part of this appraisal of the antique violin market is a lot less 'sexy.' Bankers and high net worth investors are in on the bidding. Antique italian string instruments, particularly if they are certified from a particular maker such as strad, have proven themselves as worthy investments. so, imagine being a billionaire.. your stock, real estate, and precious metal (god knows what else!) investments need to be further diversified by owning a strad or two.

yo-yo ma does not own his montagnana. it's owned by a bank that loaned it to him for life.

so, this has driven a significant part of the market. now with this hugely (in my opinion) inflated price, it continues to amaze musicians who then spend their whole life and career dreaming of owning one - some of which do when given the opportunity, regardless that their $12k hand made violin actually performs better. (allegedly..) - this maintains that high value, that A-list violinists still play them.

I am proposing that if strads sell for multi-millions of dollars.. hypothetically, i don't see why paul's hofner wouldn't. I very well may be dead wrong on that, but i don't see how that could be looked at as a "bad" investment (again, to someone with that kind of money where they don't need any more real estate, stocks, etc.)

okay, back to the discussion on him dinging it

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

Those incomprehensible controls on the Rogue are a copy of what comes on a Hofner

And my fingers are a copy of what is on Paul.

 

[SoulReflection]

What could be worse than dinging your Hofner ...before you answer, be careful, the mods are watching...

 

[MVE]

One ding is a ding. Sixty years' worth of dings is collectible famous patina. My 4002 has a ding or two. Sir Macca's Hofner is priceless.

Sotheby's listing - Priceless Beatle Memorabilia -June 2035

Lot 135 - Sir Paul's famous Hofner bass guitar…. Its provenance has been unmistakably authenticated by the large chip in the tuner head of the instrument along with a well known video of McCartney sticking it into a ceiling fan….

 

[DivisionLocal]

I do the same at least twice a week. Doesn't matter how much the bass cost or is worth, it still feels bad every time.

 

[Cave Puppy]

Those incomprehensible controls on the Rogue are a copy of what comes on a Hofner

I can't play a beatle bass. They're too uncomfortable and feel like a toy to me.

 

[iiipopes]

I can't play a beatle bass. They're too uncomfortable and feel like a toy to me.

I can't either. About thirty-five years ago I was in Nashville for a conference and skipped out one afternoon to go to Gruhn's. I got to play a couple of real ones - staple pickups and all. Since I got to spend a significant amount of time with them, I have never had G.A.S. for one. To me they felt too neck heavy and flimsy. But I won't argue with what Sir Macca has been able to do with one. That is what was available where he was at the time, a real left-handed one for him, and oh, boy, did he make the most of it!

 

[dkelley]

the big number we often hear is joshua bell's strad. it's "value" (just an estimate) being 17 million.

not that it's particularly important, but i think certainly interesting to note is why they are so valuable.

of course, this all starts with their intrinsic value. guarneri, del gesu, stradivari and others all truly made remarkable violins. There is no argument as to the pedigree of some of these amazing instruments.

the next part of this appraisal of the antique violin market is a lot less 'sexy.' Bankers and high net worth investors are in on the bidding. Antique italian string instruments, particularly if they are certified from a particular maker such as strad, have proven themselves as worthy investments. so, imagine being a billionaire.. your stock, real estate, and precious metal (god knows what else!) investments need to be further diversified by owning a strad or two.

yo-yo ma does not own his montagnana. it's owned by a bank that loaned it to him for life.

so, this has driven a significant part of the market. now with this hugely (in my opinion) inflated price, it continues to amaze musicians who then spend their whole life and career dreaming of owning one - some of which do when given the opportunity, regardless that their $12k hand made violin actually performs better. (allegedly..) - this maintains that high value, that A-list violinists still play them.

I am proposing that if strads sell for multi-millions of dollars.. hypothetically, i don't see why paul's hofner wouldn't. I very well may be dead wrong on that, but i don't see how that could be looked at as a "bad" investment (again, to someone with that kind of money where they don't need any more real estate, stocks, etc.)

okay, back to the discussion on him dinging it

totally.

To elaborate on your point about the "allegedly" better affordable instrument..... from my personal experience, strads are dramatically more powerful and easy to speak than any other violin I've ever played, including some other huge names.... so they earned their reputations through valid musician-performer reasons. My main classical violin is a wonderful Cremona-made violin from the same era (actually a little older than strads), and it is amazing. But, it isn't in the same league as the greats. Someone listening wouldn't know, because it's the player mostly, not the instrument, but the performer would know. My violin is amazing.... for a 5 digit price violin.

But there are some modern violin makers doing INCREDIBLE things... and one of my coaches back in the 90s played one that was astounding.