Paul McCartney's Hofners..

The promotional film for "Revolution" featured Paul playing the '61 Hofner.




And you can also see it during the first half of the Let It Be film. Paul plays the '61 in those segments at Twickenham film studios. But shortly thereafter that instrument was stolen, and he played the '63 for the remainder of the film along with the rooftop concert.

 

@the Cavern Club

 

Has anyone ever compared the "Cavern" model (as in the first picture above) against the model he's most famous for using? I'd tend to think that with the bridge pickup being closer to the neck pickup on the Cavern model that you'd get a bit more thump to the sound.

Yes? No?

 

Mid position treble pickup is much more 'middy' and fat. And there are clips of the Cavern out there. Any live footage up until October of '63 will feature it.

 

He only bought a Hofner because (at the time) he couldnt afford a Fender.....wich is kinda funny because I have never seen him playing a Fender...Rics,Wals but never a Fender.

 

Well Damn! I cant even think of anything smart to say, lol, looks like Im wrong....I am right about the reason he bought the Hofner, but until today I have never seen him with a Fender.

 

smoove beat me... I knew I saw pics of Paul on a Fender. Did Paul ever play a different Hofner model, I know Stuart Stucliff original played a different model and thought perhaps Paul use it lefty until he could buy one.

 

Paul did borrow Stu's 500/5 a few times before buying his own (the 500/1), but it would have been only for a very short period back in '61 or so. Stu would not left Paul restring it left-handed, so Paul would have to play it upside down. To my knowledge, there are no photos of Paul playing it.

Maybe you're thinking of John's Club 40 guitar, which Paul was photographed with in Hamburg. That's the only other Hofner I've ever seen Paul holding, besides his various 500/1's.

 

A shot from the Cavern Club last summer. It's too bad this bass isn't cared for better. I don't know if Paul would have played Twenty Flight Rock with this or shot arrows from it. The neck was so bowed the strings were about half an inch off the fretboard.

 

What ever became of Stu's 500/5 bass?

 

Never mind, I just looked it up. It was auctioned back in '86 for 9,500 pounds.

 

This is an unusual photo of a modified hofner

 

I own both basses. A 1961 500/1 Cavern and a 500/1 Beatlebass. The Cavern is a great player but it does not have side fret dot markers so you really have to know that neck. They are extremely rare these days.

 

Tough to see, but here is the cavern:


I know there are other clips out there, and in 65ish Paul broke a string and had to break out the cavern, no video though, only sound. (John said that he broke a string and to wait while he changed basses)

 

This is the original '61 Cavern bass. The pickup surrounds were damaged over time (at one point he was using cellophane tape to hold the pickups in place). The bass was refurbished with an unusual dual surround mount for the pups, and the body was refinished with a Fender-style 3-colour sunburst finish. The work was done by a music store in London around 1965.