The Hofner Club Bass, also known as the Hofner 500/2 bass, is very similar in design to the iconic 500/1 Beatle Bass, but with a traditional single cutaway ‘Club’ body. Originally built between 1965 and 1970 for Selmer, the Club bass has had a number of prominent appearances on stages; Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads used one for several tours.
61 Vintage
Here we are looking at a Hofner Gold Label Violin Bass in the 500/1 style during 2015 at the Hofner plant in Hagenau, about 35 km north of Nuremberg, Germany. The iconic violin body is Maple Laminate for feedback rejection, with a zero-fret equipped Maple neck bearing an Indian Rosewood fingerboard. The bridge is Ebony. This is a ‘1962’ style design but with ‘Rugby’ tuners. For electronics, twin “Staple” 511B pickups are installed and spaced normally, at the bridge and neck positions. Controls are classic Hofner, with teacup knobs.
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MORE →The Hofner Gold Label series, introduced at NAMM in 2013, features the highest quality German components, with custom colours and pickup combinations. You can even get a 3-pickup violin bass! This example of the Hofner Gold Label Series 500/1 Violin Bass is one of two, built with this wood selection – a carved solid Spruce top with a five-piece back of Flame Maple, Sapele Pommele (the two large quilted sections) and Indian Rosewood.
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MORE →Here’s something a little different – a Hofner Cavern Bass LH, the left handed version of the classic 500/1 violin bass! The Hofner Cavern bass model 500/1 appeared in 1961, though that was not its name – from its first appearance at the 1956 Frankfurt Musikmesse, it was known simply as the Violin Bass. The bass earned its ‘Cavern’ moniker through frequent use in the Liverpool Cavern Club by a young bassist named Paul McCartney in The Beatles.
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MORE →The Hofner Cavern bass model 500/1 appeared in 1961, though that was not its name – from its first appearance at the 1956 Frankfurt Musikmesse, it was known simply as the Violin Bass. The bass earned its ‘Cavern’ moniker through frequent use in the Liverpool Cavern Club by a young bassist named Paul McCartney in The Beatles.
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MORE →The Hofner 1961 Cavern bass was very popular in Europe during the late 1950s and early 1960’s. American built instruments were rare and expensive, and use by wildly successful bands such as The Beatles made everyone want one. At the time, the tiny Cavern Club in London was one of the key venues for aspiring bands to appear, and The Beatles played there so often the club name became closely associated with the band.
This instrument has sold
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