Model · Höfner

500/1 Violin Bass

A Höfner hollow bass, year of introduction not on record^{[1, 2]}. Built on the Höfner German-built guitars and basses (Schönbach, Bubenreuth, Hagenau; 1930s to present) line.

Höfner's hollow-body violin-shaped bass, conceived at Bubenreuth in the 1950s and made famous by Paul McCartney, who bought one in Hamburg in 1961. Still built in Germany; the CT and Ignition versions are Far East-built.

Also known as 500/1, Violin Bass, Beatle Bass.

How it changed

No changes to this model’s spec are on record yet. If you know one and have a source, send it with Suggest an edit at the top right.

Who owned it and where it was built

The eras of the Höfner German-built guitars and basses (Schönbach, Bubenreuth, Hagenau; 1930s to present) line in the years this model was made. No end year is on record, so the last row runs as far as the line does. The model rides on its line: when the owner or the plant changed, it changed for this model too.

Sources

Every numbered marker on this page points here: the document, its grade and the passages relied on. An era is computed, so it cites the facts it was derived from. A fact marked “no source” has no claim attached yet.

1. 1
   Hofner: A Short Historygraded primary

   • the President, The Committee and the Violin Bass to name just three. [...] In 1961 a young man walked into a music shop in Hamburg and purchased a Höfner 500/1 Violin Bass guitar.500/1 Violin Bass, introduced year unknown
   • He established his works at Schönbach then the European centre of stringed instrument making. [...] On 1st January 1994 Höfner was sold to Boosey & Hawkes, a major british music companyEra: Höfner German-built guitars and basses (Schönbach, Bubenreuth, Hagenau; 1930s to present), 1930–1945
   • During the 1930s the company began production of guitars [...] resulting in the summer of 1945 in the takeover of the company by a state administrator.Era: Höfner German-built guitars and basses (Schönbach, Bubenreuth, Hagenau; 1930s to present), 1930–1945
   • they set up the business, almost from scratch, in 1948 at Möhrendorf in Bavaria.Era: Höfner German-built guitars and basses (Schönbach, Bubenreuth, Hagenau; 1930s to present), 1948–1950
   • by Christmas 1950 the new Hofner factory was up and running. [...] the main step taken was to close the factory at Bubenreuth and move all production to the newer factory at Hagenau, which was enlarged and modernized in 1997.Era: Höfner German-built guitars and basses (Schönbach, Bubenreuth, Hagenau; 1930s to present), 1950–1994
   • On 1st January 1994 Höfner was sold to Boosey & Hawkes, a major british music companyEra: Höfner German-built guitars and basses (Schönbach, Bubenreuth, Hagenau; 1930s to present), 1994–1997
   • the main step taken was to close the factory at Bubenreuth and move all production to the newer factory at Hagenau, which was enlarged and modernized in 1997.