Höfner 500/1
bass guitar model
The Höfner 500/1 Violin Bass (sometimes nicknamed the "Beatle Bass") is a model of electric bass manufactured by Höfner under several varieties. It was introduced in 1955 and gained fame during the 1960s as the primary bass used by Paul McCartney of the Beatles.
History
In 1955, Walter Höfner designed an electrically amplified semi-acoustic bass. The hollow body made this style of bass very light and easy to play, as well as giving it a rich tone similar to that of the traditional double bass. The bass was first shown to the public at the Frankfurt Music Fair in early 1956.
Following the popularity of the Violin Bass created by its use by Paul McCartney, Höfner began producing a similar alternative in terms of sound and size with a different shaped body, the Höfner 500/2 Club Bass, in 1964.
Description
The Höfner 500/1 is a hollow-body instrument, though lacking soundholes, and is as such commonly referred to as a semi-hollow bass. It is built using a fairly traditional style, similar to that of an acoustic guitar. It commonly features a thin maple body, a spruce top and a maple neck. The fretboard is traditionally made of rosewood, though more contemporary models have utilized other, similar tonewoods.
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This entry incorporates text from “Höfner 500/1” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.