In Mint condition w/ OHSC and hang tags.
Hofner Contemporary Series Violin Bass Features:
- Re-creation of the iconic 1961 500/1 from the Beatles era — a beautiful classic bass
- Centerblock enhances sustain
- Hofner close-spaced bridge and neck pickups are stylish and reliable
- 30″ scale length and small body are light on the shoulders and easy on the eyes
Iconic Style and Hefty Bottom End at a Bargain Price
The best-selling contemporary version of the 500/1 Hofner Violin Bass Guitar offers those wanting to own the world’s most iconic bass the chance to do so at a very attractive price. A re-creation of the 1961 version, the Hofner Contemporary Series Violin Bass features a centerblock for enhanced sustain, a 3-piece maple and beech set neck, and close-spaced Hofner neck and bridge pickups. With a rosewood fingerboard, a weight of just six pounds, and scale length of only 30″, the Hofner Violin Bass looks and sounds great, and it’s light enough to stay comfortable during long gigs and recording sessions.
Serious low end with reliable electronics
The sustain block inside the body gives the Hofner Contemporary Series Violin Bass a modern, deep-resonating bass sound while still retaining the original Hofner Beatles bass voicing. It also features all the tone controls of the historic 1961 500/1, so you can adapt its sound to whatever style music you’re playing and trust the Hofner pickups to deliver your sonic message with authority.
A small, comfortable bass that’s big on style
With the Hofner Contemporary Series Violin Bass’s short scale length of 30″ and its small 6-pound violin bass body, your bass guitar strap finally won’t feel like a tourniquet! The symmetrical shape and violin-inspired curved top and back further enhance its comfort. But what it lacks in size it makes up in style; there’s no other bass guitar that’s as well loved and instantly recognizable.
The 500/1 violin bass was developed by Walter Höfner and presented to the public at the Frankfurt Music Fair in 1956. Not only its design, but even more its distinctive sound contribute to the high recognition value of this classic. As 50 years ago, this instrument is still manufactured by hand in the Höfner workshops in Haguenau. All German-made instruments are shipped from the factory with flat-wound strings that reproduce the original sound of the 1960s.
The Höfner 500/1 from 1961 takes its name from the Cavern Club in Liverpool, which opened in 1957. The Cavern Club was one of the most sought-after performance opportunities in Europe for newcomer bands of the Beatboom era. In 1960 Ringo Starr played for Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, before the Beatles stepped into the limelight of the Cavern Club as representatives of the ‘Merseybeat’ scene in mid-1961.
Replica of the ’61 model that Paul McCartney bought in Hamburg. Full resonance body, original ’61 neck dimensions. Also available as a left-hand version (L). Incl. Höfner vintage belt and case.