1957 Hofner 500/1 Violin Bass w/orig. case
Shenandoah Valley
1957 Hofner 500/1 Violin Bass with an original soft-shell case and securing straps.
Many people might call this bass the forerunner of what became known as the 'Beatle Bass' used by Paul McCartney of The Beatles.
When this bass was made, however, it is likely that John Lennon and Paul McCartney had yet to meet...
About the bass: It is in overall 'very good' condition and plays/sounds great. Everything functions as it should. I recently put a fresh set of Pyramid flats on it....The volume/tone pots date to the 16th week of 1957 if I am reading the codes correctly. The nut is correct for the bass, but is a replacement. All the usual features are correct for this bass's vintage: fat neck/skinny peghead, strip tuners, flat single-piece back, rosewood pickup casings, 4-knob oval control panel (most of the writing on the panel is STILL intact)......Finish is all original. Cool patina. Original tailpiece with 'KH' shield.
Now for the issues to bring to your attention other than what I've mentioned....There is a thin crack in the top running vertical through the top on the pickguard side of the body, but was expertly repaired MANY MANY years ago, long before I owned it, and is stable. No worries here.
When the bass was new the tailpiece was misaligned to the neck so that the strings would not run parallel to the fretboard, so the tailpiece was recentered on the body to the correct position, probably in the late 50's. This bass frets and intonates great for a 48 year old Hofner bass. No worries here either.
Two of the knobs appear original, while the other two look to be replacements, still old though, probably 60's vintage.
The case is correct and is probably original to the bass, I don't have any reason to think otherwise...some of the stitching is gone but it is all in pretty good shape overall.
I don't need to empasize how rare this bass is, how many are still left?? Good question. Not many would be a safe assumption.
Report suspicious and inappropriate posting here.
© Copyright 2004-2008 estia usage terms
Get Firefox! feedback ads post us time 