THE LOWDOWN

TRACE THE BASS

A couple of Paul McCartney-related news stories have come our way recently, the first pertaining to a long-lost Höfner 500/1 Violin Bass, of which Höfner themselves explain: “In the spring of 1961, a young man walked into a music shop in Hamburg, Germany and purchased his first bass guitar, a Höfner 500/1. He would use this bass to record his band’s first two albums and several number one hits at Abbey Road recording studios. A young man’s dream came true… He is, of course, Paul McCartney of the Beatles. This first bass was replaced by an almost identical model in October 1963, the one you see Paul play today. The first bass recordings. Then it vanished, presumably stolen. It has not been seen since.”