Höfner 500/1 bass; Redefining an Icon and a legend

Background; About Höfner

Karl Höfner GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of musical instruments originally set up in 1887. The company is split into two basic divisions; one division that manufactures guitars and basses, and the other which focuses solely on other string instruments.

Much of Höfner's popularity is attributed to The Beatles’ popularity in the 1960’s, Most notably, Paul McCartney's use of the Höfner 500/1 bass throughout his career. This violin-shaped model is commonly referred to as the ‘Beatle bass’ because of this.

The Hofner 500/1

Höfner 500/1 bass; the unpopular subjective opinion

I’ve played a 500/1 now for just under 4 years. The same length of time, It has been both my primary and only bass.
As an unusual and legendary instrument, other musicians tend to comment on it. Mostly positive, although I have gotten a few gurners grimacing at the brand name, (as they tend to do with any that is neither Gibson nor Fender).
Usually given the circumstance, I don’t get the chance to lecture those on my choice of instrument like a proud professor and father.
So I’ll take the opportunity now, so I can refer them to my blog later.

It’s something I hear a lot, “you must really like the Beatles”. While this is true, it’s not as true as other musicians conclude. I like the Beatles, I respect Paul, I regularly dissect their back catalogue to view it piece by piece and study just how intricate it all is.
But I’ve never once tried to sound like them.
Its 2014, I like to think the world has moved on a little from 1963.

Unknown to many, The 500/1 was not used by Paul in studio. The trademark Beatles bass tone, from Paul’s studio work is in fact a Rickenbacker 4001. In studio, It was difficult to get the desired warm muffled bass tone which was signature to RnB records at the time.

Bob Babbit of Motown's Funk Brothers.
Babbit's bass has a thin strip of foam under the bridge.

To combat this issue, Bass players used to put a bit of fabric or foam underneath the bridge to mute the strings ever so slightly.
McCartney, as a guitar player primarily, used this to cut sustain and play multiple notes at a quicker pace without having to mute the note he just played before progressing.

McCartney has only ever used a Höfner bass live and did so for many reasons, to list a few; The Höfner brand was cheap and affordable, and like a lot of German manufactured products, proved well crafted and reliable, The short scale neck was almost guitar sized and meant more freedom as primarily a guitar player and The Image was striking and memorable, which was a much sought after trend among the Mod scene in the 60s. Another fine example of this is John Entwistle’s use of the Horseshoe shaped Danelectro Longhorn bass.

John Entwistle in the early days of The Who, playing the Longhorn Bass

It is rare to find someone using a Höfner 500/1 in studio, but for the sake of mentioning a few other Höfner 500/1 players; Dale Davis plays a 500/1 in Amy Winehouse's band, most notably the live BBC material and Alain Johannes uses a 500/1 in Them Crooked Vultures live material whilst John Paul Jones plays keys.

The first thing people notice about the Höfner 500/1 when they pick it up and start fumbling through the first few bars of ‘Here comes the sun’  or ‘Come together’ is how un-Beatles it sounds. They then follow up this confusion by putting it down to simply just being a “shit bass”.
What they misunderstand is simply…. These aren’t the droids you are looking for.

As a musician, said bass tone has intrigued me for many years so to be slightly fairer on the Beatles tribute band enthusiasts and for those who are simply looking for a similar sound, I’ll offer a few pointers:

If it’s sound you want, don’t focus on the appearance. This should be musician 101 but a lot of the time it is skimmed over and panic-buying happens. Some Tanglewood and Epiphone copies of the Höfner 500/1, although they may be more affordable and somewhat look the part; will prove to be not what you’re looking for. When looking for a sound, what you should be doing is trying out every combination of Bass and amp in the shop until you hit on the sound. The mistake a lot of folks make is matching the appearance.
Basically, Don’t.

A good alternative for beginners is a cheap bass, Squier Affinity Precision/Jazz Bass, Epiphone EB-0 or EB-3, or if you want to go Hollow body; The Epiphone EB-2.
Any of these will prove more than versatile and enough to tackle a Beatles number by just copying Paul and putting that bit of foam under the bridge.
My personal preference would be the EB-2 or EB-3, but whichever feels best to you is the real thing.

If you can afford to Rickenbacker, then always Rickenbacker.

Epiphone EB-2

On the immediate flipside…….

The Secret nature of The Höfner 500/1

So, if it’s not a Beatles Bass, what is it? Having dissected the misinterpretation of the Höfner 500/1 already, it’s time to redefine what it is good for.
If not McCartney or the Beatles, What did inspire me to spend just under €300 for an Indonesian bass made by a German company despite only taking up the instrument a few months previously?

Batman and Bill Black.

If you’ve read this far, I recon you were expecting some big explanation, but it defies explanation. My Bass was a panic buy, it was a birthday present, I needed a Bass that I could own. At the time I was borrowing a Stagg Jazz Bass copy and would soon after have to return it.

I’m a self confessed fan of old video footage. Even if the sound happens to be terrible, I can always find a reason to stare endlessly at black and white footage of old musicians, actors, dancers, you name it I’ll have watched it.

Bill Black is no exception to this. In fact, he’s one of my favourites for how influential he is yet not everyone can tell me who he is.

Bill was Elvis Presley’s Bass player and the man laying the foundation for a sound that changed the world. Bill was always important to me and I found it quite mesmerising how his bass was always instantly recognisable on a poorly lit stage or in a blurred photograph due to its beautiful white binding.
The Bass in question was a Kay Maestro M-1, bought by Black in 1954 for $120.00

Bill Black in studio with Elvis

It gave the instrument a cartoon-esque outline, and the Höfner 500/1 shares this defining feature.

Choosing to get it in black was of course another subtle homage. It looked sleek, like the sort of instrument batman would play and still looks immaculate after 4 years despite it undergoing very poor maintenance and travelling anywhere I went, (It accompanied me to college where it served both as my main instrument and a tie rack,) and probably will do for a very long time.
Black never goes out of fashion.

Batman Begins; Bruce Wayne knows what's good for him

Sure, I just broke every rule in my own book, but it was also coincidentally the best thing I’ve ever done as a musician.
Its incredibly unique bright tone allows it to be tracked flawlessly through the cheapest pitch shifter pedal.
Its Hollow body allows for the wildest distortions and fuzz tones as can be seen in the No one loves me and Neither Do I video above.
Its short scale, thin neck allows me to make 2 or 3 note chords and was incredibly important for the development my playing style.

You can hear an example of this by clicking here for a demo cover of Nirvana's Breed

I’d like to say I knew all this at the time, that I did my homework and picked the Bass that was going to define me as an artist. But I didn’t.

I suppose I could put it “The wand chooses the wizard”.

(Edit: Coincidentally, The Bill Black bass mentioned earlier is now owned by Paul McCartney.)