| Walter Hofner conceived of the idea of
a short scale violin shaped hollow electric bass guitar in 1955 and introduced
the finished product at the Frankfurt trade show in 1956. Little
did Hofner know that this new bass was to become the flagship of the company
for decades to come!
Of course most of us were introduced
to the early '60s version of the Hofner bass when we tuned in to the Ed
Sullivan Show and saw Paul McCartney playing a left handed version of his
1963 bass (made predominantly with 1962 parts). This in fact
was Paul's second Hofner bass. He purchased his first while playing
in Germany when he was forced by the departure of Stu Sutcliffe to switch
from guitar to bass! After using his first "Cavern" Hofner
bass from around '61 to early '63, the Hofner company presented Paul
with a new updated version made in 1963. This was the bass that Paul
was to be associated with for the rest of his career! |
