 1963:
1963
Hofner 500/1 bass: Hofner had updated
its violin bass
in
'62, and in '63 gave one to McCartney. First use:
Ready,
Steady,
Go! broadcast, 4 October. Variations
from his first bass
include the neck (two-piece rather than three-piece);
machine heads
(two-on-a-strip
open-back as opposed to single open-back "rugby ball"
tuners); pickups
("staple-top" rather than "diamond logo," with one of
the two moved
nearer
the bridge); headstock logo (horizontal script rather
than vertical
lettering);
body (round back rather than flat), and fretboard dot
inlay (to the
21st
fret rather than the 19th).  Although
by '65 he'd switched largely to the Rickenbacker bass
for studio work,
McCartney appeared and recorded with this Hofner from "I
Want to Hold
Your
Hand" through Let It Be and beyond.
Some time in
1966
he removed the pickguard, and its last Beatles action
was the Apple
rooftop
session, complete with a "Bassman" sticker from his
speaker cabinet
(photo
below). McCartney resurrected this bass at Elvis
Costello's
request
for Flowers in the Dirt, and later for
tours, comparing
it
to Charlie Chaplain's cane: "You just expect to see it." |
