Boosey & Hawkes Hofner “Beatle” bass in two models: In 1956, Walter Hofner had an idea for an amplified semi-acoustic bass. When it was brought to life, his idea resulted in a bass with a warm, woody, double-bass-like amplified tone. Players love it for its playing ease and its tone-one of the smoothest, sweetest sounds in all of bassland.

Because the original became so scarce and expensive, popular demand compelled Hofner to re-create the Club Bass 500/2. Now this LTD version of the 500/2 offers the same instrument with changes that make it even closer to the original. The pickups have been repositioned to the original spacing for truer vintage tone and a hand-applied dark violin varnish gives it a more vintage vibe.

Musicians love the Hofner 500/1 Vintage ’63 Violin Bass Guitar. In 1956 Walter Hofner had an idea for an amplified semi-acoustic bass. When it was brought to life, it proved to be a unique instrument with a smooth, sweet sound and a playing ease that eludes most ordinary basses. Many players revere Hofner’s Violin Bass as a legend because of its historical significance and its warm, woody, double-bass-like amplified tone.

Named for the year the most familiar version of the Violin Bass was popularized by by a certain young bass player from Liverpool, the Vintage ’63 captures its characteristic tone – deep, warm and reminiscent of a full-sized string bass. Built to be as durable as its legacy, the compact-sized, easy-to-play, light-in-weight Vintage ’63 is equally at home onstage or in the studio.

The 500/1 Vintage ’63 and the H500/2. The 500/1 is a violin-shaped, semi-hollow body design with traditional Staple top pickups and the classic setup of two volume controls, two on/off switches and on rhythm/solo switch. The bass features a carved spruce top with laminated, flamed maple back and sides, and a 30-inch short-scale maple neck with a beechwood “stripe” and rosewood fingerboard. The bass comes standard with nickel-plated hardware and is available in right- or left- handed models.

The H500/2 is a LTD bass featuring select German spruce top, highly flamed maple back and sides, maple-beech maple neck with rosewood fretboard, nickel-plated hardware, fully bound neck and body, and pearloid pickguard. The H500/2 is available in hand-applied dark violin varnish finish.

Boosey & Hawkes Hofner Beatle Bass