Hofner H500/1-61L Cavern Club '61 Violin Beatle Bass, Left-Handed w/ Case & Tags, 500/1

Up for sale, a left-handed Hofner H500/1-61L “Cavern Club” ‘61 vintage reissue bass in excellent, 100% original condition and in perfect working order, complete with the original hardshell case, factory paperwork and hangtag. The H500/1-61 features all the hallmarks of Hofner's early violin bass design, as seen played by Paul McCartney in The Beatles’ formative days.

A genuine German-made Hofner and the highest tiered example offered, this Cavern Club bass features a flat, deeply-figured bookmatched flame maple back, flame maple sides, and an arched spruce top. This fully hollow Hofner has a distinctive dry acoustic thud and pluck which does mimic an upright bass in some respects, translating well through the pair of closely spaced diamond-embossed pickups. This bass delivers the round, pillowy thump and definition of the Beatles sound. Individual Volume controls for each pickup as well as a two-way Rhythm/Solo tone switch allow the player to dial in more broad or focused tonalities, with a nice slightly nasally midrange with the bridge pickup favored, and a soft mellow sound at the neck. Featherweight at 5lbs, this Hofner has been professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar with 45-100 D’Addario Chromes flatwound strings, comfortable action and accurate intonation.

The maple neck has a full and round C profile shape with ample shoulder, measuring .830" deep at the 1st fret and filling out to 1.005" at the 12th. The bound rosewood fretboard has a 12” radius and retains the flawless stock slender fretwire, playing cleanly in all registers with a straight neck and a responsive, optimally-adjusted truss rod. The scale length measures 30", and the fretboard is 1 9/16" wide at the zero fret just forward of the nut. On the headstock, the vertical Hofner logo is clean as can be, and the open-gear strip tuners turn smoothly and hold accurate pitch.

The electronics function flawlessly, and the Hofner-embossed diamond nickel-plated pickup covers and trapeze tailpiece show a uniform dusting of surface patina. Plastics include the teacup knobs, small white pearloid control plate, and elevated pearloid pickguard. The Sunburst finish highlights the broad, dimensional bookmatched flame figuring on the back and sides of the body. There is a notable finish checking and a few small chips along the binding on the front and back body edges, and a handful of minor dings and faint scratches in the clear coat of the gloss on the body as a whole. The gloss finish on the three-piece neck profile is smooth and clean.

The original hardshell case is included, along with the factory paperwork and hangtag.