Made famous by Paul McCartney and used by countless other heavyweights over the decades, the Hofner 500/1  is one of the most identifiable electric basses of the 20th century.

With its violin-style body shape and hollowbody construction, there may not be a modern electric bass with such acoustic-like qualities as a 500/1. Incredibly lightweight with a body constructed of a Spruce top with Maple back and sides, its acoustic resonance is captured wonderfully by the original 511B humbucking pickups. The tone is round and warm, with a full, thumpy low end. The unique thing about a Hofner is that string-to-string balance is very strong with an equally impressive amount of fundamental power that isn't often found in other hollowbody basses. 

The bass comes to us in very good condition. This 500/1 has seen some action over the years and has some wear that reflects it. It previously went through a neck reset and currently plays great outfitted with a set of Thomastik flatwounds. The tuners, pickups, plastics, bridge, tailpiece, and electronics are original. Original vintage frets are low but very much playable. Vintage pickup restoration specialist Tom Brantley rewound the neck pickup, which is working and sounding great. It's missing the pickguard, but could easily accommodate a repro guard.

Priced with original form-fitting hardshell case.

• Fully hollow Maple body with Spruce top
• Maple neck w/ Rosewood fingerboard
  
• 30" Scale length
• 1 5/8" nut width
• Full C neck profile: .91" @ 1st fret / 1.00" @ 10th fret
• Original Hofner pickups: 8.4k ohm Neck / 8.81k ohm Bridge
• Original Hofner electronics, cupcake knobs, and pearloid control plate
• Original Ebony bridge and tailpiece
• Weight: 4lb 3oz