If you are looking at this bass, you are probably not a casual bass shopper. And while "Closet Queen" tends to be an overly used phrase, this German made 2014's era Hofner 500/1 '61 Reissue is in excellent condition. The pickups are a little tarnished -- we've seen that on other German Hofners -- and we thought we'd leave it in the "found" state rather than mess with it.

This German-made bass is excellent condition with no dents, dings or scratches. One truss rod cover screw is non-matching, and there is a little binding shrinkage around the violin cutaways. We suspect this is normal plastics aging and not a defect. The "old 60's style" leather strap is on the guitar - not a quick change -- and traditional strap button hardware is also included.

Sir Paul literally put Hofner on the map with his Violin Bass, and this '61 Reissue has the same vibe: Feather weight 5.0 pound hollow body, spruce and maple construction, and a set 30" short scale slim neck with zero fret. And flat wound strings...anything else would just be wrong.

No pickup switch, but two independent volume controls, treble and bass cut switches, and a rhythm/lead switch give you plenty of tone shaping options. Plugged in it sounds exactly like all those early Beatle albums: Thumpy, woody, round and a heckuva lot like a real string bass. In reality, there is a lot more sounds lurking in that body, and the controls have a lot of range to them. You can get downright bright and twangy, but the Hofner '61 reissue seems born to lay down deep woody rhythms that sound twice its size.

If you are thinking about a short scale bass, why not own an icon? Different instruments make you play differently and the this 500/1 Reissue will lead you down the road less traveled....maybe straight to Liverpool.