Sir Paul teaching us how to play bass. ...Well at least he tries.

[Blazer]

Gotta love ol' Macca, he's such a goofball.

Note also that he isn't playing THE Hofner: the taped on setlist isn't there.

[ilan]

Note also that he isn't playing THE Hofner: the taped on setlist isn't there.

Actually it is the Hofner. The set list is long gone. I held this bass and examined it briefly on two occasions. The first time was in London and McCartney assured me this was his '63 and not a replica. Here's the second time I saw the bass (the link should open Windows Media Player):

http://switch248-01.castup.net/cunet/gm.asp?ai=248&ar=lukatch_vtr_n20081005_v1&ak=null

[Blazer]

Oh I guess that he came back on his word then, because when the Mandolin brothers overhauled the Hofner Macca insisted that they'd leave the set list in place.

According to his interview with "Bass Player" Macca stated that the Mandolin brothers re-set the neck, replaced the fingerboard and improved intonation. The fact that Macca still uses the bass twenty years after that overhaul proves that they did a stellar job.

http://www.geocities.com/joelcrowservo/HofnerBass.html

http://www.thecanteen.com/mccartney4.html

That first site suggests that Macca had his 63 Hofner refinished in the sixties since the original lacquer started to flake. Seeing as how the bass is in a darker hue than shown on old color footage and pictures I strongly suspect that that's indeed the case here.

[Dave W]

Blazer, you just don't know when to stop laying it on.

[bobyoung]

That thing sounds great with his thumb.

[Rhythm N. Bliss]

That's the coooolest instructional vid I've ever seen.
Follow the bouncing ball! Remember those singalong cartoons?

[ilan]

That first site suggests that Macca had his 63 Hofner refinished in the sixties since the original lacquer started to flake. Seeing as how the bass is in a darker hue than shown on old color footage and pictures I strongly suspect that that's indeed the case here.

I think you are right. Up close it looks like the bass went through more than one refin job. The lacquer looks very deep, ambered, and checked. Long lacquer crack lines run the entire bass. But it looks amazing, unlike any other Hofner I had seen. I don't know what Mandolin Bros did to improve the intonation, I've read about it too. In the short time I had the bass in my hands, I can't be sure, but the bridge looked standard to me, and Macca's tech has said that every once in a while the bridge slides a bit and he moves it back to place for proper intonation.

Looking at McCartney picking up the bass, looking at it lovingly and playing a few notes, there's no doubt the man is deeply attached to this little Hofner. He said that it was the best sounding bass he had ever played.

[Blazer]

Blazer, you just don't know when to stop laying it on.

Only this time there's no "speculations" Dave. Macca states the full effect of the refurbishment of the Hofner by the Mandolin Brothers in "The Beatles Gear book" and Tony Bacon's "The Bass Book."
Granted: neither book, which were made with the corroboration of the surviving Beatles and people close to them, mentions the refinish but a battered chipped sunburst doesn't go to a shining sunburst in a darker hue by itself does it?

That first book also states that Macca owned at least four Hofners in the sixties.

He doesn't say how much of them were "Nicked" but it does proof that he owned more than just the 63 and the 61 (the one with the pickups closer together) he used as his main stage basses.

[Freuds_Cat]

Cool little lesson.  I love McCartneys lines, tone and playing. A lot to do with his attitude it seems to me. I know very little about his gear apart frpm the fact that he had a Hofner with the Beatles and a Ric with Wings (generally speaking). They are obviously flats on that Hoff. What did he use on his Ric?

[Blazer]

Cool little lesson.  I love McCartneys lines, tone and playing. A lot to do with his attitude it seems to me. I know very little about his gear apart frpm the fact that he had a Hofner with the Beatles and a Ric with Wings (generally speaking). They are obviously flats on that Hoff. What did he use on his Ric?

To quote Macca himself on what strings he uses: "long shiny ones"

He's no gear head.

[ilan]

He's no gear head.

He's not, but he knows what he likes. And I was surprised to see that he's glad to talk shop as any of us, show his basses and guitars, discuss the mods, the differences between old and new, etc. He was like a kid proudly showing his toys. I think many who have met him were embarrassed to ask him directly about his gear, I'm glad I did.

Strings: the Hofner has flats with dark green silk. As for the Ric, some say Pyramid flats, some say Ric brand Maxima's (discontinued).

[Dave W]

Only this time there's no "speculations" Dave. Macca states the full effect of the refurbishment of the Hofner by the Mandolin Brothers in "The Beatles Gear book" and Tony Bacon's "The Bass Book."
Granted: neither book, which were made with the corroboration of the surviving Beatles and people close to them, mentions the refinish but a battered chipped sunburst doesn't go to a shining sunburst in a darker hue by itself does it?

That first book also states that Macca owned at least four Hofners in the sixties.

He doesn't say how much of them were "Nicked" but it does proof that he owned more than just the 63 and the 61 (the one with the pickups closer together) he used as his main stage basses.

You don't get it.

Out of all the tens of thousands of people on bass forums, you were corrected by the man who has actually examined the Hofner, discussed it with Paul and his tech, etc. And rather than simply thanking him for clarifying, you still can't resist coming right back with more links, as if you have something to teach him.

Obnoxious. Clueless.

[leftybass]

Strings: the Hofner has flats with dark green silk. As for the Ric, some say Pyramid flats, some say Ric brand Maxima's (discontinued).

I use Pyramids on my Hofner, they have green silk, sometimes they're dark green, sometimes light.

[Blazer]

You don't get it.

Out of all the tens of thousands of people on bass forums, you were corrected by the man who has actually examined the Hofner, discussed it with Paul and his tech, etc. And rather than simply thanking him for clarifying, you still can't resist coming right back with more links, as if you have something to teach him.

Obnoxious. Clueless.

Dave, Ilan corrected me about the fact that the famous Hofner bass doesn't have the set list taped on it anymore when I was under the impression that it was still there and thus assumed that Macca was not playing THE Hofner. Ilan being the one who actually held the bass and examined it close up should know and I'm well aware of that. And although I didn't say thank you in reply to him correcting me, it wasn't my intention to come across rude.

The thing about the refinish that site was speculating about also was something Ilan wasn't really sure about although he did say that he saw marks of crackling in the finish as was indicated on that website, maybe the re-finish just was a couple of slightly darker clear coats over the original sunburst, again, who knows for sure?

I don't know all the answers here, nobody does.

[Pilgrim]

I noticed that in the photo at http://www.geocities.com/joelcrowservo/HofnerBass.html, the bridge on that Hofner is definitely angled to help with intonation...and a bit more than I've had to angle a floating bridge.  That probably is some indication of the need for the later corrections to its intonation.