The future of Höfner, one of guitar and bass’s oldest brands, famous for Paul McCartney’s 500/1 bass guitar, is under threat after it filed for bankruptcy protection.
The Furth Local Court, in Bavaria, announced the provisional insolvency on 10 December, appointing a provisional administrator, Dr Hubert Ampfer, to secure the company’s assets.
These proceedings do not affect day-to-day trading. Höfner is still in business, and continues to make and sell instruments, employ its staff and purchase materials and services from its suppliers.
But it is not a good sign, pointing to financial distress, and the need for legal procedures to safeguard its creditors’ assets.
Although there is not a great amount of detail on this announcement – Höfner itself is yet to make a statement – No Treble reports that “a longtime former employee” says the company has longstanding financial issues.
Höfner’s history stretches back to the late 19th century, but it was the rock ’n’ roll revolution and Beatlemania that made it famous worldwide.
It was its 500/1 Violin Bass that changed the course of popular culture, when Paul McCartney picked one up in Hamburg, 1961, making it his instrument of choice, putting it to work onstage and in the studio. Love Me Do, She Loves You and I Wanna Hold Your Hand… All were recorded with the 500/1. He played it on the Ed Sullivan Show.
That particular Höfner has famously had its turbulent history. After McCartney’s bass was stolen from the back of a van in London, 1972, (some reports say Ladbroke Grove, others Notting Hill), it was missing for over 50 years. Enter, The Lost Bass Project, a search-and-rescue team led by the investigative journalist team of Scott and Naomi Jones (who right now are working with Gibson in the hunt for Marty McFly’s ‘Back To The Future’ ES-345).
They found the Höfner in an attic in Sussex, England. It was returned to McCartney and he played it on the final show of his Got Back 2024 Tour. Fellow Beatle Ringo Starr sat in on drums while Ronnie Wood guested on electric guitar.
McCartney might have played the odd Rickenbacker over the years but the Höfner Violin Bass has forever been his main squeeze.
“I found a nice little shop in the centre of Hamburg, near a big department store called Karstadt,” said McCartney, speaking with Tony Bacon in 1994. “And I saw this bass in the window, this violin-shaped Höfner. It was a good price, because my dad had always said I shouldn’t do the never-never [buy on credit], but we were earning reasonable money. I liked the Höfner’s lightness, too. So I bought it, and I think it was only about 30 quid.”
It was the best £30 he ever spent.
Höfner doesn’t just make Violin Basses. Its 500/2 bass offers a singlecut treatment of the hollow-bodied 500/1. There are acoustic guitars, electrics, classical guitars and ukuleles in its lineup, and true to the company’s formation, it stocks double bass, cello, viola and violins. You can browse its current lineup at Höfner.
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