The Hofner 500/1 bass was the brainchild of Walter Hofner, son of the firm’s founder, Karl. It’s shape betrays Walter’s background as a violinmaker, and its relatively small, hollow body gives it a pleasingly lightweight fee very different from most modern bass guitars. The 500/1 first appeared in Germany in 1956.

The little bass’s most famous player, Paul McCartney, acquired his 500/1 in Hamburg, in the early days of the Beatles. McCartney revealed that, for him, one of it’s principal selling points was it’s symmetrical outline, which allowed him to play it left-handed without it “looking quite as stupid as some other [instruments] did”.

He didn’t have a formal deal with Hofner, but every 500/1 bore his face and signature.