Few musical instruments have gotten as much attention as Paul McCartney’s missing bass. In fact, the legendary Höfner instrument even got its own website dedicated to its return.
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So what’s the story? How did Macca’s famed bass go missing, and how was it returned? The story is pretty interesting, actually.
The formerly missing bass in question is a 1961 electric Höfner bass with a violin-shaped body. That iconic instrument went missing over 50 years ago, and it is estimated to be worth a whopping $12 million and change. It was the bass that McCartney used to kick off his career with The Beatles, and it’s a priceless piece of musical history.
The Legend Of Paul McCartney’s Missing Höfner Bass
Sadly, the bass was stolen around the time the Fab Four were recording their final album in 1969. Nobody was 100% sure when or how it went missing, though.
Years after the instrument first went missing, McCartney went straight to the manufacturer for help in finding it. A journalist named Scott Jones worked with Höfner to try and track it down earlier in the early 2020s.
Jones got in touch with Höfner exec Nick Wass to try and find the bass, though they hit a dead end for a bit after following a lead from an old The Who roadie. Finally, an email from sound engineer Ian Horne kicked off what would be the final breakthrough in the case of Paul McCartney’s missing bass.
Apparently, the bass had been stolen from Horne’s van back in 1972 while working with Wings. Thankfully, McCartney told Horne not to sweat it, and they worked together for a while after the left occurred. Horne, however, said that he felt guilty about it his whole life.
After the update was publicly published, the team was contacted by someone who said that their dad was the thief in question, though he allegedly panicked when he realized he had stolen Paul McCartney’s own bass.
The thief was never named, but he allegedly sold it to a landlord named Ron Guest. Ron Guest’s daughter-in-law, Cathy, contacted the team to let them know the bass had been sitting in her attic for years.
Paul McCartney Still Uses His Since-Returned Missing Bass Today
And with that, the instrument was returned to McCartney in December of 2023. It took a few months to verify that it was, in fact, his good ol’ bass.
McCartney clearly missed his bass, because he still uses it regularly for live performances today. In fact, in December 2024, McCartney whipped out the famed bass during a performance with Ringo Starr and Ronnie Wood in London.
So, what is it about this particular bass that makes it so special? McCartney originally purchased the bass for about $37 USD in 1961 during a concert run in Germany. The bass can be heard on The Beatles’ first two records, particularly in hits like “Twist And Shout” and “She Loves You”.
That violin-shaped body was also something that McCartney was interested in, namely because he is left-handed.
“Because I was left-handed, it looked less daft because it was symmetrical,” McCartney said of the bass’ unique body shape. “I got into that. And once I bought it, I fell in love with it.”
This little piece of music history is back where it belongs. And we’re glad McCartney is getting some use out of it.
Photo by Jim Dyson/Getty Images
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