Thursday Thought: "Where Is Paul McCartney's Original Hofner Bass?"

Paul with his original Hofner in 1963

Today's thought, on Thanksgiving in the USA, is the location of Paul McCartney's Hofner bass, his original 500/1 that he bought in Germany in 1961 and played until mid 1963 when Hofner gave him an updated model. This is the one he still uses in concert today.

The original Hofner, his first, was consigned to back up duty. It came along on tours just in case his new model failed him in some way but it didn't. The original Hofner bass made a few sporadic appearances over the years, most notably in the video for 'Revolution' which you can see on the new Beatles 1+ DVD

After that, it was stolen during sessions for Let It Be. Who knows where it is now? I imagine it is in someone's attic or hanging on the wall of a guitar shop somewhere waiting for an eagle eyed Beatle fan to walk in and spot it.

In the case of John Lennon's Gibson J-160E, it was found and sold for 2.4m at auction not too long ago. Will we see Paul's bass turn up soon? Where is Paul's Original Hofner Bass???