Paul McCartney’s sadness as historic bass guitar company files for bankruptcy

It’s the end of an era for a classic German musical instrument manufacturer - one which holds a significant place in Beatles history. Höfner, founded by luthier Karl Höfner in 1887, filed for insolvency protection. The company submitted its request to the District Court of Fürth on December 10, 2025, news which has sent shockwaves rippling through the global music industry.

Höfner is arguably best known for crafting the iconic violin bass guitar which Paul McCartney played throughout his career with the Beatles. Many other musicians who went on to become guitar legends also owned Höfner models - the only way that British bands could access electric guitars during the rock ‘n’ roll era as there was a trade embargo on US-made instruments.

Up until the embargo was lifted in 1959, British musicians could only dream of owning a prized, US-made Fender, Gibson, Rickenbacker, Gretsch or Martin guitar. German Höfners were one of the few quality alternatives and apart from McCartney’s own bandmates (John Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe both had Höfner guitars when the group first went out to Hamburg in 1960), Keith Richards, Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore, Peter Green and Eric Clapton were just a few of the figures who started out with German-made guitars before they were able to upgrade to sought-after American ones.

McCartney gets his first Höfner in Hamburg

Macca picked up his Höfner 500/1 violin bass in the spring of 1961 from the Steinway shop in Hamburg, during the Beatles’s second trip to Germany.

“I found a nice little shop in the centre of Hamburg, near a big department store called Karstadt,” McCartney recalled in a 1994 interview. “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 ($40).”

During their two-month residency at the Top Ten Club in the seaport city’s notorious Reeperbahn district, the Beatles were still a five-piece, slogging it out on stage for several hours almost every night. There are photographs showing Paul with his newly-acquired Höfner 500/1 violin bass and Stu with his Höfner 500/5 bass on stage at the club.

It is the ’61 Höfner that features on all of the Beatles’ first recordings - the recordings with Tony Sheridan Polydor made in Hamburg and the group’s first singles, Please Please Me and With the Beatles LPs. It was Paul’s workhorse bass up until 1963 when he acquired a newer model, keeping his Hamburg bass in reserve as a backup.

When Beatlemania hit the UK in 1963 then the US the following year, McCartney‘s Höfner became known as the “Beatle Bass”.

Search to find McCartney’s lost 1961 bass

Sir Paul was parted with his original ’61 bass when it was stolen from the back of a van parked in Notting Hill in October 1972. After making a plea for its return in 2023, and a lot of detective work, he was eventually reunited with it, 51 years after it went missing.

McCartney took to social media to express his sadness on hearing about Höfner’s difficulties. "It is very sad to see Höfner go out of business. I bought my first Höfner bass in the sixties. I have loved it ever since. So, commiserations to everyone at Höfner, and thank you for all your help over the years - Paul“.

The provisional insolvency administration does not automatically mean Höfner’s Baiersdorf factory will shut down. Instead, the measure is designed to keep operations running while potential rescue options are explored, including new investors or a possible restructuring of the business. Nevertheless, the news has raised concerns among musicians, collectors, and fans alike, given Höfner’s deep cultural footprint and its role in shaping the sound of modern popular music.

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