PAUL McCARTNEY'S LOST BASS HAS BEEN FOUND! 

Very happy the bass was found. Now, let’s hope George’s Gretsch Tennessean and second Rickenbacker 360/12 are located. George gave away his remaining Gretsch Country Gentleman to a fellow musician. That would be another awesome find!

Pretty unbelievable. I anticipate that theyll come out with a short documentary about the recovery of it

Surely this is the Holy Grail of rock history. Great work by the researchers to identify the ambo. We need the full bass story! It's not just any band here, this is from The Beatles.

Thanks for showing correct photos of the missing bass. The major news channels showed photos of Paul's later/backup bass.

It's awesome that the bass was still with it's original case!

I never thought we'd see it again, especially in Paul's lifetime. The one thing I can't get over is the bizarre position of the bridge! I wonder when that happened.

Nick, great video! As a long time luthier/guitar repair professional, I have worked on many Hofner basses of varying vintages. I can say for certain that the changes in the bass from year to year had some overlap. The early flat back Hofners I've seen had solid carved spruce tops and the backs were solid maple. The finish was interesting on Hofner basses in that the factory applied a heavy polyester/gelcoat sealer on the bare wood. The color and shading was sprayed over this thick sealer coat and nitrocellulose lacquer was sprayed as the clear coats. The necks did not get the polyester sealer, just lacquer sealer, color shading and lacquer clear coats. This explains the large finish checks (cracks) seen in some of the older Hofners. It was the sealer coating that cracked. Keep up the good work!

Next, we need to find James Jamersons bass!

We all love Paul and are overjoyed that he got this famous guitar back.

That's really cool! I'm very surprised to hear it was stolen in the 70s! With all the info we know about The Beatles I'm really surprised that detail hasn't been out before now. Harrisons guitar 'Lucy' was also stolen in 1973 and happily didn't disappear for decades! Now we have the original pair of the instruments that started the ride to fame, Paul's original bass and a couple years back John's 1962 Gibson J-160E was discovered after being left behind by Mal Evans after a Holiday concert in London 1963! Your right Nick, I've been thinking the same thing, it has to be spotted! People of Liverpool, it's NOT gonna be found in your attic anymore!!🎸😉

Great stuff! (BTW, Twickenham is pronounced "Twickenum" - the general rule in England for place names ending in "ham" is to just say, "um", but not for places like West Ham, which is two separate words).

I say with a little tongue-in-cheek, that the bass sounds cursed. That only its rightful owner can own it. That everyone who possessed it died gives it a mystical quality. Talk about "mojo".

The most amazing thing about this is that a 60's psychedelic era rock star lived long enough to get his stolen instrument back nearly 55 years later. Hooray!

I have a Beatle Bass guitar case story. Nothing was ever owned by a Beatle though. A guitar store in Sacramento CA was closing, everything on sale. I bought 2 basses and one was a Gibson Fiddle bass. I wanted a case for it which the owner said he didn’t have, but he had an old Beatle guitar case in a storage room I could for free because it was so old. He had kept just because it was a early 60’ Hoffner Fiddle case like Paul’s, but it was so worn he never sold it. I never used it because it was cheaply made compared todays cases. So I kept it on a shelf in the garage with some other stuff in it and lost it in the Paradise fire in 2018. It was the exact case with the looks like the one in this video. 😢

I’m really happy for Paul, he deserves all the happiness in the world and the help of all those involved in finding it. After all the years of music and magical moments he gave us, this deserved a happy ending.

The best youtube video on Pauls'61 Hofner I have watched, the others don't even put up the photo's of the '61, but show the '63 ! I enjoyed this, well done Nick!

Thanks Nick. I didn't think I'd live to see this bass found. Just think of all the great early songs recorded using this bass!

I heard the news earlier this morning and was just totally blown away. I wonder if Paul will release a video at some point of him reunited with his bass! I can imagine him having a private moment reacquainting himself with his long lost friend playing a few familiar licks on the instrument that helped catapult him into superstardom. What an absolutely precious treasure to finally be returned to its rightful owner. So very happy for Paul!

Very enjoyable and informative, as I've found all your videos. Thank you :)

From an interview with Nick Wass (Hofner expert) So the reissue you did was better? No, it was bad, because we discovered something that no one knew. And if they say they knew, they are lying. When we turned it over, we discovered that Paul's bass had a dome, rounded back, not flat, whereas all the '61 reissues, including the copies we made - and a few others we made - have flat backs. We were very surprised. In 1961 the basses had solid spruce tops and flat backs, so it wasn't what we expected. Later at the end of the year the tops were converted to plywood, so maybe this is an experimental bass? A prototype? It was a year of transition, so I can imagine Paul walking into the Steinway store, they called Höfner and asked for a left-handed bass, Höfner agreed and maybe they thought: "What can we use? Maybe this prototype? Oh, well, it's just for a kid in Hamburg. We'll never know, but it would be typical Höfner. In the end it's very interesting to know that all the replicas are wrong, even the ones we made, ha ha!'

Great and enjoyable relation of the story!Thanks, Nick!

As pleased as I am that Paul McCartney's 1961 Höfner 500/1 Violin Bass Guitar has been returned to him, I hope that he continues to use his 1963 Höfner bass guitar as his main instrument, since it would have become his main Höfner bass guitar instead of the 1961 one for a reason. The 1963 one also looks better in my opinion. As it has that large violin/small cello/double bass look that I love. And now that he has his 1961 one back, he's probably going to start using it in live concerts again.

Fascinating. Right up there with Peter Frampton's Les Paul saga. Thanks buddy.

List of all the instruments I've read of that the Lost Bass Project should now recover: Eric Clapton's Beano Les Paul. The 8 Stone's guitars stolen from Nellcote in 1971. John Lennon's Framas Hootenany from Help. George Harrison's second Rickenbacker 360/12. George's second Gretsch Country Gentleman. George's Gretsch Tennessean. George's Gibson J200. Hilton Valentine's Gretsch from the House Of The Rising Sun video ditto Chas Chandler's bass. Joe Walsh's Funk 49 blue Tele. Buddy Holly's Stratocasters. Roger McGuinn's first Rickenbacker 12 strings. James Jamerson's Funk Machine and my favourite: Gerry Marsden's Rickenbacker 360/12, last owned by Alistair Parker of Bailter Space who said he left it in a taxi in NYC.

Great video, facinating story. Truly remarkable turn of events that add to a historic instrument's legendary mystique.

Incredible after all these years. I would have loved to personally present the bass back to Paul and see his reaction. Amazing!

Bigger find than Frampton's Les Paul!

I’m so glad he got it back again. I seriously hope he takes it out on tour along with his main and busts it out for “All My Loving”. One of the best basslines he ever wrote IMHO

Absolutely unbelievable story! Actually the 3rd stolen beatles guitar, which came back to the light ( Lucy, Lennon’s first j-160e and now this). Incredible!!

Great to see that it got back to Macca, and Im certain there are luthiers out there that are salivating at the thought of getting it back to a usable condition.

The bass can also be seen making a brief appearance in Apple Studios in the Get Back documentary, so we knew he still had it then. However, that may not have been known prior to the release of the documentary as I'm not sure if it can be seen in Let It Be.

Thanks for this video. I used to live near Twickenham and FYI the 'ham' part of the town name is actually pronounced 'em'.

guy who returned the bass inherited it from his father who passed recently. His dad was born in 1960 so would have been 12 at the time when bass was stolen. Would be interesting to hear how he acquired it

One clue that it is the right bass guitar is the plate under the pickups. This is not on the factory model, but was added when Paul had the bass repaired. After some years of touring, the pickups had come loose. (There are old pictures of the bass with tape holding one or both in place.) Because the wood could no longer support the pickups properly, a plate was added to perform this duty. Paul eventually bought a 1963 model; it had the pickups more sensibly separated for a better variety of sound. He owned both until the 1961 model was stolen. Nice to hear that he has it back.

Yay! Been folllowing the recent articles about this.

I genuinely can not fucking believe this

I was one of the 600 people who volunteered to keep our eyes open for the lost bass. We all scoured junk shops, second-hand instrument stores, car boot fairs, etc. , with an optimistic attitude that it might be found. I'm very happy that Paul has been reunited with it. The only thing that rankles a bit is that it would have been nice to have received a thank you from Paul. I guess he's too busy counting his money.

The debassist website appears to be unavailable, so from what i've seen, this presentation appears to be the most comprehensive available to the Beatle's enthusiast at the moment. I have found an interview from Meridian (who hold the TV franchise in the south-east of the UK) with Mrs Cathy Guest briefly describing how she she found the bass and went to Mr McCartney's house. In a second interview she refers to the duration between the return and now.

I´m honestly very happy for Paul finally having his beloved Bass back!!

Yes exactly just what I wished for some while ago..getting back that bass sooner or later thanks to the nice guy responsible, a wonderful news and addition to the Beatles saga.

I’m a left handed guitarist and I had a Hofner Beatle bass that was stolen in 1982. Maybe there’s hope yet.

I’m glad he got it back. I had a one-off electric guitar stolen decades ago and I know I will never see it again. I live in a very small place population wise and it will not have travelled outside my location (impractical). It’s sad I will never see it again. I’m glad for Paul though. It must stir up many memories for him

Amazing! Thanks for Scott and Naomi and to everyone who helped them! It was great work!

What a fantastic video have a wonderful day also happy long weekend nick ❤😊

Im certain the statute of limitations has long since passed. I only suggest that because we know the security guard supposed to secure the aircraft wreckage that Peter Fraptons gear was on lifted his legendary Les Paul. Would love to see the footage of Paul getting his bass back....🎉

Some of the happiest Beatle news in years!

Thank you for making this video.

It would’ve been nice if McCartney had said about 50 years ago that it was stolen in 1972 from a specific location. It might have helped find the base a lot sooner.

Me encantó tu video. Gracias por compartir la misma pasión

I saw a pic of the frets - beyond shot. Hope the refurb job made it playable again.

Now we need to find James Jamersons' Funk Machine.

Yes indeed, if it is true, McCartney's long lost Hofner being found is big news. However, it would be easily overshadowed by the finding of Jim McGuinn's first Rickenbacker guitar. The 1964 Rickenbacker MapleGlo 360/12 that he used to play the intros to "Turn, Turn, Turn" and "Mr. Tambourine Man". That guitar was lost presumed stolen back in the 1960s.. What's more, the guitar that McGuinn got to replace his lost 360/12 was his first 370/12 setup with the customised Byrd pickup wiring configuration that he had experimented with on his earlier 360/12. That guitar is also missing presumably stolen. Those two Rickenbackers along with George Harrison's 360/12 basically defined the sound of the 1960s. Those three guitars are probably priceless works of arts now. Fortunately George's Rickenbacker is still in the safe hands of Dhani and the Harrison Estate. And hopefull, if they still exist, Jim's two Rickenbackers will again see the light of day sooner rather than later. Peter's Gibson eventually found him again. Let's hope McGuinns Rickenbackers do the same.

Good job of reporting.

Very strange because Paul had stopped using the Hofners once he was with Wings; same with the AC-30 amps. You have the best and more detailed information on this out there. Thank you.

Glad it’s been found - I hope whoever handed it back was generously rewarded, considering how much it must be worth!

It would be cool to see a list of public performances that Paul played the bass in. Possibly with pics.

So it was really in someone‘s attic. 🤣🤣🤣 Happy that it found it‘s way back finally. Thank you for the update.

Imagine having the most legendary bass ever, sitting in your attic for 50 years! It’s like finding a Leonardo Da Vinci painting in your granny’s gaff!

This is going to be a film for sure

If I understand correctly guitars have wood grain that is pretty much like a fingerprint. It should be fairly simple to compare to old photos. I know they did that with Mick Ronson's Ziggy era Les Paul.

Just a little confused, as the original missing bass was the 1961 model, with the two pickups (no guard), positioned almost together at the neck. The bass shown as being ‘found’, shows a twin pickup guard and a very unusual forward mounted bridge (not sure which year model this was). Most images of the missing bass are of the 1961 version.

That ‘found’ guitar at the photo is not the Hofner violin bass guitar that Paul used during sixties.

I guess Hofner are going to produce a whole bundle of reissue Maccer Revolution Basses and make even more money .

How wonderful! A musician gets awfully attached to their axe. Congratulations to all involved.

Very cool.

so good news!

Good news.....However, with the tragic history, maybe Paul might think twice about keeping it. I always enjoy your music Nick. (especially Los Shakers)

I hope Paul does a video of the bass when it is repaired.

dig it

The Hofner Violin bass is a rather fragile instrument and it's quite remarkable that Sir Paul is able to keep it in good condition considering the mileage on it all these years.

I know Nick Wass and his better half have been working on this for a while. Congrats Nick & Cathy for getting this done! Now if someone can find Eric’s Les Paul and George’s Gretsch Tenny and Rickenbacker 360/12. Cheers-Thanks!

Hi, If you compare the photo of Paul with the bass in frame at 0:53 you will see that his bridge and tailpiece is completely different than the one recently found. Paul's bass has the bridge next to the tailpiece, whereas the new one has it next to the bridge pickup. Also, Paul's bass's tailpiece was much shorter than the new one found. You are correct that the switch assembly was also different, but in my opinion this does not appear to be the same one that Paul had. If that is the case I don't know why Paul would not recognize that fact. Check out the photos and compare.

So I believe the guitar was found in Sussex? Doesn't Paul have a home there? If I'm not mistaken about this, wondering how close he might have been to it all these years. Kinda wild to think about.

Ringo's Premier kit still needs to be found. Used in the Cavern days and on the Please Please Me Album.

No; the question I want answered is what happened to the two AC30's?

Given the time of the theft, I immediately thought of Steve Jones of the Pistols.

In the 60's Paul had two Hofner violin 500 basses, a '61 and a '63. Which is the one found in the attic? Which is the one we most see in the Beatlemania era performances?

Just to help (I'm English), the 'H' in Twickenham is silent. It's the same with the vast majority of conjoined placenames. When a placename is separated, like West or East Ham, then the 'H' IS sounded. I hope that helps in your future presentations.

Wild. I was slowly becoming convinced he was going to die without ever having gotten it back. The years are flying by.

Lo que hay atras tuyo es una copia de "for you" de Los Shakers de Uruguay??

How some British possessors, who might likely say they are Beatles fans, did not recognize the bass' iconic shape let alone the bass itself, is incredible. They must have known and the search gave them amnesty. I guess we're lucky none of them could really play or else it may have been permanently modified, and worn.

"Get back to where you once belonged!"

Good job.

They were not going to announce this yesterday originally. The reason they did and the reason Paul's website released a statement is because the stupid kid posted the picture on X explaining he inherited the bass and it was returned to Paul. In effect, he broke a confidentiality agreement that was in place. Paul and the others involved in finding the bass wanted to hold off on announcing the news until all possible legal issues had been resolved or until they were sure nobody would try to present a legal challenge to the bass. This is why they announced it yesterday and why Paul's website released that statement. The kid is an actor and my gut feeling is he broke the confidentiality agreement and posted that pic to make a name for himself. I got this info from someone high up in the Project, by the way.

If that bass can talk. What stories could tell us about its journey.

First John's Gibson J160E now the Cavern Bass I'm very happy that it's been found now we hope what @48musicman 's comment happens hahahha. I wonder how Ringo reacted

How can a person find out what year his Hofner bass is ? Asking for a friend.

Maravillosa noticia,ahora espero que lo restauren a su estado original😊

Great story, hard to believe it was found after all this time. I had one of these years ago, I personally didn't like it that much.

Biggest find since Trujillo found Jaco's Bass of Doom.

Amazing. The statute of limitations for the theft would have long expired. I’m not sure about knowing possession of stolen items that old is.

In the South of England (including London) we pronounce it "Twikanum" not "Twicken-Ham", can't say for certain how the rest of the UK would say it!!!

I wonder what Paul had to pay to get it back. George had to trade several guitars to get Lucy back when it was stolen, but wasn’t quite so legendary at that point. This may be one of the most valuable guitars in the world.

So glad that the bass is back in McCartney's hands.

I don’t think that Paul would want the person(s) who stole it to be punished. Just a feeling ❤

Next: will Clapton’s Beano Les Paul ever be found?

I'm sure the original thieves wouldn't have to worry. The statute of limitations ran out yonks ago.

If you want to know MORE about Paul McCartney's Hoeffner Bass in detail, Keith does a fabulous job explaining ALL the details of that Bass, and you will see factual info that would absolutely identify this Bass as being Paul McCartney's real Bass. He is also a LEFT HANDER, and the electronics were done for him. Check out the Five Watt World video here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4p_CSfhOaWs.html I'll cross reference you to Keith over there as well so you can chat with one another about this. If you don't know Five Watt World, you will love it. Thanks for this video Nick!

I lost my mind when I heard last night.

its the one, i live were it was found, i was told 15 years ago by someone, long passed away now, that all the gear was in a lock up, not a van, & the lads broke in stole the lot, didnt even know it was the beatles stuff, police said if the gear is returned that night no would go jail, it was all put back with in a few hours, but the bass?? i dont know,