Höfner Unveils the H500/5 “Reeperbahn” Bass
Höfner has reissued another part of their history with the H500/5 “Reeperbahn” bass. Based on the 500/5 that was produced between the ’50s and ’70s, the instrument features a large hollow body and short scale neck. It was famously used by a Beatle, though not the one you’re thinking of.
“Although used by many players none is quite so famous as Stuart Sutcliffe who, urged on by John Lennon, purchased a new 500/5 in 1960 (a 1959 model) and began his all too short career as the bassist with The Beatles,” Höfner explains. “He would leave The Beatles in 1961 to follow love and art, selling his bass to Klaus Voormann.”
While the 500/5 was produced for a couple decades, the new “Reeperbahn” is designed closest to the specs of the 1959 version. It features a pair of black-bar pickups in a close configuration near the neck as well as a slim headstock. A tortoiseshell control panel and matching pickguard are set against the body’s “Brunette” sunburst finish. Höfner ships it with a case with a vintage leather strap, polishing cloth, certificate and a short history of the model.
Here’s a clip of Höfner’s Nick Wass explaining the bass at Musikmesse 2018:
The Höfner H500/5 “Reeperbahn” bass will be limited to six instruments with a TBD price point.
Höfner H500/5 “Reeperbahn” Bass Specs:
| Body Shape: | 17? Jazz |
| Body Back and Sides: | Flame Maple |
| Body Top: | Arched Spruce |
| Purfling Top and Back: | Black / White / Black |
| Binding Sides: | White |
| Centerblock: | None |
| Neck: | Three-piece Flame Maple / Beech /Flame Maple |
| Headstock Shape: | 500/5 1959 shape |
| Logo and Artwork: | Script Lily |
| Neck Joint: | Bass Set Neck |
| Joint At: | 16th Fret |
| Heel Cap: | White |
| Fingerboard Wood: | Rosewood |
| Scale: | 30?/76cm |
| Nut Width: | 42mm |
| Width At 12th Fret: | 48mm |
| Inlays: | Pearl Dots |
| Neck Binding: | None |
| Side Dots: | Yes |
| Number Of Frets: | 21 |
| Bridge: | Ebony Hofner Fretted |
| Finish: | Brunette |
| Tuners: | Single Nickel Hofner H61/73B |
| Tuner Buttons: | Plastic - Pearl |
| Tailpiece: | Hofner Trapeze Nickel - Long |
| Nut Material: | Plastic |
| Pickups: | Hofner Black Bar H517 |
| Potentiometer Knobs: | Hofner Teacup gold cap H909/15 |
| Electrics: | Hofner White Oval Tortoiseshell |
| Strings: | Hofner Black Nylon Tape Wound |
Is this guitar available for sale?
I wonder what Stuart would’ve thought of this project had he lived? It is a frequent misconception that he was a poor bassist and there is even a webpage that seeks to bust the myths, including dismissing that notion as hokum and no factual evidence backs it up.
Stuart actually made a lot of effort into playing properly and he even asked a guy called Dave May to teach him an Eddie Cochran song, from what I read.