Paul McCartney: Höfner bass guitar signed by The Beatles musician goes on sale for over £20,000

A bass guitar signed by Beatles legend Paul McCartney has gone on the market for a whopping figure. The 1965/1966 Höfner 500/1 "Violin" Bass inscribed with the iconic musician’s signature appeared on the Reverb.com ‘Find of the Week’ page and is being sold by Fretted Americana.

It was manufactured in Spain’s Basque Country and has a stamp that reads, "Fabrica en Espana / A-20-01536." The near-mint and original instrument was signed by McCartney in 1993 during his World Tour for Spanish bassist Jose Luis Precioso. He wrote in a letter how he had met with Sir Paul McCartney and the musician’s late wife, Linda, and had his signed guitar.

“On the morning of October 26, 1993, I left from my Madrid City (Spain) trip to Barcelona, with the purpose of meeting Paul McCartney upon arrival at the airport of Shower City, where at night and the next day, Paul offered two concerts,” he said.

He continued: “Paul made his appearance on the arm of Linda, and after a warning to one of his bodyguards, was headed directly towards me. At the same time he said in perfect Spanish: - “Solo dos amigo?” - (Only two, my friend?) And then stamped his signature first in the “Club” and then the “501”.

The signed 500/1 guitar is listed with a price tag of £20,527 and can be purchased via Reverb.com. The 500/1 model is sometimes nicknamed the "Beatle Bass" or "Cavern Bass" after it was made famous by McCartney in 1965.

He purchased his first Hofner bass in a shop in Hamburg and used it on many of the well-known Beatles’ songs. Shortly after the Get Back/Let It Be sessions, it was stolen from EMI Studios and remains missing.

Paul was drawn to the Höfner because he felt that its symmetrical shape would mean that playing it left-handed would not look as awkward as using a cutaway guitar designed for a right-handed player.