It should come as no surprise to most of you that I’m a huge fan of The Beatles, and have been for almost 35 years. I learned so much about vocal delivery, harmony, instrumentation, and production technique by studying Beatles recordings: soloing out the left or right channel to hear individual instruments more clearly, speeding up or slowing down an LP or open-reel tape, playing tapes backwards to hear what they’d reversed themselves.

I also learned quite a bit about individual instruments by listening to The Beatles. Obviously I learned to play guitar by matching John’s and George’s chords, but I also learned drums by listening to Ringo, and bass by listening to Paul. Many of my own recordings try to emulate the sound used on Beatle recordings, and I’ve chosen many of my own instruments at least loosely based on the instruments they played.

But the Hofner bass played by Paul McCartney was a bit of a stretch. Through the 80s and 90s, a genuine 60s Beatle Bass would cost well into the thousands of dollars. Even when Hofner introduced reissues in the 90s and 00s, they were well over two grand. My best hope, for the longest time, was to buy a knockoff violin-shaped bass and pretend I was just as happy.

Imagine my surprise, around Christmastime of 2006, when Hofner introduced its Icon Series Beatle Bass, retailing at under $500 USD. I immediately started saving my nickels and knew I couldn’t buy any more instruments until I had it in my greedy little hands. Finally in April 2007, it went on sale just as I’d saved up the last few dollars. I ordered it online from Musician’s Friend for $369, with free shipping.

Paul had chosen the Hofner at least in part because of its symmetry: there weren’t many options available in 1961 for left-handed players. I’m not a lefty, so I ordered the standard right-handed version. I was immediately struck by three inter-related details: (1) this is an extremely short-scale bass, (2) the semi-hollow body makes for a very light instrument, and (3) it has a very thin neck.

What this means for me as a player is that it’s a very easy instrument to pick up and play. I can stand and move around with ease, even dance or jump around if the mood strikes me. I couldn’t do that with a Fender Jazz or Precision Bass: I’d throw my back out.

The controls are simple: there’s a switch for each pickup, and dials for volume and tone. This is a bit limiting as far as tonal control (I can’t balance the volume between the two pickups or EQ each individual pickup), but often times simple is better. Less futzing around, more playing.

All told, the Hofner Violin Bass, even in this budget-line configuration, is a well-constructed bass that’s just a lot of fun to play. I can understand why Paul has been playing his Hofner for 50 years now. I hope to be able to play mine about that long too.

NOTE: Happy birthday wishes to Sir Paul McCartney, who turns 69 on 19 Jun, 2011. Keep on rockin', Sir Paul!