*** SOLD *** Hofner 500/5 'Sutcliffe' 1959 £1250

[Happy Jack]

[url="http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Hofner%20vintage%20instruments/Hofner%20500%205%20Sutcliffe%201959%20CURRENT/DSCF3373.jpg.html"][/url]

File under 'they don't make them like this any more'. eBay used to be awash with basses claimed to be the Sutcliffe model ... virtually none of them were - wrong colour, wrong pickups, wrong logo etc. This is the real McCoy, an all-original 1959 500/5 that is pretty much identical to the one played by Stu Sutcliffe.

[url="https://daytrippin.com/2011/06/22/stuart-sutcliffes-bass-playing-id-like-to-set-that-one-straight/"]https://daytrippin.c...t-one-straight/[/url]

[url="http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Hofner%20vintage%20instruments/Hofner%20500%205%20Sutcliffe%201959%20CURRENT/DSCF3391.jpg.html"][/url]

Neck has been properly reset many years ago and has no joint problems.

[url="http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Hofner%20vintage%20instruments/Hofner%20500%205%20Sutcliffe%201959%20CURRENT/DSCF3389.jpg.html"][/url]

Floral logo retains all its mother of toilet seat.

[url="http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Hofner%20vintage%20instruments/Hofner%20500%205%20Sutcliffe%201959%20CURRENT/DSCF3381.jpg.html"][/url]

Lovely bit of wood, that.

[url="http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Hofner%20vintage%20instruments/Hofner%20500%205%20Sutcliffe%201959%20CURRENT/DSCF3383.jpg.html"][/url]

No idea what caused that 'mottled' effect.

Loads & loads of photos here: [url="http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/library/Hofner%20vintage%20instruments/Hofner%20500%205%20Sutcliffe%201959%20CURRENT"]http://s1128.photobu...01959%20CURRENT[/url]

So that's the good news. And the bad news?

Well, this bass is so old that it pre-dates trussrods in Hofners. Over the years the neck has bowed slightly and there's not a great deal you can do about it, certainly not if you want to keep it all-original. Played down by the nut there are no issues, but if you want to do chordal work at the 12th fret then you will have some major problems with intonation.

Also, the tiny screws holding the control panel in place have long since worked through the wood, leaving the panel free to fall out of its socket. This would be a really easy thing to fix if you wanted to play this bass live on stage. I don't, and fixing it would again impact on the whole all-original thing, so I've been happy to leave well alone.

The bass is kept in a big impact-moulded plastic case, designed for a rather larger bass, and is cushioned in bubblewrap.

I'm not prepared to post a piece of history like this. The bass is collection only from either Harrow (London HA1) or the West End (London WC1).

Edited April 26, 2017 by Happy Jack

[Shaggy]

That's lovely, that is.....
Short scale, I assume?

Hamburg-era Beatle-tastic bump

[Happy Jack]

Yup, the usual 30.5" scale used by Hofner and many others.

[Happy Jack]

Just a bump before eBay ...

[Rick's Fine '52]

That's a really nice example of an iconic bass, and a great price too, despite the neck issue.

GLTS

Will get a lot of interest I suspect on 'The Bay'

[Happy Jack]

Gone to eBay but still available for a short while to all you lovely Basschatters ...