Paul McCartney has expressed his dismay at the financial troubles that are rocking Höfner. The future of the German company is under threat, after it was revealed that it had filed for preliminary insolvency proceedings at the Fürth Local Court, in Germany.
McCartney has been playing Höfners since since 1961. He picked up a 500/1 violin-style bass guitar for around 50 bucks when the Beatles were workshopping their sound night after night in Hamburg.
It was on a Höfner that McCartney made his name – on The Ed Sullivan Show, on tracks such as She Loves You, I Wanna Hold Your Hand and Love Me Do.
“It is very sad to see Höfner go out of business. They have been making instruments for over 100 years, and I bought my first Höfner bass in the sixties,” writes McCartney on Instagram.
“I have loved it ever since. It’s a wonderful instrument to play: lightweight, and it encourages me to play quite freely. It also offers pleasing variations in tone that I enjoy. So, commiserations to everyone at Höfner, and thank you for all your help over the years.”
Talk of Höfner going out of business might yet be premature. These are bleak times for the fortunes of the company, no question. But these preliminary insolvency proceedings do not necessarily mean the company will go to the wall.
As yet, Höfner has made no statement clarifying its position, but under preliminary insolvency proceedings the company is free to continue operations under the court’s supervision.
The filing states that “preliminary insolvency proceedings will be ordered on December 10, 2025, at 5:05pm” to safeguard the debtor’s assets from “adverse changes”.
There are not many more details, although No Treble reports that a former Höfner employee has said the company’s financial woes are longstanding.
Höfner makes a range of stringed instruments. There are cellos, ukuleles, violins, violas, classical guitars, acoustic and electric guitars in its lineup, along with a range of accessories and spares.
But when you designed the bass guitar that one of the Fab Four used, that’s what people will know you for – that’s how you will be remembered.
It works both ways. McCartney will always be remembered as the moptop with the Violin Bass – which was why, when he formed Wings in 1971, he decided to use a Rickenbacker.
Speaking to Bass Player in 2021, he said it new band, new look. So why not switch things up.
“Maybe it was a combination of things,” said McCartney. “I knew I was known for the violin shape. It’s like Charlie Chaplin, you know? The little walking cane, the moustache, and a bowler hat, and he’s Charlie. If he comes on with a bandanna and he’s shaved and he’s on a bike, it’s like, ‘Who’s that?’ So I think there may have been an element of that was what I looked like, kind of a trademark.”
Guitar World has approached Höfner for comment
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