It was around the time of the sessions in January 1969 that the guitar went missing, a year before the band split up.
Speaking in a 1966 Beat Instrumental interview, McCartney said:"I have had a Hofner ever since I started. I've got three models but the ancient one is still my favourite. It has seen so much work that some of it is held with sellotape!"There are various rumours about what happened to it, including that a thief took the bass from a closet at Abbey Road, or that it went missing from the basement of the Beatles' Savile Row offices.
Those behind the new project say they are searching for"the most important bass in history" and they call its disappearance"the greatest mystery in rock and roll". According to Hofner, McCartney kept his first violin bass until it went missing, using it as a back-up during the Beatles' world tours and playing it again in the Revolution promo video and during the filming of Let It Be.The company said on its website:"The bass was in need of repairs and so it was sent to a firm in London, early in 1964, who carried these out. They resprayed the bass a darker three-part sunburst and fitted new knobs.
"Most significantly they custom-made an unusual single pickup frame to hold both pickups. It was very distinctive, no other 500/1 bass looks like this."