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500/2 Club bass

1960s
Not on view
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.
Though Höfner was mostly known for its 500/1 “violin” body style, this bass guitar features the same short scale length and deep, warm bass tones in a more guitarlike design with a single cutaway, where part of the upper body is sculpted away from the neck to improve access to the upper frets. Tina Weymouth purchased her first Club bass from a fan at a Talking Heads concert in 1979 and bought this example secondhand in 1980 as a backup. She continues to use it today.

Technical Description:
Hollow body with Venetian cutaway; spruce top, maple back and sides, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard; 30 in.scale; cherry sunburst with cream binding; set neck with zero fret, dot inlays and ivoroid binding; raised gold plastic Hofner logo on headstock; two mini humbucking pickups, two volume controls, bass & treble pickup on/off and rhythm/solo volume boost switches; ebony adjustable bridge, brass trapeze tailpiece, metal tuners, pearloid control panel with plastic knobs and switches

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: 500/2 Club bass
  • Artist: Höfner Gmbh & Co.
  • Artist: Martina Michèle "Tina" Weymouth (American, born Coronado, California, 1950)
  • Date: 1960s
  • Medium: Spruce, maple, rosewood, ebony, metal, plastic
  • Dimensions: Length: ~43 in. (109.22 cm)
    Width: ~14 in. (35.5 cm)
    Depth: ~2 in. (5.1 cm)
    Weight: 4-6 lbs. (1.8 - 2.7 kg)
  • Classification: Chordophone-Lute-plucked-fretted
  • Credit Line: Courtesy of Tina Weymouth
  • Curatorial Department: Musical Instruments