Paul McCartney initiates a worldwide hunt for a lost 1961 Beatles Höfner guitar.

A worldwide search effort has been initiated to locate one of the most iconic musical instruments in history, Paul McCartney’s original Höfner bass guitar. Known as “The Lost Bass Project,” this endeavour seeks information about what is deemed “the most significant bass guitar in history.

In 1961, McCartney acquired this instrument for a mere £30 ($38) in Hamburg, Germany, but it mysteriously vanished eight years later. The quest to recover this historic bass commenced when McCartney implored Höfner, the manufacturer, to help trace his beloved instrument.

This bass guitar played a pivotal role in The Beatles’ music during those years, featuring in hits like “Love Me Do” and “She Loves You. Nick Wass, who leads the Höfner search project, has teamed up with two journalists to unravel what they describe as the “greatest mystery in the history of rock and roll.

Wass, who has a close professional relationship with McCartney and has authored a book about the missing Höfner 500/1 violin bass, revealed that McCartney initiated the campaign after inquiring about the guitar during a recent conversation.

The whereabouts of the instrument remain shrouded in mystery; it was likely stored away after the Beatles finished filming “Get Back” in 1969.

Historically, instruments associated with legendary musicians have fetched high prices, such as John Lennon’s stolen guitar selling for $2.4 million (£1.9 million) and Kurt Cobain’s acoustic guitar from the iconic MTV Unplugged set selling for $6 million (£4.76 million).

According to Jones, Höfner’s hope is that someone will come forward out of goodwill, potentially not even realising the significance of what they possess. The ultimate goal is to reunite McCartney with his cherished guitar, with public display being a possible future outcome. Regardless of the motivations, the primary aim is to recover this musical treasure and fulfil McCartney’s longstanding wish. The project’s public appeal has already generated hundreds of new leads within its first 48 hours, including two promising ones currently under investigation.