Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney has been using the Höfner 500/1 Bass since acquiring it in 1963, replacing his original 500/1 "Cavern" model. This bass, iconic to McCartney's image, was prominently featured during the "Get Back" sessions. Notably, he removed the pickguard and added a "Bassman" sticker. The bass still has a taped setlist from the 1966 tour, which includes songs like "Rock and Roll," "She's a Woman," "Day Tripper," and "Paperback Writer." This information is supported by a user-uploaded photo.

Paul McCartney is known for using Rickenbacker 4001 basses during the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," "The White Album," and "Abbey Road" sessions. He owns two: a custom spray-painted version and a natural finish. This usage is evident in The Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" music video available on Apple Music.

Paul McCartney played a Fender Esquire on the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album, notably on the title track and "Good Morning Good Morning," as shown in the photo from Thecanteen.

Used on The Beatles, as researched by John F. Crowley and shared in this May 21, 2010 ShareMyGuitar blog post.

Paul McCartney slinging a sunburst ’66 Fender Jazz Bass, live at Abbey Road studio!

Apparently not part of Fender’s “gift package” of guitars and amps (they’d included a right-handed Jazz Bass), this sunburst model shows up in Abbey Road studio photos from “White Album” sessions. Its oval-shaped tuners are peculiar to the 1966 model year; Fender basses otherwise featured "clover leaf" tuners.

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Paul and George jamming along during the White Album recording sessions

According to Walter Everett in The Beatles as Musicians (Volume 1), this Jazz Bass is played on five tracks: "Yer Blues," "Glass Onion," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "Sun King" and "Mean Mr. Mustard." [Everett infers that the right-handed model was also used during the sessions, by Lennon ("Helter Skelter") and Harrison ("Back in the USSR")]. McCartney’s kept most of his instruments, and this probably is no exception.

Note that "Helter Skelter" was a Fender Bass VI being played by Lennon, not the Jazz.

Paul can be seen here playing a Epiphone Texan FT-79. In an Intherview he said: Q:It's interesting that in 1965, despite being hugely successful by then, you chose to play a $175 Epiphone Texan for the Ed Sullivan performance of Yesterday… A:"The terrible thing about me is that I got locked in a mindset that I picked up from my dad. He really ground it into me to never be in debt, because while we weren't on the poverty line, there wasn't much money to go around.[...]" Source.

In this photo, Paul McCartney can be seen playing his Rossetti Lucky 7. Later he modified it into a bass. (See below...)

Paul can be seen here playing a Martin D-28.

McCartney can be seen in a photo on this page with a Rickenbacker 4003S/5 MKI.

"The thing about Les Paul guitars is that they’re beautiful guitars. That’s due to Les’s knowledge of the instrument and due to his technical knowledge. So he, together with Gibson, developed this amazing guitar. For me, it’s just beautiful to play. It’s a classic. One of the ones I have is 50 years old, so it’s a great antique as well as being a classic. It plays great, and I think that’s due to Les’s expertise. When you pick it up you fall in love with it."

Details on the only other 1960 Standard Left Handed 'burst made are found at an auction site here.

if the above is not viewable, I copied and pasted what the Hofner rep (Nick Wass) said in a Facebook post.

"Paul McCartney and his Höfner bass. I'm Nick Wass and I'm the electric guitar manager at Höfner. I am the contact at Höfner who works with Paul McCartney's technical team. I thought I might just write a few facts about Paul's bass as there are many misconceptions, some often posted here. The bass you see Paul playing is his original 1963 bass. It is not a copy. His bass is not in a bank vault. How do I know? Well, I have played it on 3 separate occasions and I am one of few people who has partially dismantled it. I can tell an original when I see one. Paul uses Hofner H1133B strings. (Made by Pyramid.) How do I know? Because I supply them to his technician. Paul has several Violin basses, certainly more than 5. I'm not prepared to say exactly what he has however, this is his private stuff. Paul's bass is known as Number 1. Paul sometimes uses his other Violin basses when recording. Paul's 1963 bass is in pretty good shape for a 55 year old instrument that has done more gigs than any of us can imagine. I can see no reason why it cannot carry on as long as Paul keeps playing".

At around 0:41 - 0:47 in this video you can get a closer look at Paul McCartney's Fender Bassman Export-Amp Amplifier Head that he used at the "Rooftop Concert". If you compare the inscription and the six knobs of this amp to the Export-Amp you will not notice any differences.

Secondary Source (speaks for the submission): McCartney was given two Jazz Basses and a Precision; and they sent 4 Fender Twins, 2 Bassman Amps, a whole bunch of effects, and picks, strings and straps. - This text is from the Beatles Gear Book -

In the image you can see Paul McCartney with a Fender Stratocaster Electric guitar. I know, the image is not very good, but if you are looking at the headstock of the guitar you can see the outline of a Fender-Logo. By looking at the pickguard you can see that it is a Stratocaster, not a Telecaster. Convinced? Actually he had a Black and White Stratocaster as well.

Paul plays this guitar in the music video for Hellen Wheels.

In the image you can see Paul behind his very first Amplifier. At around 1:59 in this Video Paul is talking about his very first amplifier. He got it at the age of 14. The Elpico was designed to amplify two microphones and one grammophone. Paul used it as a guitar amp.

1979, Paul and George performing at Clapton’s wedding. Looks like he’s hooked up to an Ampeg.

On this page, there is a photo of McCartney playing a Yamaha BB 1200S.

He used this bass in '79-'80, most notably on Back to the Egg and live performances.

Paul McCartney is famously associated with the Epiphone Casino, often seen playing it during his time with The Beatles. A user-uploaded photo further highlights this iconic pairing.

In this live performance, Paul can be seen playing an Everly Brothers J-180. Paul says in this Music Radar article "I just pick up what feels good on a given day. If I played a Martin yesterday, I may say, Oh, I'll play the Epiphone today, or, Wait a minute, let's get the Gibson Everly Brothers guitar out."

In 1:32 / 1:33 in the video you can see the lower part of a lefty Rickenbacker 360/12 in Paul McCartney's Guitar holder. In 3:37 you can see the Headstock of the guitar.

Paul purchased this Telecaster in around late 69-early 1970. He used this guitar on the McCartney album (along with his Epiphone Casino) and Wing's final album Back to the Egg. It's unknown whether this guitar is still owned by McCartney or if it was stolen.

Lying at Paul's feet, you can see the pedal that he used on Revolver and many times in the subsequent albums.

Despite occasionally using a Gary Hurst Tonebender for his lead guitar work with The Beatles, McCartney (somewhat remarkably) has limited his pedal usage to a relatively simple multi effects unit since the 1980s. Custom made by Pete Cornish, McCartney’s simple pedalboard contains a guitar/bass switch, distortion and chorus effects, as well as a mute switch and built in Boss TU-12 Chromatic Tuner.

Paul Mcartney plays his Gibson J-185 12 String for the song "Out There" in this video.

In this video we can see Sir Paul with Blueridge BR-160 acoustic.

In this performance of FourFiveSeconds with Rihanna and Kanye West at the 2015 Grammy Awards, Paul McCartney is playing a Taylor Richie Sambora Signature Model Acoustic Guitar. He plays the same guitar on the official music video for FourFiveSeconds. Taylor Guitars also confirms the model of the guitar in a tweet, saying, "Sir Paul McCartney plays a Taylor RSSM in this new video with Rhianna and Kanye West- FourFiveSeconds".

At 0:33 in this video, Paul McCartney can be seen playing a Les Paul Goldtop. In this article, by Gibson, it says, "Paul McCartney owns a rare, left-handed 1957 Les Paul Goldtop."

Paul McCartney used the Höfner 500/1 1961 "Cavern" bass during the early and later years of The Beatles. It is notably seen in footage from performances at the Cavern Club, as well as in the "Revolution" music video and the "Let It Be" sessions. Unfortunately, this iconic bass was stolen in 1969.

In this clip Paul can be seen using a Psychedelic painted Knight Piano. He has been using this piano since 1989. In the early 00's Paul started to use a psychedelic painted Kurzweil PC2x instead of his Knight piano. In 2010 Paul went back to using his old Knight Piano again.

Photo of Paul McCartney with a Pignose portable amp.