The 500/2 Club Bass was introduced in 1964 as an alternative to the increasingly popular 500/1 Violin Bass. It was aimed at players who wanted the unique Höfner bass sound but who didn't want to look like Paul McCartney! The body had been in production since 1954 but only as a guitar. It was a fairly simple production decision to put the Violin Bass neck into a Club body and create a new product. The 500/2 Club bass today is still built in exactly the same way as in 1964 and uses the same components.