Over the weekend a dedicated new project to once and for all try to locate one of the most sought-after musical instruments of all time was launched.

It’s called The Lost Bass Project and it has been set up to find Paul McCartney’s lost 1961 Höfner bass guitar.

This is the bass McCartney played at the Top Ten Club in Hamburg in 1961, at the Cavern in Liverpool, and on those first Abbey Road recordings. This is the bass you hear on ‘Love Me Do’, ‘She Loves You’, and ‘Twist and Shout’. The bass that powered Beatlemania – and shaped the sound of the modern world.

But in late January 1969, when The Beatles were in London recording the ‘Get Back/Let It Be’ sessions, the 1961 Höfner 500/1 Violin Bass disappeared. It has not been seen since.

The Lost Bass Project is a global search dedicated to tracing the bass – and solving the greatest mystery in the history of rock and roll.

This morning on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s national Breakfast Show Scott Jones, one of the team behind The Lost Bass Project, said that already – just two days in from the launch – they’re getting information that will help lead them to the famous missing instrument. He’s speaking here to host, Patricia Karvelas:

To find out more visit the project’s comprehensive website. There you’ll find all the information you need to learn the story of the ’61 Höfner, keep up with the latest developments in the search, but most importantly how you can make a contribution if you think you might have another piece in the jigsaw puzzle that might help solve the case. Also, check out the official Höfner site.

The idea here is not to find it to make money. The idea is to finally get it back to it’s rightful owner.