1960S HOFNER 5140 HAWAIIAN STANDARD LAP STEEL

It’s unclear where it came from, but a Hofner Hawaiian Standard lap steel was among the instruments at Apple Studios on January 25th, when the Beatles cut George Harrison’s “For You Blue”. The German-made Hofner brand was distributed in the UK by Selmer. According to Hofner’s 1964 catalogue, the 5140 lap steel featured a solidwood body with a “lustre mirror finish, shaded sunburst to rich brown”, and was fitted with a double-pole single-coil Nova-Sonic pickup with tone and volume controls. Lennon plays the lap steel on “For You Blue” using what some have identified as an early disposable butane lighter as a steel.