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A friend has received this Hopf archtop from her late father. She didn’t think much of it, but to me it seems quite a good guitar. Spruce top suggests that this was one pf the better models. I haven’t played it yet so I don’t know the shape it’s in, but the pics look promising.
Any thoughts?
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09-28-2024 06:55 AM
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Looks great for the age! New roundwounds will reveal the acoustic sound. You are in the best position to judge it.
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Found a suitable text module: "Congrats, may she inspire your playing for many years to come!" LOL
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That "text module" as you call it, is a sincere expression of good wishes uttered on occasion by one of our esteemed members. Your characterization and the added "LOL" might be viewed as a lack of respect.
Originally Posted by Bop Head
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I’m interested to hear what you think. There’s one almost exactly like that on my local Facebook marketplace.
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That looks like a Fasan archtop with a Hopf tailpiece. Same difference - a mid-level 16"+ archtop with a solid spruce top (pressed or carved), laminated back and rims, built in the 1950s. It appears to be in cosmetically excellent condition, based on the photos.
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I call it a [pre-fabricated] text module because it is the same all the time. Uttered the same on every occasion. Call me rude if you wish. These are rude times. Originally Posted by jazzshrink
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You may stop bickering now.
The guitar doesn’t belong to me, I haven’t even played it yet.
As soon as I can give it a go, I’ll let you know.
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Sorry, just could not resist. I'll go Bickert-ing now. Originally Posted by docsteve
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Thank you for the assessment. How would I tell a pressed top front a hand-carved, apart from the bling? Originally Posted by Hammertone
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I'm guessing that your best bet would be anything that looks like chisel marks on the inside - i.e. not going to be easy. Originally Posted by docsteve
AFAIK, a pressed top starts its life as a flat one so theoretically if the wood fibers were all nicely parallel to the surface they ought to be so too after arching. The carving process will cut through fibers. No idea how you'd see the difference in a spruce top. If there's a marked recurve around the edges you might be able to see some evidence of bending there, or else some evidence of the cutting-through-fibers in the edges of the f-holes (if the grain is exposed enough)?
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You'd need to study the underside of the top plate for various markings - rough vs. smooth surfaces, sanding marks, notations. Sometimes it's easy to tell, sometimes not so much. If you can take a few pix and post them, perhaps someone here can help. Originally Posted by docsteve
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Also, consider that these guitars, more often than not, require a Neck reset. Being myself a builder and repairer, I have seen a handful of them (I’m talking about these mid-price German archtop from the ‘50s and ‘60).
Anyway, I usually like a lot these guitars if bought at the right price. They have plenty of character and usually have a pleasant acoustic sound.
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+1 to Emanuele. No truss rod. Luthiers can correct bent necks with heat; I have no idea how permanent such a fix is.
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I bought a nice old carved German archtop. The neck has no trussrod and it was bowed from decades of tension. It also needed new frets, so I replaned the neck to be flat before I put new frets on. I also reradiused it to be 10". It was about 7" before.
I did the work myself, but it was a Covid lockdown project. It took a lot of work but it's a great guitar now.
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I remember that thread, very impressive work. Originally Posted by supersoul
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