Hopf Craftsman.

[Freek]

Recently bought a Hopf Craftsman.Beautiful guitar.Handcarved front and back,natural finish,body almost 18 inches,Schaller tuners,ebony fretboard.No serial number.Probably early 70's.Does anyone know anything about this guitar?I searched the web:nothing.

[TH]

Dieter Hopf was a builder who built very fine classical instruments in the tradition of Hauser, great German hand made instruments. I had one from the mid 70's and it was as fine as any of the very pricey ramirez's of the day, and very well built. Don't know about the archtops though, sorry.
David

[cmajor9]

I'm not familiar with the Craftsman model, but there's a thorough discussion of Hopf archtop guitars here:

European Guitars Forums ? View topic - Hopf

The Craftsman is mentioned in this thread, and also in the Gustav Glassl thread in the same section of the site.

[Freek]

I did find that but it doesn't tell me anything.One would expect to find some information about a guitar of this quality.
There is a picture on the web which shows one,mine to be exact.

[Andy fetzer]

Hi, i am a professionell guitar player from germany, and i owns also a craftsman guitar. When i bought it a Coupé of years ago, i also wondered that there was Almost no Information in the net. The Reason is, that only a few of them where made by gustaf glassl. I had a lot of Archtops the last 20 years,but the hopf craftsman is the best super400 copy, i ever held in my hands an its my no.1 guitar. The neck on my guitar was replaced 3 years ago because the orig. Neck was damaged. But now it Sounds Even better. Congratulation , you own a very,very high Level guitar!!! Andy

[Hammertone]

What do you want to know?
There are pix of a few in the Schnepel/Lemme book.
The guitar was built by Gustav Glassl, who built higher-end archtops for Hopf.
He rarely branded his guitars with his own name. Here's one:

[Freek]

Andy,thanks for your reaction.It is indeed a high level guitar.Only downside is the pick ups are extremely microphonic.
It sound like a dream,very woody almost growling lows.I also like the narrow neck which makes use of my left hand thumb very easy.I have yet to find a case for her...

[Freek]

Hi Hammertone,that is a stunning beauty.As I stated,mine is natural with pick ups without a serial number,
and Craftsman lettering on the headstock.I would like to know how many of them were made and when.
Late 60's,early 70's?Since I don't have the book you're referring to,I'm very eager to find out anything at all.
For instance,what kind of pick ups are in it.I don't have a photo available at the moment.Thank.

[Hammertone]

In the late 1960s and into the 1970s and 1980s, the demand for archtop guitars collapsed as the market completely shifted to solid-body and sem-solid-body electric guitars. Glassl made very few of these guitars as a result, and only a handful have ever been documented.

In general, German builders did not use serial numbers or labels on their guitars. Hofner only ever used labels on the guitars sent to Selmer, and Hofner distributors attached or stamped their own numbers into the instruments they received. Framus and Roger used labels. Maybe a couple more.

Take some proper pix and post them, please.
In the meantime, here's a self-explanatory picture regarding the pickup:

[Hammertone]

Some guys know all the chords.

[Hammertone]

… I don't have the book you're referring to,I'm very eager to find out anything at all.
...

German archtop guitars 101:
Required reading includes:
1. Electro-Gitarren - Made in Germany, by Norbert Schnepel & Helmut Lemme
2. Hofner Guitars - Made in Germany, by Michael Naglav
3. Framus - Built in the Heart of Bavaria, by Christian Hoyer
4. Hofner 125th Anniversary - Guitars and Violins - a Celebration, by Nick Wass, Harry Sibum, Steve Russell

Required web resources:
http://www.schlaggitarren.de
http://www.euroguitars.co.uk - currently on hiatus, to return sometime in the future….
http://www.museum-markneukirchen.de/forum/
http://jazzgitarren.k-server.org
{ed: and another one...}
http://www.framus-vintage.de/

German archtop guitars 201 is offered as well, with additional required reading, but requires a written recommendation for admission.

[50Hz]

I am in love with that Glassl you posted up above, Hammertone, looking forward to digging through those sites you shared.

[Hammertone]

I am in love with that Glassl you posted up above, Hammertone, looking forward to digging through those sites you shared.

High-end German archtops had their own identities, and there were some spectacular instruments built from the end of the war to the late 1960s. Glassl was not an original thinker but was a highly skilled guitar builder. He built many guitars in the Lang and Hoyer styles, and ended up copying Gibson with models such as the Craftsman for Hopf. Here's another one:

[fritz jones]

very nice, especially the inlay work.

[Little Jay]

Hammertone, you forgot this one: http://www.framus-vintage.de/

;-)

[Hammertone]

Hammertone, you forgot this one: http://www.framus-vintage.de/
;-)

Heh, Christian Hoyer set that one up as well.
Just trying to help him sell a few books…..

[Bluedawg]

Boy, sometimes things just pop up out of nowhere. Here's a Glassl-built Hopf "Special" that popped up in Atlanta:

Did you delete the link or did you forget to post it?

[Bluedawg]

Did you delete the link or did you forget to post it?

Hmmm

Now I see it ... took a while for my old computer to show the pic

[Hammertone]

very nice, especially the inlay work.

Like many German builders, various parts were supplied by specialty sub-contractors. The inlays were probably supplied by Shellex, bridge by Teller, tailpiece by Mueller, tuners by Kolb or Schaller, neck blank/top plate blank/laminated back plate by Kollitz or another supplier.

[Hammertone]

What's better than a gorgeous acoustic archtop built by Gustav Glassl in the Gibson style?
Why, two gorgeous acoustic archtops built by Gustav Glassl in the Gibson style.

[Ol' Fret]

...What's better than a gorgeous acoustic archtop built by Gustav Glassl in the Gibson style?...

What's better? A gorgeous acoustic archtop built by Gustav Glassl (plus his son and brother) in the old, idiosyncratic German bastard style! Bastard guitars for that bastard amalgam commonly called jazz; here a 17.5" one:




Apropos, is that Lawrence pickup on the left guitar above an old one? These may look crude, and are bastards too (who else has been using Alnico 8 magnets?), but the sound...



And there are occasions when horns are more appropriate:

[Ol' Fret]

>> One would expect to find some information about a guitar of this quality. <<


Reliable, quasi 'official' information is hard to come by with these guitars. They live in the shadow of few players and collectors who recognize their value.
In the German vintage archtop guitar realm some would make astounding discoveries.
Primarily, of course, with the ears. A levelheaded mind could help also, like the Hopf (Glassl) 'Craftman' shows:

It was made in quite low numbers and certainly not Glassl's only flagship boat, and listed in the German Hopf catalog 1967/68 with the retail price of 764.00 Deutsche Mark.
At that time, in 1968, the currency translation rate of the Deutsche Mark to the USD was quite exactly 4 : 1, that would translate to an absurd low US retail price for the 'Craftsman' of $ 191 (plus customs/VAT), back then. If you compare with prices demanded for American made archtops at that time, most customers must have come to the firm conclusion that - due to the significant price difference - non-American guitars could only be junk from the outset.

It's so much about money and marketing and image... and many, many examples reflect this in the musical instrument world. Until 10 years or so ago, I wondered about the market prices of certain searched-for pro saxophones in the USA. All these horns were 100% made in Germany between 1965 to 1986, where they sold two to three times lower. The difference of the US distributed instruments (so-called stencils): the distributor's name was American, as were the horns' name and engravings.

Today, most of the historical and political currency imbalance seems to be gone. No matter if you'd buy new comparable carved, full-resonance archtop guitars made in the USA or in Germany, the effective expense is about the same. We're lucky that the same does not apply for the vintage market.
So, if one would assume the same productivity and an exchange rate (USD : €) of 1 : 1, and compare again with the retail prices of much better known guitars in 1968, from an economical view the 'Craftsman' would definitely be sitting prettier; especially if one considers that the above mentioned Deutschmark price applies for the bare acoustic model - without pickup. According to the 1968 Hopf catalog a DeArmond 1000 cost an extra of 178 Deutsche Mark (ca. $ 40 retail price in the USA).

[Hammertone]

...Apropos, is that Lawrence pickup on the left guitar above an old one? These may look crude, and are bastards too (who else has been using Alnico 8 magnets?), but the sound...

Yes, it's an old Lawrence pickup.

What's better? A gorgeous acoustic archtop built by Gustav Glassl (plus his son and brother) in the old, idiosyncratic German bastard style! Bastard guitars for that bastard amalgam commonly called jazz...:

I don't disagree - the "old, idiosyncratic German bastard style" certainly makes a statement that the newer style does not!:

[pingu]

here a 17.5" one:

Wow whats that model called ?
how much would one of those cost ?

I dig that checkerboard binding

[Hammertone]

Hopf sold a variety of big guitars as the model 320SL or variations on that name. The Germans often refer to this body style as a "fish-guitar" - if you like Goldfish (the snack that smiles back), you'll see why.

They are typically a bit under 18" wide. Here's another, to the right of mine, that hasn't been modified. That original pickguard is set up to accept a sliding pickup like a Dearmond monkey-on-a-stick. It cost over $2K to get into the US from Germany a couple of years back. It belongs to a friend and I'm sure he'd entertain offers. PM me if interested.