The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Hofner Germany makes some beautiful guitars and they are reputed to be very well made with good tone. Why aren't they more popular?

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  3. #2
    I have never like Hofner. I'm partial to guitars made in the "good ole US of A." ..and especially some Gibson and
    Epiphone models. Never liked Gretsch either, although I enjoy listening to Chet Atkins play his Gretsches.
    Gretsch guitars and the filtertron tone..is not for my virgin ears, I'm afraid. Hofner..I never associated any
    famous guitar players with Hofners, so I always perceived them as being European curiosities..except for
    the Paul McCartney Hofner violin shaped "Beatle Bass".
    Last edited by Daniel Kuryliak; 11-02-2013 at 08:54 AM.

  4. #3

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    Jimmy Raney likes his:

    Not much love for Höfner Archtops?-raney-hofner-jpg

    I think it's an Attila Zoller model - maybe Hammertone can confirm this?

    A friend of mine had a German made VeryThin like the one in Mr B's avatar photo - great guitar.

  5. #4

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    I have a Jazzica and although it is not my main guitar I would have a hard time letting it go. To me Hofners are different and if you've listened to your heroes play mainly Gibsons most of the time you kind of get that sound concept in your mind. Just a theory that makes sense to me.


    Not much love for Höfner Archtops?-hofner-jazzica-jpg

  6. #5

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    The verythin is great for people who like the slim shape but want a more archtop acousitc sound. There are plenty of excellent non-usa made guitars.. I love my Canadian made Godin - not mentioning more expensive european stuff like Moffa or Elferink. And I have played great instruments / amps / pedals not associated with famous players.

  7. #6

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    I got a Jazzica a few months ago and have never loved a guitar so much. Beyond the playability and sound the workmanship is amazing. I've become a big Hofner fan.

  8. #7

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    Got a '60s Hofner President Acoustic

    Fabulous darling

    £200

  9. #8

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    i think they've made some of the prettiest guitars ever over the years, but i just don't see many here in the states. not many to try out so you either pay the substantial price* to get a new one or get a used one for pennies because nobody knows what they are here. guess people would rather go with that they know; plenty of gibsons lying around these parts. i would expect them to be better than most guitars available here, but the high price/low resale/low brand recognition probably scares some people.

    also, i'm not sure if they have a signature sound, they way you'd think of a 175 or l5. i sure don't know what they sound like, aside from awesome. not a whole of youtubing going for them, either.

    anyhow, i did whiff on a few in my time and i regret it. but like anything these days, they are just really pretty things i don't need. or deserve. but i still like looking them up every now and again. also regret not seeking them out when i was in germany.

    *- totally worth every penny, but still, they aren't giving them away.

  10. #9

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    I recently bought a New President from a list member and it is in my top three guitars that get played in the cycle. I like the acoustic sound and the Diamond mini (midi ?) humbucker gives a beautiful archtop electric sound. Other uncommon features are a 25.25" scale and 24 frets and 16th fret neck/body joint (feels and looks a bit odd). I can produce a mandolin like sound at the higher frets.

  11. #10

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    I think the biggest problem they have is distribution. I have never seen one other than on Ebay and NEVER in a store.

  12. #11

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    It's pretty simple.
    Speaking in terms of current and recent instruments (since @2000),
    Gibson (and any of the other well-known "American" brands):
    - makes more guitars in a day than Hofner does in a year.
    - spends more on advertising in a day than Hofner does in a year.
    - provides more support and instruments to high-profile artists in a day than Hofner does in a year.

    In my opinion, the recent lineup of German-built jazz guitars (Jazzica, New President, Verythin Classic, Chancellor) has excellent instruments in it, that perform extremely well in any comparison to equivalent American instruments. But there are very few of them around, new or used, so it's hard to try one out, either to discover them or to reset opinions based on perceptions of older guitars.

    The best way to sell these instruments is to put them in the hands of players so they can be experienced directly. I like the design of these guitars, but someone else may simply prefer something else. As well, some instruments will be better than others, but if there isn't enough of experience with or exposure to the instruments in general, opinions will be based on a very narrow sample indeed.

    No doubt my opinions are influenced by my direct involvement with Hofner over the past few years, specifically with the German-built archtops. I'm always happy to meet with any of you in the Toronto area and give you the opportunity to try out these guitars so you can judge them directly on their merits. Daniel, you are welcome to check one out anytime, and next time I drive up to Ottawa, perhaps I'll have a guitar with me and we can get together.

    As far as Jimmy Raney goes, yes, he's holding a Hofner Attila Zoller model, which is IMO a great jazz guitar produced in extremely limited quantities, played by Attila, Jimmy and a few others. Peter Leitch has played one for years and loves it. Hofner made @50 of these top-of-the-line archtops between 1982 and 1994, with a few minor hardware variations, as the AZ Award, AZ Standard, AZ Special and AZ Collection.

    In North America, there are a few. Bobby Broom is certainly a top-tier player - he favours his Jazzicas. John Stowell has a variety of guitars for different sounds, but he does play his Verythin John Stowell on numerous recordings. Sid Jacobs in LA is another great player who plays a Verythin JS model as well as a Ribbecke Halfling.
    Last edited by Hammertone; 11-02-2013 at 02:57 PM.

  13. #12
    It was the lack of stuff on YouTube that I thought strange. Even stranger is that there are loads of vids of Jonhn Stowell playing anything except a Hofner. Ironic.

  14. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by Hammertone

    I like the design of these guitars, but someone else may simply prefer something else.
    I think the fret markers and knobs on the modern (very thin / verythin or is it veri thin / verithin) ones are horrid.

  15. #14

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    I'll take a Jazzica if one ever comes my way for reasonable $$$

  16. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by GNAPPI
    I think the biggest problem they have is distribution. I have never seen one other than on Ebay and NEVER in a store.
    - Avenue Guitars in Edmonton has a violin-finish New President, violin-finish Jazzica and violin-finish Chancellor, but they are not on display.
    - Remenyi House of Music in Toronto has a natural New President and a natural Jazzica in stock.
    - Truetone in Santa Monica may still have a couple of new Hofners in stock - Jazzica and New President, along with some used ones - they post these on ebay.
    - I have several NOS (New Old Stock) Hofner archtops for sale as well.

    The "for sale" part of this very forum is probably the best place to find these guitars.
    ebay is a good second place.
    Last edited by Hammertone; 11-02-2013 at 12:34 PM.

  17. #16

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    Am I correct that Jimmy Bruno had a endorsement deal with them for a short time before he went with Sadowsky?
    There was also some confusion when they brought out the line that was built in China. I played one of those and it was-just OK. I've also played the German built guitars and they are very fine instruments. Just didn't produce that WOW I have to have this feeling for me.

  18. #17

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    Yes. A couple of prototypes were produced and delivered to him early in 2004. He played them at the Hofner booth at the 2004 NAMM show. Six were produced that year, labelled as "Thin President Vintage J.B." or "Thin President Vintage." The model was essentially a thinline New President with 22 frets and 2 1/4" deep rims, done in a violin finish with ebony/gold hardware. Three were equipped with floating pickups (like the New President) and the other three each had a full-sized, set-in humbucker, similar to an SD Antiquity. They were labelled from 1/50 to 6/50, and I believe the rest were produced as Thin President models (sunburst finish, two Hofner mini-humbucker, nickel-plated hardware).

    Jimmy then expressed interest in a guitar with a block in it, and two were made, labelled as "Thin President J.B.," delivered at the beginning of 2005. By then, he had decided to go with Sadowsky, and he demo'd his Sadowsky model at the 2005 NAMM show.

    Here's a picture of the prototype (left) he preferred, alongside a "Thin President J.B." (right) with a spruce block. Note his name on the TRC and on the pickup of the prototype. Both have 2 1/4" deep rims. The one on the left is hollow, with a carved top. The one on the right has a spruce block and a laminated top. Both of these guitars are in Toronto, sold to local Toronto jazz musicians:



    Here's the Thin President (essentially the same guitar as the one on the left above), with a carved top and 2 1/4" rims. Later, it became a thin-line semi with shallower rims, a spruce block and a laminated top:



    The Chinese built jazz guitars are completely different - perfectly nice, inexpensive, all-laminated full-bodied 17" guitars that come in several colours and pickup configurations, with really nice tailpieces and pickguards. They are quite similar to some of the jazz guitars offered by Washburn.

    Here:


    Last edited by Hammertone; 07-07-2020 at 11:00 AM.

  19. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by Chimera1to1
    ...It was the lack of stuff on YouTube that I thought strange. Even stranger is that there are loads of vids of Jonhn Stowell playing anything except a Hofner. Ironic.
    He has a few cool guitars, including his travelling guitar, which sounds just fine.
    He sounds great no matter what he plays.
    Maybe the fact that Hofner doesn't make the Verythin JS anymore has something to do with it.
    A few Hofner JS sightings.


    Last edited by Hammertone; 11-02-2013 at 03:14 PM.

  20. #19
    Thanks for the info Hammertone. I get what you say about the company size but there are small output luthiers that are desired by many but aren't big outfits so I think it is cart before the horse to blame the popularity and numbers treasured on the company size.

  21. #20

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    Show me a solid, carved, 17 inch archtop Hofner with a single mounted neck pickup and 2 knobs on the top, bound f-holes, 3 inch rims, bound ebony fingerboard, and a pretty, shiny, metal tailpiece (can't stand wooden tailpieces).

  22. #21

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    Much of the reason that US customers have stopped buying Hofner products if that Hofner itself has essentially left the US market. Back at the turn of the millennium, Hofner advertised its German made models to the professional jazz guitar market, and the result was the successful launch of its New President, Jazzica, Vice President, and Verythin guitar lines. This steady popularity lasted until the tail end of the millennium's first decade. Since then, print ads have dried up and US distributors seem to have been turned away or have given up on new German made instruments.

    There are prominent players who continue to publicly perform using their Hofners, such as Bobby Broom, Sid Jacobs, and occasionally John Stowell, but they do so quietly as they would any instrument they were playing without sponsorship.

  23. #22

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    People are missing out.

    my verythin is the best semihollow I've played...and I've played quite a few.

  24. #23

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    the market is flooded with 1k Chinese and Korean archtops...Most seem to be good quality...The German very thin would be my pick if I wanted to spend 2k....I agree with the other poster, Hofner's very thin Asian models with the big fret markers just flat out looks horrible....Who's Idea was that....

  25. #24

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    Don't forget that the Euro is worth 40% more in US dollars than it was in 2002. So an affordable Hofner at $1500 usd in 2002 would be $2100 now. That is probably a huge factor. The weak US dollar has hit a lot of importers. The only reason Chinese goods are so cheap is that the Chinese tie their currency to the US dollar - a questionable practice.

  26. #25
    Here's the problem the way I see. The Chinese are very good fake artists. When they can make fake Ming Dynasty painted ceramics with aged glazes and painting that fooled the Christi Auction "experts" and those fake vases sold for MILLIONS..they can pretty much reverse engineer and copy anything including a Gibson L5 with the Gibson with L5 torch emblem and the authentic Gibson logo
    They can also copy JUST ABOUT ANY GUITAR and sell it much cheaper than (Gibson, Gretsch or Fender,Hofner ..etc etc) can.

    Gibson's biggest mistake was moving their Epiphone guitar production to Asia, Korea, Japan and now the Gibson sponsored Quingdao plant in China. The Chinese are very smart people, once they develop the
    craftsmanship and technology...any other guitar brand made anywhere is doomed..unless of course..you still want to pay nearly $10,000 for a genuine Gibson L5.

    The pandora is out of the box now..The Chinese are bigger than Gibson , and lawsuits by USA companies going against Chinese fake artists are pretty much ignored..if it's only economic after
    all and the Chinese courts will stall those for years.
    Last edited by Daniel Kuryliak; 11-03-2013 at 12:58 PM.