Höfner Verythin Standard Germany vs. Verythin Contemporary vs. ES335

[Duotone]

Hi there,

I'm currently gassing for a Hofner Verythin CT in transparent red finish - merely for it's gorgeous looks! "Problem" is, I already own a German made 2014 Verythin Standard... Which is a fantastic guitar which I love. It has a very clear, transparent, bell-like tone, with very nice note seperation. I'd describe it like a hollow-bodied Tele sound.

So my question is whether the Chinese version would deliver a clearly distinct tone so that I can justify the purchase. I know about the specs, so no need to reiterate these. I wonder if the shorter scale length and different pickups will deliver a more woody, midrangy sound? How would it compare to a Gibson or Epiphone ES335?

In this case: I would be curious if it sounds like a hollow Les Paul (to stay in that analogy).

[mr. beaumont]

The Chinese Verythins are very 335-ish.

TBH, your Verythin Standard is a much better guitar, and the CT will leave you wanting.

(experience/potential bias: I am a Verythin Std. owner, one of my students has a CT)

[Hammertone]

...So my question is whether the Chinese version would deliver a clearly distinct tone so that I can justify the purchase. ... I wonder if the shorter scale length and different pickups will deliver a more woody, midrangy sound?

Yep. Yep.

...How would it compare to a Gibson or Epiphone ES335? In this case: I would be curious if it sounds like a hollow Les Paul (to stay in that analogy).

Much lighter (due to the thinner body and the softwood block). Probably because of the different block materials between them - the Gibson has a maple block, and my guess is that the Epi does as well.
It might be made in the same factory as the Epiphone ES335 copy (I'll check on that).
Like a hollow Les Paul? Maybe like an ES-Les Paul a bit, but that's just a guess.

2014 Verythin Standard? Which version? Pix!!!

[Duotone]

Mr. Beaumont and Hammertone, thanks for your insightful posts!

This is my Standard. I already posted the pics in another thread, so please don't mind the repetition (I love repetition!):





This is the one I am gassing for right now:




Maybe upgrading the pickups on the Verythin CT might push the guitar in a higher league (They seem to get quite good reviews in terms of build quality)?

Maybe I rather have to save up for a real ES335....

[Duotone]

Much lighter (due to the thinner body and the softwood block).

Thinner? Don't they share the same dimensions?

[mr. beaumont]

Thinner than a 335, I assume he means.

That black standard is lovely.

[Hammertone]

Thinner than a 335, I assume he means.
That black standard is lovely.

Yes, thinner at the rims - 1.25" rim height on the Verythins.
The ES-335 is theoretically 1.75" but they have varied considerably, from 1.65" to 1.8"

Yes, I remember you posted about your guitar. Yours is one of @5 black Standards produced in that finish, with no fingerboard inlays and minimal headstock decor. The top should be laminated spruce, and the block should be solid spruce. Back and rims may be laminated anigree or laminated maple (probably highly figured under the black finish). Hofner also did @5-6 similar guitars with matte natural finishes and birds-eye maple backs/rims - I posted these on your thread as well, here:
Peerless songbird vs hofner verythin

[Hammertone]

If you like red, here's another option for you that will sound different from your existing Verythin Standard - a Verythin Single-Cut w/Bigsby in red. It originally came in black or robin's-egg blue. Trans-red quickly replaced black but didn't sell well compared to the blue and was discontinued. Current colours are either robin's-egg blue or light green.

This model sells for more than the Chinese-made CT Verythin but less than the German-made Verythin Standard. The remaining red ones were blown out super-cheap and can be found at bargain prices. They are better quality instruments that the CT Verythins. Some might have the now-discontinued made-in-Germany cases instead of the current nice but Chinese-made cases. Some specs for the guitar:
- 24 3/4" scale
- ebony board, bone nut
- maple neck, same as CT
- softwood block, same as CT
- laminated maple body, same materials as CT
- 1.25" rim height
- made and painted in China, shipped to Germany
- wired, hardware installed and set up in Germany with better quality electronic parts
- Hofner OEM mini-humbuckers
- Schaller tuners, Schaller straplocks, licenced B-70 Bigsby

If you are handy or have a good guitar tech, it's easy to retro-fit full-sized humbuckers into this guitar if you prefer them to Hofner mini-humbuckers (you mentioned looking for more warmth). It's also easy to replace the Furutama bridge with a higher-quality Gotoh/TonePros/Mueller/Schaller unit.

[Hammertone]

Of course, no thread about red Verythins is complete without a couple of additional pix.

Red Verythin Standard - 2007 - mahogany block, rosewood board, laminated anigree plates and rims:


Red Verithin/4574 - 1967 - no block, completely hollow, rosewood board, laminated spruce top plates, laminated maple back plate and rims:

[Little Jay]

Oh la la! That '67 is sexy! Completely hollow? Should add some character to its sound!

[Hammertone]

The Verithin (this name specifically applied to Selmer models exported to the UK), 4574, and its many variations, produced from 1960 to @1970, were all hollow, like the Gibson ES-330 on which they were essentially based. Some of these are really great guitars, some…not so much.

[Duotone]

With Christmas coming up, how can you resist getting one of these red beauties?!

Unfortunately the seller of the guitar I was looking for and me could not agree on the price :-(

[Frank67]

I have a VeryThin contemporary. The guitar is well made and is very pretty. The pickups and electronics were crappy. I replaced them with quality parts and have been very happy with it ever since. It had the price of an Epiphone but I would say, after the update the quality is much higher.

[Duotone]

YEs, I remember you posted about your guitar. Yours is one of @5 black Standards produced in that finish, with no fingerboard inlays and minimal headstock decor. The top should be laminated spruce, and the block should be solid spruce. Back and rims may be laminated anigree or laminated maple (probably highly figured under the black finish).

I just double-checked the label: it's actually no. 5 of a series of 6 made by Thomas Stühlein. It's a lovely guitar and a real beauty.

[Duotone]

I have a VeryThin contemporary. The guitar is well made and is very pretty. The pickups and electronics were crappy. I replaced them with quality parts and have been very happy with it ever since. It had the price of an Epiphone but I would say, after the update the quality is much higher.

Interesting! What upgrades did you do? And in which way did they alter the sound?

[Frank67]

The old pots were scratchy and the pickups were just bland sounding (not terrible, just bland). I took a prewired es 335 jimmy page harness from ebay with quality pots and capacitors and put bareknuckle stormy monday pickups in (four conductor). Now the guitar sounds soulfoul and fat and very versatile. It was a good choice. I did not upgrade anything else like nut or bridge. They seemed fine.

[Paultwentworth@gmail.com]

I have a 2012 Hofner for sale. Hofner Verythin CT 2012 Cherry with Case | Reverb

I also have a 2014 Gibson Les Paul Traditional. The Verithin's tone with the switch in the middle position gets really close the LP's tone with its switch in that same position. Since I usually only play both guitars with switch in mid position, I can't say for sure about the other position, but I suspect its the same thing in the neck and in the bridge position.

Regards

[Scotto]

Not too long ago, I was on my way to pick up one of the Chinese verithins. I think they are very cool guitars. The problem I had was the bump on the back of the neck where the bottom of the head meets the top of the neck around the first fret. With the bump, I just couldn't make some jazz chords on the first fret. Believe me, I was totally bummed as I had cash in hand and was looking forward to bonding with it. I loved the way the rest of the neck felt and it played fast which was another thing I loved about the guitar. I'm not sure about the German version but I wish they would have designed the back of the neck so that it is smooth. My advice is to play one first just to make sure your playing style works with this guitar.

[Hammertone]

Not too long ago, I was on my way to pick up one of the Chinese verithins. I think they are very cool guitars. The problem I had was the bump on the back of the neck where the bottom of the head meets the top of the neck around the first fret. With the bump, I just couldn't make some jazz chords on the first fret. Believe me, I was totally bummed as I had cash in hand and was looking forward to bonding with it. I loved the way the rest of the neck felt and it played fast which was another thing I loved about the guitar. I'm not sure about the German version but I wish they would have designed the back of the neck so that it is smooth. My advice is to play one first just to make sure your playing style works with this guitar.

The original, German version (and all German Hofner archtops/semis) has a "volute" on the back of the headstock where it meets the neck, as a feature of their construction. Almost all German-made archtop makers and many other builders use variations of this design as well. You can see a picture of the German Hofner volute in post#7 above. It's definitely worth playing a guitar with a volute to determine if one's playing style works with this kind of construction.

Here's are shots of BIG volutes from a couple of custom-built American archtops:
Attachment 33916
Attachment 37273

[krusty]

I shouldn't have opened this thread. I just bought a Gretsch PowerJet, and told myself I wasn't going to even look at new guitars until I order a custom Harrison GB next year.