The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #26

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    Hofner made various models for wholesale under different names - Gagliano, Selmer, Pöhlert, and one or two more. Pöhlert was a smart guy with an in at Höfner who made some extra coin selling his own-branded guitars to his students. Only a handful of them exist. In the mid-2010s, Höfner made a few guitars (New Presidents and Verythins) for Gary Hutchins guitar company, sold under the Hutchins label.

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #27

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    Here's my newly accquired 68/69 457 S/E. Got what I think is a steal. A Hofner Thread-20221011_134817-jpg
    First off - All thanks and praise to Hammertone for his guidance, info and insight on Hofners. Secondly - this guitar was love at first sight and play, right out of the case. The picture doesn’t do it justice, it's got a really aged orangy color. The box sounds great acoustically and of course through an amp.

  4. #28

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    I will need to replace the bridge. The G and B strings are cut too low. Also, it appears to be a 12" radius, while the fretboard is 10" radius by my gauge. I found this bridge on Reverb, but it's a 12" radius. ABM 2115 Hofner Style Guitar Bridge with Base - Rosewood | Reverb
    Any suggestions on another bridge option?

  5. #29

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    Just did a little research and discovered that a 12" radius bridge is probably the right choice for a 10" radius fretboard.

  6. #30

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ampig
    I will need to replace the bridge. The G and B strings are cut too low. Also, it appears to be a 12" radius, while the fretboard is 10" radius by my gauge. I found this bridge on Reverb, but it's a 12" radius. ABM 2115 Hofner Style Guitar Bridge with Base - Rosewood | Reverb Any suggestions on another bridge option?
    The bridge you found for sale is not made by ABM but by Teller (German company). They probably wholesale it out to ABM (German company), who sell it to their US distributors (Allparts), who then sell to their retail dealers, like Arkansas Musicworks.

    But, you don't need a new bridge. The one on your guitar, also made by Teller, appears to have plenty of wood in the saddle, so you can sand down the top of the saddle, radius it any way you want, and re-notch the wood to the right depth, with lots of wood and up/down adjustment room left.
    Last edited by Hammertone; 10-12-2022 at 02:52 PM.

  7. #31

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    Quote Originally Posted by Hammertone
    The bridge you found for sale is not made by ABM but by Teller (German company). They probably wholesale it out to ABM (German company), who sell it to their US distributors (Allparts), who then sell to their retail dealers, like Arkansas Musicworks.

    But, you don't need a new bridge. The one on your guitar, also made by Teller, appears to have plenty of wood in the saddle, so you can sand down the top of the saddle, radius it any way you want, and re-notch the wood to the right depth, with lots of wood and up/down adjustment room left.
    Thanks. I'll try to rework the existing bridge. Looking at it, I'm worried I might have to take quite bit off the top. If I do, then the saddle will be siting up on the posts pretty high off the base and may tend to roll. I'll give it a shot though. If I do have to replace the bridge, is the Teller/ABM a good choice?

  8. #32

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ampig
    If I do have to replace the bridge, is the Teller/ABM a good choice?
    Yes. You'll need to file slots for the strings. Also, StewMac sells the current version of the one you have on your guitar, in rosewood or ebony, supplied to them by Teller. Post a full-face picture of the existing bridge - hard to tell from your pix and the auction pix how much saddle is available.
    Last edited by Hammertone; 10-13-2022 at 01:59 AM.

  9. #33

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    She's going to the shop for some fretwork and the bridge will be tended to there.

  10. #34

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rockakenny
    Attachment 88920

    Received this (early 60's 456?) as a gift a little while ago. It is an amazing piece in my opinion. Could not find any easily viewable information on the inside. It has a rare Type 536 pickup assembly. There is a tongue that when put under the current bridge base pushes the assembly a little crudely on the top of the instrument and causes upward pressure on the bridge. If not using the assembly tongue, it is left to kind of float making bridge height adjustments difficult. Do any of you knowledgeable in these know where I may locate a proper bridge for it? Have done online searches not amounting to much. I was advised to creatively fashion an attachment to the current bridge, but would rather get something that matches if available. Thank you for reading and any information you may provide.
    Hi all,

    Does anyone know what kind of jack output this one has? Got one of these guitars but want to convert to standard 1/4 jack. This looks like something inbetween mini jack snd standard one.
    thanks

    Ogi, The Netherlands

  11. #35

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    Quote Originally Posted by loaweb
    Hi all,

    Does anyone know what kind of jack output this one has? Got one of these guitars but want to convert to standard 1/4 jack. This looks like something inbetween mini jack snd standard one.
    thanks

    Ogi, The Netherlands
    No picture of the jack?

  12. #36

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    Here’s a picture
    Attached Images Attached Images A Hofner Thread-44199d50-4de1-4e59-b372-53e023cc0b14-png 

  13. #37

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    I can't tell what it is. An old German style jack I guess. Maybe take it to a guitar repair shop.

  14. #38

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    On mine, the jack is located on the pod module and is standard quarter inch.

  15. #39

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    I've got my 457 back from the shop after a refret. While removing the strings to prepare for rewiring and replacing the electronics, I found that the ball ends were stuck in the tailpiece and had to be "coerced"out. Apparently the ball ends on the D'Addario mediums I'm using are too large. Have any of you come across this with your Hofners? Can you recommend strings with a smaller ball end?

  16. #40

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    The rehabilitation is complete.
    A Hofner Thread-20230202_141943-jpgA Hofner Thread-20230202_134017-jpgA Hofner Thread-20230202_134247-jpgA Hofner Thread-20230202_134040-jpg
    First was a refret and fingerboard planing by my great friend and luthier Dave Merrill who also made the pickguard. The headstock face was delaminating and had to be re-glued. The pots, caps and wiring were all replaced. The knobs were replaced with official Hofner repros. The original bridge had been cut too low and was replaced with a rosewood StewMac bridge. Finally the whole guitar was cleaned and French polished. She plays and sounds great. The original tuning keys hold well. The Schaller single coil pickups produce a nice Grant Green tone. Thanks again to Hammertone for the Hohner guidance.

  17. #41

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    There's been a lot of old Höfners and "Partshöfners" in Finland. The latter refers to guitars made from parts purchased by a local luthier following the demise of production whenever that happened. I used to have an original archtop back in the mid-1960s. Which model, can't tell due to the chaotic diversity that only Hammertone has a handle on. The common view was/is that intonation problems were due to something wrong with the fretboard. Just looking at the photos along this thread, I could swear that the distance from 13th to 14th fret is as wide if not wider than from 12th to 13th.
    Last edited by Gitterbug; 02-02-2023 at 05:18 PM.

  18. #42

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gitterbug
    The common view was/is that intonation problems were due to something wrong with the fretboard. Just looking at the photos along this thread, I could swear that the distance from 13th to 14th fret is as wide if not wider than from 12th to 13th.
    I'm looking at the pics of my guitar right now and I can almost see it. I'll break out the rule tomorrow to check. I haven't noticed any glaring intonation issues with single notes but I rarely play that high on the neck, especially chords, which is where a problem would be most apparent. It should be upsetting, but for some reason I'm finding it comical.
    Last edited by Ampig; 02-02-2023 at 11:58 PM. Reason: Misspelt

  19. #43

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    I put the caliper to my frets. Below are the results. Note that my calipers are the inexpensive plastic variety and the prongs for inside diameter measurement are offset, which makes dead accurate measurement problematic. I think I'm reasonably accurate to hundredths place.
    10-11 frets 0.708
    11-12 frets 0.673
    12-13 frets 0.667
    13-14 frets 0.573
    14-15 frets 0.415
    Somethings not right between frets 11 and 13. They must have had a screwed up fretboard jig at the factory and just ignored it. However, I've played both Dm7b5 and E7b9 at the 13th fret and to my ears there's not a discernable intonation problem. So to me it's just an interesting anomally.

  20. #44

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    [Somethings not right between frets 11 and 13. They must have had a screwed up fretboard jig at the factory and just ignored it.]

    Exactly. And I'm afraid we're talking about a big number of instruments. Whether a box jig or a series of thin circular saw blades clustered on a revolving axis, tooling had a finite lifetime but I have no idea how long (= how many instruments affected.)

  21. #45

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    It appears the 13th fret needs to be moved a little closer to the 12th. A good luthier can fix it and I know one, but I'm gonna leave as is. I just don't hear an intonation problem (although I'm sure it's there).

  22. #46
    Quote Originally Posted by Jehu
    My 1956 Hofner 459 with her granddaughter, a 2007 Jazzica Custom. Both lovely and classy ladies.

    Attachment 88027
    I have 1956 hofner like this and are wondering what strings are best for it...mine has a pickup fitted