Hofner President

[Rickco]

Looking for some help regarding these guitars. Ive never seen a Hofner or heard one in person and would never even know about them except for the Beatles. The few comments Ive picked up seem to hold these in high regard. Being in the U.S. I cant find any 1st hand info. What Im looking for is an acoustic arch top carved with medium to slim neck with decent sound for couch playing. Im not interested in the "off shore" variety's but full confession as a cabinetmaker I hold German craftsmanship to generally be of the highest level. I see some examples on reverb that are attractively priced and here in the US but to far to go try in person. I know many members here have some experience with these. In particular there a couple Presidents priced in my comfort zone so looking for comments. Can it be compared to say an Epi Triumph or ...? I have a G Eagle but it stays in the case when Im not playing it, I want something I can leave out and grab for those inspirational moments. Any personal experience greatly appreciated. Im mostly concerned with the neck playability now that Im old I find I cant handle big chunky necks anymore.

[wzpgsr]

Until recently, I owned three modern German-built Hofners, none of which really qualified as a true acoustic archtop. The Chancellor and Verythin John Stowell both had slim necks. The Jazzica neck was somewhat deeper with more shoulder but still not what I would call a full profile.

[Chris236]

Until recently, I owned three modern German-built Hofners, none of which really qualified as a true acoustic archtop. The Chancellor and Verythin John Stowell both had slim necks. The Jazzica neck was somewhat deeper with more shoulder but still not what I would call a full profile.

Interesting. I had my eye on the Chancellor. The specs look nice and I actually prefer the longer range fretboard and position that put the pickup in….what made you consider it more electric?

[wzpgsr]

Interesting. I had my eye on the Chancellor. The specs look nice and I actually prefer the longer range fretboard and position that put the pickup in….what made you consider it more electric?

Mine didn't really project like a cannon, even with roundwound strings.

[Chris236]

Mine didn't really project like a cannon, even with roundwound strings.

gotcha…I once tried a new pres that I didn’t like (or maybe jazzica) but the setup was poor and I admittedly hate wood bridges. Wish I could have tried the Chancellor.

[Hammertone]

Happy to help, given my association with Hofner since 1999.

The New President was introduced in 1998 and evolved with small changes until it was discontinued @2020. Höfner made fewer than 1,000 of them, and the majority were produced in the oughts. By @2012, Höfner had largely walked away from German-made archtop guitar production, with only small quantities of any of their jazz guitars produced after that period.

A few features remained constant throughout its production:
-@15 7/8" lower bout width;
-@3 5/8" rim depth;
-25 1/4" scale;
-16th fret neck/body joint;
-carved spruce top;
-laminated rims / laminated arched back;
-ebony board;
-one-piece maple neck;
-Schaller M6 tuners.

Very early versions had two top braces in a standard modified parallel arrangement, an ABM 1251-style plated brass tailpiece, single floating mini-humbucking pickup supplied by Schaller, ebony pickguard with single volume control, and 24 frets. By @2000, the tailpiece became a custom metal unit with an ebony cap, ebony pickguard with volume/tone controls, and a single floating mini-humbucking pickup supplied by Schaller. One brace, on the bass side, became standard. The rims and backs were made with laminated anigree, an African hardwood favoured by Höfner over several decades, that can mimic flamed maple.

This version was produced for several years, with some variations - a series was made with violin varnish finish instead of the natural poly finish, and, later on, small runs were made with different laminated woods for the rims and back, different binding, nickel instead of gold hardware, 1251-style metal tailpieces, different finish colours, a different pickguard shape, and so forth.

One consequential change late in the oughts was a change to a 22 fret board from the original 24 fret board, but only a few New Presidents were made this way. Another change was a gradual shift to a more acoustically-responsive instrument, through changes to the rim thickness, kerfing, and finish thickness. The guitar was never intended to function as a purely acoustic archtop, but many of these instruments sound excellent acoustically.

The pickup went through some changes in output, getting progressively lower wound, and moving from two conductor to four conductor wiring.

Final carving of all the necks was done by Dieter Fischer. The overall neck shape remained similar (rounded C shape) but there are waves of different neck size - in the early oughts necks got bigger, then (after some feedback from customers and dealers), necks got smaller. In theory, nut width was 1 3/4" but, in practice, most have smaller nut widths somewhere between 1 11/16" and 1 3/4". In theory, the necks are slightly assymetrically carved, but that idea became so subtle that it effectively disappeared. Generally, these guitars have really comfortable necks.

Comparisons are difficult - Höfner's archtops from this period are their own thing. The 16th fret neck/body joint makes a huge difference in terms of upper neck access. IMO, the closest thing to a New President is a Gibson L-4C with a floating pickup, or maybe a Heritage Sweet 16. Very different from a 17" Epi Triumph or Heritage Golden Eagle.

There were a few variations on the New President - a CES version called the Vice President, a 22 fret thinline CES version, a 22 fret thinline version with the single floater, and various later CES versions that were simply called New Presidents instead of Vice Presidents. There is considerable cosmetic variation - some have plain maple necks, some have highly-flamed maple necks, like the two shown below. Most fretboards have mother-of-pearl block inlays, but some later ones have either no inlay, or a retro-style block inlay that runs side to side right to the binding (typical of many German archtops of the 1950s)

Höfner's general indifference to marketing, combined with some other unfortunate choices, resulted in the discontinuation of these guitars. They are typically extremely good values on the used market.

There are a few typical issues found with the New President (as well as the Jazzica and the Chancellor):

- a few early batches with natural poly finishes were not properly finished and suffer from finish checking, mostly on the spruce tops. Finish checks on poly-finished guitars look like crap.

- the metal tailpiece with ebony cap is a gorgeous design, but has been known to suffer from breakage at the low E or high E of the claw, and at the hinge (good design but underbuilt, IMO). Repairable, but I have replaced many of them with the Höfner's ABM 1251-style "harp" tailpiece, that never breaks.

[Hammertone]

Some of the later versions, typically made in very small runs or as one-offs:

[Hammertone]

Until recently, I owned three modern German-built Hofners, none of which really qualified as a true acoustic archtop. The Chancellor and Verythin John Stowell both had slim necks. The Jazzica neck was somewhat deeper with more shoulder but still not what I would call a full profile.

Interesting. I had my eye on the Chancellor. The specs look nice and I actually prefer the longer range fretboard and position that put the pickup in….what made you consider it more electric?

Mine didn't really project like a cannon, even with roundwound strings.

The Chancellor is best compared to a Johnny Smith or Legrand - intended to be an electrically amplified fully carved archtop, not optimized as an acoustic archtop.

[Chris236]

The Chancellor is best compared to a Johnny Smith or Legrand - intended to be an electrically amplified fully carved archtop, not optimized as an acoustic archtop.

the Legrand is an excellent acoustic guitar

[Rickco]

Hofner President 1954-1955 - Sunburst | Reverb
Stunning early model Hofner President.
All original and in good playing condition.
There is some debate as to the precise date of this guitar as it has many characteristics of a 1953-55 instrument but has a serial number that would put it a couple of years older than that . It is in good condition for being 67 years old . It features a carved solid spruce top. The back and side are a nice flamed maple and the neck is of five piece beech, flamed maple and mahogany construction.
This instrument has always been an acoustic -there is no sign of a pickup ever having been fitted but if required it would be very easy to fit a floating one to the fingerboard end.
Thanks Hammertone, This is the one Im looking at, not expecting a Legrand but hoping for a not to chunky neck and "acoustic" sound
I couldnt get the image to load.

[Hammertone]

Ah, I have re-acquired reading comprehension after extensive study of the insides of my eyelids. Some of last night's activities are a bit fuzzy. I think her name was Breeze, or Misty, or something like that. President, not NEW President. Got it. Happy to illuminate that subject as well, as soon as I figure out why I cannot find my pants.

[Hammertone]

The Chancellor is best compared to a Johnny Smith or Legrand - intended to be an electrically amplified fully carved archtop, not optimized as an acoustic archtop.

the Legrand is an excellent acoustic guitar

I agree. Imagine how much better it would be if it was optimized as an acoustic archtop.

[Chris236]

I agree. Imagine how much better it would be if it was optimized as an acoustic archtop.

None.

[Hammertone]

Whoever is selling that guitar doesn't know that it is the "George Harrison" version President - the earliest version and George's first guitar. It's worth WAY more as a wall hanger for any serious Beatles collector. Hooray for the free market!

Regarding the guitar in play, it has had the tuners replaced with grossly inappropriate Grover Imperials or copies, but that's easy to remedy. The original Teller bridge has been replaced with a fancier Teller bridge, which is fine.

Early versions of the President (like this) have carved spruce tops and laminated maple rims and backs. The black center-strip back inlay on is found on the earliest models and was dropped early on. The actual build date can be found pencilled in on the underside of the top, typically on the bass side.

Neck profiles vary considerably on 1950s Höfner archtops, so it's best to ask the seller for some measurements - nut width, depth at 1st fret and 9th fret, and some words about the profile of the neck. I'd grab it in an instant, swap out the tuners and enjoy it. If the neck is not what you want, or if it doesn't have much sound, it can be resold for more that the current asking price to a Beatles nutter.

It would be easy enough to add a floating pickup without screwing up the guitar. It's hard to find these in clean original condition, so I'd make any modifications as non-invasive as possible.

[Rickco]

Thanks for that, exactly the info I was hoping for and then some. Im tempted to bite, the lack of a trussrod is somewhat worrisome I see they added one later, I dont want to be gently weeping if the actions a mile high. Thanks so much for the intel, Ill post pics etc if I pull the trigger.

[Hammertone]

Höfner added adjustable truss rods to its steel-string guitars in 1960. Prior to that, they were overly and incorrectly concerned with patent infringement related to Gibson's truss rod. Some old Hofners have dead straight necks. Some have ski jumps. I ascribe it to the randomness of wood. Easy enough to ask for pix of the neck in profile as well as some measurements, but it's always a crapshoot, unless one has the option of returning the guitar. Necks like these with excess relief within reason can always be heat-treated, compression fretted, and so forth if one likes the guitar.