Alan Cramp's Jazz Café

• 2010 HOFNER VIOLIN GUITAR SPECIAL ORDER
  A 6-string guitar based on the Hofner 459 model from the late 1960's. This guitar was a one-off specially commissioned order, with birds-eye maple back & sides and fitted with "Cavern-Style" pickups.
  
  
• THE "THOMAS SPECIAL" BASS GUITAR
  Thomas in Stockholm, Sweden collected together a Hofner Bass neck, Hofner parts, and an un-named German archtop body, and then asked James Payze Guitar Services to put them all together. The result is a good looking and very usable medium-scale archtop bass guitar.
  
  
• MODIFIED 2009 HOFNER CT GALAXIE ACTIVE SOLID GUITAR
  Olaf Poeter in Germany was so impressed with his new Hofner CT Galaxie that he bought another one. In order to obtain a different set of tones, he has built active circuitry into this second guitar, together with adding further controls and a new scratchplate. As well as photos of the modified guitar, Olaf has supplied a comparison report on the performance of the two Galaxies.
  
  
• RESTORED HOFNER 182 SOLID BASS GUITAR
  A very tasteful 182 Bass restoration, carried out by Martin Kunz in Vienna, Austria.
  
  
• SPECIAL ORDER 1999/2000 VIOLIN BASS 500/1
  A special red-finished 500/1 Bass, made for the 2000 NAMM Show. David Leblanc, the guitar's owner, has researched its history, and this provided with the photos.
  
  
• CUSTOM SHOP 500/1 "UNION JACK" BASS
  Made by Hofner Germany and finished in Union Jack colours by the Custom Shop, Chicago, USA. This particular bass was shown at the 2008 NAMM Show at Anaheim, California.
  
  
• c1980 HOFNER 4578
  This is an interesting guitar. It has the lavish mother of pearl inlays to the headstock and split fret-marker blocks that one would only associate with Hofner's top-of-the-range models in the 1970's and 80's, such as the 471/4710 model. It also appears to have a neck-rake adjuster built into the heel, and the name "Pöhlert" stamped into the Lyre tailpiece. This can't be how Hofner specified the 4578 at the end of its production run so surely it is a special, or perhaps more likely a guitar made up by someone away from the Hofner workshops? A lovely guitar though, owned by Ollie in Germany.
  
  
• MODIFIED c1964 HOFNER 500/1 BASS GUITAR
  Now this is what I call a "carved top" !  An owner in the past has obviously not appreciated the smooth original lines (and potential value!) of his 1964 bass, and decided to add a little something. I have to say that it rather suits it. Oh....and he obviously preferred a fretless bass! The current owner is Andy Smith.
  
  
• HOFNER COMPOSITE 4578 - 5000/1 BASS GUITAR 
  During the 1990's, a large number of un-assembled Hofner bodies, necks, and other parts flooded onto the market following the closure and clear-out of the old Hofner Bubenreuth factory. It would seem that this bass was a result of that situation, being made up of a 4578 body and a 5000/1 neck. Was it a coincidence that the bass was purchased in the Doncaster area, close to the old home of Music Ground, by its present owner, Andrew Redding?
  
  
• Mid 1960's HOFNER MODEL 177 "EXQUISIT" SOLID GUITAR
  A Hofner 177 with a most unusual neck/fingerboard. The fret-markers are unlike anything that I have seen on a Hofner solid before, and there is a "zero fret", even though this is a bolt-on neck. The tuners are the open-gear type, rather than the better quality enclosed type usually found on the 177. A most interesting guitar, owned by Lucas Winck in Brazil.
  
  
• 2009 NEWBUILD HOFNER 500/6 BASS GUITAR PROJECT
  This lovely bass was constructed by Andrew Lines of Lines Guitars using a body and neck from the Bubenreuth factory closure, together with new Hofner re-pro parts. Andrew has carried out a similar project on a Hofner 4578 also featured on this website.  
  
  
• 1980's HOFNER "SG" STYLE SOLID GUITAR
  Er no, I don't think that this is a Hofner 174 model, even though it has a similar shaped body. This guitar has two output channels, and some very unusual but good looking visual features. It looks like a 1980's Hofner to me, but I've never seen one like it before. Owned by Detlev Goldau in Germany.
  
  
• 1970's HOFNER SEMI-ACOUSTIC GUITAR
  This very interesting guitar is owned by Marc Moris in Belgium. At first glance, it appears to be a 4578/E3 model. However, closer examination shows it to have a 40mm deep body rather than the 50mm on a 4578. Also, Marc's guitar has a bolt-on neck ! The guitar is a true semi-acoustic as it is fitted with a sustain block inside the body. If anyone has a similar guitar or information about this unusual semi, please get in touch !!
  
  
• 2008 OLIVEWOOD VIOLIN BASS
  This beautiful copy of a Hofner 500/1 bass has been handcrafted by Malcolm Weaver of Olivewood Parlour Guitars in Nottinghamshire, England. It was modelled on Malcolm's own 1962 Hofner 500/1, and it features a solid spruce carved top and a superb carved sycamore back.
  
  
• 1960's HOFNER/OTWIN "SPECIAL" ARCHTOP
  This guitar the body from an Otwin Melodie archtop and a Hofner neck of the type fitted to the 465 and 468 models. It is finished in a beautiful red/orange finish. A unique and very attractive guitar combination, owned by Michael Valentin in Hamburg, Germany.
  
  
• RESTORED c1967 HOFNER PRESIDENT THINLINE
  After having been painted first blue and then white, this originally brunette guitar has now been restored to a blonde finish by its owner, Rolf Carlsson in Sweden. In order to achieve a good clean finish, the top layer of the body laminate has been removed. However, the cross-grain of the laminate's core timber has produced a very attractive appearance, resulting in a very successful restoration.  
  
  
• Late 1960's/1970's HOFNER 500/7 "SPECIAL" BASS GUITAR - THREE PICKUPS
  This very unusual bass was possibly made as a special order, or maybe for a trade show. It has the three pickups and electrical circuits of the Hofner 4575 6-string semi.  I have never seen another like it, neither in "the flesh" nor in a catalogue. It is owned by Silas in Germany, who has restored the bass back to its original red body finish.
  
  
• Mid-1950's HOFNER-MADE GAGLIANO K-150 ACOUSTIC GUITAR
  A Hofner Model 462 acoustic with Gagliano logos. Gagliano were a US distributor who purchased job-lots of instruments direct from various manufacturers including Kay, Harmony, and Hopf and sold these under the Gagliano label - rather like Silvertone in the US and Broadway as well as Futurama in the UK. From the appearance of this guitar, Hofner certainly didn't compromise on the quality of those guitars that it produced for Gagliano. Owned by  Chad Coulter.
  
  
• HOFNER MODEL 125 CLUB UPGRADED TO A MODEL 126
  This guitar almost certainly started life as a single pickup 125 Club model with a "Selmer Distributed" logo applied in error to its Treble Clef headstock. It was supplied by Hofner to Van Wouw, the Netherlands distributor. Somtime before being delivered to its first (and only) owner, it had a second pickup together with selector switches added, and the "Selmer Distributed" logo removed. Even more bizarly, the second pickup was fitted directly adjacent to the original bridge position, just as on a "Cavern" bass! Many thanks to Harry Sibum of The Hofner House for supplying photos of this strange guitar.
  
  
• RESTORED/MODIFIED HOFNER COLORAMA / MODEL 164 SOLID GUITAR
  Probably the nicest looking Colorama that I have seen. A real hot-rod of a player too apparently ! Modified and owned by Graham Shaw in Berlin, Germany.
  
  
• RESTORED HOFNER MODEL 182 BASS GUITAR
  A superb restoration carried out on Hofner's standard soliod bass model. Now why didn't Hofner make them look like that in the first place? Restoration work and photos by Martin Kunz, Austria.
  
  
• ELECTRIFIED 1958 HOFNER COMMITTEE ACOUSTIC
  A Committee that has been fitted with the pickups and controls from a Gibson Les Paul, and also has had an active treble boost added. Richard Newton, the guitar's owner, explains the background to this conversion. Oh and by the way, it is believed that this Committee was once owned by a member of 1960's iconic band, Johnny Kidd and the Pirates! 
  
  
• 1960's HOFNER MODEL 457 "RUBY SPECIAL"
  A very attractive guitar, due to it's lovely ruby red sunburst finish.......and an interesting one too! This guitar appears to have been factory made during possibly the mid to late 1960's using a pre-1956 non-cutaway body, and high quality, non-standard neck and tailpiece. Owned by Alan Cramp in England. 
  
  
• RESTORED 1956 HOFNER CONGRESS
  This guitar has had quite a rescue experience, after being found in a skip! Now owned by Christian Vydelingum in London, England.
  
  
• HOFNER COLORAMA SPECIAL 
This is probably the most over-the-top example of ornamentation on a Hofner that I have ever seen ! I understand that it was found in the Bubenreuth factory during the clearing out process following the move of Hofner production to Hagenau in the 1990's. Was it produced as an exhibition piece? Did an employee produce it in his spare time from cast-offs? Who knows.......    It is currently owned by Music Ground in Leeds, England. 


• 2007 HOFNER VERYTHIN THREE PICKUP PROTOTYPE
  This recent factory prototype is based on the current Verythin Classic model, but as well as having three pickups it also has a stop-tailpiece.
  
  
• RESTORED HOFNER MODEL 172 SOLID GUITAR
  This Hofner solid has been recently restored by Kristopher Chandroo in Canada using a re-issue control panel and two modern Type 514 humbucking pickups that I was able to sell to him. He is now delighted with the sound from the old Hofner, and has used it on several recording sessions. 
  
  
• 1957 HOFNER MODEL 459(i) ACOUSTIC ARCHTOP GUITAR
  A lovely old, and fairly rare guitar, that has had a new fingerboard fitted in order to rectify neck-related problems. This has resulted in the guitar now having dot-markers rather than the original "bar" fret markers used on the 459 model. It is still a lovely guitar though. Take a look at the birds eye maple back! Owned by Bill Perrett in the UK. 
  
  
• PETE HAYCOCK'S TWO HOFNER NIGHTINGALES; "HEIDI" & "ROSE-MARIE"
  Pete (Climax Blues Band / Pete Haycock Band) has had a long association with the Hofner company, and owns two prototypes which were made by Hubert Kaa in the Hofner factory during the development stage of the Nightingale. In fact it was Pete who suggested to Hofner that a master volume pot should be adopted for the Nightingale model. The two guitars appear to be the fore-runners to the Nightingale Special model, but with slightly different hardware. One of the guitars - "Heidi", has a gloss black finish and gold plated hardware. "Rose-Marie" is finished in red, with nickel plated hardware.
  
  
• 1960 HOFNER MODEL 128 (CLUB 60) SEMI-ACOUSTIC GUITAR
  This very unusual guitar is owned by Case van der Linden, who bought it brand new in The Hague, Holand in 1960. When he ordered it, he requested that it be fitted with three pickups instead of the usual two........ and that is how it was supplied to him a few weeks later! Whether the third pickup was fitted in the Hofner factory, by Van Wouw the distributors, or the retail store is not known, although my guess is that it is a factory modification. Case now lives in California, USA.
  
  
• LA PROVENÇALE
  Alan Cramp's latest project, based on a Hofner Jazzica prototype guitar but with a very special finish, electrics, and pickguard. This guitar has PASSION. 
  
  
• c1970 HOFNER "SPECIAL" SEMI-ACOUSTIC GUITAR
  This guitar has a 40mm deep body, with binding on the top edge of the body but not on the back! It also has a bolt-on neck. It is pretty certain that this guitar originated from the Hofner factory, but it corresponds to no known model specification. The theory is that it was made up in order to use up surplus body and neck parts. This has resulted in a very attractive guitar however.
  
  
• 1963 HOFNER CONGRESS ELECTRIC ARCHTOP GUITAR
  The Congress was only offered as an acoustic archtop, so this particular guitar certainly attracted my attention when Detlev Goldau sent me some pictures of his collection. At first I thought that it must have been some sort of factory one-off, as the electrics do look correct for the date of the guitar. However, Detlev assures me that there is evidence of the "electrification" not having been carried out by the factory. It certainly is a nice looking guitar though.
  
  
• HOFNER VERITHIN RESTORATION
  A 1964/65 Verithin, complete with Bigsby, that has been nicely restored and re-finished by Bruce Pitman.
  
  
• HOFNER CLUB MYSTERY GUITAR
  This guitar seems to have been made up from a late 1960's neck and body. It has an unusual single pickup, but no controls are fitted. The tailpiece is a 1950's "KH" logo type. Is it a guitar made up from parts lying around the factory by a Hofner employee? Owned by Uwe Schmalohr in Germany.
  
  
• c1967 HOFNER MODEL 176 SOLID GUITAR
  This Hofner solid has received additional ornamentation from its owner, Upendra Laxmeshwar in India. Edging has been provided around the scratchplate and headstock, plus the "Galaxie" logo provided on the body. It turns the 176 model into rather a stunning looking guitar.
  
  
• THE "JAZZ CAFÉ"
  An acoustic carved-top archtop, which has been made by Alan Cramp using a 2003 Hofner body and neck obtained from the factory via Norbert Schnepel. If ever I saw a good reason for Hofner re-commencing the production of  fully-acoustic archtops as in the 1950's, then this is it. Superb! 
  
  
• COMBINED HOFNER MODEL 468/HOFNER DELUXE MODEL
  This guitar has been made up from a Model 468 body and a Hofner Deluxe neck, both of which were originally found in a trash can !! How did they get there? The restoration has been carried out by James Jordan, who also now owns the guitar.
  
  
• CUSTOM-BUILT 1954 HOFNER COMMITTEE
  Now this really is a rare guitar - a very early Committee with a very unusual headstock that was almost certainly custom-made by Hofner to special order. It has also had a Framus pickup/scratchplate unit fitted by a previous owner. Owned by Andy in Wimbledon, England.
  
  
• MODIFIED HOFNER MODEL 175 SOLID GUITAR
  A "Tele" with a difference - made up using a Hofner body and neck as the basis, but with Fender, Gibson, and Kent Armstrong hardware. A beautiful looking guitar owned by Desmond Abbott of Essex, England. 
  
  
• c1957 HOFNER MODEL 462/S/E2
  A 462 that has been fitted with up-dated electrics and a new bridge. It also has been signed by Donna Presley-Early, the cousin of Elvis !! A real "working" guitar owned by Russell Marsland in Canada,
  
  
• 1964 HOFNER VIOLIN BASS (500/1) - LEFT HANDED
  A superb example of restoration. This bass left the factory as a "leftie". It was rather crudely converted to a right-handed instrument by a previous owner, and has now been fully restored back to its original left-handed glory. Owned by Joe Baiardi in Texas, USA.
  
  
• 1959 HOFNER COMMITTEE
  This beautiful Committee has had non-standard pickups and control consul fitted, but in a very neat and tasteful manner. Owned by Simon Riding in Lancashire, England.
  
  
• MODIFIED & RESTORED HOFNER MODEL 160 SOLID
  An early 160 from c1958 which was given a face-lift by Jim Greenwood in the UK and is now owned by Guy Audoux in France. A very "cool" looking guitar.
  
  
• 2004 HOFNER MODEL HE-179 SOLID GUITAR PROTOTYPE
  This is a design that was considered by Hofner for production in their Chinese factory from 2004. In the end, it was the New Colorama that went into full production. (Although a few HE-179's have got out onto the market). Still a nice looking guitar though. Owned by Bryan Hackett in West Yorkshire, England.
  
  
• 2003/2004 HOFNER HE-179 SOLID GUITAR PROTOTYPE
  A slightly different version of the above HE-179 prototype.
  
  
• 2004 PROTOTYPE HOFNER COLORAMA SOLID GUITAR
  A beautiful transparent blue prototype of the New Hofner Colorama. Owned by Michael Naglav in Grmany.
  
  
• GALAXIE "V-12" SOLID 12-STRING GUITAR
  Rob Van De Plas of The Netherlands has changed his Hofner Galaxie into a very attractive 12-string guitar.
  
  
• c2002 PROTOTYPE (?) HOFNER PRESIDENT GUITAR
  An acoustic guitar based on the current President range, purchased on Ebay without any fittings, and then completed with a floating neck pickup by Olaf Poeter in Germany.
  
  
• MODIFIED & RE-FINISHED HOFNER 185 BASS GUITAR
  With a slightly revised body shape, black finish, and chrome fittings, this old bass looks great! Work carried out by Olaf Poeter in Germany.
  
  
• 1970's HOFNER PROTOTYPE SOLID GUITAR
  A guitar that seems to have been put together, possibly in the Bubenreuth factory, from spare parts from Hofner's mainstream solids - the body of a Hofner 173/V3, the neck of a Hofner 170, and the pickups from a Hofner 164iv !! Clark Salisbury from Oregon, USA owns this interesting guitar.
  
  
• Late 1960's/1970's HOFNER PROTOTYPE SEMI-ACOUSTIC
  Almost certainly a factory prototype, this semi has similar features to the Model 4572, but with a 4574 body shape, large F-holes, a 2" deep body without binding on the back, a bolt-on neck, and active treble boost/fuzz tone electronics. A very interesting guitar owned by Sascha Reinsch in Germany.
  
  
• 1970's HOFNER MODEL 170 SOLID GUITAR
  The Hofner copy of the Strat, but a little different to the norm. This one has individual pickup selectors instead of the usual 3 or 5-way switch, and it is finished in Lake Placid Blue! All the Hofner 170's that I have seen are in factory-applied sunburst finish. Owned by Bernhard Zubragel in Germany.
  
  
• 1965/67 HOFNER CUSTOM MODEL 500/2 BASS
  A very striking bass guitar which has a chequered body binding, almost certainly factory-fitted. In order to complete the effect, Hofner have fitted a white pickguard and control consul fascia. A unique bass, owned by Rob Herrick.
  
  
• 1989 HOFNER 500/1 "LEFTY" BASS GUITAR
  This left-handed bass has had some very worthwhile modifications made to the electronics. Alain Morin of Quebec, Canada describes the mods that he has made to his 500/1.
  
  
• 1961 HOFNER V2 SOLID GUITAR
  A lovely restoration, carried out by Jim Dougans of Bedfordshire, England. You can also visit Jim's Hofner V2 Restoration Project website to see how he did it.
  
  
• HOFNER MODEL 4578 GUITAR PROJECT
  A stunning guitar, made by Andrew Lines using genuine Hofner spare parts during his guitar building course at Leeds College of Music, England.
  
  
• RESTORED 1958 HOFNER COMMITTEE ACOUSTIC
  This one has been a joint effort between John Keys and his father over the last 20 years! Oh, and Nick Smith has helped by producing some pretty authentic looking replacement tuners.
  
  
• MODIFIED 1961 HOFNER 500/1 "CAVERN" BASS GUITAR
  This rare bass, owned by Stefano Aria of the Fetish Guitars website, Italy, has been modified by a previous owner. The "treble" pickup has been moved from its original central position to a location adjacent to the bridge. Stefano intends restoring the "Cavern" back to its original condition.
  
  
• HOFNER MODEL 191 DOUBLE-NECK GUITAR
  This guitar has been recently assembled from old Hofner parts. It is not totally authentic on the original Model 191 specification, but it definitely has the correct style and build quality about it. A very interesting instrument owned by John Hall of Berkshire, England.
  
  
• RESTORED & MODIFIED HOFNER SENATOR THINLINE
  Rescued from a car boot sale in 1990, this guitar now sports twin pickups and is back in the peak of condition, thanks to its owner, Peter Stone of Bath, England.
  
  
• RESTORED HOFNER MODEL 455 AND CLUB 40
  These two guitars have been restored by Barry Potts. They are excellent examples of how Hofners can be sympathetically restored so as to still retain the full vintage Hofner flavour without necessarily being 100% accurate with regard to detail.
  
  
• REPAIRED & CUSTOMISED HOFNER CONGRESS
  Hugo Mairns has brought an old Congress back from the grave, after it had been butchered by a previous owner in an attempt to change it into an electric guitar. Hugo lives on Merseyside, England.
  
  
• HOFNER MODEL 471 ARCHTOP
  A top-quality Hofner acoustic archtop from the 1970's that has had non-standard electrics fitted by a previous owner. Ty Kelly in Texas, USA now owns this lovely guitar.
  
  
• HOFNER MODEL 4570
  Now fitted with upgraded electrics. Owned by Marc Suski in Germany.
  
  
• CUSTOMISED HOFNER MODEL 185 SOLID BASS GUITAR
  A very attractive make-over for an old bass. Novel electrics fitted which incorporate a volume control for each coil of the single humbucker fitted. Pictures courtesy of Marc Suski, Germany.
  
  
• MODIFIED HOFNER MODEL 4574
  Fernando Lobos from Florida owns this guitar, which has had its electrics upgraded. It also features a rather nice feather detail on the scratchplate. This 4574 was actually used by Sherwood Ball for recording a part of the soundtrack for the film "Rich Girl".
  
  
• LEOPORDSKIN FINISH HOFNER SUPER SOLID III
  It could become the fashion! A very attractive re-finish carried out by Dennis Danielsson of Sweden
  
  
• MODIFIED/REFINISHED HOFNER 162 SEMI-SOLID
  Some would say that this guitar has been changed for the better! Owned by Martijn Klop of The Netherlands.
  
  
• MODIFIED HOFNER 185 SOLID BASS GUITAR
  All the 185 Bass parts, neck, and electrics, but....something has happened to the body shape! A nice looking guitar, now owned by Matteo Rorato in Italy.
  
  
• 2000 HOFNER PROTOTYPE
  A present-day Hofner archtop prototype, owned by Steve Sun of California, USA.
  
  
• HOFNER MODEL 177 DERIVATIVE
  Probably made up of parts from several Hofner models, this guitar is particularly impressive due to its carved out body, similar to a F****r Telecaster Thinline. Owned by Scott Baumer in Florida, USA.
  
  
• HOFNER MODEL 185 SOLID BASS
  A very classy paint job has been carried out on this bass, owned by Scott Hager in Ontario, Canada.
  
  
• HOFNER CLUB 60 / MODEL 128E2
  Seems to be some sort of Hofner Club, but what about those finger board twin dots?? Can anybody tell Rich Whittlesey of Stone Heart Vintage Guitars, Connecticut, USA (MandRWhittlesey@compuserve.com) what it actually is?
  
  
• 1970's HOFNER 6 STRING GUITAR-BANJO
  Not really an "oddball", as the guitar-banjo featured in the Hofner catalogue during the 1970's. A nice example owned by Peter Kane, of Scotland.