1960 HOFNER V3 SOLID ELECTRIC GUITAR

SERIAL No: 100

COURTESY OF NICK SADLER, UK:   

The first V-Solid serial Number - #100

NICK EXPLAINS ABOUT HOFNER V3 SOLID # 100:

Restoration of the old V3 has now been completed, and it is back to as original as I could get it. The work was done by luthier Dave Farmiloe of Woodford Nr Kettering. (Tel: 07929 892077 ) He used to be Fender's Artist Tech during the 70’s and 80’s, repairing and maintaining the likes of Francis Rossi’s Green Tele.

I bought #100 in December 2019 for £100 and it was my main workhorse for many years. It wasn’t until the 2000’s when I got interested in the history of it and thanks to your web site and contact between us I got the bug -twenty Hofners and counting.......... 

I am missing a vibrato arm, and that’s it. I managed to get cut-down hydrant machine heads and an original scratchplate and electrics. The vibrato unit was from Australia.

The body has a few extra holes in it from a retro-fitted scratchplate, and some additional routing was added for modern electronics. Dave restored the routing to original spec thanks to his woodworking skills and we decided not to re-spray as we wanted to keep the original patina.  If you look close you will see blemishes and filled screw holes but the finish is pretty original. The zero-fret was removed by a previous owner, and I decided against reinstating it.

The good news is it plays fantastically Dave reckons it is one of the best necks he has ever come across. I am totally in love with it and it just plays and sounds fantastic.