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Restoration. |
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#067 Hofner President Acoustic.
1964. |
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Background.
This is what my
hobby is all about - finding lovely old guitars,
bringing them back to life and allowing them play at their
best.
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1.
Synopsis. |
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To find a
completely unmolested acoustic President had been an
ambition for years. I had seen
several acoustics with various holes drilled in the neck
or body to fit pickups but this was just as it left the
factory! Just like my first
Hofner but with a truss rod.
It had clearly spent
most of its life in someone's loft. There was
very little evidence of play time but it was covered in
mould, dust, dirt and ......... sporting Nylon strings!!!!
After many hours of gentle
cleaning and polishing, and restoring the chipped Bridge,
it looks just like new! Just a
little more effort now enables it to play better than when
it was new.
Now I would love to be
able to play it amplified but I don't want to loose it's
integrity. No screw holes from me!!
I think I will make a hand carved pickguard with a mounted
pickup so that the whole unit can be added or removed using
only the original pickguard mounting points.
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2.
Before and
After Gallery: |
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Fortunately the mould
was only on the exterior of the guitar. The
fingerboard and bridge were worst affected. There was no evidence
of moisture inside the body so all the joints are good and
strong. Structurally it is perfect with a nice
straight neck. |
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The bridge was chipped
where the pickguard pin entered. Nylon strings! |
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Ebony dust mixed with a
little Polymite, laid into the chip and finished. |
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#8487 makes this a
1964 guitar. It is clearly an
acoustic model but the label reads President brunette E2
with the E2 crossed out whilst still in the typewriter. Hofner labels
sometimes need a little interpretation.
Interestingly Hofner were still marking their top guitars
MASTER CLASS in 1964. |
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A fine, sunny morning
and good lighting for a deep-clean. I
always use 25% white wine vinegar in water and go over it twice if I
need to. Just look at the colour of the
cleaning rag. It came up like this even
before polishing! |
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After a thorough
cleaning and oiling the fingerboard, a light fret dressing and
re-profiling of the frets was all that was needed. |
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So, out of a dusty
attic I now have an original President
Acoustic, just like new.
Definitely a
collectors guitar - probably "one of the best
around"! |
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