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Rare, Vintage, Jazz, Archtop, Guitar, Gibson,
Byrdland, D'Angelico, Guild, Hofner, Benedetto, Guitars for Sale,
Guitar Collection,
Rare, Vintage, Jazz,
Archtop, Guitar, Gibson, Byrdland, D'Angelico, Guild, Hofner,
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Restorations. |
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Giving new life
to some old,
interesting, rare or special Hofners makes for a great retirement hobby.
I really enjoy
these restorations so I like to
keep a photographic record. These pages track the progress of a
just a few recent projects. |
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My approach to
restoration.
Most important, for
me, is to retain originality wherever possible.
It is also important not to over-restore, or to be tempted
to work on aspects that are perfectly OK.
I don't like to see a restored 50 year old guitar looking
just like new! I much prefer to see a restored 50 year old
guitar looking as though it had been lovingly cared for and
much played all its life. So I usually try to follow four principles:
1 keep
everything as original as possible,
2 don't
do things that are not needed,
3 allow
the guitar to influence how much restoration is appropriate.
4 make
sure the finished guitar plays as well as possible. |
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Some recently finished restorations: |
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#005 Hofner Committee
Thinline.
This was discovered in a
loft in 2004 and by the look of it had been there a very
long time. It was stripped bare and very dirty.
I
have spent the last five years sourcing all the correct
age-related parts. The guitar is from 1965 and
so are all the parts. Quite a labour of love.
Fortunately the guitar was in very good structural condition
showing no signs of past repairs.
Consequently the
restored guitar has become a very fine example of one of
Hofners best.
It looks and feels just right. It plays superbly
and sounds just as it should.
Click on the
pic to see the Restoration. |
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#067 Hofner President.
It had been in
someone's loft for a very long while.
Dust, mould and nylon strings!!
Fortunately,
underneath all the dust and mould there was a perfect,
unmolested, President waiting to be played.
Now its looking just
like new.
Click on the
pic to see the Restoration. |
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#070 Hofner President
Special.
This President was made by
Hofner as a special, probably to prototype this lovely
Cinnamon finish.
I
bought it because of the colour so this restoration was all
about making it look good again. It just happens
that it turns out to be a great player too!
Click on the
pic to see the Restoration.
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#072 Hofner 458 Black Beauty.
I also uncovered
this one which had been hidden away in a German loft.
Underneath all the dust, however, was this beautiful 458 which only
needed a good clean and polish, its Bridge restored, a
new pickguard and a full set-up.
So rewarding
to do. |
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#073 The
Burgundy President.
I believe this to be an
important Hofner. You can read why by
going to #073 in the Highlights section.
It is a
President Thin E1 (something Hofner did not have in its
catalogue of the period) in a colour that was more
associated with Framus than Hofner.
At first I thought it
to be one of several "Specials" that Hofner regularly made
for Exhibition.
When you have a guitar
in your hands every day, working on fine details, you learn
a great deal about each instrument. Now I believe this
guitar to
be a prototype made to show Werner Pöhlert in 1964.
Click
on the pic to see the Restoration. |
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#081 The Pöhlert Jazz
Guitar.
This is an even more
important Hofner.
You can read why, and
the whole background to this restoration by
going to the "Highlights" section.
Click
on the pic to see the Restoration.
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