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The Schaller tuners were
original and the bezels had turned black with age which is
absolutely consistent with 40 year old Schallers.
The neck joint was
original and had not been re-set therefore the neck and body
had come together just once and sometime around the 1960's
The body is closest
in spec to an early 457 with hand carved Spruce top and
Maple sides.
A pickguard had been
fitted originally.
The colour was a
perfect match for the colour used on the 464.
The tailpiece was a
Muller piece used occasionally by Hofner at that time for
specials and the Bridge was original and correct.
I bought the guitar
in Germany and was told that it originally had been a
special order by a Gypsy Jazz professional.
It certainly had bags of rich, mellow tone and a huge voice.
I consulted Steve
Russell and Stephen Candib on this one and we reached a
consensus that this guitar appears to have been made by
Hofner, sometime in the 60's, using a 60's neck and a body
from the stock shelves selected for its acoustic properties,
made
to the specific order of a customer who also specified his
choice of colour. It is known and
documented that Hofner would undertake special requests like
this and all the evidence seems to confirm that this is a
genuine Special Customer Order.
Fifty years later it
also turns out to be a very nice guitar.
The colour of this lovely guitar is quite stunning and so I
affectionately called it The Ruby. |
