Re: new guitar?

[jazzalta]

I'm thinking of picking up this beauty.
It's made by Hofner and called New President.
Here are somes specs:

Inspired by a vintage Hofner design; updated for today’s guitarist
Selected solid German spruce top, hand-carved and graduated, back and sides from selected flamed maple
European hard rock maple neck
Ebony fretboard, bound, 24 frets
Mother-of-pearl block inlays
Scale: 25 1/2" (64.3 cm)
Neck width at nut: 1 3/4" (44mm)
Machine heads: Schaller M6 with ebony buttons
Hofner 72/22-G ebony bridge with compensated B-string
Hofner 62/EB-G ebony tailpiece, brass reinforced
Hofner 65/NP-E floating ebony pickguard with mounted volume and tone controls
Hofner 514/FN-G floating humbucking neck pickup, adjustable
1 volume control, 1 tone control
Gold-plated hardware
Colour: natural or Antique Violin Varnish
Hofner 3052 Deluxe wooden hardshell case, tweed-cream covering


Anybody have any dealings with Hofners?

[mahayana]

Have you played it yet, JA? Looks deeper than most new ones, my question would be what kind of volume and tone obtains when it's unplugged.

It's a fine looking instrument, I actually prefer the old-style bridges that are not fastened to the top- makes intonation and action adjustments a snap.

[jazzalta]

Hi M. I'm going ahead with buying this. I've heard some sound samples and it has got great reviews. I just want an archtop guitar that has more acoustic qualities. My Gibson just doesn't deliver that. It's a great electric but a very lousy acoustic. So, I made a deal with a Hofner rep in Toronto and it should be here in 2 weeks or so. I'll keep you informed.

[jazzalta]

Hofner finally came in. It's a beauty and extremely resonant. It varies a lot from the Gibson ES-175 I had, in that the tone has far more clarity and defintion. It's the loudest archtop I've ever played actually. Top is hand finished as in French Polish, and it has an "old world-liness" about it. This guitar was featured at the Hofner booth at the 2005 NAMM show earlier this year.

[jazzalta]

A little sample of the Hofner, complete with a few clams for the critics.

home.ripway.com/2005-4/289505/blues.mp3

[mahayana]

Sounds good, JA. I can actually play winamp files, still haven't got my windows media player to work again, though.

Anyway, post some more of those links! You'll have to explain how to create audio files sometime.

[jazzalta]

Well, M, it was a lot easier than I thought to create the audio file. I used sound recorder option on my computer (Windows XP) and just plugged right into the back (now I realize I can run through a mixer or any other device prior to this). Once I had the recording in WAV, I converted to MP3 to make it smaller. I then used a web host (ripway.com) to upload and inserted it into the post. I'll try and do some more once I get the sound processing thing down. It was just a trial run, but I thought I'd try it. I'm still getting used to the Hofner. It's a different beast and needs taming.

[mahayana]

Verrrry interesting!

I'd love to hear some of your chord-melody arrangements, as you play them. Maybe you could go through the process with Autumn Leaves or a newer one you're liking especially well, and post it over there?

I'm going to check out ripway.com , I'd been wondering if there were audio hosting sites so you answered something for me. Thanks.

My only suggestion about your trial run is to turn up the guitar a bit. Was the bass part tracked in or played simultaneously?

edit- I looked at www.ripway.com/ I can see why they're OK with the file sharing police, as their free service is just 30M, about 8 songs.

[jazzalta]

mahayana, I played the little blues thing right off the cuff, played just as you heard it. I'll be willing to post more once I get used to the guitar. It is a lot different from the Gibson so I want to get a few hours in with first. I was mostly interested in how I could post an audio file.

[pinsk94]

Congrats on the new guitar. Heard some great things about those. Sound sample confirms it. Congrats and enjoy.

[Qrious]

Jazzalta,

You got rid of the 175. Did you not like it?

Just qrious.

[jazzalta]

Well, I had to sell the Hofner as well. I have always had tendonitis but was able to keep it at bay for the most part. Well, the Hofner was 4" thick and there was no way to hold or play it without pain. Interestingly enough, a solid body is a lot better pain-wise. Hardly a worth substitute but I don't want to feel discomfort every time I go to play the guitar. The es-175 was traded for the Hofner as I wanted to try a solid top. As it turned out, it's all moot now.

[Professor]

Jazzalta,
(Professor here)
I've had that trouble, too. I just put my Epi Joe Pass on consignment. But before I did, I would sit with a strap on, and let it hang in front of me like I was standing, with my legs spread out. That's the only way I could play it comfortably while seated. And since I've played classical for decades, that seating position wasn't a problem.

Now, for jazz, I'm using my ES-335. The thinner body is much more comfortable, and since I'm not exactly thin, it has the effect of making my arms longer. The new 335s seem pretty nice, with the exception of the fret work, plan on getting them crowned and radiused, and the weight, some of the new ones are as heavu as a 70s era Les Paul.

One of my friends, who is in the jazz program at UNT, is using a Hofner Verythin Classic. It looks cool and sounds nice. His is plain, but Quilt top ones are also available.