Thursday 8 November 2012

unidentified Hopf solid-body


You cannot have a full frontal picture of this beautiful Hopf guitar, because the mirror effect of its amazing chrome front plate would show the photographer - that is not the purpose (even if he/she is fully dressed). Hopf was probably the most creative guitar company - and my favorite - of cold war West-Germany - less conservative than its fellow companies and more in the spirit of the East-German ones... Their hollow-bodied Schlaggitarren are easy to spot - the Saturn 63 is a deserving star -, but the solid-bodies are less known and mostly still undocumented on the Internet.

This one looks like their most common model Telstar - with the Jaguar-based body en vogue in Europe in the 1960s - but the pickguard shape doesn't fit, though the chrome frenzy is typically Hopf. It's actually such in a good state that I've considered that it's been retrofitted - the body finish seems to have been changed too - but who would redo such a complex thing with all the (marvellous) knobs and switches?

I love this guitar, I should buy it - after all my kid doesn't really need snow boots and winter coat, and all these piano lessons, does he?

Bertram D

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5 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:43 am

    Judging by the positions of the strings on the bridge saddles, either the neck is REALLY badly aligned or someone was drunk while installing the bridge O.o surely it couldn't have come out of the factory like this?

    ReplyDelete
  2. And what about that weird placement of the whammy bar, BETWEEN the G & B strings??

    ReplyDelete
  3. I want this guitar! Who owns it?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think I own it now...bought it here in Helsinki, identical down to the few rusty screws. Seems self made or at least self modified by someone. I like the looks a lot, haven't played it much yet. Jake W., the strings aren't misaligned, someone was drunk while installing the bridge.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Pertti Jarla, do you have any pictures of the back of the guitar? If so, could you email them to me at: frpaxton@gmail.com
    Thanks!!

    ReplyDelete

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