Saturday, September 13, 2014

Hofner Archtop F-hole Acoustic 1961 repair.

I've gone some way toward repairing a 1961 Hofner Archtop F-hole acoustic guitar.


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This guitar belongs to a friend who's brother owned it from new in the early 1960s.
He died prematurely of leukaemia in 1962.

The guitar remains original and largely unplayed. As expected the neck was bowed forward and the heel of the neck joint had separated.

I released the truss rod nut which was seized. Once lubricated I refitted the nut and attempted to adjust the curve out of the neck. Adjusting to he truss rod does not have an effect on the neck curvature which leads me to believe that this was never intended by the manufacturer.

I have glued the neck heel joint and repaired this major fault which has improved the string hight issue.

Generall the guitar is in surprisingly good condition in every other respect. Saddle height adjustment has been corrected, a new set of strings fitted, intonation set up and the old Hofner is OK to play.