Talk about hand made (Hofner)

[duane v 512]

I like how the guy eyeballs the fret markers and the fret channels. This kinda takes me back to my high school shop days. 

 

[sparquelito 657]

That is amazing. 

Such patience and craftsmanship. 

🙂

 

[Sgt. Pepper 907]

That is what Germans are known for.

[jaxson50 640]

Seems it would be easier to put the pickups on before you put the strings on..

[Dub-T-123 543]

8 hours ago, jaxson50 said:

Seems it would be easier to put the pickups on before you put the strings on..

He used the strings to align the bridge and pickups to the neck. Because of the construction of this bass with surface mounted pickups and bridge that seems like a good idea to me.

 

With the fret slotting part he is definitely not eyeballing that and would have laid out the slots beforehand with a scribe. The line cut by the scribe is too fine for this old camera to see but it shows the builder where to cut and guides his saw straight. The inlays are possible to eyeball but he likely laid that out off camera as well. If the dude was eyeballing the fret slots it wouldn’t be a cool impressive craftsmanship thing, it would create a useless instrument 
 

The saw that he used to cut the body sides was scary lookin. I don’t think OSHA is gonna let us use that one in the states 

[jaxson50 640]

2 hours ago, Dub-T-123 said:

He used the strings to align the bridge and pickups to the neck. Because of the construction of this bass with surface mounted pickups and bridge that seems like a good idea to me.

 

With the fret slotting part he is definitely not eyeballing that and would have laid out the slots beforehand with a scribe. The line cut by the scribe is too fine for this old camera to see but it shows the builder where to cut and guides his saw straight. The inlays are possible to eyeball but he likely laid that out off camera as well. If the dude was eyeballing the fret slots it wouldn’t be a cool impressive craftsmanship thing, it would create a useless instrument 
 

The saw that he used to cut the body sides was scary lookin. I don’t think OSHA is gonna let us use that one in the states 

One template would fix the problem of pickup and bridge alignment.  

[merciful-evans 953]

Any ideas how old that film is?

[fortyearspickn 411]

I am humbled at the expertise and attention to detail.   At the end, seeing the racks of basses -  gives perspective on the volume.  How many nuts does that guy cut in a day?  Wow.

How old ?    Can't be too old. I have that same shirt the guy doing the fretboard was wearing. 

[merciful-evans 953]

2 hours ago, fortyearspickn said:

I am humbled at the expertise and attention to detail.   At the end, seeing the racks of basses -  gives perspective on the volume.  How many nuts does that guy cut in a day?  Wow.

How old ?    Can't be too old. I have that same shirt the guy doing the fretboard was wearing. 

 

Yes I still have a couple of shirts that are 30 years old. 

It was just surprising to see all the old, and frankly 'antiquated' manufacturing methods. The presses used there are likely older than all of us. Don't misunderstand me, it was fascinating and informative. I just don't see why anyone in the manufacturing industry would use bandsaws and hand drills when CNC is available. 

[jaxson50 640]

47 minutes ago, merciful-evans said:

 

Yes I still have a couple of shirts that are 30 years old. 

It was just surprising to see all the old, and frankly 'antiquated' manufacturing methods. The presses used there are likely older than all of us. Don't misunderstand me, it was fascinating and informative. I just don't see why anyone in the manufacturing industry would use bandsaws and hand drills when CNC is available. 

I guess it's just old school mentality.  Maybe volume is not the goal. , however if I'm not mistaken, doesn't Hofner offer a low price Chinese or Korean made model?  

[jaxson50 640]

The Hofner Ignition series starts at around  $ 280.00 , is mass produced in China. 

[Retired 971]

Very impressive watching it all.  Very top quality. 

[merciful-evans 953]

7 hours ago, jaxson50 said:

The Hofner Ignition series starts at around  $ 280.00 , is mass produced in China. 

 

Yes I know they have Chinese models. I've had this one (HCT-J17) for 6 years now.  Its out of production now. 

Its about time I upgraded the electrics. I didn't bother before because its a 'fun' model for home use. Its sounding crackly now though. 

[fortyearspickn 411]

Wow - that's a fine looking   Just-For-Fun  guitar.    I may need to broaden my horizons and go spend an afternoon at GC.  

[merciful-evans 953]

Yes as usual with MIC the electrics are poor (though the pickup sounds great). It has lots of ebony. Fingerboard, bridge, pickguard and tailpiece. I considered trading it for an Eastman or Fibonacci a while back, but the modest Hofner actually handled significantly better than the ones I tried. That saved a bunch of money.

Back to the German violin guitars. Here is a 6 string version (now sold) at the shop where I got my Hofner (and played the Eastman & Fibonacci). Don't come across many of these!

https://guitarvillage.co.uk/products/hofner-459-tz-violin-guitar-sunburst-pre-owned-circa-1960s-vg

 

[jaxson50 640]

49 minutes ago, merciful-evans said:

Yes as usual with MIC the electrics are poor (though the pickup sounds great). It has lots of ebony. Fingerboard, bridge, pickguard and tailpiece. I considered trading it for an Eastman or Fibonacci a while back, but the modest Hofner actually handled significantly better than the ones I tried. That saved a bunch of money.

Back to the German violin guitars. Here is a 6 string version (now sold) at the shop where I got my Hofner (and played the Eastman & Fibonacci). Don't come across many of these!

https://guitarvillage.co.uk/products/hofner-459-tz-violin-guitar-sunburst-pre-owned-circa-1960s-vg

 

I would hold on to it and just upgrade the pots and pickups 

[merciful-evans 953]

18 hours ago, jaxson50 said:

I would hold on to it and just upgrade the pots and pickups 

 

Yes I will now. Perhaps the output jack too. I'll likely go for a Kent Armstrong Smooth Sam mini HB or similar.

[mihcmac 779]

Amazing how much hand work went into them.

I had one of these Tolex covered 185's in the late 70's.