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1957 Höfner Club 50 — Stunning Featherweight German Made Archtop - $2,000
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The condition is excellent for a 67-year-old guitar — only the lightest, most honest signs of age and play. Nothing that affects playability or tone, just the character you'd expect from something with this much history behind it.
A few things worth knowing up front — I always like to be completely transparent:
- This guitar was branded for the Swedish market as a Model 127 with a Halmens label on the headstock. It is unambiguously a 1957 German-made Höfner — this was common practice for European distribution at the time and is part of the guitar's interesting provenance.
- The pots have been replaced at some point (under the control plate), and it retains the classic 50s wiring scheme where one pickup's volume control affects the other when rolled fully down. This is not a flaw — it's period-correct behavior — and from what I understand it's a straightforward mod if you'd prefer standard independent operation. As-is, all controls function perfectly.
- There is no internal ground wire, so a tidy external grounding solution is currently in place that eliminates buzz and hum completely. It's unobtrusive and can be removed in minutes if you want to address it differently.
- The neck has no truss rod, which was standard for the era. It plays beautifully — clean and comfortable in every register with a medium action (.11" at the 12th fret, both high and low E). This neck appears to have been stable for decades and shows no signs of movement.
- The neck profile is narrower and thicker in the classic 50s manner, with a nut width of approximately 1.57" (zero fret). I have medium hands and always found it comfortable, but if you have large hands and aren't used to vintage necks it may feel different than what you're used to. Worth knowing going in.
- Pickguard not included. Original case with replacement handle included.
Selling only to fund some recent Reverb purchases — this is a fantastic guitar and I'd happily keep it in another life. Accepting Venmo, PayPal, or cash. Also open to all sorts of vintage or vintage voiced trades!
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