Monday 4 March 2013

Hofner Shorty - the little guitar that is ripe for modding

guitarz.blogspot.com:
This eBay UK seller, impressed with the quality and playability of Hofner's inexpensive little travel guitar, the Hofner Shorty, has modded seven of them installing the Wilkinson WVS50 two-point trem system on each, and made them available for sale on eBay with a Buy It Now price of £175 a piece.

He makes a very good case for the playability and versatility of these babies, as evidenced in the above video.

Meanwhile, another modder has routed out the body of his Hofner Shorty, reinstalled a new top and bridge, and with the help of piezo pickups and a little technology has converted it into a quite convincing sounding electro-acoustic guitar for busking.

G L Wilson

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7 comments:

  1. Nicely nicely done! Sort of cornered the market on these Shorty's and done so w/ style. I'm all about tasteful, purpose driven modification and this fits the bill.

    In the demo it 'did' go slightly out of tune but I thought it was more a result of new strings than any design flaw.

    While we're at it, has it struck anyone else vintage seller's claims of "like new" or "lightly used" frets has become, tiresome? Just because the inst. sat in a case most its life shouldn't be assumed there's NO need for concern here? Lack of use ( like a low mile Jag ) can spell real trouble when quickly put through its paces! Alignment, level and crown, playability, DURAbility issues can surface.

    Isn't this the same assertion as implying that remaining a virgin until MUCH later in life assures your longevity will outlast the rest of us..?

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  2. Fantastic and innovative. Particularly like the acoustic conversion. although the thin bars that are the leg and arm rest look to be pretty uncomfortable. I might have a go at one of these myself.

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  3. Anonymous7:07 am

    I don’t think many of websites provide this type of information.
    Learn to Play Guitar

    ReplyDelete
  4. With no hard case available, I now use a piece of large foam pipe insulation rapped around the neck and headstock to protect it.

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  5. I was wondering......Is there a way of cutting the groove for the neck wider in order to fit a seven string neck, change the bridge, change the pickup....make yourself the very first seven string traveler? Or maybe use the hofner shorty bass body....or is there a way of getting a virgin hofner shorty body to mod it to fit the 7 string hardware?

    ReplyDelete
  6. I was wondering......Is there a way of cuting the groove for the neck wider in order to fit a seven string neck, change the bridge, change the pickup....make yourself the very first seven string traveler? Maybe use the hofner shorty bass body.....or is there a way of getting a virgin hofner shorty body do modify and fit the 7 string hardware?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Just converted my Shorty to headless & twin pickups. Details here:

    http://www.trans-fi.com/hofner-shorty

    ReplyDelete

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