Hofner New President Natural Gloss 2003
Hofner New President, natural gloss, made in Germany 2003. This is a beautiful instrument, truly. Hofner have a great heritage building arched top guitars, and this is a great example of their formidable capabilities. It's a full depth jazz box, with an arched top and back, carved from all solid German spruce and flame maple. The fretboard, pickguard and bridge are all African ebony. The binding, inlays and decorative flourish on the back are all executed brilliantly. It's more common to build this genre of guitar from laminate timbers, as the materials are cheaper and it's much simpler to execute, but the all-solid construction here really adds some special sauce. The sound is amazing: rich and clear, percussive and piano-like with a brimming complexity. The single mini humbucker is articulate and sweet, it's a good time. If this was a Gibson, it'd be a $10k guitar easily: the smart money is with the Germans. Perfekt!
Model: Hofner New President
Made: Germany, 2003
Serial: B01301
Finish: natural, gloss nitro
Body: solid German spruce top, solid AAA flame maple back and sides, 404mm across, 95mm deep, fully hollow
Neck: maple, ebony fretboard, 44mm nut, 24.75" scale, radius
Weight: 2.895kg
Mods: none
Pickups: Hofner mini-humbucker
Accessories: original case
Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has minor scuffs around the posts and clouding of the lacquer on the front. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, very minor play wear only. The back has very minor rub wear in the middle of the body only. The sides have minor dimples in the elbow area and some surface scratches near the jack. The front has a scratch and dent in the elbow area and minor play wear on the guard and horns.
Overall: excellent condition (9/10)
Playing condition notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. Wearing fresh 12/50 flatwound Tomastik strings.
Fret life: 8/10, minor wear only