Hofner 164

Early '70's German made solid body (shaped like a Fender Jaguar), two single coil p.u.'s, maple/rosewood neck. One vol., one tone, and an on/off switch for each p.u.. Nothing fancy, but after 30 years everything still works perfectly. I bought it on eBay because I like the Jag style body. I absolutely love the neck, slightly shorter than a Strat but longer than a Jag, just what I was looking for. The body is a bit thiner than I'm used to(1.5" max), an attribute I'd normally associate with cheapo jap guitars, but there's plenty of resonance and now I appreceiate the lighter weight. Tuners worked O.K. and are quite similar to those found on old american Harmony's & Kays (creme plastic knobs, exposed gears). The only change that I've made was to replace tuners with Schallers (wanted to keep the German heritage intact). I'd like to find a new bridge, as stock unit on these only goes up & down, making precise intonation impossible. It's more a matter of principle I guess, as the intonation is good all the way up the neck. I just tell myself "one less ting to worry about", I love this guitar

It was a happy surprise when I plugged it in, no popping, no hum, no buzz. A bit of dust in the pick-up on/off switches the first few times I tried them, but no problems since. Volume and tone pots both worked clean and smooth from the start. Two single coil pick-ups are strong, with no real drop outs from anywhere along the neck. They are somewhat limited with the sounds they can produce. Not much crunch, but a great retro sound.

I didn't know what to expect when I got this guitar. I bought it on eBay, so I had 3 fuzzy pictures to go by. The only German guitars I'd ever played had been Framus', which are notorious for finish cracks. Not the case with Hofner. The finish is clean and clear with minimal scratches around the edges. Very good condition for a 30 year old guitar. I fell in love with the thing before I even plugged it in. The best over all feel of any guitar I've ever owned. I bought a second, identical model, then sold both my Jags and my Tele...I' hooked !

Came in very good condition, without a case. Everything works great, even after 30 years. I've never broken a string in over 100 shows (I do change strings every 2 or 3 shows though). No problems !!!

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I do all my own set-ups and repairs.

I've been playing for 30+ years, and although this is not the most versatile guitar I've ever played, it is, without a doubt, my favorite. I have played many, many different brands of guitar, from the cheapest of cheap to the most expensive. I've owned at least 8 different Fender models, and at least 6 different Gibson models. All were wonderful guitars, and fond memories, but I love these Hofners (I have two 164's now), and I will not sell them. It's kind of sad actually, I mean, I love buying and checking out different guitars, but now I feel like, "what's the point", I'll never replace the 164's. Maybe it's because I'm getting older and I starting to feel like I should settle down, find myself a sweet little thing that makes me feel right, you know, give up the one night stands and become a one guitar man...I don't know (I did see a little Italian beauty on eBay last night...something called a Sano...????).

This guitar features a mahogany body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, dot inlays, twin "toaster" pickups, one volume and one tone control, two sliding switches for pickup selection, three tone finish, bolt-on neck with straight headstock. Looking at Hofner's Web page, I found it was build between 1975 an 1978. The strange thing is, it seems to be a late model from the famous Colorama series, even if the body shape is different. The body shape is very similar to a Fender Jaguar Jazzmaster. It has no tremolo.

Well, this guitar is great. I played some so called Vintage guitars before and all were sounding awful, no matter if clear or distored! This is different - sounds really jazzy to bluesy, clear and warm when played over a marshall tube amp. Not really a rock guitar. Because it has only two PU the sound settings are limited, but I don't worry about that. Both PU positions have a wonderful sound.

I got it used and it has some dings and dongs. But overall it's in a good condition, except the tuners. The tuners didn't work probably, so I replaced them with modern closed tuners. After cleaning the guitar in and outside, everything was fine. I'm sure when it was bought new, the action and finish were well.

Because this guitar is now more than 25 years old and still in a good condition and has a good sound, it will see 25 years more .

Because Hofner is gone there is no support anymore. In case I do need some support for this guitar, I will ask my guitar shop or find one of this vintage guitar freaks.

I play most songs from the late 60th to the 80th. I have now six guitars (1 accustics and 5 electrics) in different styles. I play always tube amps, most Marhalls and use sometimes effect pedals. I will never collect guitars or spend thousands of Euros for old guitars - I will only play them. It was just for fun when I bought this guitar and I didn't expected something special. But when I got it and played on it the first time, I was really surprised about the sound and quality. Now I love it and it was a good bargain.
I can recommend this guitar to everyone who don't need a guitar for rock only. If it were stolen or lost it will be hard to get one again. So if you can get one, take it.