Hofner Colorama

Circa 2006 MIC dual pu solid body w/ set neck.
Hofner designed "Diamond" HB's with coil splitting on the bridge unit. Similar to DC LP special (not a RI of any known vintage Colorama) Blue transparent stain over "mahogany" Grovers, tune o matic, stop tp. Came in a box.

Decent sounds, better than you would expect at this price point. Good blues,classic rock guitar; perfect for those looking for a dual'bucker guitar, but not interested in a Gibby.

No problems here, finish is poly, so it dosen't have that "feel" that high end guitars have, but it is nicely applied, and is a step or two up from entry level guitars. Hardware is solid 7 installed well. The only niggle is that the pu selector swithc seems to be wired backwards (the setting closest to the neck gives the bridge & vis a vis.) a few others have commented on this so it is either typical Hofner wackyness, or a mistake was made at the factory..I thought about fixing it, but you get use to it...a point off though.

No problems here, good instrument for the ocassional gigger, up thru semi pro use.

Never tried, they have some web presence, but US distrubution,is a bit hit or miss..

This is one of the nicer "budget" guitars I have owned. Supposedly they were comparativly expesive when released into the European market, but failed to sell & were remaindered. (not really one of Hofners more famous designs) and so have a build quailty similar to mid line Epiphones (SG 400, Dot, etc.) or MIM Standard Fenders. If you come across one they are worth a look.

Made in 2008
Looks like Mahogany
Configures like a LP Junior or Brian May
Shaped like double cutaway LP
Grover tuners non locking
29.5 inch long guitar
It is a solid no nonsense guitar. Not a lot of useless ginger bread like onboard phazers and such.

I would say that it has a thick blues sound.
Leslie West would buy one if he played one.
I use a Mesa Boogie master down chanel up .
We play a mixed bag mostly southern rock and Skiner along with some rockabilly and Lead Zeplin.

Not really set up at the factory. I would say it could use the once over at your local neighborhood guitar shop.

This thing is built like a brick ship house. Real solid German design.

Yes I would take it out on a gig alone unless I wanted some extra sounds.

I have two of them so I would not have to replace it if it were stolen. As a mater of fact I am selling one of them.
Well and the store I got it from has another one.

Colorama Custom. Black. Has genuine Hofner pickups, per Hofner. Grover tuners. Pretty much laid out like a Melody Maker double cut. I'm calling it a C shaped neck, others may call it rounded, but I like it. 1 volume, 1 tone, 1 rotary pickup selector/coil tap all in one.

I find it suits my taste in musical styling just fine. Has a vintage type humbucker sound, singles are great as well. Alot of sound options.
I do wish you could use both pickups, but i guess i can do like others have and add a switch or blender pot. it's fine for now. Gets a little squealy with the right amp. Overall great sound clean or dirty.

I bought this one used, and went ahead and had a setup done to it.
Plays awesome. It does have two runs in the clearcoat, it isn't noticeable if you are playing. Everything else looks super.

I have owned this one for 2 years now, and i have not had any issues with it. It gets played, but i have not gigged with it. Seems sturdy enough for me though.

I emailed the company to inquire about the pickups. I got a return in 2 to 3 days that informed me that these are the German made Hofner pickups.

I have been playing a long time and have owned several top named instruments,'65 Fender Musicmaster,'77 Gibson Melody Maker, vintage B.C. Rich, and so on. Quality of construction i would put up against anything i have owned. I would buy another if i could get another deal on one.
Sunburst would look good on one, but it was not offered.

Nice cherry finish, not perfect but comparable to more expensive guitars

Former owner re-wired the guitar including a varitone switch and 1972 Bill Lawrence mini humbuckers. I had to adjust suspension problems. I screwed the bridge pickup into the body and put a piece of foam under the neck pickup so the height is now easily adjustable.
Sounds very good , like an agressive Gibson.

Great action without any buzzing

Played several jobs with it and it was great

I fix my guitars myself

Great inexpesive guitar, at least as good as production models Gibsons.

Trans red mahogany body and neck with a rosewood fingerboard sporting three-dot abalone marker inlays and a bound fingerboard. Double cut-away very much like a Melody Maker from the mid sixties. Tuna-matic and stop tailpeice and Grovers make for very good intonation and tuning stability. Came with a nice gig bag. Made in 2006 in China. Four position switch with master volume and tone allow the dual "Hofner" stamped mini hums to be separate or together with coil taps.

The mini-humbuckers sound very nice both dirty and clean. I play blues based rock mostly and it fits right in. I play through a Jones KL-50 with a Digitech digital delay and sometimes a TZF flanger. It delivers a bright, yet full sound. A nice "tweener" tone. The switch settings are a bit limiting so I re-wired it with push-pulls for series/parallel and a blender pot. Now I get a better array of tones without the hum. It's more able to cross over from a Gibson-like tone to a Fender-like tone. Maybe a Melody maker but smoother and more punch.

The pickups were a bit tricky to adjust as you have to loosen the side set screws and wiggle it about. The action was not bad but i tweaked the truss rod and adjusted the bridge a bit and it plays very nice. Love the real Govers and the bridge and tailpiece are serviceable. The fretwire is soft and turns my fingers black. I'll probably re-fret it if I play it a lot. Finish has several flaws but the wood and fit are exceptional for the price. The abalone inlays are more than I expected for the money but the inlay work is a little sloppy. Still, a lot of guitar for the price.

Probably not a gig piece as supplied mostly due to the fretwire. Probably not a very durable piece for a professional but for the money, would make an exceptional student piece. The finish should hold up ok.

Never dealt with them.

I couldn't resist it for the price. It reminds me of the mid sixties Melody Maker just prior to the SG version. The mini hums make it more versatile and the neck feels nice. A nice player overall with good tone. Hard to beat for the money. I'll probably put some better frets on it myself to make it more usable yet.

2006 Hofner Colorama-Set-neck double cutaway guitar with mini-humbuckers. 22 frets and rosewood fingerboard with cool three dot inlays! Grover tuners. Included a nice gig bag for $199

Sound is more flexible than a Melody Maker or other standard double cut. You can get great single-coil spank or ripping hum tones! My guitar came witha 4-way rotary that gives combos of hum and single coils-plus a master tone control as well

I just received the guitar a few days ago and did not have to make any adjustments as of yet except for tuning it up. I play blues and rock-so I raised the action a little bit for getting a better grip on big bends-but even with the low action there were no buzzes or dead spots. No finish flaws and all looked pretty good. The binding has a few small spots were the scraping was not 100%-but overall the set up and quality looks great

Just got it-but it looks very solid. The guitar is beefy-not a tank but not feather weight either-so I feel good about it lasting-but only time will tell.........

Have not called Hofner yet-but Musician's Friend was easy so far

I am thinking about getting another one with P90 pickups as they are offering two models for $199. The p90 sounds like a cool blues axe-but for $199 and since this one was so nice I think I may get one as I love the neck and sound. If it were swiped I would buy another. This guitar now and my Custom USA Strat are my main axes with a Rivera R series amp

New. Made in China. 22 frets. Symetrical double-cut. 2 Hofner stamped pups. 1 vol, 1tone, 1 4pos switch. Trans red. Stop tail. Med frets. Hard case by Washburn. Allen wrenches and cord.

Blues-jazz thru a Polytone Taurus 4, and 65 Fender Super Reverb. Full sounding from bright to subdued jazz quality. 4pos switch from humbucker to single coil for each pup, not both together. No noise. Would like a blender pot.

Out of the box it needed tuning. Action medium-low. No further adjustment needed. Although I would like to know how to adjust pup height. Will change strings sometime as these cheapies leave metal dust on fingers, should sound even better. Volume and tone are even across the strings and up the board. Just perfect. No loose parts or flaws.

All seem solid.

My first guitar was a 63 Hofner double-cut purchased new while in Germany. It had a red vinyl body covering and a twang-bar. It sounded just a little better than a catalogue guitar from Sears. The new colorama sound is a quantum leap beyond its predecessor. I also play Stats, Ibanez, Epi, Washburn, and Crate. While not of Strat sound brilliance, it does have a beautiful unique voice, and is immanently giggable. Get 'em while they're cheap. Now!

i got the new hoefner solidbody colorama guitar wit 2 p90 pickups and grover tuners
The guitar is build in china, but icould not find anything tht is not made perfectly.
nice neck, easy to play!

I use this guitar for blues and bluesrock, it got a full sound and does not get muddy whith distortion

perfect setup from the factory, ready to play!
Low action, nearly no hum (shielded electrics!)

used it for some gigs and in my living room, no problems by now,,,

never dealt with the support, everything is fine

Im plying for >15 years, got a fender usa tele and an epiphone flying V (korina model)
The Colorama has got the fender quality but the epiphone sound.
It's definately the best "cheap" guitar i ever had.

if stolen i would get a new one the next day

Approx 1961.Original red.2 p/u.Fixed bridge/tailpiece.Non contoured slab bodied.Earlier glued in neck type as opposed to screwed in neck of later models.Rosewood neck......and i think mahogany body.came with original case.Also has rectangular pot/switch panel in aged mother of pearl.

Low output single coils....sounds a bit like a fender jag.....although quite microphonic.But hey.......this is a 42 year old guitar.Great for blues or 60's style.The tone switches that offer various sounds are only really effective at their brightest settings......although the 2 volume knobs can vary the p/u sounds to one another.Quite a bright vintage sound

Excellent neck...good rosewood.P/u's are non adjustable for hieght.Body aged and crazed...but real vintage vibe that makes a new guitar feel so sterile and empty.Will prob. last another 40 years

The paint seems original and has lasted well.....everything seems solid enough.Even if this guitar died tommorrow one can believe that it has been part of rock history.It has done really well to survive.

Now where is my Tardis.

If you own lots of modernish guitars.......then you must own a vintage one....it really does put a perspective on things.....Hofner is a good way to get into old gear as it is not hugely expensive.Although prices will sooner or later have to rise, people will soon get fed up with their reissues and look elsewhere.One must remember that many rock icons used hofners too!!!!!