Hofner HAS-7

I think the one other guy who reviewed this guitar before me pretty much covered the waterfront. I'll just say that this is a plain vanilla guitar, which in this price range is exactly what you want. No money wasted on crappy on-board electronics or cheesy faux inlays. Even the headstock is a simple, rectangular piece of wood. What it does have is a solid spruce top! What this means is that the tone of the guitar should improve with age (see "Sound" category.)

I don't know for sure if the tone on this is improving with age because I bought it used, but I'm guessing it is. Mine was built in 2004, and I can tell you that this is a pretty mellow sounding guitar. Everything else I tried in this price range sounded harsh and brittle. This guitar has a tone that I would characterize as bright for a dreadnought, but as far as I'm concerned that's a good thing. Most dreads are a little too boomy for my taste, and I was actually considering buying a triple-ought for this reason. So I guess if you like the big thumpin' tone typically associated with dreads this might not be the guitar for you. Or is it? 'Cause for all it's brightness, the tone is also buttery smooth and pleasingly rich.

Nice, simple, tasteful. Real good action 'cause Music-Go-Round, St. Paul has a guy on staff who really knows how to set 'em up.

Seems pretty well built. I paid so little for this that I'm just carrying it around in a gig bag (a hard case would have cost almost as much as the guitar) and I haven't managed to damage it yet. I could tell that the previous owner dropped this thing on the headstock because of a pretty significant ding up there, but it survived that.

I'm a bass player just tryin' to learn enough chords so I can sing a few numbers at the song circle. Basses I know, but guitars? Well, let's just say I know what I like, and this one appealed to me right off. I bought this on a Saturday and had a gig with my band that evening. I brought this along so our guitarists could check it out. One of these guys is a killer finger-picker whose been playing the same Martin since before I was born (true, and I'm not gettin' any younger) and he was favorably impressed by my cheap Hofner.

A pretty good D-28 copy; solid spruce top, solid rosewood back, sides, bridge and headstock overlay. Satin finish on top and gloss on rest, mahogony neck, gold hardware, full body binding. What's really nice is that the back is book-matched and bound with a herringbone strip, really pretty.

First I must explain, I have performed one crucial mod. The stock bridge saddle is a plastic POS, GET RID OF IT!! I replaced it with a natural bone saddle and the tone improved drastically. Before that mod I would have given this guitar a 6, now it gets a solid 9, no new acoustic is a 10. The tone is D-28 all the way - loud, punchy, and full. It's sustain is INCREDIBLE for an acoustic. I don't think you could ask for much more from a budget acoustic. It goes from a warm, modern "MTV unplugged" tone to a deep folky Leadbelly tone depending on where you pick, actually very vesitile.

Was set up nice by the store I bought it from, can't say about factory. The finish is a little rough in some places, the nut is OK, and the saddle intonates well but sounds terrible. It has scalloped X-bracing that's nicely installed without to much excess glue.

What can really go wrong on a strait acoustic? I don't expect it to be a brick, but I think it'll take use well. The only thing I'm a little worried about is the tuners.

Can't say

Been playin' for 7 years now, mostly electric, but I know what a good acoustic sounds like. It's too bad these are hard to find for a new guitar, check out hofnerheaven.com if you want to buy one or ask questions. The saddle change is a must, and wasn't too hard to do by myself with some help from a couple repair books and the internet. If it were stolen I would go out the next day and buy one again, it's really good.