Hofner HGL 50 Schwarzwald Edition

Very fine Black Forrest spruce top, alder neck, European walnut body, European walnut fretboad; all solid wood. Very nice wooden tuners and golden plates. The guitar comes with Hofner Premium Strings.

That's what I call a really beautiful sound! Mighty basses, crystal discants and some kind of very classic "wooden tone". It sounds almost exactly as the Sembdner of a friend of mine which is six times as expensive as the HGL50 SE.
After approx one week of playing the sound even became noticibly richer.

There's a little spot on the back of the body that lacks finish! Also there's a brown spot on the top of the neck, but that's how nature made the wood - it's not Hofner's fault. Nothing really bad actually. Funny thing: All other HGL50 SE I've seen were without ANY of such flaws, but the spruce top wasn't as even as mine (that's why I chose it). However, one has to realize that Hofner is bound to the tops they got from the Black Forrest, so choice is not infinite. Anyway, all spruce tops were nice to look at and are a great choice for really good sound.

I 100% can depend on this guitar.

I have been playing this for six months now. There's no reason why I would buy a more expensive one.

all-solid woods: walnut fretboard, back and sides; alder neck, spruce top from the 'black forest'

that's where it really fails to impress...
the guitar sounds like it's made of cardboard, good cardboard, but still...
playing basic chords in the lower registers sounds not that bad, yet boomy in the bass, overwhelming the mids and weak in the highs, very direct sound though. The deepness, richness you'd excpect from a guitar with a spruce top is not there... but you hear a potential somewhere hiding in the guitar...
I went up the low E string, suddenly the bass rolled off but the boomyness returned around the 7th fret -> I have to admit here that I played the stock strings, which were some sort of silver basses and titanium trebles (hofner premium strings) but I didn't even bother to change them...
I think the walnut fretboard is the weak link here, it really dominates the sound too much, a bad choice for an otherwise good guitar for the price if....

.... if the baby weren't pregnant!
The top was deformed to the inside before the bridge and to the outside past the bridge forming a little belly! I've seen this before on two Takamine Hirade guitars. That's getting worse by time, killing action and intonation besides looking unhealthy.
That's a sign of poor and/or hasty work, definitely not worth of what Hofner calls a "Master Guitar", and yes, it's been signed by "Dieter Fischer"...
The walnut fretboard was rough and dry but nicely fretted.
Playability was excellent, intonation too, that's where the guitar shined.
Yes, the spruce top was irregular and had bearclaws, I can confirm that but I never judge a guitar by it's looks. I have played guitars with shitty looking tops which sounded good and vice versa...
The finish was poor. Small lumps and dents on the top.
Back and sides were dipped in lacquer, the neck felt sticky.
It's easy to find guitars costing half the price, made in Asia, with a better finish.
The tuners were okay, a bit fragile.

Maybe the belly is a result of bad storage. I don't know how long and where the guitar was stored before it was shipped to me but after reading the reviews of other Hofner Master Guitars here, it seems many of them suffer from deformed necks and tops.
If Hofner took a bit more time and care in building their guitars they would really hit the mark. I'd be willing to pay for that.
But under these circumstances it's understandable that I'll never trust Hofner again in the near future.

I've mailed them 2 times but no sign of life.

I've tested many classical guitars over the years and this would be a solid workhorse if the build quality would be better.
Sound is a matter of taste, maybe someone likes the walnut sound.
I don't. But there are still mahagony and rosewood models available from Hofner costing much more but I don't trust the build quality to be any better.

I think it a very special thing that only woods of a german forest and environmental-friendly materials have been used. The soundboard has some bearclaws, a feature not everybody is fond of. But the overall appearance and the feel of the guitar I would call noble: massive walnut back, fretboard and sides, maple neck, beautiful inlays, slotted headstock, gold plated tuners (that work perfectly).

Own the guitar since 2 years now. Stunning from the beginning were the clearly defined basses. Midrange also nice with a good sustain. The higher frequencies were a problem in the first months, but consequent and loud playing in high ranges improved this. Together with my customization of the finish (see below) I tend to say that the brightness is improving, an the high ranges start to "sing" as well.

There are some ripples from grinding on the bridge. No other flaws.
The matte finish of the soundboard did not please me from the beginning, so I decided to polish it. After sanding with 2000 grit paper and car-polish it looks fantastic. I??m sure this was a benefit for the high ranges, too. Try it if you??re courageous.
Adjustment of bridge and nut can easily be improved, only light modifications were necessary.

Use a case for transport, keep normal climate in room where the guitar is kept.
Had to play it in the bleak midsummer sun for 3 hours, not even tuning was necessary.

No experience yet. I think the crew around Mr. Fischer would help if necessary.

Own it 2 years, for classical and blues (E.C.??s Lonely Stranger sounds great!)
I would call it at least semi-professional.
Highly reasonable price.

The previous reviewer must be from some classical guitar manufacturing company to keep the rating low on this. Please ignore this. This is a great guitar, very special indeed with the walnut fretboard. The solid German Spruce top is one of the nicest I've seen and workmanship is highest pro standard master luthier job. Only a few of these were built by master luthier Dieter Fischer, check out if you find his signature inside the guitar.

For a new guitar this is surprisingly responsive, can't wait to hear it in a couple of years. It'll only get better. I own a couple of older Hanikas and a Alhambra 7P but at the moment I prefer to play the Hofner most of the time. It carries good mix of classical and flamenco elements, one of the very few guitars I've come across that can do both somehow.

I don't really like the matt top in combination with glossy backs and sides but it grows on me and in a few years when the aging kicks in I will have forgotten all about it.

This is a master guitar built by Dieter Fischer, no further comment.

I'm a pro player since 30 years now (god, what was I thinking) and I'm sure this guitar is going to stay with me for the rest of my life. It's not the best classical guitar I've come across but it's not that far off. Considering its low price it's the best value for money guitar in the world for sure.

If you read the list of special features, especially the different type of tone woods, you are convinced it must be great. But that is the advertisment in the brochure, not reality. But after having bought this guitar you get the reality. I've got one and I was deeply disapointed. I've never seen such a bad finish of a spruce top before. It was cloudy and irregular. The cheapest chinese guitar looks better than this one. And this is declaired as a masterbuild guitar!! For my opinion Hoefner pulled down this high end level dramatically. The guitar comes with a certificate and a measurement curve. For my opinion - just a marketing trick.

I've compared the sound with Hanika guitars 52AF and 54PF . These are great sounding guitars compared to the Hoefner HGL-50 SE. Hoefner is advertising the great bass sound of it's guitar. No - compared to the Hanika guitars you can say - the hights are missing.

Classical with no electronics. Deep, rich sound that can be very loud without amplification.

Set up was slightly high for my tastes, but the saddle allowed for trimming and it now plays smoothly. This particular model is hand-made and is assembled beautifully; slight file marks near merely emphasize the hand-made quality, almost like an artist's mark. Machine head are well made and work smoothly.

I believe this guitar could easily withstand concert playing, though I do not play concerts; though very light weight, it seems very tough.

Hofner, of course, is in Germany. Service seems possible, but I've had no reason for service.

I also own an very old Hofner "folk" guitar, a Hofner Carmencita (low-cost classical), a Carvin 750 and have had, over the years, a Yamaha acoustic, a Framus acoustic, a Gibson electric, a Kay and have played lots of other guitars. The Hofner HGL SE is a very fine instrument.

This is a German made 7th May 2003 Guitar.I know this because it comes with booklet of particulars signed by the luthier.Stunning!Quite Expensive at #485.00 UK Sterling BUT comparing it with other very well named classical guitars it out does them all in that price range.I'm not sure what woods are used because it's all in German but I'm so impressed that I'm going to have the booklet relating to this guitar soley,translated into English.To look at ,normally I wouldn't pick it up BUT again,so glad I did.You can just hear the tones of wood vibrating.Georgeous.And now I love the look of it.If you're looking for a quality classical mid price range you CANNOT do better than this.Lovely!

Beautifully finished matt top.Polished sides and back.

Playing for seventeen years.Others guitars include Gibson Les Paul Custom,Jap 1987 Strat.Tokai Jap ES335 replica.Gibson ES355 1977,Yamaha 412SBII,Yamaha 403MS,Tanglewood CS10 Classical