Hofner J5F

Single cutaway 17" jazz guitar. 1 floating pickup (mini humbucker), volume and tone controls. Laminate spruce top, laminate flame maple back and sides. It gets a 10 because if you play jazz it has everything you need. If you don't play jazz, buy somthing else.

Contrary to another reviewer, I can confirm that this guitar has the loudest acoustic tone of any archtop I've ever played - except a 1939 Gibson Super 400. It's plenty loud enough for practice and I regurlarly teach with it unplugged. This was one of the main reasons I bought this particular guitar.

Plugged in, it has exactly the tone you'd expect. It's very woody and clear with the tone right up. I usually back it off to about 6 when using a pick and 4 when fingerstyle. If I'm playing solo fingerstyle, I keep the tone right up. Tone control works exceptionally well. You can go all the way from Martin Taylor style clarity to Methenyesque mellowness.

I've owned Epiphone Joe Pass and Broadway models, Gibson L4CES and Heritage H575 jazzers. This is my favourite one. I've gigged and recorded more with this than any of the others. I'd give it more than 10 if it were possible!

The finish on this is good. The control knobs were cheesy and lacked numbers, so I chaged mine for speed knobs. Pots feel nice and positive and I've had no noise.

I regulaly play this guitar 6-8 hours a day and it has no real marks on it. I'm reasonably careful, but not obsessive. It's quite heavy and seems to be built really well.

The action was quite 'acoustic' when I got it, which I didn't mind, but after a pro set up plays like my 575 did after it was set up... I always have my guitars set up by the same tech, so there you go. Having said that, all the frets past 12 needed dressing and the nut had to be taken down, so quite a lot of work was done.

It gets an 8 out of the box, but post set up is as good as anything.

Seems pretty reliable. I've had it 8 months with no issues. It feels tank like. I've gigged, taught and recorded extensively with it. I never take a backup to gigs as it's really too much trouble. I've been gigging for 25 years and have never had a guitar let me down. Maybe I'm just lucky. If I was on a major tour, I'd buy another just to be safe. I still don't think I'd get a D'Angelico, though.

There is no real wear to the finish yet. I regularly play 40+ hours a week (although not all on this guitar) so with normal usage should last many years.

Some of the gold has come off the pickup where my ring finger rubs it on the corner...

I keep it in a Hiscox Pro case.

I have no idea about warranty. If anything went wrong, I'd get my usual tech to look at it. It's either going to be a wood movement issue (but this is made of ply...) or electronics, which can be sorted easily enough.

I love this guitar, and so does everyone else who hears it. It always draws comments on it's good looks (it's cinnamon) and tone. The only issue is that you're limited volume-wise by feedback, but this is the same for any archtop. You can always mic the amp into the PA.

Personally, I'm a sucker for 17" bodied jazzers. They have greater clarity than 16" guitars, and you can always tame the treble whereas it's hard to add treble when it's not there.

I've owned some nice jazzers (see above) and others including Paco de Lucia 1a flamenco, vintage Bernabe concert classical, Gibson and Takemine acoustics, Gibson Les Paul, US Tele deluxe, and Musicman Axis Sport are some of the pick, as well as a host of cheaper guitars. I can't find anything wrong with this one, and due to it's price, I don't have to worry about it.

If I ever get another one, I'll have a Charlie Christian pickup fitted to one of them. Mmmm, nice.

2007/2008 Hofner J5F single cutaway full bodied archtop in a natural finish. Maple laminate sides and back, laminate spruce top. Relatively thin neck with a rosewood fretboard. Ebony pickguard and saddle. Floating "mini humbucker" with a single ebony volume and tone controls. Did not include a case/gig bag. For what I paid for this instrument it was a steal, plays and looks great.

I've been using this guy with a Fender Deville 2X12, I get a crystal clear sound through the minihumbucker and I'll sadly admit of my electrics (I'm mainly an acoustic player), this guitar sounds significantly better than my Gibson Chet Atkins SST and older Fender strat. It has a unique smooth woody tone I didn't expect to get out of a $300 instrument. I mainly bought this guitar for its looks and hope that it could just pass the sound test. It has far exceeded my expectations and contrary to what a previous reviewer has said I find myself playing this guy more than my martin JM-15 and takamine EAN40. The only issue is the classic feedback that archtops get at higher volumes.

The action on this guitar is very low and somehow there is no fret buzz or other issues as a result. Even at the higher registers the action is low and its makes for a very easy playing guitar. The pick-ups sound great, especially given the cost. The bookmatching on the back is slightly off. No finish flaws or other blemishes. For a korean made production guitar this instrument does seem to be of fairly high quality given the price.

I've had this guitar for about 6 months and had no issues. Only issue has been with the ebony/wood pickguard, which over time has slipped to the point it started buzzing against the body of the guitar. A couple of felt pads and the guitar is good to go. Other than that I've got faith this guitar will last.

Never had to use it. Don't know why Hofner doesn't recognize this model on their website though.

I've been playing since I was 10, I'm now 26. Used to play in a variety of acoustic rock groups and solo until medical school got in the way. Now I'm just a hobby player as I just don't have the time. The current line-up includes a 1999 Gibson Chet Atkins SST, 2000 Martin JM-15, Takamine EAN40, Fender Strat, and a couple of older archtops in addition to the J5F. If I could find another J5F that sounds as good as the one I currently one I'd buy one in the flash, for even more than I originally paid. In my opinion the sound and the looks of this guitar are stunning and well worth the purchase price. I wouldn't change a thing.

This is the HI J5, Icon series archtop. Made in Korea, with laminate maple, Humbucker, rosewood neck, 1 11/16 nut, lower grade ebony pickguard and tailpiece, but attractive giving it a costlier look and feel.The color is attractive cinnamon with no visible flaws. The shop included a Gig Bag and shipping for $520. Great deal!

This is a budget jazz guitar and that's why you buy it. Round wounds are a little too brassy and bright, but flat wounds should be good for smooth and rounder sound. This choice depends on your style, of course. One humbucker gives it some tonality. Used with a Fender Princeton 112, Vibrolux Reverb 66', Victoria 20112 and Fender Champ 600.

I have to disagree with prior review about the neck not being easy to play. The action is low and will probably need adjustment at the bridge, as it came a little too close. However, as we get older the hands do not function as well, so the nut width is quite comfortable and easy to play. The quality at this level is quite good and the look is beyond the cost.

This is a gig guitar and bought accordingly. Do you want to carry your more expensive archtop around?

I am not aware of any warranty. I believe you would have to check with your dealer.

Great overall value for the price. I believe it has all the gig would need, with a look and feel of a more expensive box.

Korean made German designed Archtop electric 2008 Laminated satin Cinnamon finish. 1 humbucker. 1 volume. one tone control. Neck wasn't particularly large. The guitar is a bit heavy

Nice overall woody tone when played with pickup. A little noisy, tone control decent but not great. Small unamplified sound

Well made all around, nice hardware, neat wood pickguard

The playability on the neck was very uncomfortable for me. Most good guitars make you want to keep playing for hours. After 20 minutes I wanted to stop. I know this makes only limited sense, but I felt like I was playing uphill. I really di not enjoy using this guitar.

Seems OK Could be used for live playing

NA

Here is where the guitar fails. It wasn't fun to play. Probably the most frustrating player I have owned in quite a while. I did not enjoy picking up this guitar for even short session. Very dissapointed It looks great, but...