Instrument: The Höfner 511 was one of the longest-lived Höfner guitars and was built, with modifications, for a full 37 years from 1953 to 1990. Thousands of young guitarists must have made their first attempts on this model and learned to play the guitar. Since then, thousands of 511s have probably disappeared. In children's rooms and at campfires, there was and still is no squeamishness, and so most of them have ended up in the bulky waste or are standing around broken in some attic. Very good models, like ours, are now rather rare; the guitar offered here dates from 1973.
Material: The guitar is of course fully laminated. The body is made of maple, the top of spruce, bookmatched. The neck consists of two massive mahogany parts, an expensive wood, elaborately worked throughout incl. headstock from two longitudinal parts. The rosewood fingerboard has four lateral dot inlays. Open, high-quality tuners, rosewood bridge. Despite the entry-level model, only high-quality material was used here.
Instruments history: Unknown. It was offered to us and since we liked the beautiful, well-rehearsed sound and very good condition, we gladly took it over.
Restoration work: The guitar was completely cleaned and the body was blown out. All varnish surfaces were polished, fingerboard and frets were sanded and oiled or polished. The tuners were as good as new, they were only freshly oiled after cleaning. Finally, a new set of Pyramid nylon strings and a setup - that's it.
Current condition: The sound, playability and very good condition of this beautiful 511 are convincing. Neck, fingerboard and frets are flawless. A few tiny scratches and dents on the body are practically unnoticeable, the edges, for example, are perfect. The neck is straight, the playability is child's play. The Höfner sounds wonderfully soft, warm and completely played in, like full wood and much better than you would expect. Perfect for beginners, a beautiful travel guitar or the one for all days, there is no more insensitive and grateful guitar. At the same time, it has many times more character than any cheap Far East guitar.
Measures: Overall length 40.2”/102 cm; body length 19.5”/49,5 cm; lower bout width 14.8”/37,5 cm; waist width 9.4”/24 cm; upper bout width 11”/28 cm; body depth 3.5”/9 cm at neck, 3.9”/10 cm at lower bout; scale length 25.6”/65 cm (nut to saddle); fingerboard width 2”/5 cm at nut, 2.4”/6 cm at 12th fret; overall weight 1.620 g, string action on 12th fret 0.12”/3 mm.
Purchase and payment: Just send us an email to info@german-vintage-guitar.com and you will receive your invoice immediately. Or simply order here through the shop.
