Rudolph Hoyer Jazz, 1954

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Instrument: Rudolph Hoyer is one of the somewhat lesser known guitar builders from the... more
Rudolph Hoyer Jazz, 1954

Instrument:
Rudolph Hoyer is one of the somewhat lesser known guitar builders from the legendary family dynasty. You can always easily recognize his guitars by the typical semicircular "Hoyer Gitarren" logo. He also worked in the Tennenlohe (south Germany) family workshop and of course his guitars have many similarities with those of Josef or Arnold Hoyer. This is a typical jazz guitar from the early fifties, the good reputation and success of the German post-war archtops is based on such instruments. It dates from the year 1954.

Material:
The guitar is built entirely of maple: Top, sides, back and neck. Top and back are elaborately crafted from one piece. The neck is triple-blocked, including the headstock made of one piece and consists of three longitudinally glued maple parts. This gives stability. The fingerboard is made of black stained pearwood, a common solution at that time. It has celluloid inlays in four frets and a matte black lacquered headstock. The Hoyer is generously equipped with bindings: around the top, back, soundholes, neck and headstock. They are creamy white and perfectly match the fingerboard inlays and pickguard. This is a typical Hoyer part - elaborately glued in several layers and also equipped with bindings all around. Open tuners, massive ABM Müller tailpiece in lyre design, bridge made of black stained pear wood.

Instruments history:
From 1980 to 2022 it stood unplayed in a household, but it only got there because tenants of the family had simply left it there when they moved out. Mounted was a mismatched homemade plywood pickguard, an improper bridge and the most simple tailpiece was irreparably rusted. The instrument also has many playing wear marks, so it must have been played diligently earlier. It was important to the owner that the guitar gets a professional restoration and thus a real fresh start - we were happy to do that.

Restoration work:
We cleaned the guitar and blew out the body. All the lacquer surfaces were extensively bale polished, leaving the guitar its beautiful patina. The brass frets and fingerboard were sanded, straightened and oiled or polished. The tuners were disassembled, cleaned and re-oiled. From our stock came an original old Hoyer pickguard, an original bridge, and a new-old-stock Lyra tailpiece by ABM Müller from about 1960. In the end, the guitar got a set of new 11-gauge Pyramid Bronze strings, and we gave it a basic setup. All in all, a lot of work, but it was worth it.

Current condition:
The previous owner will be satisfied: The new start in top condition is ensured. The first thing that stands out is the beautiful, contemporary cognac-colored look, with the creamy white accents very tasteful and equal to an old Höfner. Overall a very classy and high quality appearance. Everything is sturdy, resilient and free of flaws. Play marks and authentic patina show on the back and lower bout, but this is all superficial and structurally completely insignificant. After all - the guitar is almost seventy years old! Then the wonderful sound is convincing: soft, warm, woody, balanced and assertive. You can hear the old wood and that this guitar has been properly played many hours. The string spacing is nice and flat for an old jazz guitar, the frets are like new, accordingly the guitar plays very easy and comfortable. This makes the guitar a wonderful player and a nice collectible at the same time.

Measures:
Overall length 105 cm/41.3”; body length 51,5 cm/20.3”; lower bout width 40,5 cm/15.9”; waist width 26 cm/10.2”; upper bout width 30 cm/11.8”; body depth 8 cm/3.1”; scale length 63 cm/24.8” (zero fret to saddle); fingerboard width 4,2 cm/1.6” at zero fret, 5,2 cm/2” at 12th fret; overall weight 2.050 g; string action on 12th fret 2 mm/0.08”.

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.

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