A Near Mint 'Factory Aged' Hofner Jazzica Custom Vintage "Celloburst"

2003 Hofner Jazzica Custom Vintage - 'Factory Aged'

A very interesting guitar… This near mint 'factory-aged' to give it a well-played, worn-in look, 15 3/4 inch wide, 2 3/8 to 4 3/8 inch deep guitar weighs just 4.90 lbs. Arched flame 'Anigré' two-piece back & sides, carved European spruce top with two single-bound 'seal-shaped' 'f' holes. The top has seven-ply, white over black binding and the  bottom has two-ply white & black binding. One-piece 'lightly-flamed' maple neck. A wonderful wide nut width of just under 1 3/4 inches and a super comfortable medium profile gently rising from 0.83 inch behind the 1st fret to 0.90 inch behind the 12th fret. Triple-bound ebony fretboard with 24 (two octaves) original jumbo frets and inlaid, mother-of-pearl block position markers. Ebony faced headstock with "Höfner" and flower design inlaid in mother-of-pearl, three-layer black over white plastic bell-shaped truss-rod cover, secured by three screws. Individual gold plated Schaller 16X1 tuners with half-moon ebony buttons. Hofner adjustable floating pickup with an output of 9.49k. Pre-compensated ebony bridge on height-adjustable ebony base. Höfner contoured ebony tailpiece. Inside the bass 'seal-shaped' 'f' hole is the Hofner rectangular white label printed in brown with decorative border. Höfner / Germany/ Model "Jazzica Custom Vintage" / Serial No "D-0521. There is no visible playing wear to the original frets or the ebony fretboard. A strap-button has been fitted to the treble-side of the neck heel. The original owner had removed the ebony pickguard (leaving two tiny screw holes on the side of the body and one on the treble side of the neck) - the pickguard is no longer present so we have given this fine instrument a solid (9.25) near fine rating. Complete with the original Höfner hang-tag with matching serial number. Housed in the original Höfner five-latch (one broken), shaped tan hardshell case with black plush lining (9.25). This one-owner guitar was designed by Höfner to replicate an aged handmade cello. All the areas that appear worn, scratched or faded are a factory original design.

Founded in 1887, the Höfner Company became Germany's largest maker of fretted and bowed instruments. Now based in Hagenau, Bavaria, Höfner's strong violin background gave it an edge in producing archtop guitars, which they've built for over half a century, including signature creations like the Attilla Zoller Model. Built with peerless German craftsmanship, the Höfner Jazzica Custom Vintage blends topflight materials with highly innovative design. Like the violas, the top and braces are carved from solid Alpine spruce, and the back and sides are intensely figured maple. The distinctive contoured body tapers over two inches from end-block to heel, creating a resonant acoustic sound-box that is notably comfortable under the arm. The solid carved European spruce sound-board is braced with a single tone bar on the bass side to maximize acoustic response, and the finger rest is contoured to avoid obstruction to the treble soundhole altogether. At just 4lb 12oz, the guitar is notably lightweight, and comfortable, with a clear, focused acoustic voice. Smooth low action with a fresh high precision setup over a comfortable D profile neck, with solid ebony fingerboard and tall original fretwork. With its exceptionally figured body of deeply flamed Aningré, a decorative African hardwood similar to maple, the instrument has been maintained in superb 'factory-aged' condition with the exception of the removal of the original pickguard.

Anigré is yellow white to reddish brown and indistinctly divided from the pale sapwood. The grain is fine, straight and can be interlocked. It can often exhibit a block mottle or board curl figure. It is often a utility wood and in East Africa has a history of use in musical instruments! It is used for the back and sides of guitars, where it's light weight allows it to compare favorably to mahogany. Tim McKnight (McKnight Guitars) says: "I have used African Anigré a few times. The tone is very mahogan-ish. The raw wood visual appearance is very close to the color of maple. It takes a stain evenly which will really bring out the grain if you happen to have some figure that you want to accent. Workability is closer to maple than to mahogany and generally there are no unexpected surprises. Its a good tone-wood"