Here is a very cool old German Archtop, made by Hopf in the 1950s, It is beautiful to behold (in a German 1950s arch top aesthetic) with its distinctive, bound Cat’s Eye Sound Holes, but it needs a good bit of help.
Here’s the good stuff.
The entire guitar seems to be Maple construction, top, back, sides, and neck.
My guess is that the back and sides are possibly laminate.
The fretboard looks to possibly be Brazillian Rosewood.
The finish is in excellent condition, with only a small degree of crazing.
The original pick guard (very funky) is packed in the hard shell case, which is in very good condition, overall, with one seam on the top needing some repair or duct tape.
Here’s what you’re getting into.
Small stuff: some of the MOTS inlay on the fretboard needs to be either sanded down or removed and reglued.
One of the tuners has a broken button.
BIG STUFF: The neck is warped.
The action at the twelfth fret is about 5/32nds of an inch, but from the twelfth fret on, everything is fretted out.
So, lowering the action by lowering the bridge, will only worsen the fretting out.
There is only about a 32nd of an inch of relief in the neck, more than you would want but not unworkable.
It would appear that at the very least, the neck will need to be reset and the angle changed (and the bridge changed to suit).
It is also a possibility that the fretboard will have to be removed and the neck straightened.
There is no truss rod adjustment screw, but that doesn’t necessarily mean there is no truss rod.
It may have a non-adjustable “steel reinforced neck.
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As it is, right now, I can comfortably fret barre chords up to the sixth fret.
After that, the action is too high to be comfy.
If you are looking for a slide guitar, this may be the one! Ultimately, I think this guitar will be a killer if the neck can be made right and a pickup added.
Please check the photographs carefully, as I have tried to show the guitar from every angle.
Price: $495 (was $600)
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