ELECTRICIZED

Hofner President Electric Archtop

1956-1971
Spruce, Maple, Mahogany, Rosewood

Another superb Hofner. The President Electric was a variant of the acoustic model of the same name, which started off in 1953. It is easily recognized by its triple dot inlays and single cutaway (venetian or florentine). Early models had black bar pickups (pictured). Hear it

Photo from Vintagehofner

Gibson Byrdland

1955-Present
Spruce, Maple, Ebony

The name Byrdland is a mashup of the names of Billy Bird and Hank Garland the two guitarists who participated in its design. They had requested a short scale archtop that would be less bulky than the traditional hollowbody, and this is basically what they got: A short-scale thinline L5CES.

P90s, PAF pickups, venetian or florentine cutaway, the Gibson Byrdland went through several phases, but was always seen as a remarkable and prized instrument. Some of Gibson’s finest. Hear it

Photo: Georgesmusic

Golden Hofner

1959-1962
Maple, Spruce, Ebony

Hofner’s holy grail. Rather fatty, its 18” body size is the largest body ever made by Hofner. Mother-of-pearl roses inlays florish through a zero-fret 11 piece laminated neck. Came in three versions (acoustic, electric and thinline).

Sold exclusively in the UK by Selmer, about 100 goldens ended in british homes. The rest of the world had to accomodate with the Hofner 470 model, very similar but smaller in size and with different inlays. If you’re curious, here is a ton of pictures and more details.

1959 Guild M-75 Aristocrat

1959
Spruce, Mahogany

The lord of the Guild.P-90 love. Absolutely gorgeous. On Ebay