EXTREMELY RARE Vintage HOPF Original Acoustic Archtop Guitar, by GUSTAV GLASSL, w/Cutaway, Soft Case

RARE HOPF Custom Acoustic Archtop Guitar by Gustav Glassl, w/Flamed Maple, Cutaway, Soft Case
Hand Carved, All-Solid Construction, Lower Bout: 16 3/8", Depth: 3 1/8", Made in Germany

Up for consideration is a very nice, gently used vintage 1950s Hopf Archtop Guitar, by Gustav Glassl -- a blonde / flamed maple Acoustic Archtop guitar with a softshell case. This cutaway model archtop guitar seems to be a custom HOPF model, made for them by the luthier Gustav Glassl, which features a solid, carved Spruce top, book-matched flamed maple back and sides, triple bound top, generous inlay markers, and custom headstock inlays. Also included is the high-end bridge with adjustable intonation saddles, and "Hopf Original"tailpiece. Many of theses Hopf by Glassl designs seem to be one-of-a-kind originals, so I'm not exactly sure which model number this one is, but based on the high quality tone woods and appointments, it is one of the higher-end Custom / Original by Gustav Glassl hand-carved Models.

The guitar plays well, has a nice full sound, and is in surprisingly good condition for a 65-year old guitar. The neck seems like a typical fat 50s style neck profile, and the center stripe on both the carved spruce top and down the book matched, flamed maple back are sure signs of a higher-end, all-solid wood construction. Also, the Natural Finish usually speaks to the higher quality of the tone woods, as the nicer looking tonewoods are normally found on natural finish guitars, while the lesser quality woods usually have a opaque paint job to cover them up. The finish does have some mild checking, but it gives the guitar a nice vintage patina, without being distracting, and the tortoise shell bound fingerboard, top & back purling, and bound F-Holes are still intact and looking good, and the frets are also fine with plenty of life remaining, and has the very generous, rectangular position markers. The headstock inlay design of Sun/Moon and Snowflakes seems to be unique to this guitar, and there are a few screw holes on the sides that were drilled to support a pick guard, and likewise on the raised fingerboard to support a pickup. Does not come with a pick guard, and it is not drilled for an endpin pickup jack, as I believe the wooden endpin jack is the original. Plays and sounds great, and is a very nice vintage guitar at an affordable price for a hand-carved, all-solid vintage 1950s archtop with high-grade tonewoods. Comes with a nicely padded, soft-shell case, and will be shipped double-boxed for extra protection during Safe Shipping.

HOPF ARCHTOP by Gustav Glassl GUITAR SPECS:
* MODEL: Custom Model by Gustav Glassl; * TOP: Solid Spruce; * BACK: Bookmatched Flamed Maple * SIDES: Maple; * FRETBOARD: Bound Brazilian Rosewood; * LOWER BOUT: 16 3/8"; UPPER BOUT: 12 1/4"; * BODY DEPTH: 3 1/8"; SCALE LENGTH: 25 1/4"; * WEIGHT: 5 lbs, * FB INLAYS: 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 15; * CASE: Softshell; * MADE IN: Germany.

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