Soli (Hanika) - Hofner-style archtop ~1959 made in Germany

Welcome to another fine guitar from The Old Europe! Please make sure to read the entire description below carefully, and look at all the pictures. Feel free to make an offer with the submit offer button.

General introduction and background:

Wow – this is a rare beauty. Soli archtop, made in ca. 1959 (see Soli 1959 catalogue page) in West Germany (FRG) by Helmut Hanika. Soli was the label of Hannover-based musical instruments distributor Mufag.

Equipped with an Ideal soundboard. This old battered lady has undergone some serious restoration efforts and is now fully enjoyable again for many years to come.

Please watch the video!

If you wish I can buy a fitting case or gigbag at your costs prior to shipping!

As always, the instrument has been serviced completely and is ready to be played immediately. But please read the description carefully!

Measurements, weight and other specs:

-Scale:  630 mm

-Nut: ca 43 mm

-Weight: 2,6 kg

-Pickups: Ideal soundboard with two singlecoils measuring both at around 5,6K. Controlled with two tone and volume pots, and two flip switches to switch the pickups on and off individually. The tone pots weirdly affect both pickups; the rear volume pot is a master volume, the front one works on the neck pickup only.

-Body: probably laminated back and sides with a laminated maple top. The body is completely hollow, maximum width 42 cm and depth 8,5 cm

-Neck:  girthy U or D, probably made of three pieces of maple and walnut, and a very dark fretboard (could be ebony) with a flat radius (12’’) and small vintage frets.

Condition:

-Body: pretty well preserved with lots of signs of aging and scratches, but no serious damages. Somebody made a biiiig hole in the bottom to fit an output jack there; it is now covered with a jackplate. The soundboard has been fixed to the top with screws (not original but contemporary to the guitar)

-Neck: good condition, straight with an ever so slight underbow; the back shows a lot of signs of capo misuse (?) but has been smoothed to make it less tangible. The frets show some wear (7/10) but are overall fine with few crevasses and do not need replacement any time soon, unless you need higher and more modern frets. The fretboard shows some fingernail carvings on the first couple of frets. Small crack in the fretboard at the end of the neck is harmless.

-Head: good condition, no big issues, but one of the corners was chipped off (see pic).

-Hardware: signs of age, but overall ok.

-Electrics: works with the quirks as described above. I’d probably not use the pots at all.

-Originality: the soundboard surely has been attached to the guitar at a slightly later point in its life, probably early 1960s. Before that, seemingly a pickguard was installed, and also at least 2 different neck attached floating pickups of which traces are visible. The crack in the fretboard at the end of the neck comes from that installing of a pickup. The big hole in the bottom covered with the output jack is also not original, and I think the guitar did get a new nut at some point.

Sound and Playability:

-Playability and string action: really good playability with low string action (1,5mm – almost modern shredding comfortability

-Sound: Please watch the video. A very woody, microphonic low output sound with lots of vintage charme. It directly sounds like a very old vintage record. The acoustic sound is as expected – choppy, trebly, to cut through the mix but not with the volume or girth of a flattop acoustic.

Repairs, Service:

As always, the instrument has been serviced completely and is ready to be played immediately.

-Completely cleaned

-Frets polished and fretboard cleaned

-New flatwound 11 gauge Pyramid strings put on

-New output jack installed / string grounding wire installed

-Setup concluded and ready to be played (just tune it up)

Auxiliary stuff:

-no gigbag or case included. The item will be wrapped well, and put into a sturdy cardboard box with lots of filler material. If you wish I can buy a fitting case or gigbag at your costs.

Please also have a look at my other offers and follow my shop!

PACKAGING: All guitars are shipped out in a sturdy cardboard box with lots of filler material. Please note that for the protection of the environment, I am reusing used packaging material whenever I can.

SHIPPING: Please check the shipping quotes in this offer. I ship with insurance, worldwide. Usually I am able to ship the item on the same day or next day of received payment. Please allow 1-2 days from pick up for delivery in Germany, and 1-2 weeks within the EU. US, Canadian and over overseas buyers:  My shipping quotes are very competitive, I can only do that by using DHL Premium. Please anticipate a shipping time of up to 8 weeks depending on your location. Tracking is provided immediately when shipped out within the system. Please refrain from giving a review before you have received the guitar.

AFTER DELIVERY: After receiving the item, please inspect the package for obvious damages and make photos if there are any. After unpacking, check the item immediately for damages or other undocumented flaws. I accept a 14 days return and will pay for shipping if the item is in a different condition than described upon arrival. Please note that I will only take the item back entirely, but not grant any reduction of price and generally only accept returns if the item was unaltered after arrival.

CITES protection: all of the items I sell have been legally imported to the EU before January 1st 2017 and are registered with the authorities in Hamburg, Germany (if applicable).

DATA protection: German financial regulations demand that I keep your address on file in an invoice. The only information that I store is what this platform provides me. Please understand that I cannot delete that information from my files. You may ask what kind of info I have stored from you any time.