Very nice .Ive got a deluxe {2 pick up] version on order .I understand their qc is better nowadays so fingers crossed .I plan to change the tuners to a locking but as you say pick ups are great and wont be swapping them out .I think if you tie the strap to the headstock like you see on some acoustics will improve the handling .
My shorty is exactly the same, Bridge pins have come loose and bridge is way to high and forward. I have removed the pins and glued them with PVA and sawdust mix. Seems to be holding well enough! The bridge has been replaced by the previous owner and doesn't fit at all. I am currently replacing it to get the string height correct. Don't think you need to fill and drill out the posts, glueing them may be good enough and a lot cheaper. Good luck and let us know how you get on.
Hi Steve..the luthier drilled the holes out n fitted wooden rods into the holes n remounted the bridge pegs n still it tilted forward..so we finally opted the fit a bridge n stop tail combo..n I'm loving it! A video of it has already been uploaded! thank u for watching n commenting..really appreciate it !
@@ariffjohanismusic5577 Yeah a les paul bridge and tailpiece is a good option, but you can get a Gotoh 510UB bridge/tailpiece that is similar but better looking than the one that comes with the shorty that actually has been well machined and doesn't lean forward when you put strings on it.
The bridge parts whilst looking quite nice are machined with incorrect measurements and to the tailpiece does not slot in snug to the studs, there is a big gap and so the bridge tilts forward. The tuners also whilst looking quite nicely finished, the tuner pegs which the strings wrap around wobble really bad. Terrible machining for those parts. I've recently put a gotoh bridge (Gotoh 510UB Wrap Around Bridge Tailpiece) on my Chinese hofner shorty which is so much better although the gotoh studs that slot into the guitar body are a little too small. I need to make dowels to fill the stud holes and re-drill the holes to fit the gotoh studs. I also replaced the tuners with gotoh tuners (Gotoh SG381 Tuners) which are great with no wobble at all to the tuner pegs. But after all that I was still getting string buzz from the bass E string and so had to adjust the truss rod so that there is now a fair bit of bow to the neck but the string no longer buzzes. So my next course of action is to take the horn nut off of it (which is listed as being bone for some reason, and horn is not bone at all unlike antler). It seems the problem with the string buzz is down to the nut being cut too low for the bass E string. I got a natural bone nut to replace it through the post a couple of days ago that I may have to file down a little to fit perfectly but is for les paul/sg. I'm waiting for guitar feeler gauges through the post before I start work on the nut so that I can work out any filing I might have to do to get it perfect. I am determined to make it into a good guitar. But it should have been a good guitar when I bought it. They are a good project guitar I think. I have another Chinese hofner shorty that I bought cheap before this one, that has a dent in the body, and I plan to take the pickup out of it, maybe remove some of the windings depending on what the resistance reads on a multimeter and then put it on the better shorty so that it has two pickups. I also plan on wiring it with a 5 way switch (stratocaster switch) so that I can have the normal 3 settings but also have a setting where the pickups are out of phase. I also have a nice thick sheet of pick guard material to make a larger pick guard for it. The extra pickup, switch and tone control should add some good weight to it to stop the terrible neck dive of the guitar. If it's not enough to stop the neck dive, I will drill into the body from underneath the pick guard and pour molton lead into hole/s. I have already spent out the money now so I am determined to make it into a good guitar. Another option for more weight may be to add a small amplifier and a speaker to the guitar body somehow, which would be cool and I know they the old German shorty's could be bought with an inbuilt amplifier and speaker. If you want a decent Hofner shorty that you don't have to upgrade etc, I wouldn't recommend buying one of these Chinese built ones but rather buy an old German made shorty. The body and neck of these Chinese shorty's are quite nicely finished and the pickups, volume and tone controls are fine in my opinion. So my experience was the bridge and tuners that come with them are awful, and the nut was awful on mine. And of course there is terrible neck dive. I do not understand why the factory that makes the bridges and tuners go to all the effort of making those parts, when the machining measurements are so bad. It makes no sense to me at all. They could use the correct measurements and they would be great, and despite the measurements being so bad they are quite nicely finished (they look good but fit together terribly)
I'm afraid not..this is not a beginners guitar as it is difficult to hold..they will hv a hard time just to keep the guitar neck up what more hold a chord n strum the strings...I dont recommend this guitar for kids or adults
It's not a good quality guitar from the factory in China. The old original German made hofner shorty on the other hand would probably be great guitar for kids (but they will cost a lot more second hand than these Chinese made shorty's)
Best is to bring it to a luthier to fix d problems. i know 1 luthier known to any musicians and guitar stores. i dont see it any problem if i have that guitar
You think so? I just bought my first guitar, a fairly priced tricone resonator but would also like something transportable I can take with me easily to practice with. I know from other things the importance of being able to practice often if you want to actually get better quickly. I want to learn standard guitar chords, but I'm mostly interested in slide/ open tuning!
The hofner is abt approximately 3 inches shorter n 7 inches narrower than a regular guitar..its a huge difference when carrying it around in terms of size n weight..I hand carry them into planes without anyone bothering me!
Very nice .Ive got a deluxe {2 pick up] version on order .I understand their qc is better nowadays so fingers crossed .I plan to change the tuners to a locking but as you say pick ups are great and wont be swapping them out .I think if you tie the strap to the headstock like you see on some acoustics will improve the handling .
For the tone potentiometer you could experiment with different values of capacitors to find one that gives you the ideal range of tones.
My shorty is exactly the same, Bridge pins have come loose and bridge is way to high and forward. I have removed the pins and glued them with PVA and sawdust mix. Seems to be holding well enough! The bridge has been replaced by the previous owner and doesn't fit at all. I am currently replacing it to get the string height correct. Don't think you need to fill and drill out the posts, glueing them may be good enough and a lot cheaper. Good luck and let us know how you get on.
Hi Steve..the luthier drilled the holes out n fitted wooden rods into the holes n remounted the bridge pegs n still it tilted forward..so we finally opted the fit a bridge n stop tail combo..n I'm loving it! A video of it has already been uploaded! thank u for watching n commenting..really appreciate it !
@@ariffjohanismusic5577 Yeah a les paul bridge and tailpiece is a good option, but you can get a Gotoh 510UB bridge/tailpiece that is similar but better looking than the one that comes with the shorty that actually has been well machined and doesn't lean forward when you put strings on it.
It sounds surprisingly good
The bridge parts whilst looking quite nice are machined with incorrect measurements and to the tailpiece does not slot in snug to the studs, there is a big gap and so the bridge tilts forward.
The tuners also whilst looking quite nicely finished, the tuner pegs which the strings wrap around wobble really bad. Terrible machining for those parts.
I've recently put a gotoh bridge (Gotoh 510UB Wrap Around Bridge Tailpiece) on my Chinese hofner shorty which is so much better although the gotoh studs that slot into the guitar body are a little too small. I need to make dowels to fill the stud holes and re-drill the holes to fit the gotoh studs.
I also replaced the tuners with gotoh tuners (Gotoh SG381 Tuners) which are great with no wobble at all to the tuner pegs. But after all that I was still getting string buzz from the bass E string and so had to adjust the truss rod so that there is now a fair bit of bow to the neck but the string no longer buzzes.
So my next course of action is to take the horn nut off of it (which is listed as being bone for some reason, and horn is not bone at all unlike antler). It seems the problem with the string buzz is down to the nut being cut too low for the bass E string. I got a natural bone nut to replace it through the post a couple of days ago that I may have to file down a little to fit perfectly but is for les paul/sg. I'm waiting for guitar feeler gauges through the post before I start work on the nut so that I can work out any filing I might have to do to get it perfect.
I am determined to make it into a good guitar. But it should have been a good guitar when I bought it.
They are a good project guitar I think.
I have another Chinese hofner shorty that I bought cheap before this one, that has a dent in the body, and I plan to take the pickup out of it, maybe remove some of the windings depending on what the resistance reads on a multimeter and then put it on the better shorty so that it has two pickups. I also plan on wiring it with a 5 way switch (stratocaster switch) so that I can have the normal 3 settings but also have a setting where the pickups are out of phase. I also have a nice thick sheet of pick guard material to make a larger pick guard for it.
The extra pickup, switch and tone control should add some good weight to it to stop the terrible neck dive of the guitar. If it's not enough to stop the neck dive, I will drill into the body from underneath the pick guard and pour molton lead into hole/s.
I have already spent out the money now so I am determined to make it into a good guitar.
Another option for more weight may be to add a small amplifier and a speaker to the guitar body somehow, which would be cool and I know they the old German shorty's could be bought with an inbuilt amplifier and speaker.
If you want a decent Hofner shorty that you don't have to upgrade etc, I wouldn't recommend buying one of these Chinese built ones but rather buy an old German made shorty.
The body and neck of these Chinese shorty's are quite nicely finished and the pickups, volume and tone controls are fine in my opinion.
So my experience was the bridge and tuners that come with them are awful, and the nut was awful on mine. And of course there is terrible neck dive.
I do not understand why the factory that makes the bridges and tuners go to all the effort of making those parts, when the machining measurements are so bad. It makes no sense to me at all.
They could use the correct measurements and they would be great, and despite the measurements being so bad they are quite nicely finished (they look good but fit together terribly)
This would be good for young beginners maybe 7-10yrs old?
I'm afraid not..this is not a beginners guitar as it is difficult to hold..they will hv a hard time just to keep the guitar neck up what more hold a chord n strum the strings...I dont recommend this guitar for kids or adults
Mini Jackson dinky dka guitar or mini Ibanez gio mikro are great for children!
Beginners??? u are joking!!!of corz not!!! it is becoz u have that kind of guitar haha
It's not a good quality guitar from the factory in China. The old original German made hofner shorty on the other hand would probably be great guitar for kids (but they will cost a lot more second hand than these Chinese made shorty's)
Best is to bring it to a luthier to fix d problems. i know 1 luthier known to any musicians and guitar stores. i dont see it any problem if i have that guitar
Hi Frankie..
Yes I did n I was (unpleasantly) shocked by the out come..I'll be doing a video on it ..pls stay tuned!
@@ariffjohanismusic5577 yap
@@ariffjohanismusic5577 if u need d luthier i was saying, pls feel free to inform me, il refer him to you. He handles my guitar, esp'ly gretsch
Itd make a good lap steel for slide
You think so? I just bought my first guitar, a fairly priced tricone resonator but would also like something transportable I can take with me easily to practice with. I know from other things the importance of being able to practice often if you want to actually get better quickly. I want to learn standard guitar chords, but I'm mostly interested in slide/ open tuning!
How long its full size men? Thanks in action..
The hofner is abt approximately 3 inches shorter n 7 inches narrower than a regular guitar..its a huge difference when carrying it around in terms of size n weight..I hand carry them into planes without anyone bothering me!
Try putting the strap on like an acoustic
Hahahha
He aint joking. Strap/string at the nut end would balance it better
Steinberg spirit.