# Hofner CT Verythin - Impressive



## Fajah (Jun 28, 2006)

My buddy has been looking for a semi hollow guitar with a bigsby for quite some time now. He's played a whole bunch in various stores but hasn't been able to make up his mind. I was delighted when he asked me to come down to L&M yesterday to lend my ear and offer some opinions. We played a plethora of Gibson ES339's (which he was leaning toward), ES335's, along with some Gretch, Ibanez, Godin, and Epi guitars. I even took out some teles with HB's installed just for the sake of comparison. 

Aside from the fact that the L&M staff are basically useless and the guitars were not set up very well, there was nothing that turned my crank as far as feel and tone were concerned. I could see why he was having a tough time making up his mind because he wasn't feeling the love for anything.

I then suggested that we go to Remenyi Music to check out the Hofner Verything Series. I first saw this a guitar a couple of months ago hanging in Steve's Music Montreal store. I didn't have a chance to play it but thought it was interesting and subsequently saw then at Remenyi when I dropped in one day while killing some time. I've never shopped at the store I have to first say that Remenyi's staff is a pleasure to deal with. The instruments we played were set up very nicely and we spent quite some time playing two Hofner Verythin models. 

http://www.beatlebassdealer.com/hofner-verythin-guitars.htm

The two guitars we played were virtually identical. The necks and bodies of both guitars were made in China and the fit and finish is excellent. They're light weight and very comfortable to pay. The necks are one of the best I've played in a long time, and the tonal range is fantastic. One of the guitars we played had all Chinese components and retailed for about $600 without a bigsby. The other guitar had the same Chinese made body and neck, but was assembled in Germany. It sports Hofner's own electronics and hardware and retails for $1700. To be honest, there wasn't much of a difference in the two guitars..... certainly not $1100 worth. A bigsby adds around $150 to the price. 

Suffice it to say that my friend ordered the all Chinese version with a bigsby right then and there. If I were in the market for a guitar today, I would have ordered one too. IMO, this is a great all round guitar and excellent value if you're in market for a semi hollow guitar.


----------



## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

Those are nice looking guitars.

Are they closer to the 339 or 335 size?

That VT 3 looks interesting too. I wonder how that sounds with the singles?


----------



## Fajah (Jun 28, 2006)

sulphur said:


> Are they closer to the 339 or 335 size?


Closer to the 335 in size however, the 335 body is 1 3/4" in depth as opposed to the Hofner's 1" depth. I find it to be very comfortable.


----------



## washburned (Oct 13, 2006)

Original Verythins can often be found for very good prices on the net.


----------



## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Noodled on one a few years ago. Comfortable, nice player.


----------



## Hammertone (Feb 3, 2006)

Just the facts, ma'am:

1.
washburned wrote: Original Verythins can often be found for very good prices on the net.
Yes. They are cool; they are vintage; they are completely hollow.
The Verythin CT, Verythin 3 and Verythin Special all have solid spruce blocks in them to prevent feedback.

2.
sulphur wrote: Those are nice looking guitars. Are they closer to the 339 or 335 size?
They are similar in width to ES-335 guitars.

3.
sulphur wrote: That VT 3 looks interesting too. I wonder how that sounds with the singles?
They are not singles. They are stacked humbuckers, supplied by Shadow. Decent sound run-through here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fagbDVE-zcA

CT Series:
- comes with decent hardshell case. 
- VT 3 is not a Limited Edition, but there are not many of them around. Sunburst only. Costs more than the regular Verythin CT.
- Verythin CT w/Bigsby is a Limited Edition - current series is sunburst over plain maple, previous version was walnut brown, first run was cherry red - Hofner only brings @40 of each run into North America. Costs more than the regular Verythin CT.
- 24 3/4" scale.

More expensive ones:
- The Verythin Special (sunburst or dark red burst) comes w/German-made Winter case (super-nice), ebony board w/clay dots, mostly German hardware supplied by Schaller (nickel-plated).
- The Verythin Singlecut w/Bigsby (opaque light blue or red) comes w/German-made Winter case, ebony board w/clay dots, mostly German hardware supplied by Schaller (nickel-plated), genuine Bigsby (licensed).
- 24 3/4" scale.

Most expensive ones:
- The Verythin Classic (natural or sunburst) comes w/German-made Winter case, ebony board w/MOP block inlays, gold-plated German hardware supplied by Schaller. Made entirely in Germany.
- The Verythin Standard (natural) comes w/German-made Winter case, rosewood board w/dots, solid mahogany block as opposed to solid spruce, nickel-plated German hardware supplied by Schaller. Made entirely in Germany.
- 25 1/2" scale.


----------



## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

I found a cool demo of one of these guitars.

Sounds good! I love the looks, those "F" holes are different.

[video=youtube;eN-bF6ir1pc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eN-bF6ir1pc&amp;feature=g-all-u[/video]


----------



## JHarasym (Mar 27, 2007)

sulphur said:


> I found a cool demo of one of these guitars.
> 
> ..those "F" holes are different.


They're more like essholes.


----------



## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

JHarasym said:


> They're more like essholes.


Hey, what'd you just call me? 8P


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

sulphur said:


> I found a cool demo of one of these guitars.
> 
> Sounds good! I love the looks, those "F" holes are different.


I always enjoy watching this fellow demo guitars.

Thanks for the link.

Cheers

Dave


----------



## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

I think that's Gregs Guitars, that might be Greg. 8)


----------



## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

sulphur said:


> Hey, what'd you just call me? 8P


How to catch an elephant.

Dig a huge hole in the ground.

Fill it with wood and burn the wood untill only ashes remain.

Hide behind a tree and wait for the elephant's natural curiosity to take over.

When he (or she) comes over to look, sneak up behind him (or her) and....








Yes, tlhat's right



Kick him in the ash-hole


----------



## dcole (Oct 8, 2008)

They kind of look like sloopy Rickenbacker holes.

I thought that guy in the video was amazing. I was like man, he is sure good at playing rhythms and leads at the same time. Then I seen him go for the volume knob and the rhythm kept playing. It dawned on me, he must have a looper!


----------



## Hammertone (Feb 3, 2006)

Those nutty Germans have been doing funky soundholes since the early 1950s. The Hofner back catalogue is full of them. The Verythin Classic in the demo video uses the same soundholes as the carved top "Jazzica" jazzbox. The current Verythin Special/Custom/Singlecut models use a shape that was used a lot in the 1950s. The CT Verythin uses a really nice straight-up f-hole, as used on the Verythin Standard on which it is based. Here are shots of each:

Verythin Classic:









Verythin Singlecut w/Bigsby:









Verythin Standard, with the same shaped f-holes as the CT Verythin:


----------



## dcole (Oct 8, 2008)

Sweet guitars. Thanks for posting the pics.


----------



## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Fajah said:


> My buddy has been looking for a semi hollow guitar with a bigsby for quite some time now. He's played a whole bunch in various stores but hasn't been able to make up his mind. I was delighted when he asked me to come down to L&M yesterday to lend my ear and offer some opinions. We played a plethora of Gibson ES339's (which he was leaning toward), ES335's, along with some Gretch, Ibanez, Godin, and Epi guitars. I even took out some teles with HB's installed just for the sake of comparison.
> 
> Aside from the fact that the L&M staff are basically useless and the guitars were not set up very well, there was nothing that turned my crank as far as feel and tone were concerned. I could see why he was having a tough time making up his mind because he wasn't feeling the love for anything.
> 
> ...


So you thought the all Chinese version was better than a Gibson 335 or 339? 

I was quite taken with the Thinline 3 (3 pickup model). I also liked the nut width (44mm - 1.73") That's close to perfect IMHO.


----------



## Fajah (Jun 28, 2006)

Steadfastly said:


> So you thought the all Chinese version was better than a Gibson 335 or 339?


I thought so. I liked the overall tone and particularly, the neck profile way better. The fit and finish was every bit as good IMO. The pots, jack, and selector switch are not as good quality wise, and my buddy ended up changing them out.


----------



## dcole (Oct 8, 2008)

Milkman said:


> How to catch an elephant.
> 
> Dig a huge hole in the ground.
> 
> ...


I totally missed this. So friggin funny but ... kkjwpw


----------



## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Fajah said:


> I thought so. I liked the overall tone and particularly, the neck profile way better. The fit and finish was every bit as good IMO. The pots, jack, and selector switch are not as good quality wise, and my buddy ended up changing them out.


I don't doubt the fit and finish were every bit as good. That is easy to do with today's modern equipment. I've not personally had one in my hands but the specs and pics look excellent. I agree on the neck. The Gibson (and Fender) necks just don't work for me.


----------



## Hammertone (Feb 3, 2006)

It occured to me that this thread is about the CT Verythin, so showing a picture of them might be a good idea:


----------

