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Master violin maker Karl Höfner founded his own stringed and fretted instrument

company in Schönbach, Germany in 1887. With a reputation for quality,

craftsman-ship and innovation, Höfner soon became the largest manufacturer

of stringed and fretted instruments in Germany. Thus, in 1907 Karl Höfner was

entrusted with the repair of the King of Saxony’s violin, and the master performed

his job to the full satisfaction of his client.

When his two sons, Josef and Walter, joined their father’s company in 1919

and 1921 respectively, acoustic guitars already represented a significant part

of Höfner’s instrument production. In a market dominated by inexpensive

student guitars during the 1920s and 1930s, Höfner classical guitars were

already establishing new standards and the company capitalized on that

leadership during the decades that followed.

Josef and Walter expanded Höfner’s worldwide exports, especially to North

America and the Far East. To date more than two million stringed and fretted

instruments - from student to master models - have been produced, 75% of

which have been exported worldwide, emphasizing the outstanding position

enjoyed by Karl Höfner GmbH & Co. KG in the world market.

The product range of Höfner is extensive and not only limited to string instruments

and acoustic guitars. In 1955 Walter Höfner, a creative businessman as well

as a violin and guitar maker, invented an electrically amplified semi-acoustic

bass. The distinctive 500/1 bass was launched at the 1956 Frankfurt Music

Fair and subsequently rose to fame under a different name. In 1961 Paul

McCartney bought his first Höfner bass in a music shop in Hamburg. Paul’s

‘Beatle Bass’ can be heard on many of the Beatles‘ most famous songs and

still accompanies him on stage and in the studio to this day.

A new chapter in Höfner history began in 1997 when the company moved to

a new production facility near the village of Hagenau. Millions of Euros have

since been invested in state-of-the-art, environmentally-friendly production

technologies.

With innovation and product development, Höfner continues to set trends in

the world market, especially in the field of classical guitars. The ‘Green Line’

series uses only renewable European tone woods, varnished in an environmentally

neutral way. This results in a perfect synthesis between traditional guitar making

and respect for the limited resources of our environment.

Guitars & Basses

– since 1887 –

Karl Höfner – One Century of Guitar Making