EXCELLENT COPY OF THE ‘60s GERMAN ROCK ‘N’ ROLL CLASSIC!

 

Please read all of this before you buy!

 

Up for auction is a rare 2005 Eastwood Hopf Saturn 63, made in Korea with its original vinyl gig bag.  As with most Eastwoods, this is a “reissue” or close replica of the original Hopf thin-body hollowbody electric made by Dieter Hopf and designed by Gustav Glassl, introduced in 1963 and inspired by the Fender Jazzmaster.  The original Hopf was one of the most popular electric guitars in Europe during the 1960s.  It was often called the “Star Club Guitar” because it was featured on ads for the famous rock club, the Star Club, of Hamburg, Germany, a venue played by most of the biggest rock acts of the ‘60s, most famously The Beatles early in their career.  The original Hopf Saturn 63 was produced from 1963 to probably around 1967.  I can’t be sure about this model Eastwood, but I believe this was offered from 2005 to 2010.  It’s no longer in their catalog.

 

PLEASE SEE THE SPECIFICATIONS AND CONDITION BELOW.

 

I played this guitar once the day I wrote this copy.  It’s an incredible guitar!  You are not going to be disappointed!  Out of my large collection, if this were the only guitar I could keep, I wouldn’t be unhappy!  This has a rock and roll neck, but the switching system is more like its ‘60s inspiration, and a little awkward if you like throwing switches to vary your sound in the middle of a number.  I’ve not played the Hopf original, but I assume these controls are close.  The stacked humbuckers make it fuller than the single-coil originals.  You can get a distinctive rock sound out of this, but for me it’s better for jazz.  I really hate to sell this guitar!

 

The pickup select is bridge/both/neck.  There are 4 tone positions from a treble boost to treble cut (although it could be a bass cap).  This gives you a really flexible amount of sound!

 

Mike Robinson, the owner of Eastwood, usually purchases an original copy of the vintage guitar and sends it to one of his factories in Korea to copy.  This is pretty darned close, but not an exact replica.  Like the original, it has a spruce top and mahogany body and the shape and appearance are pretty accurate.  Many of the discrepancies are actually improvements. 

 

Like the originals, these have bound catseye sound-holes, but the inside back is painted black, giving it a cooler look.  The originals featured a very large, clunky top-mounted vibrato at first, with later versions sporting what looks like a Japanese unit; this version has a Jazzmaster-style in-body vibrato, which is actually an improvement.  The bridge here is similar to, but not exactly identical to the original design.

 

The original German guitars had two little Bakelite “paddle” or duck-beak knobs and one hat or bell knob for volume.  As far as I know, no one makes those styles any more.  This features two modern chicken-beak knobs and a modern speed knob.  The originals had a 2-piece body joined together along the side edge with a vinyl gasket.  Those were prone to deteriorate over time.  I don’t know what the piping on the original Hopfs were, but probably chrome vinyl, derived from accordions.  This is actually metal screwed onto the top.

 

This has a solid, 3-piece mahogany carved out body, no seal.  The original necks had 3 bolts; this has 4.  The original tuners were inexpensive strip tuners; this has modern covered Kluson reproductions.  The original Hopfs had “Hopf” printed on the pickguard; this obviously doesn’t and places the “Eastwood” on the truss rod cover; otherwise the headstock is identical to the original.  The pictures I see on the internet do not reveal any adjustment for a truss rod on the ‘60s guitars; this has an adjustable truss rod.  The originals were finished in nitro which often cracks with time.  These modern versions have a durable poly finish.

 

The original Hopfs had a zero fret and 21 frets, which awkwardly stopped short of the end of the fingerboard, leaving about an inch of plain wood.  The Eastwood fills out the fingerboard to 23 frets.  I believe the originals had single-coil pickups, whereas this Eastwood has stacked humbuckers that look very similar to the original, but offer louder output and a fuller sound.

 

Finally, the German guitars had a small diameter European-style DIN output jack on the control plate.  There are some pictures of Hopfs with a standard ¼” jack there instead.  I don’t know if players replaced those, or, more likely, they were probably put on guitars that were exported to the U.S.  In any case, in the spirit of the originals, the Eastwood puts a modern DIN jack on the front which you can use to plug directly into a mixing console, plus a regular ¼” jack down on the side for use with a standard amplifier.

 

The original German guitars usually were sold with a vinyl gig bag.  This one comes with its original modern reproduction of a vintage vinyl gig bag, but it’s new from ’05!  I hate gig bags, but it is original to this guitar.  The original Hopfs had the vibrato handle built in; this has a plug-in handle and if you don’t want to store this with the handle in, the copy of the original pocket isn’t big enough to hold it!  (See pics)

 

So basically this guitar offers you the image of playing a Star Club guitar with some modern improvements that make it a dream to play!

 

 Specifications

 

·       SN 0503231 (2005) made in Korea (may be date coded, but I’m not sure)

·       Lower bout 15” wide; 12” upper bout; about 2” thick; body length 20”

·       Natural-finished 1-piece spruce top with 2 chrome-metal piped faux-soundholes painted black

·       Semi-hollow 3-piece red sunburst mahogany body

·       Chrome metal top piping

·       Clear acrylic screwed-on pickguard

·       In-body Jazzmaster-style vibrato with original push-in handle

·       2-way adjustable platform bridge and ball saddles

·       2 stacked ceramic humbucker pickups with black inserts and adjustable poles

·       Chrome control panel with DIN direct output jack

·       Chicken beak tone knob (4 positions from treble boost down to bass or treble cut)

·       Chicken beak pickup selector knob (3 positions: bridge/both/neck)

·       Speed knob volume control

·       Side-mounted ¼” plug jack

·       4-bolt 1-piece maple neck with adjustable truss rod

·       23-fret unbound rosewood fingerboard with zero-fret and white plastic nut

·       Frets look to be round-crowned medium-jumbo, if that makes sense, not thin and square like many Euro guitars

·       Nut 1-5/8”

·       25” scale with approximately 16” flat fingerboard radius

·       White pearl dot inlays along top edge of fingerboard

·       6-in-line headstock with nickel reproduction Kluson Deluxe tuners

·       Original strap buttons

·       Original felt-lined reproduction vinyl gig bag

 

Condition

 

·       Like new never played

·       All original condition

·       Pots have been spray cleaned; it works fine

·       Strings are “new” but you may want to change them and oil the fingerboard

·       Gig bag is in new shape; the zipper sticks a little but that’s the way it came; there’s probably a way to lube it

 

The pictures show everything.  Technically the is a “pre-owned” guitar because I own it, but it’s really “new.”  I got this new from Eastwood.  It was played once just the other day after spraying the pots to make sure it works using a ‘60s Supro tube amp.  I never, ever played this guitar before.  I was seriously collecting electrics back then but was playing only classical guitar and tenor banjo. 

 

This is securely packed in a guitar carton.  The gig bag was inserted into a padded bag that cases often ship in, with bubble wrap on front and back of the bag.  There’s a piece of Styrofoam reinforcing the head end and I have stuffed the entire perimeter with wadded up newspaper.

 

Ships only via Fed Ex.  The USPS has just broken too many guitars for me to use them any more, and Fed Ex is competitively priced.  I will sell to international buyers with shipping via EBay International only.  Street addresses only; no PO boxes.

 

PROVENANCE is available for Institutional buyers; please inquire.

 

I’ve been conservative and accurate in my detailed descriptions of the item’s exact condition, including pictures, so you should know what you’re getting.  If you find that I’ve missed something, please contact me first.  EBay has tools to help us work out a solution.  Please feel free to ask questions in advance.

 

I have never been a musical instrument dealer, just a musician, collector and historian.  I’ve collected guitars, banjos and other instruments for many years, researched their histories, and published them in my Vintage Guitar Magazine columns, in other music periodicals, in my Guitar Stories book series, and in many other books over the years. 

 

I am not an antiques or commercial dealer, just a person with many interests who collects and never liked to get rid of things.  Everything I’m selling is “stuff” I’ve accumulated, not something “picked” for resale.  It’s just time to start letting go…and make my wife happy.   Consider this my contribution to “recycling!”  Please see my other items, which will include some other vintage instruments.  Thank you!