The Höfner Shorty is a classic travel guitar that was launched back in the 1980s and has been available again since the early 2000s. What makes this instrument special is that it combines an extremely compact body with a full-size guitar scale length. The basswood body is finished in metallic blue, and the bolt-on neck, which is made from a single piece of maple for enhanced sustain, features a jatoba fingerboard with dot inlays and a bone nut. Adding to the features offered by the Standard model, the Shorty Deluxe also has extra dot inlays on the upper edge of the fingerboard and a reversed headstock adorned with a large Höfner logo as well as a second Höfner open-coil humbucker in the neck position. The scope of delivery additionally includes a matching gig bag.
You can't play full-on guitar solos on a travel guitar, right? Wrong. The Höfner Shorty Deluxe features a full 24-fret register, and its scale length, at 628mm, is the same as that of classic single-cut electric guitars, so lead guitarists can get their mojo working here in complete comfort. The neck is 42mm wide at the nut, meaning that it also has a comfortably slim "vintage medium" profile, and as players have long come to expect from guitars played with a pick, the Shorty Deluxe has a large screw-mounted scratchplate that covers and protects the guitar's circuitry and houses the controls and selector switch for the two pickups.
The space-saving (one might even say "pocket-sized") Höfner Shorty Deluxe is the perfect budget-friendly guitar for players who love to travel but don't want to be without a high-quality instrument with a "real" guitar scale length when they are on the road. The only feature that is truly missing here is a whammy bar. The Shorty Deluxe features a fixed, one-piece wraparound bridge/tailpiece unit, which needs to be completely removed when changing the strings, as these are anchored on the underside of the bridge. Players who opt for this guitar should therefore allow themselves plenty of time when re-stringing. Allergy sufferers should also note that the machine heads on the Höfner Shorty Deluxe are nickel-plated.
The Höfner company has a long tradition and was founded by Karl Höfner in Schönbach at the end of the 19th century. Initially, the product range consisted mainly of bowed string instruments, and the first guitars were added around 1930. After the Second World War, the company was relocated to Möhrendorf in Bavaria. In the 1950s, the company flourished thanks to new musical trends, and basses were now introduced in addition to guitars. Legendary models were created during this time, such as the President, the Committee, and the 500/1 short-scale bass, which made music history a short time later with the Beatles. The subsequent boom in Beat music quickly brought Höfner enormous demand and enduring world fame. Today, Höfner is one of the best-known and largest manufacturers of bowed string instruments and of archtop, semi-acoustic, and solid-body guitars, as well as a wide range of basses.
The Höfner Shorty Deluxe measures just 86cm in total, which makes it easy to transport and thus the ideal travel companion for everyone who can't NOT play guitar while on vacation. It will fit diagonally into a standard XL hardshell suitcase, and the included gig bag mentioned above will keep it safe on shorter journeys as well. The Shorty Deluxe's scale length also makes it ideal for practising scales and exercises while watching TV at home or while colleagues are out of the office. Combined with a small battery-powered amp, it can also provide the perfect musical accompaniment for garden parties, barbecues, and even around the campfire - time to ditch those hiking songs in favour of some good old Rock classics.