I have read many reviews before buying the Hofner Shorty, And, while I knew it had some issues, I expected more.
In terms of sound and playability it is exactly as expected. the humbucker gives a good sound for the price and the neck is comfortable to play. I will change the factory strings as they feel pretty old.
The machine heads (tuners) are of low quality, as I heard in many reviews. They do not have a smooth action and lose tuning on occasion. I will replace them.
The part that most disappointing thing about the Shorty is the fret board. My fret board is full of defects - holes, patches and dents. These defects are from the production of the guitar, due to low quality wood' and not defects that were caused due to handling. In addition - the pickup came with scratches in the plastic (saw them after I removed the protective adhesive). It seems that Hofner invested little to no quality control at the manufacturing stage.
BOTTOM LINE - this is a cheap guitar and the quality of materials (machine heads, electronics, pickup) fits the price, and its OK. Unfortunately, Hofner places their name on a sub-par guitar in terms of QC (scratches and visible defects).
If I was looking for a new travel guitar - Hofner Shorty will not be on the list.
