NGD 1964 Höfner Galaxie 176

Discussion of vintage Jazzmasters, Jaguars, Bass VIs, Electric XIIs and any other offset-waist instruments.
User avatar
MattK
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 3569
Joined: Sun Aug 10, 2008 9:51 pm
Location: Hobart, Australia

NGD 1964 Höfner Galaxie 176

Post by MattK » Tue Dec 29, 2020 7:56 pm

It's not really new, since I bought it in September, but such is this year that I haven't even taken photos until now! This is a 1964 Höfner Galaxie 176, pretty much original apart from a broken pickguard near the jack, which removed the Lead switch (I've bought one to install), and a missing tuner back (if anyone has one ...). Enjoy!
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Last edited by MattK on Thu Dec 31, 2020 2:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
PorkyPrimeCut
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 24464
Joined: Tue Nov 28, 2006 7:46 am
Location: Leipzig
Contact:

Re: NGD Höfner Galaxie 176

Post by PorkyPrimeCut » Tue Dec 29, 2020 11:50 pm

I do love Hofner neck inlays like that! Those tuners are pretty bonkers too.

Nice guitar.
You think you can't, you wish you could, I know you can, I wish you would. Slip inside this house as you pass by.

User avatar
antisymmetric
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 3601
Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2010 11:32 pm
Location: New Zealand

Re: NGD Höfner Galaxie 176

Post by antisymmetric » Wed Dec 30, 2020 12:02 am

Very nice!
Watching the corners turn corners

User avatar
supersonicjazzmaster
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 389
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2010 10:10 pm
Location: Berlinesia, Germanifornia

Re: NGD Höfner Galaxie 176

Post by supersonicjazzmaster » Wed Dec 30, 2020 12:12 am

Ah, cool. Congratulations!
Looks like good condition.
...I will ask a friend for this tuner back part. Maybe he has got one.
It starts... when it begins.
Ralf Kilauea

User avatar
zhivago
Mods
Mods
Posts: 21926
Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2006 6:18 am
Location: London, UK

Re: NGD Höfner Galaxie 176

Post by zhivago » Wed Dec 30, 2020 12:27 am

Awesome! I love the look of these old Höfners! 8)
Resident Spartan.

User avatar
supersonicjazzmaster
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 389
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2010 10:10 pm
Location: Berlinesia, Germanifornia

Re: NGD Höfner Galaxie 176

Post by supersonicjazzmaster » Wed Dec 30, 2020 12:33 am

This is the guy who has knowledge about Höfner guitars/basses (and others): https://philthy-guitars.de/
Nice guy.
It starts... when it begins.
Ralf Kilauea

User avatar
MattK
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 3569
Joined: Sun Aug 10, 2008 9:51 pm
Location: Hobart, Australia

Re: NGD Höfner Galaxie 176

Post by MattK » Wed Dec 30, 2020 1:54 am

Thanks for the appreciative comments all! And the Philthy site is great, hadn't found that one, thank you.
I meant to post a pic of the mute, it's pretty nice design but I had to replace the felt (someone had put a thick strip on it so it didn't work properly). The neck is quite round but also small, which I like. The pickups are an odd kind of surface mount, basically they sit flat on the body and screws through the pickguard kind of pin them down. It's clever but there's no way to adjust the pickup height, and they are really bright. I am not sure if reinstalling the lead switch will calm them down a bit, but I also have to carve out the switch slot etc before I can do that.
But YES it looks cool, and I always regretted not buying one here about 10 years ago, and this one was close to the same price (which is pretty rare in guitars, hey). I gather they were pretty cheap back in the day and it kind of feels like that, but also got that nicely aged vibe. The red paint is insane.

User avatar
mgeek
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1436
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2014 1:03 pm

Re: NGD Höfner Galaxie 176

Post by mgeek » Wed Dec 30, 2020 2:37 am

Nice! When you say the pickups are really bright... are they also quiet? These particular pickups used a solder internally that corrodes over time and eats into the coil (!!!) - if that's the case they'll sometimes output a quiet, extremely trebly sound. Out of 9 pickups I've had on these guitars I think maybe 2 haven't needed a rewind.

MatthewK wrote:
Wed Dec 30, 2020 1:54 am
I gather they were pretty cheap back in the day and it kind of feels like that, but also got that nicely aged vibe. The red paint is insane.
They weren't exactly cheap... definitely one of better midrange 'you can't afford a Gibson or Fender' guitars, along with Burns, Framus etc, off the top of my head I think the bottom level starter guitars would have been a third of the price of one of these. IMO the reason they feel a bit different is cos Hofner come from an entirely different guitarmaking tradition, having been making all kinds of stringed instruments since the 1880s or so. Look superficially Fenderish, but has archtop vibes, in hand imo.


Incidentally in my other capacity as a record nerd, I've seen a lot of these show up in the hands of groups from all round the world, Iran, India, all over Africa, as well as Europe

User avatar
MattK
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 3569
Joined: Sun Aug 10, 2008 9:51 pm
Location: Hobart, Australia

Re: NGD Höfner Galaxie 176

Post by MattK » Wed Dec 30, 2020 2:50 am

Wow, that is super useful to know, THANK YOU. Yeah they have the kind of trashy brightness of e.g. Teisco and Kawai stuff from the late 60s. Wonder if I could test the coil resistance to find out without disassembling them. It was a touch disappointing because the guitar feels really good but doesn't sound like much.
And yeah, I've played a Höfner archtop which I nearly nearly connected with, and bought a cheap 496 acoustic (Gibson J200 copy) which needs a LOT of work. I like the feel of their stuff and they are beautifully built (up to the price!).
Last edited by MattK on Wed Dec 30, 2020 3:13 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
mgeek
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1436
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2014 1:03 pm

Re: NGD Höfner Galaxie 176

Post by mgeek » Wed Dec 30, 2020 3:06 am

MatthewK wrote:
Wed Dec 30, 2020 2:50 am
Wow, that is super useful to know, THANK YOU. Yeah they have the kind of trashy brightness of e.g. Teisco and Kawai stuff from the late 60s. Wonder if I could test the coil resistance to find out without disassembling them. It was a touch disappointing because the guitar feels really good but doesn't sound like much.
I'm not too good with electrics, but I think if you turn all the knobs up and put the multimeter on the output you should get a reading? I've got a mid sixties Verithin with these pickups at the moment, and they sound good, if anything a little bit dark, though the circuit is completely different on those

User avatar
MattK
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 3569
Joined: Sun Aug 10, 2008 9:51 pm
Location: Hobart, Australia

Re: NGD Höfner Galaxie 176

Post by MattK » Wed Dec 30, 2020 3:31 am

Should work, I agree, unless there is a cap in series with the output - I have 2 guitars like that, both 60s, I think it was a way to cut low bass and vibration coming through the pickups. Anyway you can't get a pickup resistance under those conditions. It's not too hard to pull it apart though.

User avatar
Embenny
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 10363
Joined: Tue May 24, 2016 5:07 am

Re: NGD Höfner Galaxie 176

Post by Embenny » Wed Dec 30, 2020 6:03 am

Tuners like pot casings, inlays like a micro tonal guitar, and an upper horn like a proboscis - I love how quirky these are. Congrats.
The artist formerly known as mbene085.

User avatar
PorkyPrimeCut
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 24464
Joined: Tue Nov 28, 2006 7:46 am
Location: Leipzig
Contact:

Re: NGD Höfner Galaxie 176

Post by PorkyPrimeCut » Wed Dec 30, 2020 10:49 am

mgeek wrote:
Wed Dec 30, 2020 3:06 am
...I've got a mid sixties Verithin with these pickups at the moment, and they sound good, if anything a little bit dark...
A friends of mine also has a Verithin with these pickups, and built-in effects. Dark is a very good way of describing the tone. There's a really menacing growl about them when you engage the fuzz, very different to my Vox Ultrasonic which has that "jar of bees" kinda sound.
mbene085 wrote:
Wed Dec 30, 2020 6:03 am
Tuners like pot casings...
My first though too. Funky!
You think you can't, you wish you could, I know you can, I wish you would. Slip inside this house as you pass by.

User avatar
MattK
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 3569
Joined: Sun Aug 10, 2008 9:51 pm
Location: Hobart, Australia

Re: NGD Höfner Galaxie 176

Post by MattK » Wed Dec 30, 2020 4:43 pm

Interesting to hear - while doing my research I found Jamie Hince from The Kills swears by the Galaxie sound, but his is a 175 and has a different looking pickup. I figured it was just a model difference but am interested to find out if they're capable of more!
And yes re the looks - it's one of the "most offset" designs to me.

User avatar
mgeek
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1436
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2014 1:03 pm

Re: NGD Höfner Galaxie 176

Post by mgeek » Thu Dec 31, 2020 2:36 am

MatthewK wrote:
Wed Dec 30, 2020 4:43 pm
Interesting to hear - while doing my research I found Jamie Hince from The Kills swears by the Galaxie sound, but his is a 175 and has a different looking pickup. I figured it was just a model difference but am interested to find out if they're capable of more!
And yes re the looks - it's one of the "most offset" designs to me.
It's an era difference - those pickups are later. I don't really buy the 'magic pickups' thing in general so I'd be sceptical of thinking those are any better, but maybe that's just me. There's a pic of the insides of both on this site they look pretty similar internally apart from one having a blade

http://www.vintagehofner.co.uk/hofnerfs ... s/pup.html

Deffo worth a poke around here you're interested, Hofners are a really interesting wormhole, endless variations!

Post Reply