In 1960, with the Committee well-established as one of the best electric guitars available in Britain, the German-based Hofner company topped it with an even fancier model called the Golden Hofner.

At 18 inches wide, the Golden model was larger than the Committee. It featured the same intricate peghead design and fingerboard inlay, but the neck was an 11-piece laminate. The body featured more binding, typically with an outer layer of pearloid. The most obvious identifying feature was the Golden Hofner’s eleborately engraved, gold-plated “Escutcheon” tailpiece.

Hofner immodestly proclaimed the Golden to be “a masterpiece of guitar perfection”. At a list price of 95 guineas (a guinea was a little over a pound), the Golden cost 50 percent more than the Committee.

It was either beyond the means of most guitarists, or else they realized they could get the same pickups and electronics on the Committee. After two years, Hofner had sold no more than 100 Goldens, and the last was made in 1962.