Hofner was founded in Germany in the 1880s by Karl Hofner, a maker of bowed instruments. The company was able to rebound after WWII and, thanks in part to the absense of American-made guitars in Britain, to establish a strong market there with electric and acoustic guitars that had the appearance, at least, of high-quality instruments. When restrictions on American imports were lifted in 1959, Hofner enjoyed continued success in the 1960s by basing it’s solidbodies on the most popular American models.

The body of this Galaxie from 1965 is a Fender Jazzmaster from the waist down, combined with the upper horns of a Fender Stratocaster. When it came to ornamentation and electronics, however, Hofner did have it’s own style. The most obvious Hofner “signature” element on the Galaxie is found on the fingerboard in the horizontal bands that function as fret markers. And following the lead of Swedish-based Hagstrom, Hofner eliminated all conventional knobs, replacing them with an array of roller controls and switches.