Read left to right: each fret is a decade. The top strips are the companies that controlled the name; under them, where each product line was built.
Pick any bar on the neck. The card shows the dates, the quoted passage behind them and the source, and any rival version of the same date.
Each decade is a fret. The top strips show who controlled the name. The strips below them show where each product line was built, one group per line.
Hatched strips with a country stamp are plants outside the USA. Outlined strips are versions of a date that sources disagree on; they sit in the same place as the version they compete with.
The stamp on a card is the grade of the sources behind the dates, from primary company documents to community posts. Every card shows the passage it rests on.
Every plant on record, overseas ones first, with the product lines each one built. Press play to watch the brand move: lit plants were building that year, faded ones had already been left behind.
Showing every plant on record. Press play to watch Höfner change hands and move, from 1887 to today.
5 plants, 5 outside the USA
An era is a stretch of one product line where the controlling company and the plant stay the same. These rows are computed from the dated ownership and production facts, never typed in. 9 eras
| Line | Years | Controlled by | Built at | Grade · sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Höfner German-built guitars and basses (Schönbach, Bubenreuth, Hagenau; 1930s to present) | 1930 – 1945 | Karl Höfner GmbH & Co. KG | Höfner Schönbach works (now Luby, Czech Republic) CZE | primary[1] |
| Höfner German-built guitars and basses (Schönbach, Bubenreuth, Hagenau; 1930s to present) | 1945 – 1948 | Karl Höfner GmbH & Co. KG | no plant on record | primary[1] |
| Höfner German-built guitars and basses (Schönbach, Bubenreuth, Hagenau; 1930s to present) | 1948 – 1950 | Karl Höfner GmbH & Co. KG | Höfner interim workshop, Möhrendorf DE | primary[1] |
| Höfner German-built guitars and basses (Schönbach, Bubenreuth, Hagenau; 1930s to present) | 1950 – 1994 | Karl Höfner GmbH & Co. KG | Hofner Bubenreuth DE | primary[1, 5] |
| Höfner German-built guitars and basses (Schönbach, Bubenreuth, Hagenau; 1930s to present) | 1994 – 1997 | Boosey & Hawkes plc (musical instrument division) | Hofner Bubenreuth DE | primary[1, 4, 5] |
| Höfner German-built guitars and basses (Schönbach, Bubenreuth, Hagenau; 1930s to present) | 1997 – 2003 | Boosey & Hawkes plc (musical instrument division) | Hofner Hagenau (Baiersdorf) DE | primary[1, 4, 5, 3] |
| Höfner German-built guitars and basses (Schönbach, Bubenreuth, Hagenau; 1930s to present) | 2003 – 2004 | The Music Group (TMG; British investment consortium that bought the Boosey & Hawkes instrument division in 2003) | Hofner Hagenau (Baiersdorf) DE | primary[1, 5, 3] |
| Höfner German-built guitars and basses (Schönbach, Bubenreuth, Hagenau; 1930s to present) | 2004 – now | Klaus Schöller and Ulrike Schrimpff (Höfner management buyout owners, 2004-2026; holding vehicle name unverified) | Hofner Hagenau (Baiersdorf) DE | primary[1, 4, 5, 3] |
| Höfner Contemporary (CT/HCT) and Icon/Ignition series (Far East-built, 2005 to present) | 2005 – now | Klaus Schöller and Ulrike Schrimpff (Höfner management buyout owners, 2004-2026; holding vehicle name unverified) | Hofner Beijing, Shunyi CN | community[1, 4, 5, 10] |
Every model on record, by year introduced, and the last year it was made where that is known. Open a row for who owned it and where it was built while it was made, or follow the name to its full history.
| Years | Model | Line | Grade · sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | CT 500/1 Violin Bass (Contemporary / HCT-500/1) · bass | Höfner Contemporary (CT/HCT) and Icon/Ignition series (Far East-built, 2005 to present) | community[10] |
| 2005 | CT Shorty travel guitar · electric | Höfner Contemporary (CT/HCT) and Icon/Ignition series (Far East-built, 2005 to present) | community[10] |
| 2005 – 2013 | CT Colorama · electric | Höfner Contemporary (CT/HCT) and Icon/Ignition series (Far East-built, 2005 to present) | community[10] |
| 2007 – 2011 | CT Club · electric | Höfner Contemporary (CT/HCT) and Icon/Ignition series (Far East-built, 2005 to present) | community[10] |
| 2010 | Ignition Violin Bass · bass | Höfner Contemporary (CT/HCT) and Icon/Ignition series (Far East-built, 2005 to present) | community[10] |
| 2012 | Ignition Club Bass · bass | Höfner Contemporary (CT/HCT) and Icon/Ignition series (Far East-built, 2005 to present) | community[10] |
| — | 500/1 Violin Bass · bass | Höfner German-built guitars and basses (Schönbach, Bubenreuth, Hagenau; 1930s to present) | primary[1, 7] |
| — | Committee · archtop | Höfner German-built guitars and basses (Schönbach, Bubenreuth, Hagenau; 1930s to present) | primary[1] |
| — | President · archtop | Höfner German-built guitars and basses (Schönbach, Bubenreuth, Hagenau; 1930s to present) | primary[1] |
Pick the year your Höfner was built to see who owned the name and which plant built each line that year.
Every numbered marker on this page points here: the document, its grade and the passages relied on. An era is computed, so it cites the ownership and production facts it was derived from. A fact marked “no source” has no claim attached yet.
See something wrong, or know a better source?