It’s a travel guitar. Throw it in your hockey bag. Play it at cheap hotels when on a tournament road trip with your beer league team or your kids team.
I used to use one of these as a gigging guitar about 10 years ago. I was travelling to gigs on public transport and it was a godsend. I never had a problem with buzzing, tuning or intonation. The pickup sounded good and the tone control was very responsive. I found a K&M 'wave' adjustable guitar stand that it could go on (they're still available). The neck dive is obvious - it's inherent to the design. You obviously need to spend a bit of time getting used to it. But if you're looking for a cheap, full scale neck travel guitar, you should definitely consider it.
A lot of people complain about the neck dive but it's easily enough remedied with an acoustic guitar strap with the shoelace type end that you tie on above the nut or you can get one of those little strap attachment things to attach to the end of an electric guitar strap which does the same thing. Or just use an electric guitar strap and tie a shoelace into the end hole and it does the same thing as the attachment strap that you buy for $10 or whatever on amazon. Problem solved and you don't need a degree in engineering
I have one and once I set it up, especially with a 10-52 set of strings, it rocks. Tuners need tightening, set intonation, better strings, pick-up height, neck relief, etc. Once done, you see a day and night difference. Must use a strap and it with its construction (small body), of course it is neck heavy but remember this is a practice guitar, not typically a main guitar for performing. It's a couch, car, bedroom guitar and that's it. But for what it is, especially at roughly $100 bucks, it works. Patience is a virtue. :)
I have gigged with one of these for 4 years now. I got a Hipshot Baby Grand Bridge, a DiMarzio pickup, and push/pull pots for treble bleed and series/parallel installed, and it is probably as fun and versatile an electric guitar as I have ever owned. Plus, it's a conversation starter.
As soon as I picked mine up I thought about the baby grand Bridge. Does it extend pass the body? How does it fit and look? More importantly does it improve playability and tone?
@TheArtisanRBenjamin It doesn't extend past the body. I mainly installed it for quick, easy string changes. It certainly hasn't hurt tone or playability, and it's a great look. I also have another Shorty equipped with the Gotoh top-loading wraparound bridge, and I think I like it at least as much. The only problem I have had with the Hipshot is that the high E will sometimes slip inside the wrapping of the ball end when I do really wide bends (I think it has to do with the break angle) and lose tuning stability. This only happened with standard Ernie Ball sets, though. I switched to D'Addario and haven't had a problem since. The Ernie Ball Paradigm sets are also fine, but they will eat your frets.
It is what it is. I've had one for about a decade, and have gigged with it twice when asked unexpectedly to play. No issues with it at all when properly set up. Nice travel guitar when accompanied by a decent strap and a Korg Pandora.
To deal with the neck dive tie a lace around the body of the guitar between neck and pickup (the body is narrowest here) and attach right (bridge) end of the strap to it. Leave other (left) end of the strap on the button where neck attached to the body (not on a headstock).
@@Justaperson-o_o- I guess you could call it anything you want if you like to have other people form your opinions for you without even trying something yourself. LOL
@@meself349 dr blub did try it lol and he had basically the same issues. Also it sounds like you got one too. Don’t worry your Hofner shorty is probably fine, I’m just not a fan of the body. It’s probably completely fine for a kid though.
@@meself349 I do try it myself, I just go for a second opinion to see if my opinion about something is similar to someone else’s or to see if there’s a factor I never thought about.
if it were in a give-away, I'd enter. As to neck dive, you might want to try tying the strap on the neck at the headstock the way people used to do with acoustics.
Tie the string of the strap to the headstock. That solves the dive. I have this guitar and it’s pretty good for a little practice travel guitar. Humbucker sounds surprisingly good. Mine didn’t cost that much. About $130 USD.
I love my little Shorty. I keep it in my locker at work for lunchtime practice. Wide range tone control so you can get so faux neck tones. Tuners are cheap but do the job fine for me if you lock the strings over. Play it in classical position when sitting down and it will stop diving!
The balance is a problem, but easily sorted. For its main use of practice when travelling, attach a strap to the rear button only, passing it under your legs and sit on it. This holds the body down rather than trying to hold the neck up. For standing use, a headstock lace as used for acoustics works a bit better using than the front button, if not very 'rock and roll'. The sound and quality are remarkable for its cost; another £25 for a plug amp with some basic modelling and an input jack, and you're good to go! Anywhere. Some very interesting comments/ideas from those below who love this little gem - thanks.
I'm a leftie.so I swapped the strings around.Changing the strings is a bigger job.bust one,and you got to take the lot off as well as the bridge.The pick ups hot and needs taming.But the guitar works well enough.Nice colours to.£135 gbp with a gig bag.Whats not to love.Doubles as a cricket bat.
I have this travel guitar and it’s very nice to travel with & play. Travel guitars are neck heavy due to the small body size. Just hold it like an ukulele or put one end of the strap on the body & the other end tie onto the neck. Horner basses are neck heavy & Paul McCartney put his strap around the neck.
Video is cool, and I think the neck dive can be dismissed by hooking the strap to the head instead of the body, so the center of gravity elevated to the center of the guitar. I also think that clean tone can be nice to practice and for travel, matching a small portable amp and headphone amp for quiet, and getting out of tune is probably fixable by common practices (tightening the gear heads or replacing them completely). If it was cheaper I would get it for myself or my youngest kid and hack a few improvements into it. Cheers!
Cool. I have one of these.. It's been all over the place with me. Never had a problem putting it in an overhead bin on an airplane. Is it a great guitar? Nope.. Just easy to travel with and goof around on for me. I have a vox mini amp for it which is fine for headset or use a small bluetooth speaker that has aux in and go from the mini amp to the speaker. The neck dive is a problem but, to avoid that, the body would need to be bigger and weigh more. I have a strap with some traction on it so it doesn't slip much but, after seeing a comment here, I'll tie it to the head stock and see if that is better. I've actually dropped it a few times so it has some dings but.. Still works..
The neck pocket is deeper and it is not a perfect rectangle. The arm is twisted. The bridge has to be set up very well to avoid buzzing the strings with the frets after the neck is flattened by using the trust rod bar. Better to have a mini Squier Stratocaster as a traveler guitar, but it is not coming with a gig bag.
Got a new Bullet Mustang on deal for $130 US shipped, some months back. Didn't really need a new axe but always wanted an offset and the price was too good to pass up. Thin, compact and light weight. Love it. Probably make a fine travel guitar.
I have the Hofner Shorty bass. Of course it is never going to become my main bass but it's fun for what it is. The tuners are pretty poor but apart from that it's not bad. The neck dive is even worse on a bass (even though it's a short scale) but it's so light that I don't really notice it.
UPDATE: It’s been sent back for a refund ►►Support the channel and get all the best guitar deals here: ► Sweetwater: imp.i114863.net/X6OrM ► Thomann: bit.ly/3opdh5w -------------------------------------------------------- ►Support the channel by becoming a member: ruclips.net/channel/UC8xsdxRvwRvNyl74kLDaOnwjoin ------------------------------ ► Try GuitarTricks for really great online guitar lessons: www.guitartricks.com/?a_aid=5f7fe527e8aba This is a an unboxing and first impressions, and possibly, a final review of the Hofner Shorty in Blue. It is a mini travel guitar. Let's check it out. Timestamps: 0:00 - Hello 0:25 - May be a lie 0:40 - The jokes on me 1:37 - Open the box already 5:33 - Plug it in a play it 9:15 - I'm Sorry 10:10 - This might be the first one 10:22 - Not good 11:20 - Neck dive is real! 12:08 - Now this is a review? 13:43 - the worst video 14:00 - Goodbye!
I only lay down and play,due to a head injury 15 year ago,lost my balance,may be really good for some one like me,always thinking of trying small body,but full size neck
These guitar brands need some love: Guild - one of the oldest American companies still in business and they've got great electrics at all levels. Played by Kim Thayil, Tom Fogerty, Duane Eddy, Gerry Garcia, Zal Yanofsky and Dan Auerbach. Eastwood - Canadian company specializing in resurrecting rare vintage models with modern playability upgrades. Prestige - another Canadian company producing high quality imports. I want a DC Coupe.
You are a Fender guy brother, and are used to full size guitars. I am pretty much the same, bought an Anygig travel guitar and it was uninspiring as well. I do however think Steinberger and the Kiesel headless Delos would be fantastic for travel that would be fun to play even at home :)
Got one a week ago. Love it. Spent 20 mins to set it up and it works great. Highly suggest others look at other videos of this guitar being played after it is set up properly…
There is an older version of the shorty called a Brownsville New York travel guitar. Same body style and design, just much better built! It’s as close as you can get to the original Hoftner shorty without spending $700-$1000 bucks!
I have a Shorty. It’s not great but it’s fine. I had the same problem with neck dive until I shortened the strap so that the strings sat in about the same position as they would on a normal guitar. Mine stays in tune pretty well to.
I bought one like 5 years ago for like 150$. Its a cool orange. The pickup sounds terrible. So I put a guitarmadness neck pickup in it and it sounds great now. And very easy to control with high gain.. it doesn't hang from a strat very well but if you sit with it right it's not to bad. Definitly not my worst guitar
Another good little trick is Muting the strings and doing that variably. When trying to play faster it Causes the strings to vibrate less which allows easier picking and fingering overall overall. There are ways around things and sometimes learning how to get around things is Annoying tedious aggravating but it's also an eye opener a lot of times in league and leads to other things ( Adapt and overcome It's not necessarily about accepting and eating shit literally thoroughly even though we're feels that weighs sometimes )
Landon... you need to “set up” the guitar... the bridge and saddles need to be adjusted and intonated. Most inexpensive guitars come out of asian factories with zero setup. The guitar needs to be In-tune open, then in tune at the 12th fret, you do this by adjusting the saddle distance for the individual string saddles, or if the bridge doesn’t have adjustable saddles, then you do it by the bridge adjustment screws. When a guitar isn’t intonated, the side effect is tuning the guitar, but then it sounding out of tune when you play up the fret board. Sure, the tuners prob suck too, most cheap guitars have terrible tuners. But even with bad tuners, you can make a guitar go from un-playable to playable by putting a little work into the setup.
Totally get that... if all other reason point to it not being worth it... then return it and move on. And... that’s helpful actually, because I’ve looked at these guitars too thinking it might be fun to have one to kick around, and basically ... given what I saw, I’d prob pass too.
Ouch, good build, just not really thought out too well for the guitar player and more for travel reasons focused on much more. That neck dive with a strap on is nuts, I would just drill a hole higher up at that point. I think I’ll get the black star carry on instead, thanks for your input!
I drive cross country truck, might work. Kill some time waiting to load. I don’t know. Maybe or not I don’t maybe ahh crap. That’s the trouble shopping on line. Thanks for the confusion.
I found one by going through old boxes of our house, it was an Original from 1982. I think they look funny and for that price they sound quite good if you set it up right
*I've owned the red model for over a year now and I fell in love with it. However I DID make upgrades. I swapped the bridge for a black wraparound, the stock nut for a black graphite nut, the stock knobs for speed knobs and the tuners with black locking tuners. I also added Schaller black strap locks. Now this might seem like a lot of money but I got most of the parts from Guitar Fetish. (The strap locks were from my local mom-and-pop guitar shop.) I'm debating swapping out the humbucker too. It's definitely one of my favorite guitars to play on the couch and at work.* 🙂🙂 *That said, I loved this video, Landon. You've made a new fan and subscriber!*
I appreciate your honesty, Landon. It was honestly kind of entertaining to watch you joke around with this guitar(-ish). I'd say send it back if you're immediately regretting your purchase. Either way the choice is obviously up to you!
A friend of mine bought one of these a few years back, it had similar issues. He gave up trying to make it playable in the end. I think you're right to send this one back rather than inflict it on anyone else.
You could tie the strap on the neck like an acoustic. Maybe if you changed the tuners.. you should still do a deep dive, there's not that many travel guitar. If it's just the tuners, that could still be an option
That's the Hugh Hefner Viagra model. It didn't help his "neck dive" either. Actually tried one of these things years ago as a little grab and play guitar. Returned it for the same reasons you illustrated as it's just not comfortable or fun to play.
Send it back or just throw more money at it like we all do sometimes. Might make a great slide guitar once you've filled the rear end with holes and lead and some other bits and bobs get replaced. If it still blows, then give it away. Stay safe.
Hating it because of the neck dive? Or wider reasons? Would moving the strap buttons ease the dive? (Though wipe out the chance to return it). Or strap it acoustic style round the nut? Give it a few thoughts and see what happens. If you still hate it, yeh, maybe skip the deep dive. If you're not enthused to do it, it becomes a chore.
First, why not set it on the left leg? Second, if you need to have a guitar to travel with, it looks like it will do the job. Third, any new guitar is going to take time in order to settle in and play in tune.
I'm in the hospital for a while and I have to have wide awake but I like the no neck guitars they're very good and the tuning is at the rear and therefore it's heavier and it keeps from diving
I believe you have to play it a little bit more, maybe a couple of weeks, and then take your decisions. I built my own travel guitar a couple of years ago and the concept itself is difficult to compare with normal guitars, but when I travel I take it with me and play on a mini-amp. It is not comfortable, not well balanced, not great sound, but help me to play at hotels and thats fine for me. Give it a second chance
i would definently like to see a deep dive and a giveaway. Weird and wacky guitars like this are some of the best in my opinion. Plz keep the great vids coming!
Hey Landon. I have a Hohner, licensed Stienberger that I dont really use anymore, if you'd like it, and if you'd pay the shipping from UK it's yours....
Ltd makes an ec1 that looks pretty awesome. The tuners are on the body. I would like one but they are like seven hundred. I'd rather add a bit more and get a regular something
. I like this guitar. And a lot of other people do. Maybe it's a snobbery thing because it doesn't cost a lot of money but some of us don't have a lot of money. So we can't afford a Steinberger or even a Travelcaster. Or maybe we just can't see spending the extra bread if this guitar is decent enough and it seems to be more than decent enough.. Having not played the other ones I can't really speculate on them. But I'm extremely happy with this guitar.. haven't had any problems with it right out of the box. Probably my only regret is that I wasn't able to get a red one. But the black is nice
I mean...theoretically it could be a mod project, but I think you should go with your gut on this one brother. From the second you started trying to play it you were in visible pain. It would be hard to imagine you being satisfied with it ever regardless of the modifications you invest into it. With that said I don't think you should keep it. I clearly can't speak for everyone else in our community, but as far as I'm concerned this is not a guitar I will be signing up for in any potential giveaways. I can feel the pain all the way over here my brother. I'm sorry for the bad draw. Thank you again for the great content. Don't stop being real.
@@landonbailey Your call but I think it's a good one. Hated seeing how uncomfortable how you were although it did make for some interesting content in contrast. Lol.
I'm about to go on the learning to play guitar journey. Would this be good to start with?. I'm a wheelchair and a bit of a short arse so full size guitars don't fit me, been looking at 3/4 size guitars like the epiphone Les Paul express, I think that's the name?
@@landonbailey ive just realized i said im a wheelchair, that would be pretty amazing for a wheelchair to be using youtube, i meant wheelchair user obviously lol. thanks for the reply, i have looked squier and others before,
The only reason I am (was) looking ... is it has 24 frets and I am doing a study and exercise unit. There are some that don't have 24 frets ... but it is for training ... but for 150 dollars ... maybe not... I saw some kit guitars ...
The video actually as I view it is a success, in the sense that you come across on camera very well. You are interesting to watch and listen too. You have that "star" quality. Josh Scott of JHS pedals has this quality too. I often wonder if he really is Josh Scott or a highly skilled character actor Josh Scott has hired to portray him. We may never know.
The thing with this guitar and other travel guitars the other travel guitars is you need to get used to them. Have disguitar have have 2 traveler traveler speedsters and and I'm planning on buying another Is hoffner shorty buddy. The thing with the hoffner is yes at the beginning it does appear to have neck dive because of the headslide. There really is no place to rest your hand aside from your forearm. It takes a little time to get used to them. They're necks are excellent feeling. Fret wise yes they're not the biggest of frets they're not the best quality threats but what do you expect for the money 1st of all? The fact is it does take a severe beating to actually wear them down a lot of usage love usage Meaning it's gonna take a long time before you have to actually wear them down withem with moderate decent use. For me they are travel guitars and learning guitars. It does beat the hell out of playing a full size guitar sometimes you could just play them anywhere and you've got a guitar that really is better than decent quality. Have you ever had any Fred buzz looking at the workmanship even with a pair of magnifying glasses there's nothing wrong with them excellent quality perfectly fine. Is the string action May be a little bit too high possibly possibly yes yet it's still better than playable. Are the tuners the best quality no but they're not garbage didn't say they were gonna be the best are they a decent quality error they even better than decent quality yes and won't they last with the exception of possibly getting one that's Is defective from production They will last a long time. There can be issues with them maybe not being perfectly in tune all the time so what tune it up. Have also found yes because they are not the greatest quality the it is quality the best quality they're going to be issues with humidity climate wherever you're storing them or playing them but so what. Get a new set put them on there and you've got a great guitar or whether it be locking non locking. The bridge on both of them it might not be the best quality metal and it's not but it's not the worst better than acceptable. Buy a new bridge and learn how to intonate it yourself just like putting on a new set of tuner's machine heads same thing with refreating the. The pickups Again not garbage not the best not the greatest definitely not Gore just definitely not garbage better than acceptable same thing with the electronics they could be better but it's not garbage. Is these guitars in no way or anything of 1st act or there are some other guitars that you get in say Walmart in which case even the star caster is not even a piece of garbage. You're getting what you're paying for as crappy as that is to say But even then you're not looking at the quality of guitars like this that may be existed 2030 years ago and there are seriously guitars out there that have had massive problems with their tuners crappy is crappy saddles electronics electronics fret work fretboard work. In my opinion they are actually very good guitars there are definitely instruments that are worth something they're not garbage. Best way to play them is on your lap or in between your legs standing up you have to get used to it. 1st inclination is to get rid of them they don't sound good they don't play well they don't feel right there's nothing wrong with them it takes a matter of getting used to them you still they are travel guitars they do not have full sized bodies if anything as I said they're great for practicing they're grateful learning they're good for even learning wrist / picking / fingerpicking control. I was something of a person that would never play a foreign guitar Bolt travel guitars or Chinese actually the Hoffer might be Indonesian either way either way they're foreign guitars Orange guitars and I would never play them in the past now I completely loved them and I've got a number of epiphones Squires and they're all excellent guitars. I also have Gibson Les Paul's American is American jacksons. I absolutely love foreign guitars there's nothing wrong with them wish I would abort them long time ago. They are definitely legitimate instruments. I know I don't work for Guitar Center I don't work for San Ann I shouldn't work for I'm at eighties companies and I don't get any money out of this this is a personal opinion this is a personal opinion from somebody that would never even pick up foreign guitars going back I don't know how many years ago. Ironically enough I've got this guitar in the same blue color. And truthfully looking at the rest of the video I felt the same way about the guitar even after having it a little while it's a piece of shit it has neck dive the bridge while they're all better bridges out there even though this is a compensated bridge which is which is better than even some good guitars that just have wrap-around with no intonation yes the tuners they're not always staying in tune but again I've found out to be it's a matter of the climate you're in inside your house or wherever it is. Why do I call it an excellent guitar because I understand the guitar what it's about the neck is very comfortable are you comfortable and it's a matter of cost and you're not gonna necessarily find guitars out there for for the amount of money that this is brand new that may even be that good there are some brands out there that do suck but for the most part they're all CNC route routed to begin with. Have played Chinese guitars with tuners even worse than these hardware Worse than this. Would it be nice to have Gibson Fender Jackson P is Jackson PRS American quality on these guitars sure it would be nice but it's not gonna happen those days are over with. The days of 405 $100 US Gibson's fenders we will never see those ever again that's the 1990s Andy's end 1980s and what issues going on from it's going on from deforestation over overharvesting of certain woods as Saint mahogany swamp ash et cetera even with plantations that have cropped up for the longest time now just not going to see the prices we did in the past. Rather not get into the politics of who's running these countries and this that in the other simple fact is fine instruments play them get used to them understand them modify them if necessary improve them and enjoy them and learn learn and even go further with them( And I am a Nit picker of a person but I'm understanding the image we're in and going to be in for more than likely a looking time economically And of course take me to account the global trade with countries like China that will probably never change. So we really just better get used to dealing with totalitarian regimes like this because everyone's making money and they're not gonna do things to make our lives any better this isn't about accepting shit and being happy to eat it it's just about realizing you have to be a realist at some point). Until someone figures out how to genetically modify my is the modify mahogany trees is other species of tonal woods so they can grow faster we're just gonna have to deal what we have and the wood on most of these foreign guitars is not even garbage it's very far from it this isn't the same that there aren't guitars out there that aren't really truly nothing more than a piece of crap completely.
Are you holding something? Cant find anything on screen😉 just have to trust you that you show us something new, but i do hear some tones😜 is it from you or from Michael Bolton hiding in that case😉 Glad that you try out new things neck heavy or not. Thanks Landon 👍👏
It’s a travel guitar. Throw it in your hockey bag. Play it at cheap hotels when on a tournament road trip with your beer league team or your kids team.
I used to use one of these as a gigging guitar about 10 years ago. I was travelling to gigs on public transport and it was a godsend. I never had a problem with buzzing, tuning or intonation. The pickup sounded good and the tone control was very responsive. I found a K&M 'wave' adjustable guitar stand that it could go on (they're still available). The neck dive is obvious - it's inherent to the design. You obviously need to spend a bit of time getting used to it. But if you're looking for a cheap, full scale neck travel guitar, you should definitely consider it.
hey cool, glad it worked for you! ya I just don’t see myself getting along with it, but it was worth a shorty shot
Had exactly your same experience. I still own it and i love the sound. I usually take it with me at work to practice on free time
A lot of people complain about the neck dive but it's easily enough remedied with an acoustic guitar strap with the shoelace type end that you tie on above the nut or you can get one of those little strap attachment things to attach to the end of an electric guitar strap which does the same thing. Or just use an electric guitar strap and tie a shoelace into the end hole and it does the same thing as the attachment strap that you buy for $10 or whatever on amazon. Problem solved and you don't need a degree in engineering
I have one and once I set it up, especially with a 10-52 set of strings, it rocks. Tuners need tightening, set intonation, better strings, pick-up height, neck relief, etc. Once done, you see a day and night difference. Must use a strap and it with its construction (small body), of course it is neck heavy but remember this is a practice guitar, not typically a main guitar for performing. It's a couch, car, bedroom guitar and that's it. But for what it is, especially at roughly $100 bucks, it works. Patience is a virtue. :)
I have gigged with one of these for 4 years now. I got a Hipshot Baby Grand Bridge, a DiMarzio pickup, and push/pull pots for treble bleed and series/parallel installed, and it is probably as fun and versatile an electric guitar as I have ever owned. Plus, it's a conversation starter.
As soon as I picked mine up I thought about the baby grand Bridge.
Does it extend pass the body? How does it fit and look? More importantly does it improve playability and tone?
@TheArtisanRBenjamin It doesn't extend past the body. I mainly installed it for quick, easy string changes. It certainly hasn't hurt tone or playability, and it's a great look. I also have another Shorty equipped with the Gotoh top-loading wraparound bridge, and I think I like it at least as much. The only problem I have had with the Hipshot is that the high E will sometimes slip inside the wrapping of the ball end when I do really wide bends (I think it has to do with the break angle) and lose tuning stability. This only happened with standard Ernie Ball sets, though. I switched to D'Addario and haven't had a problem since. The Ernie Ball Paradigm sets are also fine, but they will eat your frets.
It is what it is. I've had one for about a decade, and have gigged with it twice when asked unexpectedly to play. No issues with it at all when properly set up. Nice travel guitar when accompanied by a decent strap and a Korg Pandora.
You are a legend!! Thank you for the tip on the korg stomp pedal!!
To deal with the neck dive tie a lace around the body of the guitar between neck and pickup (the body is narrowest here) and attach right (bridge) end of the strap to it. Leave other (left) end of the strap on the button where neck attached to the body (not on a headstock).
cheers!
“People like terrible things...” 😂 You always find a way to make me laugh, Landon.
it’s true! lol
I guess you could call it the,
” laughner sh!tty “
@@Justaperson-o_o- I guess you could call it anything you want if you like to have other people form your opinions for you without even trying something yourself. LOL
@@meself349 dr blub did try it lol and he had basically the same issues.
Also it sounds like you got one too. Don’t worry your Hofner shorty is probably fine, I’m just not a fan of the body. It’s probably completely fine for a kid though.
@@meself349 I do try it myself, I just go for a second opinion to see if my opinion about something is similar to someone else’s or to see if there’s a factor I never thought about.
If it could stay in tune, it would probably be better suited being converted into a dedicated slide guitar like a lap steel.
Funniest line in this " I'm just really having trouble keeping it up " 😂
if it were in a give-away, I'd enter. As to neck dive, you might want to try tying the strap on the neck at the headstock the way people used to do with acoustics.
Tie the string of the strap to the headstock. That solves the dive. I have this guitar and it’s pretty good for a little practice travel guitar. Humbucker sounds surprisingly good. Mine didn’t cost that much. About $130 USD.
"It's a Michael Bolt-on." lmfao I am dying
I’ve used that in older videos. no one noticed. lol
Get to a hospital! Death isn't one of those hoaxes started on facebook you know...
@@landonbailey I was LOLing, had to rewind because I forgot to listen to ya.
I love my little Shorty. I keep it in my locker at work for lunchtime practice. Wide range tone control so you can get so faux neck tones. Tuners are cheap but do the job fine for me if you lock the strings over. Play it in classical position when sitting down and it will stop diving!
The balance is a problem, but easily sorted.
For its main use of practice when travelling, attach a strap to the rear button only, passing it under your legs and sit on it. This holds the body down rather than trying to hold the neck up.
For standing use, a headstock lace as used for acoustics works a bit better using than the front button, if not very 'rock and roll'.
The sound and quality are remarkable for its cost; another £25 for a plug amp with some basic modelling and an input jack, and you're good to go! Anywhere.
Some very interesting comments/ideas from those below who love this little gem - thanks.
I'm a leftie.so I swapped the strings around.Changing the strings is a bigger job.bust one,and you got to take the lot off as well as the bridge.The pick ups hot and needs taming.But the guitar works well enough.Nice colours to.£135 gbp with a gig bag.Whats not to love.Doubles as a cricket bat.
Alice Go of Dream Wife rocks one of these with a Seymour Duncan Hot Rail pickup. Pretty impressive the noises she gets out of it.
I have this travel guitar and it’s very nice to travel with & play. Travel guitars are neck heavy due to the small body size. Just hold it like an ukulele or put one end of the strap on the body & the other end tie onto the neck. Horner basses are neck heavy & Paul McCartney put his strap around the neck.
hey if it works for you that's cool! this is my choice ruclips.net/video/a-1qa82yBh0/видео.html
Video is cool, and I think the neck dive can be dismissed by hooking the strap to the head instead of the body, so the center of gravity elevated to the center of the guitar.
I also think that clean tone can be nice to practice and for travel, matching a small portable amp and headphone amp for quiet, and getting out of tune is probably fixable by common practices (tightening the gear heads or replacing them completely). If it was cheaper I would get it for myself or my youngest kid and hack a few improvements into it. Cheers!
🎸
"the jokes on me" video section title thingy lmfao. I'm dead.
Cool. I have one of these.. It's been all over the place with me. Never had a problem putting it in an overhead bin on an airplane. Is it a great guitar? Nope.. Just easy to travel with and goof around on for me. I have a vox mini amp for it which is fine for headset or use a small bluetooth speaker that has aux in and go from the mini amp to the speaker. The neck dive is a problem but, to avoid that, the body would need to be bigger and weigh more. I have a strap with some traction on it so it doesn't slip much but, after seeing a comment here, I'll tie it to the head stock and see if that is better. I've actually dropped it a few times so it has some dings but.. Still works..
The neck pocket is deeper and it is not a perfect rectangle. The arm is twisted. The bridge has to be set up very well to avoid buzzing the strings with the frets after the neck is flattened by using the trust rod bar. Better to have a mini Squier Stratocaster as a traveler guitar, but it is not coming with a gig bag.
Got a new Bullet Mustang on deal for $130 US shipped, some months back. Didn't really need a new axe but always wanted an offset and the price was too good to pass up. Thin, compact and light weight. Love it. Probably make a fine travel guitar.
I have the Hofner Shorty bass. Of course it is never going to become my main bass but it's fun for what it is. The tuners are pretty poor but apart from that it's not bad. The neck dive is even worse on a bass (even though it's a short scale) but it's so light that I don't really notice it.
UPDATE: It’s been sent back for a refund
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This is a an unboxing and first impressions, and possibly, a final review of the Hofner Shorty in Blue.
It is a mini travel guitar. Let's check it out.
Timestamps:
0:00 - Hello
0:25 - May be a lie
0:40 - The jokes on me
1:37 - Open the box already
5:33 - Plug it in a play it
9:15 - I'm Sorry
10:10 - This might be the first one
10:22 - Not good
11:20 - Neck dive is real!
12:08 - Now this is a review?
13:43 - the worst video
14:00 - Goodbye!
Maybe you need to attach the guitar strap or a rubber band to the leg, then the guitar had a little more stability-weight
This video is so wholesome. I cant stop laughing and be amazed and be knowledged at the same time haha u r amazing Landon!
I only lay down and play,due to a head injury 15 year ago,lost my balance,may be really good for some one like me,always thinking of trying small body,but full size neck
These guitar brands need some love: Guild - one of the oldest American companies still in business and they've got great electrics at all levels. Played by Kim Thayil, Tom Fogerty, Duane Eddy, Gerry Garcia, Zal Yanofsky and Dan Auerbach. Eastwood - Canadian company specializing in resurrecting rare vintage models with modern playability upgrades. Prestige - another Canadian company producing high quality imports. I want a DC Coupe.
I’ve contacted Eastwood but never heard back from them :)
I think it has potential for slide playing, or maybe lap steel-style... I don't know why though, I just get those vibes when I see it 🙈
You are a Fender guy brother, and are used to full size guitars. I am pretty much the same, bought an Anygig travel guitar and it was uninspiring as well. I do however think Steinberger and the Kiesel headless Delos would be fantastic for travel that would be fun to play even at home :)
ya for sure. I want to check out a new model from Blackstar
@@landonbailey A Blackstar travel guitar? I will have to look this up too!
I don’t know the model name, but I think it’s something like Carry On
Got one a week ago. Love it. Spent 20 mins to set it up and it works great. Highly suggest others look at other videos of this guitar being played after it is set up properly…
hey if you can get it to work to your liking that's perfect! didn't work for me
There is an older version of the shorty called a Brownsville New York travel guitar. Same body style and design, just much better built! It’s as close as you can get to the original Hoftner shorty without spending $700-$1000 bucks!
that sounds much better
I have a Shorty. It’s not great but it’s fine. I had the same problem with neck dive until I shortened the strap so that the strings sat in about the same position as they would on a normal guitar. Mine stays in tune pretty well to.
hey glad it worked out!
Looks like a cool little guitar! I'm still looking for a mini Les Paul.
hey there! skip this one, it’s all cosmetic.
You got me as a subscriber off the explosions when you tossed the box 😂😂😂
I bought one like 5 years ago for like 150$. Its a cool orange. The pickup sounds terrible. So I put a guitarmadness neck pickup in it and it sounds great now. And very easy to control with high gain.. it doesn't hang from a strat very well but if you sit with it right it's not to bad. Definitly not my worst guitar
Another good little trick is Muting the strings and doing that variably. When trying to play faster it Causes the strings to vibrate less which allows easier picking and fingering overall overall. There are ways around things and sometimes learning how to get around things is Annoying tedious aggravating but it's also an eye opener a lot of times in league and leads to other things ( Adapt and overcome It's not necessarily about accepting and eating shit literally thoroughly even though we're feels that weighs sometimes )
Perhaps you could install the strap end on the headstock like some guys are doing with acustic guitars?
ya that would work I think
Buyer beware. There are 2 different scale lengths. Make sure you get the longer one.
My first guitar was a Hofner, passed down to me from my father in the lat '70s. Beautiful guitar until mould started to grow inside it lol
🤮
Landon... you need to “set up” the guitar... the bridge and saddles need to be adjusted and intonated. Most inexpensive guitars come out of asian factories with zero setup. The guitar needs to be In-tune open, then in tune at the 12th fret, you do this by adjusting the saddle distance for the individual string saddles, or if the bridge doesn’t have adjustable saddles, then you do it by the bridge adjustment screws. When a guitar isn’t intonated, the side effect is tuning the guitar, but then it sounding out of tune when you play up the fret board. Sure, the tuners prob suck too, most cheap guitars have terrible tuners. But even with bad tuners, you can make a guitar go from un-playable to playable by putting a little work into the setup.
I’m usually ok to do a setup, but this guitar just isn’t worth my time :)
Totally get that... if all other reason point to it not being worth it... then return it and move on. And... that’s helpful actually, because I’ve looked at these guitars too thinking it might be fun to have one to kick around, and basically ... given what I saw, I’d prob pass too.
Return it
Ouch, good build, just not really thought out too well for the guitar player and more for travel reasons focused on much more. That neck dive with a strap on is nuts, I would just drill a hole higher up at that point. I think I’ll get the black star carry on instead, thanks for your input!
Might be fun as a lap-slide (that's what she said) guitar .
I drive cross country truck, might work. Kill some time waiting to load. I don’t know. Maybe or not I don’t maybe ahh crap. That’s the trouble shopping on line. Thanks for the confusion.
skip it!
I found one by going through old boxes of our house, it was an Original from 1982. I think they look funny and for that price they sound quite good if you set it up right
hey if it works it works! 👍
It was a bad video until you mentioned "No Matter What" by Badfinger. Glad you were able to clear up some perceptions on 'inexpensive' guitars.
love that band! I don't think this was a bad video, it was a horrible video! lol
This video is an instant GAS cure. Thank you for sharing 🌹
I'd say no problem, but it was a small problem :)
I've had an eye on one of them for some time now. Guy on YT modded his and he's an amazing player.
*I've owned the red model for over a year now and I fell in love with it. However I DID make upgrades. I swapped the bridge for a black wraparound, the stock nut for a black graphite nut, the stock knobs for speed knobs and the tuners with black locking tuners. I also added Schaller black strap locks. Now this might seem like a lot of money but I got most of the parts from Guitar Fetish. (The strap locks were from my local mom-and-pop guitar shop.) I'm debating swapping out the humbucker too. It's definitely one of my favorite guitars to play on the couch and at work.* 🙂🙂
*That said, I loved this video, Landon. You've made a new fan and subscriber!*
I appreciate your honesty, Landon. It was honestly kind of entertaining to watch you joke around with this guitar(-ish). I'd say send it back if you're immediately regretting your purchase. Either way the choice is obviously up to you!
ya it’s a non-keeper, and I would want to pass this on to someone else.
I was about to buy one, I do a fair bit of traveling and wanted something I could easily get on a plane. If you want to give it away, send it to me.
I've got one with the strap tied at the headstock like an old acoustic guitar and it helps with the neck dive quite a bit
that could help!
A friend of mine bought one of these a few years back, it had similar issues. He gave up trying to make it playable in the end. I think you're right to send this one back rather than inflict it on anyone else.
that’s my thinking too! :)
You could tie the strap on the neck like an acoustic. Maybe if you changed the tuners.. you should still do a deep dive, there's not that many travel guitar. If it's just the tuners, that could still be an option
ya for sure I could put some work into it, but I don’t want to for this guitar :)
That's the Hugh Hefner Viagra model. It didn't help his "neck dive" either. Actually tried one of these things years ago as a little grab and play guitar. Returned it for the same reasons you illustrated as it's just not comfortable or fun to play.
ya I don’t plan to keep it. thanks for sharing your experience
I have my fingers crossed for that Les Paul
I noticed it's got a slanted down neck, a Gibson 3*3 style headstock. It's a lot like a Gibson/Epiphone but without the soul, or rather body
Back to the future guitar at the beginning (but not yellow).
that’s actually a more expensive model that exists. at least it used to last time I checked
Send it back or just throw more money at it like we all do sometimes. Might make a great slide guitar once you've filled the rear end with holes and lead and some other bits and bobs get replaced. If it still blows, then give it away. Stay safe.
Last year Hofner finally made a Deluxe model with 2 pickups. No lefty Deluxe tho 😒
It’s like a cooler version of the guitar Marty McFly uses to blow out that massive speaker in Back to the Future.
I thought of that. lol
The color is Pelham blue but deeper like how fender did candy apple red to candy cola?
Why is it called a bolt on neck when it's held on with screws? Always puzzled me.
made up fact. was originally called the screw-off neck. too many people got offended :P
@@landonbailey Your abundance and depth of knowledge never starts to amaze me ;-)
Hating it because of the neck dive? Or wider reasons?
Would moving the strap buttons ease the dive? (Though wipe out the chance to return it). Or strap it acoustic style round the nut?
Give it a few thoughts and see what happens. If you still hate it, yeh, maybe skip the deep dive. If you're not enthused to do it, it becomes a chore.
ya I’m looking to send it back and try something better. of course it’s all my opinion:)
It’s such a relief to see gear that I don’t immediately want! Landon, you should send it back. Also you should give the Epiphone in TV yellow to me.
it's been sent back 🎸👍
I really like it! Looks interesting.
I reckon a bit of string stretching and and getting used to it and you'll love it. :)
I would love it as a couch guitar to practice without setup. Thank you for doing the test of this guitar. I'm in Toronto
It's a Michael Bolt-on !
First, why not set it on the left leg? Second, if you need to have a guitar to travel with, it looks like it will do the job. Third, any new guitar is going to take time in order to settle in and play in tune.
I think it's good with just a friendly jams in a small parties just like that.And very comfortable to bring anywhere lol.
do what works!
I'm in the hospital for a while and I have to have wide awake but I like the no neck guitars they're very good and the tuning is at the rear and therefore it's heavier and it keeps from diving
It’s not the size .... isn’t that what she said?
I believe you have to play it a little bit more, maybe a couple of weeks, and then take your decisions. I built my own travel guitar a couple of years ago and the concept itself is difficult to compare with normal guitars, but when I travel I take it with me and play on a mini-amp. It is not comfortable, not well balanced, not great sound, but help me to play at hotels and thats fine for me. Give it a second chance
ya I’ve already spent enough time with it lol. But thanks for the feedback! :) cheers
@@landonbailey I see LOL..cheers!
i would definently like to see a deep dive and a giveaway. Weird and wacky guitars like this are some of the best in my opinion. Plz keep the great vids coming!
I sent the guitar back right after this video
It would probably be better balanced if it were hedless. But attaching the strap to the head would work.
I'm with you man, trust your instincts. Send it back, no point in doing a giveaway with something you don't stand by.
agreed!
The Pig-nose travel guitars are awesome...mine is anyway.
They are a bit expensive but very well built.
On the bright side, paddling isn't a problem anymore
but then I need to get another one!
@@landonbailey oh.... another one.....
Where are you gonna get a boat
You didn’t lie... it really WAS just a little guitar video
My cat's comment was an ambivalent yawn.
🐱 ha
Hey Landon. I have a Hohner, licensed Stienberger that I dont really use anymore, if you'd like it, and if you'd pay the shipping from UK it's yours....
I didn't like this guitar at all. 🤣
This guy reminds me of Richard Dunn from the Tim and Eric show. Speaks just like him.
If you attach the strap to the neck, near the nut, will that prevent the neck dive? -Doug Pratt, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Ltd makes an ec1 that looks pretty awesome. The tuners are on the body. I would like one but they are like seven hundred. I'd rather add a bit more and get a regular something
Wrap lock your strings it makes a huge difference
Julia of Thomann ( who is Austrian) pronounces it “Huff Ner” I’ve one and the nose dive balance is the only down side.
Hasta La Vista Hofner
String the strap like an acoustic but don't button on the headstock, like early fender basses too much truss rod cavity too little wood.
Tks for your review bro.....
. I like this guitar. And a lot of other people do. Maybe it's a snobbery thing because it doesn't cost a lot of money but some of us don't have a lot of money. So we can't afford a Steinberger or even a Travelcaster. Or maybe we just can't see spending the extra bread if this guitar is decent enough and it seems to be more than decent enough.. Having not played the other ones I can't really speculate on them. But I'm extremely happy with this guitar.. haven't had any problems with it right out of the box. Probably my only regret is that I wasn't able to get a red one. But the black is nice
Get a Harley Benton kit SG ..cut it to your liking.... Is cheaper with 2 pick ups... I done it, iam happy same size.... Smile
😛
I mean...theoretically it could be a mod project, but I think you should go with your gut on this one brother. From the second you started trying to play it you were in visible pain. It would be hard to imagine you being satisfied with it ever regardless of the modifications you invest into it. With that said I don't think you should keep it. I clearly can't speak for everyone else in our community, but as far as I'm concerned this is not a guitar I will be signing up for in any potential giveaways. I can feel the pain all the way over here my brother. I'm sorry for the bad draw. Thank you again for the great content. Don't stop being real.
it gave me negative inspiration to play guitar. lol. ya it’s going back.
@@landonbailey Your call but I think it's a good one. Hated seeing how uncomfortable how you were although it did make for some interesting content in contrast. Lol.
it would probably be an interesting mod project
not for me :)
I'm about to go on the learning to play guitar journey. Would this be good to start with?. I'm a wheelchair and a bit of a short arse so full size guitars don't fit me, been looking at 3/4 size guitars like the epiphone Les Paul express, I think that's the name?
I'd probably start with a Squier Mini model. They do Strats and Jazzmaster style models
@@landonbailey ive just realized i said im a wheelchair, that would be pretty amazing for a wheelchair to be using youtube, i meant wheelchair user obviously lol. thanks for the reply, i have looked squier and others before,
all good! it reminded me of this ruclips.net/video/RH1ekuvSYzE/видео.html
oddly enough Andy Theguitargeek just took this same model guitar and put it through lots of upgrades, if you're into that kind of thing.
I’ll do anything to try to forget about that guitar. It’s been sent back. :)
@@landonbailey :D
6:30 for a moment I thought you were going to do Wonderful tonight" but forgot 😂
Also, STRAP to the HEADSTOCK
that’s funny it’s actually an Eric Clapton riff from a George Harrison song called I’d Have You Anytime
@@landonbailey uncle Eric and his bending intros 😃
I need one of those for my kayak.
might be ok for that :P
The only reason I am (was) looking ... is it has 24 frets and I am doing a study and exercise unit. There are some that don't have 24 frets ... but it is for training ... but for 150 dollars ... maybe not... I saw some kit guitars ...
Deadpool persona, love it
Except he’s a person in real life! 🇨🇦🎸😝
i wouldn't mind having it. im trying to learn the guitar (i play bass) but idk if it'll be a good first electric guitar.
it would not be a good first guitar at all
The video actually as I view it is a success, in the sense that you come across on camera very well. You are interesting to watch and listen too. You have that "star" quality. Josh Scott of JHS pedals has this quality too. I often wonder if he really is Josh Scott or a highly skilled character actor Josh Scott has hired to portray him. We may never know.
hey thanks! appreciate that. Josh reminds me of Toby from the Office
The thing with this guitar and other travel guitars the other travel guitars is you need to get used to them. Have disguitar have have 2 traveler traveler speedsters and and I'm planning on buying another Is hoffner shorty buddy.
The thing with the hoffner is yes at the beginning it does appear to have neck dive because of the headslide. There really is no place to rest your hand aside from your forearm. It takes a little time to get used to them. They're necks are excellent feeling. Fret wise yes they're not the biggest of frets they're not the best quality threats but what do you expect for the money 1st of all? The fact is it does take a severe beating to actually wear them down a lot of usage love usage Meaning it's gonna take a long time before you have to actually wear them down withem with moderate decent use. For me they are travel guitars and learning guitars. It does beat the hell out of playing a full size guitar sometimes you could just play them anywhere and you've got a guitar that really is better than decent quality. Have you ever had any Fred buzz looking at the workmanship even with a pair of magnifying glasses there's nothing wrong with them excellent quality perfectly fine. Is the string action May be a little bit too high possibly possibly yes yet it's still better than playable. Are the tuners the best quality no but they're not garbage didn't say they were gonna be the best are they a decent quality error they even better than decent quality yes and won't they last with the exception of possibly getting one that's Is defective from production They will last a long time. There can be issues with them maybe not being perfectly in tune all the time so what tune it up. Have also found yes because they are not the greatest quality the it is quality the best quality they're going to be issues with humidity climate wherever you're storing them or playing them but so what. Get a new set put them on there and you've got a great guitar or whether it be locking non locking. The bridge on both of them it might not be the best quality metal and it's not but it's not the worst better than acceptable. Buy a new bridge and learn how to intonate it yourself just like putting on a new set of tuner's machine heads same thing with refreating the. The pickups Again not garbage not the best not the greatest definitely not Gore just definitely not garbage better than acceptable same thing with the electronics they could be better but it's not garbage. Is these guitars in no way or anything of 1st act or there are some other guitars that you get in say Walmart in which case even the star caster is not even a piece of garbage. You're getting what you're paying for as crappy as that is to say But even then you're not looking at the quality of guitars like this that may be existed 2030 years ago and there are seriously guitars out there that have had massive problems with their tuners crappy is crappy saddles electronics electronics fret work fretboard work. In my opinion they are actually very good guitars there are definitely instruments that are worth something they're not garbage. Best way to play them is on your lap or in between your legs standing up you have to get used to it. 1st inclination is to get rid of them they don't sound good they don't play well they don't feel right there's nothing wrong with them it takes a matter of getting used to them you still they are travel guitars they do not have full sized bodies if anything as I said they're great for practicing they're grateful learning they're good for even learning wrist / picking / fingerpicking control. I was something of a person that would never play a foreign guitar Bolt travel guitars or Chinese actually the Hoffer might be Indonesian either way either way they're foreign guitars Orange guitars and I would never play them in the past now I completely loved them and I've got a number of epiphones Squires and they're all excellent guitars. I also have Gibson Les Paul's American is American jacksons. I absolutely love foreign guitars there's nothing wrong with them wish I would abort them long time ago. They are definitely legitimate instruments. I know I don't work for Guitar Center I don't work for San Ann I shouldn't work for I'm at eighties companies and I don't get any money out of this this is a personal opinion this is a personal opinion from somebody that would never even pick up foreign guitars going back I don't know how many years ago. Ironically enough I've got this guitar in the same blue color. And truthfully looking at the rest of the video I felt the same way about the guitar even after having it a little while it's a piece of shit it has neck dive the bridge while they're all better bridges out there even though this is a compensated bridge which is which is better than even some good guitars that just have wrap-around with no intonation yes the tuners they're not always staying in tune but again I've found out to be it's a matter of the climate you're in inside your house or wherever it is. Why do I call it an excellent guitar because I understand the guitar what it's about the neck is very comfortable are you comfortable and it's a matter of cost and you're not gonna necessarily find guitars out there for for the amount of money that this is brand new that may even be that good there are some brands out there that do suck but for the most part they're all CNC route routed to begin with. Have played Chinese guitars with tuners even worse than these hardware Worse than this. Would it be nice to have Gibson Fender Jackson P is Jackson PRS American quality on these guitars sure it would be nice but it's not gonna happen those days are over with. The days of 405 $100 US Gibson's fenders we will never see those ever again that's the 1990s Andy's end 1980s and what issues going on from it's going on from deforestation over overharvesting of certain woods as Saint mahogany swamp ash et cetera even with plantations that have cropped up for the longest time now just not going to see the prices we did in the past. Rather not get into the politics of who's running these countries and this that in the other simple fact is fine instruments play them get used to them understand them modify them if necessary improve them and enjoy them and learn learn and even go further with them( And I am a Nit picker of a person but I'm understanding the image we're in and going to be in for more than likely a looking time economically And of course take me to account the global trade with countries like China that will probably never change. So we really just better get used to dealing with totalitarian regimes like this because everyone's making money and they're not gonna do things to make our lives any better this isn't about accepting shit and being happy to eat it it's just about realizing you have to be a realist at some point). Until someone figures out how to genetically modify my is the modify mahogany trees is other species of tonal woods so they can grow faster we're just gonna have to deal what we have and the wood on most of these foreign guitars is not even garbage it's very far from it this isn't the same that there aren't guitars out there that aren't really truly nothing more than a piece of crap completely.
maybe
@@landonbailey Landon what are you saying maybe too?
I' m stumped about the the reason for the thing.Why? WTF?
for travel
Are you holding something? Cant find anything on screen😉 just have to trust you that you show us something new, but i do hear some tones😜 is it from you or from Michael Bolton hiding in that case😉
Glad that you try out new things neck heavy or not. Thanks Landon
👍👏
🤪👍