“These days I would be reluctant to say that Gibson invented the archtop”:The untold history of German guitar building

Hofner Verithin.

There are always niche interests in any field and among guitar collectors it doesn’t get more specialised than vintage German archtops.

Most guitarists will be aware of Höfner and maybe Framus, but guitar making in Germany dates back to the early 19th century, with countless manufacturers producing archtops that spanned the jazz and rock ’n’ roll eras.