Höfner files for insolvency

[kodiakblair]

2 hours ago, Hellzero said:

the rest is history.

Aye, he had £30 to spend but a Fender cost £100 so he bought the Höfner.

 

If he'd had a bigger budget he'd have bought a Fender, Höfner would never have got the Beatles association lifeline and went bust decades ago 👍

[Stub Mandrel]

11 hours ago, Hellzero said:

Höfner (correct spelling

 

This is interesting.  Apparently in the early years those exported to the uk had the spelling 'Hofner' to downplay their German origin at a time when that was disadvantageous in the UK.

 

In English the nearest equivalent of ö is œ. I posted a link to the German pronunciation above, closer to 'herfner' than 'hoffner' although the latter is almost universal in the UK.

 

Œ is often pronounced as an 'e' in the UK (compare 'Phœbe'), I suspect Hugh Heffner's original family was closer to 'Höfner'.

[Hellzero]

10 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

In English the nearest equivalent of ö is œ.

It's not the nearest equivalent, it's the other way to write it, just like in German, where any vowel with an umlaut (which is a totally German word) can be written this way. 😉

[p4ul]

12 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

German pronunciation above, closer to 'herfner' than 'hoffner'

[jd56hawk]

On 19/12/2025 at 12:23, LeftyJ said:

Höfner posted an update on their socials today to clarify one or two things:

 

Dear musicians, Höfner fans & friends,
some of you may have already heard: our company has been going through a difficult period - especially since the introduction of the US tariffs - and filed for insolvency on Thursday, 11 December 2025.

 

We would like to clarify a few things: We are not discontinuing production, distribution or our media channels. In Germany, there is a three-month period before the actual insolvency procedure is opened. This period offers the opportunity to consolidate the company and restructure it for a better future.

 

Within this period, we will continue to build and sell our instruments and the Höfner team is doing its best to provide you with the support, service and warranties you expect.

We would like to express our appreciation to all of you who continue to support us even in these difficult times!

 

Thank You!
The team at Karl Höfner GmbH & Co. KG

Thanks.

Now maybe we won't have to see any of those ridiculous "Paul McCartney should buy Hofner!" posts.

[Sparky Mark]

I expect the Chinese Hofner (Contemporary and Ignition) violin basses outsell the German built ones many, many times over, which couldn't have helped.

As an example, out of curiosity I bought a couple of the cheapest Hofner Ignition violins to decide a) whether I liked violins at all, and b) which pickup positions I preferred. I chose the Ignition basses because their construction is a little closer to the hollow body originals, not having the full maple centre block of the Contemporaries.

I then very briefly owned a genuine German violin bass, but to be honest, the Ignitions got pretty darn close sound, feel and weight-wise so the German went back and I still have the Ignition. It may get gigged when I need a featherweight shortscale in my old(er) age.

It's a shame when anything "iconic" disappears, but such is commerce.