A Rare NGD. It's Groovy. Yeah, Baby.

[crusty philtrum]

I got an email from a music store showing some sale items they had at that time. This guitar interested me, and the reviews were very favourable. I watched this video ....

and did some research. Seems these were around in 2009 but are no longer listed at Hofner's website. The retail price in Australia was $699, but this particular store was selling them for $399, with the case. I couldn't find anyone else who was selling them. I thought about it for a few days and then jumped in and bought one.

It's a great guitar ... the tuners are less than average and really need to be replaced, but everything else is excellent ... the neck, frets, vibrato... and especially the pickups. It would have been a great buy for the original $699, so it was a steal for what I paid. It really has it's own unique sound but it's a great unique sound that will work in a wide variety of styles. The colour is dark metallic red, although it looks lighter in my pics due to strong sunlight. I love this guitar !

Hofner Galaxie

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: A Rare NGD. It's Groovy. Yeah, Baby.

How will I tweak it ?

I've changed the black pickguard screws to chrome ones, fitted a cream Strat trem-arm knob, and changed the volume and tone knobs. The three slider switches will be replaced by ones with a white/ cream lever instead of the stock black (each pickup has it's own 'On-Off' switch). That's about it for cosmetics.

When the switches arrive, I'll polish the frets and oil the fretboard while the pickguard is out, and re-string with some better, heavier strings. That's about all that needs doing really until I can replace the tuners (which are traditional vintage Fender Kluson copies).

Then I can start to experiment with the 'Staple' pickups ... they're quite powerful units, so there should be plenty of range for experimentation.

 

[rgand]

Re: A Rare NGD. It's Groovy. Yeah, Baby.

Looks cool. Congrats. The individual pickup switches is an interesting feature. Have fun with that one.

 

[kramersteen]

Re: A Rare NGD. It's Groovy. Yeah, Baby.

funk and cool.

 

[RogerMexiko]

Re: A Rare NGD. It's Groovy. Yeah, Baby.

Everything looks like the makings of a guitar extraordinaire! Inlays are cool defined. Pickguard has an elegant flow like from an Italian designer. Appears to be a veritable plethora of useful controls. The bridge seems to be designed by a team that knows what it takes to build an outstandingly functional unit. Definitely one primo guitar! (probably should get it out of the jungle though)

 

[Wattage]

Re: A Rare NGD. It's Groovy. Yeah, Baby.

super cool

 

[Rand-O-Monium]

Re: A Rare NGD. It's Groovy. Yeah, Baby.

Groovy,indeed!

'Grats!

 

[Swampy]

Re: A Rare NGD. It's Groovy. Yeah, Baby.

I like that!

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: A Rare NGD. It's Groovy. Yeah, Baby.

Cool, I like the funkiness.

What vibe are the pickups?

 

[jeremy]

Re: A Rare NGD. It's Groovy. Yeah, Baby.

looks great!

 

[Artie]

Re: A Rare NGD. It's Groovy. Yeah, Baby.

Cool 60's vibe, but those fret markers would make me go cross-eyed.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: A Rare NGD. It's Groovy. Yeah, Baby.

Looks cool ..retro, but not 'grand-pa' retro :bigthumb:

 

[The Dali]

Re: A Rare NGD. It's Groovy. Yeah, Baby.

Very cool! Totally looks like it is from the 60's!

 

[Lazarus1140]

Re: A Rare NGD. It's Groovy. Yeah, Baby.

Is that a Jazzmaster style trem?

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: A Rare NGD. It's Groovy. Yeah, Baby.

Cool 60's vibe, but those fret markers would make me go cross-eyed.

Actually it's barely noticeable when you're playing for some reason.

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: A Rare NGD. It's Groovy. Yeah, Baby.

Looks cool ..retro, but not 'grand-pa' retro :bigthumb:

Darn it, I'm not trying hard enough !

Here's a bad (and badly colour-corrected) pic of the changes I've made so far. Black pickguard screws replaced by chrome ones, vibrato arm shortened and fitted with cream Strat tip, changed Volume and Tone knobs, and the black slider switches replaced by white Switchcraft units.




At some point I will fit a set of locking, vintage Kluson style Strat tuners, a pair of CTS 500K pots and a Sprague PIO tone capacitor. I am also thinking that if i move the control knobs slightly I would be able to fit a Strat 'football' jack plate into the end of the pickguard ... the angled jack would be better than the current perpendicular arrangement ... plus .... MORE CHROME !!!

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: A Rare NGD. It's Groovy. Yeah, Baby.

Is that a Jazzmaster style trem?

I don't know what lies beneath, but it seems to be very similar. It works surprisingly well, esp. considering the tuners are barely average and the nut is plastic. I will attend to those details when I can afford a new set of decent tuners.

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: A Rare NGD. It's Groovy. Yeah, Baby.

Very cool! Totally looks like it is from the 60's!

Well it is a re-issue of the original Hofner Galaxy from the 1960s, although the original had more switches and tonewheels below the pickups ... almost like a Jaguar in it's switching/ control arrangements. This re-issue is very similar but with simplified electronics.

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: A Rare NGD. It's Groovy. Yeah, Baby.

What vibe are the pickups?

This is a very difficult question to answer. It's not Fender, it's not Gibson, although for functional purposes one might describe it as being in between. But it is it's own unique thing. The pickups measure around 8.1 -8.2 kOhms DC resistance and seem quite powerful. They have some chime, and some 'cluck' when used in combination. More rich overtones in the middle frequencies than a Strat. I've heard clips of a country player, a traditional blues player and a Hendrix-y player, and all three extracted the kind of sounds you'd expect them to have for their chosen genres. They all sounded authentic and excellent.

The only way i think I'll really be able to give some indication will be to record some clips and attempt to imitate various styles to at least try to illustrate what could be possible. I think it might be one of those guitars where an average player could pick it up and sound quite good. 'Specialised' players seem to be able to make it bend to their will and sound excellent. It's very difficult to describe, but I've heard a range of styles and it seems to do an excellent job at all of them.

 

[Will S-T]

Re: A Rare NGD. It's Groovy. Yeah, Baby.

That's one cool score mate. Just got back from Zimbabwe afew hours ago and
I'm sure that thing could do cool African tunes, not to mention Johny Winter!