Hoyer Archtop -Looking for Luthier in Seattle Area

lumena · #1 03-09-2022, 09:59 AM

I am looking for a good acoustic luthier in the Seattle Area to work on my little Hoyer Alva. This guitar is very old and I would like someone who specializes in work on old acoustic guitars.

Just so your click on this is not a loss here is an image.

Kerbie · #2 03-09-2022, 10:09 AM

That's pretty sweet. How old is it?

40bpm · #3 03-10-2022, 12:54 AM

Contact archtop.com based in Seattle - they'll know the right luthier for an old axe.

Thanks for the picture - cool guitar. I have a very similar Hopf archtop (black with cateye sound holes). Archtop.com had mine set up and fixed up 10 years ago.

These are awesome playing guitars and light as a feather.

lumena · #4 03-10-2022, 08:45 AM

The guitar is late 50s -early 60s. It was originally very red but over time the finish has faded. It has a very beautiful handmade feel and the neck is amazing in it's shape.

It's very lightweight and very similar to a Waterloo At in size. It has a clockwork neck adjust and everything is original. I just need the setup/clockwork adjusted a bit.

I love old German guitars. I would love to see a picture of the Hopf.

btw Thanks for the tip about Archtop.com I was thinking about them but didn't know if there was a better place to start. I am new to Seattle area, actually I am still going back and forth from Florida cleaning out the apartment and leaving Florida for good.

lumena · #5 03-10-2022, 08:53 AM

more images -these are all from when I bought it.

Robin, Wales · #6 03-11-2022, 01:22 AM

What a lovely guitar. Definitely worth keeping playable. Good luck with your search to find someone to set it up for you.

RRuskin · #7 03-11-2022, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 40bpm

Contact archtop.com based in Seattle - they'll know the right luthier for an old axe.

Thanks for the picture - cool guitar. I have a very similar Hopf archtop (black with cateye sound holes). Archtop.com had mine set up and fixed up 10 years ago.

These are awesome playing guitars and light as a feather.

JP Guitars in Puyallup, WA does Archtop.com's repairs.

Steve DeRosa · #8 03-11-2022, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lumena

The guitar is late 50s -early 60s. It was originally very red but over time the finish has faded...

As any original '58-60 Les Paul owner will be happy to tell you, red dyes have a tendency to fade over time - I had a '46 Epiphone Blackstone that had a similar fade pattern on the top/sides, but a three-tone back that would have been the envy of any pre-CBS Strat aficionado...

lumena · #9 03-12-2022, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RRuskin

JP Guitars in Puyallup, WA does Archtop.com's repairs.

Thank you!

Sage Runner · #10 03-16-2022, 11:02 PM

Emerald City Guitars Seattle likely has a competent Luthier on hand.

NervousNrG · #11 03-23-2022, 10:43 AM

A couple of other options:

1. DustyStrings in Fremont.

2. Mike Lull guitars in Bellevue (although Mike himself passed a few years back).

Hammertone · #12 01-12-2023, 05:46 PM

I should pop by here more often - that's a charming little guitar! It was built in the shop of Rodebald (Rod.) Hoyer, probably in the early 1960s, in Kochel am See, south of Munich and a half-hour drive from the old instrument-building town of Mittenwald.