I have two Hohner guitars, a B2A bass and a newly-acquired Rockwood Performer.
I’ve not seen anything quite like the Rockwood Performer before. It is an all black, 7/8 Strtcstr shaped body, with one single coil pickup, one volume and a front-mounted output jack. It has a 21 fret maple neck.
Superficially it looks similar to the “starter pack” Encore E1-B guitars which were popular here in the UK in the 1990s, but it feels a bit better made. I think the body is real wood and not MDF/plywood for example.
Anyway, can anyone help with finding out more and identifying the model from the serial number please? It is a triangle shaped sticker on the back of the headstock saying “Serial No 071540”.
Apologies for any errors/mistakes as a first-time member of the forum!
there are a bunch of Rockwood models, without knowing exactly which one you have it’s difficult to provide the right info. Here’s a table showing them all:
Ahh thanks Steve, I found that list over the weekend but I can’t locate my instrument via those descriptions.
I was rather thinking the serial number would magically reveal the model number
Anyway, working through it the closest looks to be the Rockwood LX 30 G but that states the guitar has a 465mm scale. Mine is full Fender 648mm though the body is small.
The description for the LX 30 G also does not mention the single pickup too (single coil).
Googling for the LX 30 G also brings up pictures of a Fender style guitar with a scratchplate - mine just has the pickup top-mounted.
If this link works I found one of the same model I have acquired via an auction site:
Oh no problem Steve, thank you for posting it, it’s useful it is in this thread now in case it helps someone else in their search for an 80s or 90s guitar.
It also adds a little bit of mystery something in the family that is not in the list.
With the link I posted showing another example mine is clearly not the only one out there, so hopefully one day some more information will appear.
I will keep searching and if I find anything else I can post it here too.
I will say this - the guitar is nicely made. The tuners are probably the cheapest part and I will probably have to replace those just to get it to stay in tune. The bridge is functional but needs a bit of love after all these years.
But the neck is very nice, the frets are good, the body appears to be solid wood and not plywood or MDF. It has a great solid shiny finish too.
The single coil pickup is really loud and pleasant sounding. With the one volume control there is a simple, functional feel to the guitar that says “play music with me” rather than “play with all the controls I have”
Hopefully here are some shots of the guitar in question.
We’re so used to seeing single humbucker “Rock Machine” guitars. There is something wonderfully different with the lone single coil pickup. Very minimal.
Note the logo on the headstock and neck plate as well as the serial number sticker. It’s amazing that was preserved!
I really do have to get new tuners on there - the ones at the moment really let the guitar down and I am sure some new ones will be a great improvement.
Hi Jim
Service Dept says this is probably a Hohner Rockwood LX 30 Mini. They cost around DM 180 when new and were made from about 1996 onwards until the end of the decade. Here the available specs for this model:
1/2 size; linden body; fixed maple neck; 1 single coil pickup; vol; standard bridge; colours: black, sunburst
Thanks for the reply, I can see how that description might fit without seeing the guitar in person, but see here for a photo of my guitar next to a Squire Stratocaster.
You can see the body is a little bit smaller (maybe 7/8 size), but the necks are both full-scale 25.5".
Regarding the LX30 mini, I looked online and found this auction site for the LX30 mini (bear in mind it may disappear as the item has been sold) - Marlin Loner electric guitar in need of attention
The auction says you win a “Marlin Loner electric guitar in need of attention; together with a Carlsbro Sound Kickstarter electric guitar and a Rockwood by Hohner LX30 electric guitar”.
If you click on the link you can see the LX30 mini in the middle - very small in comparison to the two other guitars, with a white Stratocaster type scratchplate. I have seen them in black too, but again with the white scratchplate.
So I don’t think this guitar is an LX30 mini. I wonder if it is something mysterious like an LX45 (I googled all the possible variants between LX90 and LX30, nothing came back that looks like my guitar)?
A couple of observations next to the Squire. The Rockwood pickup is much louder and the guitar is heavier in weight. It also has a noticable “V” profile on the back of the neck compared to the Squier which you can feel with your hand.
You’re clearly right about the size. Trouble is, Hohner sold a great many different guitar models over the years, but the records of exactly what was made when and where are sometimes patchy.
I can remember full-page colour adverts for them in music magazines in the 80s, I loved seeing the one with all the models in a grid and all the variants.
It seems from the discussions so far that Rockwood was a model variant for the 90s? Like Arbor was in the 80’s? So there could be some hope in searching for catalogues or magazine reviews from that era.
I will post back here if I find anything useful. I might even play the guitar too in the meantime (there’s always a risk down the rabbit hole of fact-finding that you lose sight of your starting point).
Mu:Zines is a great read anyway but has a good selection of Hohner reviews: Global Search
I actually remember reading this review in the magazine as a teenager and thinking how harsh the reviewer was - Hohner HTB1 Guitar (12T Aug 85) - “What the eye doesn’t see, the paint shop will gloss over”
But, the review was Adrian Legg. Who knows…just a bit…about playing guitar
I might have considered that at first, but I posted a link further up this thread to an auction site which suggested mine wasn’t the only one out there.
It’s not absolute proof of course…it could be the same guitar!
Moreover since all Strat-type guitars are technically “partscasters” your suggestion is possible.
Another pathway for research…where might the body have come from if it is a “hybrid”?
Rockwood was mostly straightforward Fender/Gibson copies and yours is not really Strat shaped. It looks to me like a Kramer body shape. Are you plausibly close to Edinburgh where the auction was? The simplest explanation is that they’re the same guitar.
Raptor Junior looks good for the shape but as you say it has a humbucker and a tone control.
I wouldn’t rule out it being shipped from Edinburgh to Devon. A lot of auctions are online these days and they won it for £32, which leaves lots of room to pay fees and shipping costs and still have a cheap guitar.
Yes, I got mine for £34.99 from what looked to be a charity shop using eBay. The only difference was the hard case from the Edinburgh auction was not included, though it did come with a very thin gig bag type case.
something in the family that is not in the list.
