I have a red Contessa HG-11, serial number N8369, that I’ve owned for several years, never learned to play. Was told it was by the brother of late original owner it was purchased in 1969. I’ve tried finding information in the past but have come with everything from its a cheap copy of a guild to it could have been a special order due to the unique color. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
I’m afraid we can’t find any reliable info on this guitar. Hohner Service only has records of a Contessa HG-11 model being built between 1981 and 1985, but this doesn’t tally with a purchase date of 1969.
1969 sounds right, this is from the 1969 Hohner USA catalogue. The guitars were made in Italy. As you can see, it should be Blond but most of the other electrics came in Sunburst or Cherry so seeing a Cherry version of this isn’t a huge surprise, although it’s certainly unusual (and beautiful). It does resemble a Guild but most jazz archtops resemble each other so that’s not a surprise either.
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Brilliant Phil, many thanks for sharing!
Steve
Thanks for the information philw, thats more than i have gotten in the past.
Happy to help. It wasn’t a cheap guitar but it was the budget option in the range and definitely cheaper than a Guild or a Gibson. At the time Guilds would have started at over $300 and Gibsons at over $400. It was probably made at the Eko factory.
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