Wolfgang Huttl Archtop Red Burst Hollow-Body Archtop Vintage Electric Guitar

This is what would appear to be a Wolfgang Huttl archtop electric guitar in a Red Burst finish. Wolfgang Huttl founded his namesake guitar company in Bubenreuth, Germany after the expulsion of the Sudeten Germans from Czechoslovakia at the end of WWII in 1946. The company at its peak employed around 50 people and produced around 500 instruments a day. The company operated until 1983 making a variety of guitars and basses, mainly focussing on acoustic guitars. Huttl died on Christmas Day 1995.

Due to the lack of information available on these instruments online, it has not been possible to definitively ascertain the model number of the instrument or its construction materials, and with no serial number present the year of manufacture is not clear. The neck is set into the body, and appears to be a 3-pc Laminated Maple construction. It is topped with a 20 fret Rosewood fingerboard, and a floating bridge made from either Ebony or some kind of composite material is also featured. Nickel hardware is fitted, including a trapeze tailpiece and three-on-a-plate open-geared tuning machines. A Schaller integrated pickguard pickup & electronics system is installed, with master volume & tone controls. +

The neck plays very well, with a profile which could be described as a moderately-large ’D’ shape, with a nicely flattened area to the centre rear which encourages ergonomic thumb positioning across the register. The Rosewood of the fretboard is pleasant under the fingers, and with its 10” radius is practical for both chordal and melodic playing styles. The small size of the body ensures comfort in the arms whilst the cutaway enhances access to the upper register.

The acoustic voice of the instrument is soft and nicely balanced thanks to the small stature of the body. The Schaller floating pickup and electronics system does an excellent job of capturing the tonal character of the instrument, adding the versatility required for live or recording situations. The included controls offer ample opportunity to dial in a variety of tones making this an incredibly usable instrument with a unique aesthetic and sonic character.