Hofner Pickups
Typical failure points in Hofners
Hofners are $80.00. All efforts will be made to repair before rewinding.
The process begins with a photograph for reference. Then I check the magnetic field. Dis-assembly will now begin.
Hofners used various methods to assemble. All of which involve soldering and even rivets in some cases. The leads will then be verified for continuity. The coil will now be measured to see what, if any, reading is available. If no reading, the solder joints are re-flowed and a check for continuity.
At this point, I will use a fine brush to determine if there is a break in the exterior winding. If no break is found, the end of the exterior winding will be removed and unwinding will begin. Generally, no more than 200-300 turns will be removed. Hofner used a tape, lead, and solder combination that is causing them to fail. Corrosion starts where the lead joins the coil wire and invades the coil from there.
A rewind is needed from here as peeling too far in to the coil would alter the tone. The coil is broken down and all corrosion is removed from the bobbin. The pickup will then be wound to original specifications. The pickup will be done in such a manner as to make repair or rewinding almost unnoticeable.