Hofner Colorama review

Höfner, the elder statesman of pop guitars, has actually been around since 1887, and though the best-known design is Paul McCartney's 500/1 bass, its Chinese electrics kick ass, too.

"It's the tool for every blues guitarist!" reckons Höfner, and considering the Colorama features twin P90s and a solid body made of real mahogany, this is an interesting spec indeed.

It's actually based on an old Höfner model... "However!" the website reminds us, "this is no yesterday's collector's model, but designed for the tough live performance of today's guitarist." Bring it on, baby!

This electric guitar is a meisterwerk that combines a tidy build with supreme playability, and gave TG a break from the usual humbucker theme with the grinding output and jagged bite of the P90s.

Between the bend-friendly profile, the luxurious fretboard and the surprising level of sustain you get from that slim body, we'd agree that this model would cheer up the bluesmen, but it would also deliver the goods in a hard rock context or even excel if you worship the raggedy-arsed riffs of The Libertines.