Pittsburgh Guitars is a Hofner Premium Dealer

Pittsburgh Guitars is a Hofner Premium Dealer, and one of only eight independently-owned shops in the U.S. that is authorized to order and stock German-built basses and guitars. We also carry the full line of the Contemporary and Ignition Series instruments and can order Custom Shop German instruments.

When Karl Hofner started the company in 1887, I do not think that he could have envisioned exactly how his company would evolve and what it would be best known for. If only he could have been sitting in front of a television in the United States on February 9th, 1964! The Beatles performed on The Ed Sullivan Show and Paul McCartney played his Hofner “Beatle Bass” in front of a television audience that was estimated to be 73 million people! On that evening a new generation of musicians and bands was born. The Hofner 500/1 Violin Bass instantly moved from an obscure instrument to superstar status. Beatlemania exploded and The Beatles’ images were plastered everywhere, along with the instruments that they played.

The popularity of The Beatles continues today along with the famous instruments with which they played and recorded some of the most popular music ever. Other notable musicians and bands that have used Hofner instruments include Tom Petty, Cheap Trick, Sonic Youth, Fleet Foxes, Peter Tosh, Barenaked Ladies, Tina Weymouth, Aerosmith … and the list goes on.

Take a look at the Hofners on our site. We always have instruments on order, and if you don’t see your Hofner on our site, we can order it for you!