12-String Vintage Sunburst Satin open pore
12-String Vintage tinted natural Nitro Highpolish
6-String Vintage Sunburst Nitro Highpolish
6-String Vintage tinted natural Satin open pore
Meet the Framus Hootenanny 2025 reissue
the Story behind the legendary Hootenanny
Sometimes the stars align.
In 1964 after their great success in Europe, the Beatles had taken off in the USA and Beatlemania reached its first peak. A folk and western music scene had developed in the USA in the early 1960s. This did not go unnoticed by the German manufacturer Framus, which was on its way to becoming the largest guitar manufacturer in Europe.
Nicolas Wilfer’s grandfather Fred Wilfer, recognized this and developed new acoustic guitars that combined elements of the highly successful Framus jazz guitars with the important features of Framus concert guitars.
Beatlemania
photo credit: Midjourney AI | Chris Corrado
The Framus Hootenanny Series was born
With six- and twelve-string models in natural and sunburst finishes: the famous 5/024 model.
Back to John Lennon: He had met Bob Dylan on tour in the USA and also recognized the folk trend. Upon his return to London, he purchased an acoustic Framus Hootennanny 12-string. He used it to compose the Dylan-influenced song 'You've Got To Hide Your Love Away'. For the recording sessions of the album Help, the guitar came into the studio and was used not only for the Dylan-inspired song, but also by John Lennon and George Harrison for the songs 'Help', 'It's Only Love' and 'I've Just Seen a Face'.
In the movie Help, John Lennon used this guitar for the filming of 'You've Got to Hide Your love Away'. And on the follow-up album Rubber Soul, the Hootenanny is also used for the recordings of 'Norwegian Wood' and 'Girl'.
In late 1965, John Lennon gave the guitar to Gordon Waller of Peter & Gordon, a duo produced by Lennon and McCartney. From there it went to the band's manager and disappeared in an attic for over 60 years. It was rediscovered in early 2024 and positively identified by Beatles gear expert Andy Bubiuk.
On May 29th 2024, this model was sold by Julien's Auction in California for a record price of approximately $ 2.85 million.
Executive Director of Julien’s Auction,
MARTIN NOLAN, holds John Lennon’s Lost Framus 12-String Hootenanny which was sold for an unprecedented $2.85 million.
photo credit: picture alliance / ZUMAPRESS.com / Nancy Kaszerman
How the legendary hootenanny was found again
Dive into the story
As the heirs of Framus, we knew we had to make this unique instrument available to other musicians and collectors.
We have an identical 12-string Hootenanny in our Framus Vintage Museum, and with the help of old documents, we reconstructed the 6- and 12-string models to the exact specifications of the original. We contacted Lennon's estate and received its cooperation in releasing this guitar.
We are very proud to bring this unique instrument back to life. We are convinced that we will inspire many Beatles fans all over the world with this beautiful acoustic guitar.
Nicolas Wilfer
CEO of Framus and Grandson of the company founder Fred Wilfer
become the owner of a legendary Hootenanny
Meet the Framus Hootenanny 2025 reissue model line-up
12-string Hootenanny
The ingenious blend of jazz and classical guitars gives this guitar an exceptional look and sound. The trapeze tailpiece and sliding, heightadjustable bridge combine with the compact body, classic bracing, and set-in neck to create a unique sound: warm and surprisingly loud. It's the sound you recognize when you hear 'You've Got To Hide Your Love Away'.
Features
Spruce top, mahogany sides and back, mahogany neck with 50 mm wide and flat 19 fret rosewood fretboard with a zero fret and a decorative sound hole rosette made of individual pieces of wood. Available in open pore and high gloss nitro lacquer finish.
6-string Hootenanny
Like its 12-string sibling, the 6-string version has an unusually warm and balanced sound, just like a small-body acoustic. A 44 mm wide flat fretboard with a zero fret ensures easy playability. The trapeze tailpiece and sliding, height-adjustable bridge combine with the compact body, classic bracing and set-in neck to produce a unique sound: warm and surprisingly loud.
Features
Spruce top, mahogany back and sides, mahogany neck with a flat 19-fret rosewood fretboard and a decorative single piece soundhole rosette. Available in open pore and high gloss nitro lacquer finishes.
