2018 recap!

What a year, 2018!

We introduced several new models, won awards, built relationships with two new dealers (in Tokyo and London - we’ve never really worked with dealers) and tons of people got new guitars. First and foremost… THANK YOU! Thank you to everyone who has supported us through your orders and everyone who has followed us on social media and our website.

It’s early January, but we are still shipping Model Cs - the signature model developed with the great Jim Campilongo - and catching up on the backlog of orders of 228s, 229s, 1229s, 910s and 112s.

I have to say that we have the most understanding and gracious customers - believe it or not we are still essentially a one-man shop and have quite clearly had growing pains - but no one has NOT gotten their guitar :-). Every guitar gets the full attention like any other - whether it’s going to a major touring or recording artist or a bedroom player. Every guitar is the same to me. I tell folks all the time that the guitar doesn’t become itself until the very last minute, and then it snaps into form. That can be the swipe of a nut file, or a slight adjustment in the setup. Of course, there are months of work behind that moment, but we always wait for it before completing and delivering the instrument - and always will.

So, it’s early this morning and I have a lot of guitars to box up and get out - yes, I pack and ship every one of them! Thank you again - sincerely, and deeply. We put everything we had into 2018, and 2019 will be even better… more signature models, hardware, pickups, guitars… yeah!

Happy new year!

PS - just noticed that this makes one blog entry every year… not bad!

The Guitar Magazine reviews the Hahn 112

Well, for the life of me I don't know how to post reviews etc to the website, so just trust me when I tell you that we just got a great review in The Guitar Magazine from the UK.  Dave Hunter did just an amazing job by really looking into the guitar and finding out what it's about. He writes, "There's a lively harmonic sparkle and a ton of sustain, which, even unplugged, it exhibits in abundance....  This is a great, utilitarian workhorse of a guitar, yet one that is made to deceptively high standards."  Man, I am super proud of that last one... makes me feel a little like Leo :-)  

MUSICSTREET UK -- our new dealer!

We are proud to announce that Hahn Guitars will be available in the UK through Musicstreet in Huntingdon, England.  This is our first European dealer ever, and we could not be more excited.  We have been so small for so long, and are just starting to grow.  In picking a dealer, we are looking for great people first and foremost, but we are also looking for a place that can showcase our instruments with deep knowledge and care. Tony and Joel have been amazing to work with, and we could not be more excited for a wonderful future with Musicstreet.  Our first delivery should be arriving in days... please pay them a visit!  Thanks guys!!!

Hahn 112 wins the Premier Gear Award and Year End Gear Award from Premier Guitar Magazine!

We are so, so proud to announce that our Model 112 has received a Premier Gear Award from Premier Guitar Magazine.  The 112 was also awarded PG's Gear of the Year award.  We want to thank John Bohlinger for his thoughtful and thorough video review as well as Joe Gore for his in depth written review.  Gore wrote, "The 112 is an inspiring instrument with a voice of its own". 

When you work on a thing for many years - in our case electric guitars - and you are lucky enough to love what you do, when your work is acknowledged in this way it is immensely gratifying.  Building guitars is a pretty solitary endeavor.  It is hard work, but it is also stressful work as you never quite know what is going to happen next.  The wood is an organic, living thing, and you are asking it to work with you and some metal bits and bobs to create nothing short of the most important thing in the world, music.  It is "putting yourself out there" to the n'th degree.  You are judged on your workmanship, your imagination, your perception, your vision, your aesthetic... am I missing anything?  And you have to try to make a living doing it.  Not a small task!

And so we accept this acknowledgement with humility.  Thank you once again to the folks at PG -- Brett, John and Joe -- we thank you for your interest in our work, and for helping us do what we love and get more of our instruments out into the world.  

OK,... back to it :-}

Model 112 - in full production

We have been building the 112 for a while, but we are finally in full production of a specific configuration - we think it's the base configuration.  Not base like basic, or vile!  But base like quintessential.  The first run of 30 is under way... we might do a crowdfunding type deal to kick them off... any interest?  

No doubt that the 112 works on many different levels, and with many different pickup configurations.  We started with a T in the bridge, and an S in the neck.  Now, what a guitar sounds like is dependent on so many things -- scale length, wood choices, body SHAPE, edging, hardware choices, breakover angle of the strings over the bridge, finish choices, fret wire, neck joint type and tightness, tuners, neck angle,.. a million other things, and... oh yeah, setup!  

So, we settled on this:

alder body, .85-87" maple/rosewood neck with C contour, medium jumbo frets, "H" bridge in cold rolled steel, compensated brass saddles, traditional p90 bridge and rod magnet p90 in the neck (with the option of a goldfoil in the middle).  Colors?  Wait and see... this is gonna be fun!

That's it.  Our vision of this guitar?  How would I describe it?  The 112... straightforward, simple, dynamic, clear, growly, singing, stinging, warm, throaty, leanable on the couch, play it all day while watching tv, compose, practice, spill beer on it, play it at the Beacon theater, record with it... enjoy it :-)

Boutique Guitar Showcase - West Fall 2017

One Jamie Gale contacted me recently and asked if I would like to include Hahn guitars in his Boutique Guitar Showcase in September.  Jamie told me about it, and it sounded like he had a great idea. The BGS, he explained, is a tour that Jamie takes with guitars from some 50 builders - the tour rolls around in an RV and hits the highest of high end dealers in the US and Europe.  At each stop, the selected dealer holds a private event by invitation only (I think) and folks get to view and try out the guitars.  Cool!  As I have just completed two new models - the 112 and 910 - I thought this would be a great way to get them seen and to get feedback. And so we overnighted some guitars to the Guitar Sanctuary in McKinney TX for tonight's show. When I got home I re-read the shipping instructions and realized we hadn't included stands or strings or polishing materials, so that was another trip to the bank, I mean Fedex.  

In the past I have exhibited my guitars at a few shows, and at NAMM, but my guitars have never seen the insides of a boutique guitar dealership (at least new!).  So what is the point of being on this tour?  Selling guitars, sure... and the ones on the tour will be for sale.  But I also look forward to hearing what these shops have to say about the guitars.  I hope my guitars get a good look - the other guitars on the tour are truly extraordinary.  I have always focused solely on sound and performance, and I think I take a back seat in visual "pop"... not my cup of tea, but I am as amazed as anyone at what builders can do.  And so I wait... it's exciting...  fingers crossed :-)

10-19-17.   POST MORTUM: well, this didn't quite turn out as planned...

new site

Well, after how many years, we are finally embarking on a new site.  This is very much a part of a new overall direction at Hahn Guitars.  I have always wanted to build the best guitars I could with the goal of providing musicians with the most expressive, wonderful instruments available - new or vintage.  A tall order, for sure, but why not?  There is nothing like playing music, and your instrument really needs to be a part of that journey.  I strive to build a guitar that very much disappears in your hands - so that you are just in the moment and not fighting or even noticing your guitar.  Instead, I believe that it needs to allow you to go places that you didn't know were possible - beyond thinking, and simply into a space where you are reacting, creating and expressing.  This probably sounds a bit weirdo, but I hope not - we have all been there, otherwise, you would not be here :-) .  So, with the new site, we are heading in this new direction - of putting more guitars into the world, and in an easier way.  We will still do custom orders, but we will be building guitars to the same quality as always, but to a set of specifications that we have chosen.  In some ways, these are the versions of the guitar that we believe are best for the guitar (but what do we know!).  Over the years, clients have ordered so many different spec'd guitars that we have learned a lot... and that knowledge is put into these guitars.  From a process and technical standpoint, these are the exact same guitars we have always built.

So,... if you want to forgot what position your pickup selector is in, and just play and get lost in your music, maybe one of these guitars is for you :-)   To all, including us, bon voyage, and please check back and see how we develop our site and our guitars ... your comments would be great!