~ Hahn Guitars ~

Chihoe Hahn has been a musician since 1978 and has played guitar from New York City to Athens, GA, to LA, and back. He has been fixing, tweaking and modifying guitars for over 20 years. Hahn began building guitars in 2003 -- basically out of a desire to find an ultra-responsive, clear, articulate guitar that sounds like the old country, soul and rock records that he loves.

Hahn’s guess was that the plastic finishes and production parts found on the countless new guitars he had purchased over 30 years (running total was around 40 guitars) had something to do with their failings, and every "vintage" guitar he ever owned either had lots of "issues" or was too valuable to take out. So, why not make a guitar with the same quality components and using the same processes as those great vintage axes? Anyone who has ever picked up a 50s or 60s guitar knows that the finish is palpably different, and the guitar's resonance and acoustic sound is simply better than what is generally available today. And so, Hahn’s guitar-making journey began.

After many trials and tribulations, Hahn Guitars was born. Great materials, true processes and lots of attention to detail: that's the formula that creates great electric guitars, and that is the simple formula Chihoe uses to make Hahn guitars. They are not new under the sun, but they play and sound really good. He puts his heart into each one, and plays it, tweaks it, plays it and tweaks it, and plays and tweaks it some more, until it's done.

If you are looking for a guitar with a true, woody tone, great resonance, great electric energy and dynamics, then look no further. This is what Hahn Guitars are all about, and we hope you get a chance to own one.

Sound: There is nothing like the clarity and tone of a great vintage guitar. Hahn believes that, while no new guitar can achieve its full potential without being played extensively, his guitars start at the best possible place in terms of tone, expressiveness, responsiveness and aesthetic beauty. Hahn is building the guitar that you would have bought as a pure production model in 1954 -- you can break it in or relic it yourself by playing it! The sound of a Hahn guitar is unmistakable -- it's new, but it sounds old. The tone is absolutely clear, but is not analytical – the goal is a coherent ringing tone where each string is articulate, but blends seamlessly with the next and all the others – musicality! You can hear the strings snap when you snap ‘em and then sound plunky when you pluck ‘em, and you can. You’ll have consistent, true sustain up and down the fretboard. Play these guitars through a blackface or tweed amp and you are in heaven!