The Hansomatic Collection

[]-[@n$0Ma☩!©]

Interested to hear what's currently across the pond.

Way more than the 2 I showed-up with. It's like they breed.

I feel honoured to have had my grubby hands on some of them.

I hope I get to molest some of your guitars one day, Peter. But you may wanna keep a close eye on me when I pick-up the Violin Proto.

The love of guitars is secondary to the love of friends we’ve all made because of them.

We are a tribe, no doubt.

Hanso, I’m greatful for the friendship we have. Man-hug.

Me too, Steve! [Bro hug]

Don’t you have a white SE Soapbar?

I did. But I have a friend back home who fell in love with it. When we moved to Germany, I left it with him. Pretty sure he's worn the frets off of it by now and that makes me happy.

I just spent 45 minutes reminiscing a lot of great times. Many a smile has crossed my face in that 45 minutes. I even got my Wife to enter my dungeon to share the memories. Thanks for posting this Hans ............. NERD

BTW: I miss you my friend!

I miss you too, Markie. Wanna meet-up in Spain this spring?

Well worth the time to allow the photos to load. Sweet collection!

I need to figure that out. They sure load slowly. It could be because they are all PNG files; which look better than the JPG's. Might have to change them.

 

[bodia]

Great stuff. A joy to read it all again! I kind hope your new photo hosting site bombs so you have to do it a 4th time!

 

[]-[@n$0Ma☩!©]

Great stuff. A joy to read it all again! I kind hope your new photo hosting site bombs so you have to do it a 4th time!

If this one dies, that's the end. It takes too damn long to rebuild each time.

 

[veinbuster]

I hope I get to molest some of your guitars one day, Peter. But you may wanna keep a close eye on me when I pick-up the Violin Proto.

You’re always welcome, and we have enough room for the ladies. I’ll even bring some to you if you find yourself this side of the Atlantic for an extended period. The violin is hard to put down.

 

[]-[@n$0Ma☩!©]

You’re always welcome, and we have enough room for the ladies. I’ll even bring some to you if you find yourself this side of the Atlantic for an extended period. The violin is hard to put down.

It's a deal.

 

[11top]

I miss you too, Markie. Wanna meet-up in Spain this spring?

World adventure part 2. I’d love me some deja voodoo.

 

[László]

I’ll tell ya what’s so impressive about your collection, Hans (yes, I actually said ‘collection’ in a positive way): It goes beyond the rarity and the expense. It’s that it’s thought-out to the nth degree. I’d have to call it truly ‘curated’. While that word may be overused by some these days, it certainly applies to your approach to all of this.

It’s a thinking man’s collection, not just a pile of cool stuff! If it was in a museum people would say, “Gosh, they did a nice job organizing this collection.” And they’d be right.

There are others here whose collections are equally outstanding, and I need not mention their names, you know them all well, anyway. I just like the stories behind them. Keep ‘em coming!

 

[11top]

I’ll tell ya what’s so impressive about your collection, Hans (yes, I actually said ‘collection’ in a positive way): It goes beyond the rarity and the expense. It’s that it’s thought-out to the nth degree. I’d have to call it truly ‘curated’. While that word may be overused by some these days, it certainly applies to your approach to all of this.

It’s a thinking man’s collection, not just a pile of cool stuff! If it was in a museum people would say, “Gosh, they did a nice job organizing this collection.” And they’d be right.

There are others here whose collections are equally outstanding, and I need not mention their names, you know them all well, anyway. I just like the stories behind them. Keep ‘em coming!

That’s so right-on, Les. His wheels are always spinning.

 

[László]

That’s so right-on, Les. His wheels are always spinning.

Yours is magnificent, too. I’d love to hear the stories about them.

In fact, there oughta be a thread where people can tell their guitar stories (I have none that are interesting; in my case it’s always been, “Oooo I want that!”). Very little thought really goes into them until later on.

The only exception is the maple Tonare Grand, that I somewhat thought through because I love maple small jumbos.

 

[JMintzer]

I'm just waiting for you to die so I can get my guitars back...

 

[11top]

I'm just waiting for you to die so I can get my guitars back...

There’s a rumor going around about an infected toe................just sayin’.

 

[gush]

This thread is freakin toxic..........I didn't think it was legal to have this many badass guitars.

If this is a taste of heaven then I shall live a much more reckless existence going forward.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

I’ll tell ya what’s so impressive about your collection, Hans (yes, I actually said ‘collection’ in a positive way): It goes beyond the rarity and the expense. It’s that it’s thought-out to the nth degree. I’d have to call it truly ‘curated’. While that word may be overused by some these days, it certainly applies to your approach to all of this.

It’s a thinking man’s collection, not just a pile of cool stuff! If it was in a museum people would say, “Gosh, they did a nice job organizing this collection.” And they’d be right.

There are others here whose collections are equally outstanding, and I need not mention their names, you know them all well, anyway. I just like the stories behind them. Keep ‘em coming!

I absolutely agree! That’s the thing about Hans’ sh!t, it’s almost completely (IMO) the best example of the most significant guitars. Even the blue ones are alright because they seem (again IMO) to be “the” colour for that particular model.

 

[Serious Poo]

It’s neat to see someone so freakin’ passionate about their guitars. Hans doesn’t have a guitar collection, he’s making an artistic statement. Badass.

 

[garrett]

The Hans is back! Thanks for taking the time to share. There have been a few times I found myself disappointed when I referred back to Take 2 only to find the image links broken.

You are a point of inspiration for me putting a narrow 408 in an SE One. Glad to see those badass modded Ones again.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Even the images that won’t load for me get a like! I found myself mouthing “ooh” and “ahh” as each one revealed itself!

Thanks for taking the time to share.

The Claro Walnut and the Pauls Guitar are my favourites, but then I think I might have a wood fetish like another chap on here!

 

[bodia]

2007 PRS "1980 West Street Limited" (AKA Westy)

I have been told the first 3 Westys were made by Private Stock. The first one was kept in Paul's Archive for a few years but was sold about a year ago. This guitar has the very next serial number so I assume it's #2.

[By the way, I started calling these 'Westy's' when they first hit the streets after my trusty old VW Wesphalia; which are frequently called Westy's by owners/enthusiasts. It just seemed to fit, which is probably why it stuck.]

For me, there's a lot of cool stuff going on with the 'littlest Dragon' that makes it stand out. The inlay (obviously) -- the deep 'Dragon' carve on the top -- the thicker body -- the figured Sapele top which gives it that vintage all-mahogany recipe while maintaining the blingy vibe that modern PRS guitars are known for -- the hidden fret tangs on a Brazilian Rosewood fretboard -- it's just a way cool guitar.

As a reissue, there was something about the Westy that always bothered me. While I really enjoyed the unplated brass bridge, they didn't look like the Mann-Made bridges that were used in 1980. On the original bridge from that time, the sides that hold the saddles were milled back. Also, the holes (where the strings pass through the saddle) are much larger than what is used today. So one day, while I was jaw-jacking with John, he said he would make a vintage-spec bridge with proper saddles for me. In the interest of tone, it was decided they would be 1-piece bridges (the very early bridges were actually 2-pieces).

There were 7 bridges in that initial run and John has made a couple more for fans since then (but not many). Not all were installed in guitars so if you ever find one for sale, grab it. They are the ideal upgrade for Westys and Howard Leese Private Stocks if you want them to look a little more accurate.

This particular guitar is slated for one more tweek. When John gets around to building it, we're going to drop an unplated brass 1980-spec bridge plate with a tungsten block. Tungsten has double the density of brass. I am hoping the extra weight will restore some balance (you may notice the extended strap button on the upper horn). This guitar has a FAT neck which is heavy. That's why I swapped out the metal tuner buttons for ebony and extended the strap button on the upper horn by 1/4" - which helped. It's not bad - certainly nothing like a Les Paul Junior - but I want to be able to let go of the instrument without the neck diving. Its pretty close right now but the Tungsten block should be an elegant way to resolve the issue for good.

Oh yeah... this one also has a suede PS case, zebra 59/09's (which I added), and a push/pull tone pot for single-coil action. It was my #1 for a while. If the tungsten block does the trick, it might end up back in regular rotation.

I totally get your love for the Westie. I love mine, as well. Right now, it's at the top of my list. Sure would love for John to do another batch of those trems!

 

[AaeCee]

1997 PRS Artist 3 #202

I pried this one from Mintzer a while back. It went to live with Markie for a year or two but it's home now. It is semi-hollow and has McCarty pickups and switching (factory).

Now THAT beauty really hits home for me. I was the guy that sold it to Mintzer.

Incredible collection!! Almost not fair.

 

[Mike Duncan]

I really just don't feel like Hans joined on Aug 1, 1985. 11 year old Hans getting his first PRS? Just not buying it. Could be wrong.

 

[]-[@n$0Ma☩!©]

I really just don't feel like Hans joined on Aug 1, 1985. 11 year old Hans getting his first PRS? Just not buying it. Could be wrong.