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049 / Ellis Hahn (LEH Guitars) on No Problem Basses and Spaces
Preventative mansplaining, empathy-building, and the science of 5 string basses are all part of Hilary’s conversation with Ellis Hahn, founder and luthier at LEH Guitars. Plus, the “right” time for change.
Huge thanks to this episode’s sponsors!
EarthQuaker Devices- extra special effects pedals made by hand in Akron, OH!
Stompbox Sonic- personalized pedal curation and sales in Somerville, MA!
Holcomb Guitars- custom guitars and mobile guitar repair in RI/MA!
ELLIS’s BIO
Ellis Hahn, founder of LEH guitars, spends their days designing and building kickass electric basses for kickass musicians.
Ellis’s approach is simple: “I design instruments that are personally exciting to me, that I think are awesome. I design instruments that sit well and feel good in your hands—instruments that I wish existed. My focus is on comfort and playability while creating something that is at once visually familiar and uniquely different.”
Ellis’s career officially began in 2002 with an apprenticeship in Chicago learning guitar repair. Ellis realized that they were more interested in designing and building instruments than repair work. In 2005, Ellis moved to NYC to work for, arguably, the best guitar shop in the city: Sadowsky Guitars. They spent thousands of hours working in all levels of the production process— fretwork, body sanding, final assembly— ultimately taking on shop manager duties in 2013. “That gave some time and experience to find out what works and why, talk to players about their needs, and then after hours: prototype a lot of different designs to see what works.”
As of this summer, LEH has a new shop space in Portland, Oregon. The move out west has opened a new chapter of creativity and prototyping for Ellis. Expanding on the success of LEH’s current offset models — new ones are in the design stage. “We’re always changing, we’re always evolving and improving. Life is an ever shifting tone quest and I’m as much on that journey as my customers are.”
ELLIS’s MENTIONS
EarthQuaker Devices / Ableton / Genzler / Marshall / ProCo / Sadowsky Guitars / How to Make Your Own Electric Guitar by Melvyn Hiscock
ELLIS’s LINKS
Website
MID-RIFF LINKS
Website
Newsletter
Blog
Thanks for rating/reviewing on Apple Podcasts!
Support Mid-Riff by shopping on Reverb!
Theme Music: "Hedonism" by Towanda
Artwork by Julia Gualtieri
View all episodes
By Hilary B. Jones
4.9
3030 ratings
Preventative mansplaining, empathy-building, and the science of 5 string basses are all part of Hilary’s conversation with Ellis Hahn, founder and luthier at LEH Guitars. Plus, the “right” time for change.
Huge thanks to this episode’s sponsors!
EarthQuaker Devices- extra special effects pedals made by hand in Akron, OH!
Stompbox Sonic- personalized pedal curation and sales in Somerville, MA!
Holcomb Guitars- custom guitars and mobile guitar repair in RI/MA!
ELLIS’s BIO
Ellis Hahn, founder of LEH guitars, spends their days designing and building kickass electric basses for kickass musicians.
Ellis’s approach is simple: “I design instruments that are personally exciting to me, that I think are awesome. I design instruments that sit well and feel good in your hands—instruments that I wish existed. My focus is on comfort and playability while creating something that is at once visually familiar and uniquely different.”
Ellis’s career officially began in 2002 with an apprenticeship in Chicago learning guitar repair. Ellis realized that they were more interested in designing and building instruments than repair work. In 2005, Ellis moved to NYC to work for, arguably, the best guitar shop in the city: Sadowsky Guitars. They spent thousands of hours working in all levels of the production process— fretwork, body sanding, final assembly— ultimately taking on shop manager duties in 2013. “That gave some time and experience to find out what works and why, talk to players about their needs, and then after hours: prototype a lot of different designs to see what works.”
As of this summer, LEH has a new shop space in Portland, Oregon. The move out west has opened a new chapter of creativity and prototyping for Ellis. Expanding on the success of LEH’s current offset models — new ones are in the design stage. “We’re always changing, we’re always evolving and improving. Life is an ever shifting tone quest and I’m as much on that journey as my customers are.”
ELLIS’s MENTIONS
EarthQuaker Devices / Ableton / Genzler / Marshall / ProCo / Sadowsky Guitars / How to Make Your Own Electric Guitar by Melvyn Hiscock
ELLIS’s LINKS
Website
MID-RIFF LINKS
Website
Newsletter
Blog
Thanks for rating/reviewing on Apple Podcasts!
Support Mid-Riff by shopping on Reverb!
Theme Music: "Hedonism" by Towanda
Artwork by Julia Gualtieri