Hufschmid Guitars H6

This is actually the third guitar I bought from Patrick Hufschmid. I have to admit that I’m very anal when it comes to the perfect guitar sound. Every little detail has to be exactly right: the speakers, the cabinet, the amplifier, the picks, the strings and of course the guitar. Having that in mind, it didn’t take me long to agree when Patrick offered me to build a very special 17th anniversary H6 guitar. I knew that I could expect nothing but the best from him. And truly he delivered.

• Very rare salvaged Feather Crotch Claro Walnut top
• Handmade by Patrick Hufschmid from Switzerland
• 6 strings
• Superstrat style body shape
• Premium one piece Sapelli Mahogany neck and body 'rift-sawn'
• West African Ebony fingerboard
• West African Ebony control knobs
• 24 frets, 25.5'' scale, 12'' radius
• Hipshot bridge
• Sperzel locking tuning machines
•Resin cast custom Hufschmid pickups custom wound to my specifications, handmade by Kent Armstrong himself with an exclusive dark flame maple texture/finish
• Macassar Ebony pickup mounting rings
• Tru-Oil varnish finish – 15 coats
• 1 volume pot, 1 tone pot, 3 way pickup switch
• Exclusive Techtron HPV© nut
• Exclusive 'HufGlow' fingerboard inlays
• Compass inlay on the back

UTILIZATION

The guitar has a slimmer neck compared to my other Hufschmid guitars which makes it even more comfortable to play. The nice Tru-Oil varnish finish of the neck and body further enhances that comfort.

I tune the guitar two Drop C and use Elixir Nanoweb Electric coated guitar strings (010-013-017-032w-042w-056w) on it. Those strings match the guitar very well in terms of string tension and overall playing feel. Furthermore, the Sperzel locking tuners and the Hipshot bridge make it very easy to change strings. I prefer the action to be at medium height, not super low which helps for clarity and gives a better feel to the notes in my opinion. Adjusting the action, intonation as well as the truss rod is also very straight forward and intuitive.

Although there are no fretboard inlays I have no trouble to navigate due to the huge HufGlow inlays on the side of the fretboard that also compliment the look of the guitar very well. The fixed hipshot bridge feels comfortable and solid under my right hand and yields a perfect picking position with no disturbing parts like on a Floyd rose bridge. The guitar comes with very simple electronics: one volume pot, one tone pot and a 3 way toggle switch to select pickups. But hey, isn’t that all we need anyway? Overall the quality of the woods used for this guitar is just stunning. The grain on the mahogany alone is almost three-dimensional. The crazy Feather Crotch Claro Walnut top is the icing on the cake.

I have my first two Hufschmid guitar for over a year now and did not experience any problems. The finish is very durable, the guitar stays in tune very well and the neck is still perfect. The overall construction and craftsmanship is on such a high level that I don’t fear to have any problems with it in the future. I always keep the guitar in a humidity controlled environment when it's not played.

SOUNDS

There is a certain trademark character about Patrick’s guitars. They have this wonderful low-mid “growl” while still being clear in the high registers. The term “vintage-modern” comes to my mind. This particular guitar sounds extremely aggressive and “growls” like no other. On top of that it has a very tight and fast bass response and good clarity in the high end. It is by far the most evil sounding guitar in my collection. Another very important aspect is note separation. You can hear all the notes ringing out clearly and harmonically “correct” without any disturbing noise. To me, there are no other guitars I've played that deliver the qualities I seek in an electrical guitar like my Hufschmids do.

OVERALL OPINION

If you are looking for a high-quality handmade instrument with a unique “vintage-modern” voicing, don't hesitate to contact Patrick Hufschmid. The whole experience was great, he sent me pictures of the building steps almost every day and did a great communication job in general. He always responded very fast to my emails and was extremely helpful and knowledgeable. I picked up the guitar after approx. 5 weeks of building time in his workshop in Switzerland. What a nice memory.