My visit with Hans Brentrup

**Peakbagr** · Mar-30-2004, 1:58pm

I've been creeping up Hans' waitlist the last 18 months, and accepted his invitation to fly into Minneapolis and spend some time going over details. Hans met me at the airport and after talking and sampling mandolins, all afternoon, he and his wonderful spouse, Maureen and I went to dinner.
Besides the all-day lesson on Hans' take on mandolin construction, he had an array of his mandolins ready for sampling. A veritable banquet of eye candy, all laid out on a table. They were a West Virginia Red Spruce F, West Virginia A, an Italian Spruce F, 2 German Spruce F's, and 2 blackface oval holes. One of the ovals was the one featured on the cover of mandolin magazine. There was probably another one or two that I don't remember. We had our own mandolin tasting, with Hans playing and plucking strings so I could get get an upclose sampling of each. Some of them were fairly new, others a couple of years old. I then had the chance to play them all while Hans did some shop work. Given how I play, I feel sorry for Scott Tichnor as Hans was working on his neck.

After more discussion with Hans I decided on the Italian spruce. Hans then went over what I liked about the Rigel I had brought along and after lots of discussion and measurements we settled on neck dimension, profile, fret size and radius. You can't believe how patient Hans was with some of my hare-brained questions.
Now the fun began...if all of this wasn't already one of the most interesting and enjoyable musical afternoons I had already had...We got to pick the actual wood for the mandolin. What a hoot to select, with Hans' expert advice, the exact pieces of top and tonewood, all with conversation about grain preferences, color, specific density of the individual wood, etc. It was fun watching Hans tap-tone the various pieces.
When we were thru, Hans, Maureen and I had a chance to go out for dinner at a great restaurant. One of the highlights of the evening was Maureen delving into her extensive musical background for an impromtu concert of old-time bluegrass, country and bluegrass songs. With Maureen accompanying herself on guitar, she amazed me with her beatiful voice and musicology knowledge of the kind of tunes you don't hear very often any more.

Not only do I want to thank Hans and Maureen for their hospitality, I thought it was an interesting demonstration of why people buy from small, talented builders. When its completed, my mandolin will have all of the accumulated knowledge Hans can put into building it, with the wood and features that most suit me. I don't think I've met a nicer couple anywhere, and its awesome to think how much talent resides in that home.
If you are thinking about a custom mandolin, the stories you may have heard about the sound and quality of the Brentrups are the real deal. It would be impossible to find someone nicer than Hans and Maureen.

**Tom C** · Mar-30-2004, 2:19pm

That sounds awesome and the fact the he spent so much time with you is great.
It sounds like he gave up an entire day not out of necessity but because he too enjoys it. Alan, are you still hoping on having it for the symposium?

**Mandobar** · Mar-30-2004, 2:26pm

my L21 is there in it's last stages of varnish........few more weeks.....

one of the best things about hans' mandolins is working with hans to come up with your dream mandos.

Mar-30-2004, 2:32pm

Han's is one of the greats...

**Bowzette** · Mar-30-2004, 2:56pm

got my larger body M21 last Tuesday. Hans was great to work with. Italian spruce top and stained in subtle shades of brown-no sunburst. Elegant understatement was what i asked for and what i got. Now the hard part-the finish will not harden sufficiently to really play it for 2 months. I strum open chords for 10-15 minutes several times a day. Hans recommends not more often then every 2-3 hours. Thought about setting the alarm clock to get up every 2 hours during the night to play for 15 minutes, but my wife had unreasonable objections to this "break-in" technique. Sunday evening i will post pictures.

**Peakbagr** · Mar-30-2004, 3:36pm

Tom,
A family emergency came up a month ago causing me to have to cancel the symposium. I'm going to need the vacation time to take of it. I sent you 2 emails about it and both bounced back and I didn't know if you changed addresses.

Mandobar,
I saw your mandolin...you're going to love it.

Bowzette,
When speaking with Hans, I got an education on so many things. He takes lots of care with the varnish finish on his instruments. After letting them dry out a bit, he nextday ships them to the owner. Because the varnish finish is so relatively new, he prefers that they be hung rather than cased the first few weeks. Hans says that they'll dry more quickly outside of a case. I also learned that he likes to limit playing to 15 min sessions for a short while as your body heat warms up the varnish. All of this until the varnish hardens up enough to play longer. Hans really has this process down to a science.

**BenE** · Mar-30-2004, 3:41pm

Originally Posted by

I also learned that he likes to limit playing to 15 min sessions for a short while as your body heat warms up the varnish. All of this until the varnish hardens up enough to play longer.

Dang...that sort of reminds me of my parents not letting me watch more than an hour of TV a night when I was a kid!

**Bowzette** · Mar-30-2004, 3:46pm

Intellectually I understand the reasons, but I WANT INSTANT GRADTIFICATION! sorry, i lost control for a minute. I'll sit for a few minutes, take deep breaths, perhaps a cold shower, I'll be fine i'm sure.

**Flowerpot** · Mar-30-2004, 4:51pm

Sounds like you had a great time. The instrument will be all the more valuable to you having seen and chosen the wood ahead of time, and knowing all that goes into it.

I'll get my change to take a similar trip over the summer to pick out wood for mine. I'm looking forward to it!

So how did you perceive the differences between the F's (Red spruce, Italian, German)? Anything you can put into words?

**Peakbagr** · Mar-30-2004, 5:20pm

Flowerpot,

When I got back home today, I told my wife how much fun this was and how satisfying it was for the reason you mentioned. It will make the mandolin all the more precious given my involvement in the process, and knowing the care Hans puts into his mandolins.
My take on the different wood:
The Red Spruce was a tad barkier and harsher. Less rich than the Italian Spruce. The Italian sounded fuller and if I'm not misquoting Hans, was a little more complex and had more overtones. In my opinion, the differences between the Red Spruce and Italian were much more noticeable than between the German and Italian. All I know is that in the sample I got to hear and play, I liked the Italian the best.

If Hans happens onto this post, I'm sure he can explain his perspective on the 3 woods with much more precision than I'm able.

**cbogle** · Mar-30-2004, 10:48pm

After I'd met with Hans last year and played several of his mandolins, I knew he was the guy to build one for me. He spent a great deal of time explaining the sonic properties of the various tonewoods with me so that I may better form a decision as to what I wanted to order. I took a chance and ordered the M21V prototype that he was wanting to build, and now, over two months after receiving it, I cannot possibly be more pleased with the finished product. This mando has it all, and continues to improve.

I'm looking forward to working with Hans again!

Steve

**avanti** · Mar-31-2004, 7:42am

I'm sorry we didn't get to meet while you were in town. Maybe you'll visit again when your mandolin is completed.

**elenbrandt** · Mar-31-2004, 3:10pm

Now you know why mandobar, myself, and many others are total "brentrup 'hos". Hans' workmanship is ni plus ultra, his kindness beyond pale, and his skill and talent beyond comprehension. Owning and playing his instruments is a very life-enriching thing. I can't imagine getting this kind of care and service from a large manufacturer. Ultimately it is Hans, and Hans alone, who stands behind that instrument, not a large corporate label. That is a rare thing.

**Peakbagr** · Mar-31-2004, 3:16pm

Elen,

Hans has your 2 prints framed and up on the wall above his computer in office. I like them both and especially like the Grisman.
Can a guy be one of Hans' ho's?

**mandopete** · Mar-31-2004, 4:55pm

You know, this routine should be part of every good builder's "package". #I really like the fact that Hans took the time to meet the customer and get as much input prior to building the instrument as possible - what a novel concept!

I've often wondered how people communicate their desires to the builer and it seems to me only a face-to-face meeting would suffice. #I would think it's a bit like buying a suit, don't you need to be measured first?

Sounds like a wonderful experience!

**J. Mark Lane** · Mar-31-2004, 6:11pm

Hey mandopete, that's the funniest damn website I've seen in a while. Who is Keenan Goodall?

**elenbrandt** · Apr-01-2004, 9:58am

Peakbagr -- of course you can be one of "Hans 'Hos" -- you are now an honorary member. If you want to study your craft, I suggest you rent a copy of the Rob Schneider film...you know the one......

Apr-01-2004, 10:17am

Can I be a HO to Elen? I want to be one of Han's HO's to !

**Joe F** · Apr-01-2004, 11:40am

I had the pleasure of meeting Hans and sampling a couple of his mandolins at the recent MBOTMA Winter Bluegrass Weekend. #Suffice it to say tht if I had the funds, I'd be on his waiting list in a heartbeat.