It all started with pickups for John and
Bo Pirruccello of Hanson Guitars—bass
pickups to be specific. In 2005, John—who’s
also CEO and co-owner of Lakland Basses—
wanted to develop a line of pickups and electronics
voiced for Lakland instruments. “My
brother Bo expressed that he’d like to take a
crack at developing some pickups, so he put
his money where his mouth was and headed
up the project,” John says. “About a year later,
we had developed a 3-band internal preamp
and hum-canceling pickup system called the
LH3.” Another year later, the Pirruccello
brothers had a full line of single-coil, split-coil,
and hum-canceling Lakland-Hanson pickups
for almost every bass heading out the door.
So the next logical step for the duo was
to venture into the copper-coiled frontier of
guitar pickups. “My favorite guitar pickup
has always been the P-90, because of its tonal
qualities and voicings,” John says. “So Bo and
I—still thinking along the lines of expanding
our pickup business—came up with what we
felt was an exceptional-sounding set of P-90s
that had a clear, articulate tone and a strong,
focused sound. We try to take pickups to the
edge, where they start to lose the frequencies
we like, and then push the envelope through
coil shapes to go a little further—it’s subtle
stuff, but plenty of people hear it!”
Soon after their first P-90 creation, the
Pirruccellos started pondering which guitar
they should put them in. John and Bo compiled
some ideas and qualities from their
favorite, go-to guitars—like fatter, baseball
bat-like neck profiles, Tune-o-matic bridges,
Bigsby vibratos, and other appointments that
they felt would complement their pickups.
Hanson Guitars made its official launch
at the 2009 Summer NAMM Show, and
they made a pretty big splash. “The original
concept of Hanson Guitars was to build
affordable, professional-grade instruments
that sound and feel great,” John says. “We
don’t mind being a small shop, and we’re
happy to spend as much time on an instrument’s
setup as necessary to make if feel
good during quality-control checks when
the assembled guitars arrive in our Chicago
shop—just what I personally would hope
for from a manufacturer.”
Firenze T-90
Hanson’s newest model—the Firenze
T-90—has a solid ash body with a quiltedmaple
top and a translucent orange finish.
It features a T-style control assembly,
pickguard, bridge, and bridge pickup—a
Broadcaster Wound Hanson Bridge—while
the “90” refers to the Hanson P-90 Neck
pickup. The 25.5"-scale T-90 is equipped
with a bolt-on maple neck and a rosewood
fretboard (maple is also available).
Cigno
This Italian-influenced guitar—think
’60s-era Ekos or Meazzis—comes with
three classic-sounding Hanson P-90s that
John Pirruccello describes as “wound for
incredible complexity and power that
will do creamy distortion with ease, but
still offer a full range of clean tones.”
The 24.75"-scale Cigno is built with a
bound mahogany body, a set and bound
mahogany neck topped with a rosewood
fretboard, and a Bigsby B50 tailpiece (a
fixed bridge is also available). Controls
include a Master Volume, Master Tone,
and a 5-way pickup selector.
Chicagoan P-90
Hanson’s Chicagoan P-90—their take on an
ES-335—has a bound maple top and maple
back and sides. It has a 24.75" scale and
features a set and bound maple neck with a
rosewood fretboard, a Tune-o-matic bridge
with gold roller saddles, and a gold Bigsby
B70 vibrato.
Gatto Deluxe
The Gatto Deluxe is similar to the Cigno,
but is stocked with Hanson Classic
Humbuckers (which are available in a coiltappable
configuration). This Gatto Deluxe
has a 24.75" scale and features a bound
mahogany body with a flamed-maple top,
a bound and set mahogany neck with an
early-’60s slim profile and a rosewood
fretboard, and a TonePros Tune-o-matic-style
fixed bridge.
Pricing and Availability
Pricing for Hanson guitars varies by model
and selected options, but standard models
can be ordered directly from Hanson’s
website. The standard Firenze T-90 starts
at $599, the Cigno starts at $675, the
Chicagoan starts at $870, and the Gatto
Deluxe starts at $599. Regarding customization,
John is a yes-man. “I hate to say
no,” he says, “so if it’s not impossible, I’ll
consider it—I’m definitely open to ideas.”
hansonguitars.com