Hap Kuffner

Hap Kuffner was eleven years old when he was given his first guitar during the folk music boom of the early 1960s. As he learned to play the instrument he also taught himself to repair guitars and to teach. In 1969 he teamed with friend Stanley Jay and opened a vintage instrument shop in New York, naming it Mandolin Brothers. The store allowed Hap to use all of his interests and was in the right place to watch the enormous popularity in vintage guitars, which began to take form in the 1970s. Since his introduction to the industry, Hap has been very active in the business working with Steinberger Sound and forming Kuffner International in 1982.