All,
It is with a heavy heart that I share the news that Hans van Andel, owner of Vafam Sound and maker of so many Axe-Fx rack panels used by members of this forum, succumbed to cancer last Thursday, March 12.
I first found Hans in 2011 at www.vafamsound.com through a Google search. I was looking for someone to fabricate a custom panel that would route all the Axe-Fx II's jacks from the back of the unit to the front of my rack. When I came across photos of his work, I was thrilled. The quality was incredible. You could tell the work was done by someone who took time, who cared. I e-mailed Hans, and we began corresponding. To say that Hans was an example of the best of what our industry has to offer would be an understatement: he was the best example. His dedication to quality and customer service was Fractal-level. And you all know what that means. Between chatting about music and sharing photos of our guitar collections, we concepted my ideal Fractal panel, which then arrived to me in the mail only two days after I'd made a final design decision. I remember laughing out loud in pleasant surprise at the genius of Hans's method of zip-tying the ends of cables to the rack hole screws, just beyond the solder, to keep the solder points from getting pulled off. Over the last four years, Hans fabricated many panels, cables, and other rig parts for me. The only other person whose gear I more rely on in my career is Cliff Chase.
I was the first Fractal user to order a panel from Vafam Sound, but in clear testament to the greatness of Hans's personality and to his dedicated craftsmanship, I was far from the last. This link illustrates just how many members of our community now rely on Hans's work every time they take the stage, or sit down to track, or enter the woodshed: Vafam Sound - Connector Adapters
For those of you who didn't know of Hans, or of his part in this community, a quick forum search will reveal the many threads that speak to what a wonderful person and how deeply invested and genuine in his work he was. One is even entitled "Good Guy Alert - Hans @ Vafam Sound."
When I received the news from his son-in-law, who, along with Hans's daughter, has taken over the business at Vafam, I read back over my first forum post about Hans. I started it off, "I know this reads like an advertisement. It's not. I am just that impressed. Chalk another one up to a small company doing it right in every way."
I know there are so many of you who were "just that impressed" by Hans and that will be reminded every time you go to power up your rig and start doing what we all love, what it means to do it right in every way.
It is with a heavy heart that I share the news that Hans van Andel, owner of Vafam Sound and maker of so many Axe-Fx rack panels used by members of this forum, succumbed to cancer last Thursday, March 12.
I first found Hans in 2011 at www.vafamsound.com through a Google search. I was looking for someone to fabricate a custom panel that would route all the Axe-Fx II's jacks from the back of the unit to the front of my rack. When I came across photos of his work, I was thrilled. The quality was incredible. You could tell the work was done by someone who took time, who cared. I e-mailed Hans, and we began corresponding. To say that Hans was an example of the best of what our industry has to offer would be an understatement: he was the best example. His dedication to quality and customer service was Fractal-level. And you all know what that means. Between chatting about music and sharing photos of our guitar collections, we concepted my ideal Fractal panel, which then arrived to me in the mail only two days after I'd made a final design decision. I remember laughing out loud in pleasant surprise at the genius of Hans's method of zip-tying the ends of cables to the rack hole screws, just beyond the solder, to keep the solder points from getting pulled off. Over the last four years, Hans fabricated many panels, cables, and other rig parts for me. The only other person whose gear I more rely on in my career is Cliff Chase.
I was the first Fractal user to order a panel from Vafam Sound, but in clear testament to the greatness of Hans's personality and to his dedicated craftsmanship, I was far from the last. This link illustrates just how many members of our community now rely on Hans's work every time they take the stage, or sit down to track, or enter the woodshed: Vafam Sound - Connector Adapters
For those of you who didn't know of Hans, or of his part in this community, a quick forum search will reveal the many threads that speak to what a wonderful person and how deeply invested and genuine in his work he was. One is even entitled "Good Guy Alert - Hans @ Vafam Sound."
When I received the news from his son-in-law, who, along with Hans's daughter, has taken over the business at Vafam, I read back over my first forum post about Hans. I started it off, "I know this reads like an advertisement. It's not. I am just that impressed. Chalk another one up to a small company doing it right in every way."
I know there are so many of you who were "just that impressed" by Hans and that will be reminded every time you go to power up your rig and start doing what we all love, what it means to do it right in every way.
Last edited: