Leaderboard

Today was designated as a work-around-the-house day, so I went to my T-shirt drawer and pulled one out at random. Haven't seen this one in a while. From the very first PSP! That led to an unbroken string of PSPs Marg and I attended, until Covid interrupted things. I recall that first PSP very well. Only something like 16 or 17 of us HOC members there. Plant tour by Ren. As Pressure would say, good times. But good grief, that was 18 years ago! Were you there?

Never sell. My youngest daughter has dibs on it.

I have a Heritage Standard H-137 that I purchased in 2020. It was built in 2018. The P90's in this guitar (I think) are Lollars. The guitar sounds great to my ears and I have no plans to change out the pick ups. A great axe!

Put this board together over the last few days. Pretty much my old gig board with similar pedals. I used to have two timmy's, one on all the time slightly above unity with my amp. I will give the Duke of tone a good try as a replacement for the second timmy. The Jetter Red2 is rock and swamp and each works out as a solo boost for the other. Red is Marshall and blue goes from transparent to thick and swampy. MS3 is trem, delay, etc. I used to have two DD7s 105-120ms/350-400ms. I can do this on the MS3. The only other pedal I used was a trem pedal. The MS3 as delay and mods should work out fine. I used to use it as a switcher and fx controller. What you got?

Against my better judgement, I’m gonna try one of these. I will report back.

Brian Auger is cool and most people. even keyboardists never heard of him. I am a fan of his first album with Jules Driscoll as well as all of the Oblivion Express stuff. especially Replacements. That's a cool song list you have going for sure.

Just dropped it off with my tech to install Seth Lover pickups, fresh set of 11’s, and some minor adjustments. Will report back. Getting it ready for a jazz groove/funk/soul/rock band project that has been percolating in my head. Tunes like Lucky Southern, Cantaloupe Island, Valdez in the Country, Killer Joe, Back at the Chicken Shack, Song for my Father, Comin’ Home Baby, some classic rock jam tunes, some “acid jazz” as the kids call it today. Think Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express, or El Chicano for the ballpark. Electric, rhythmic, danceable, but still with a jazz vibe. Getting older sure motivates you to get some shit done before you can’t anymore. Been wanting to do a project like this one for a long time.

Somebody mentioned a P90 535 wish list .. I'd add this one to the please make it wish list, wired with a blend knob

My friend that I play guitar with just bought one of those, basically exactly like the one Skydog has. His friend put on some better pickups - maybe the 225 Parsons ones, and it plays pretty well. he likes it and plays it at our band practices. He said it was set up decent and the hardware and pots etc. are not too bad. I played it and it didn't seem bad at all.

Well I finally had time to dive into this guitar today. I have mixed feelings about it. The construction/fit and finish are quite good. Fretwork is pretty good too. The electronics are very decent. I’m not exactly in love with the bridge pickup. I love the neck pickup. The push/pull coil taps are useless to me. I’ll never use them. But the pots have good taper (mini pots). The toggle switch is very tight. I’m able to get a pretty low action. There were 2 main problems. One, the tremolo springs rubbed the bottom of the cavity when you did a divebomb….thats not good!! So I had to take a wood file and file away some wood inside the trem cavity. Two, the Floyd would not stay in tune. Cheap springs!!!! I set it up for 9s. Came from the factory with 10a. !!! I bought a set of Floyd Rose noiseless springs….problem solved. The neck carve is a medium C. It’s close to a 60s neck. The satin finish is smooth as a baby’s bottom. Fast n smooth. The sculpted heel joint is great for upper register access. It’s light and quite resonant. Playability is quite good. Neck has almost no relief and sets up quite nicely. If I wasn’t a DIY person, I probably would’ve instantly boxed it back up for a refund. The springs rubbing on the back cavity, in my opinion, is a huge drop of the ball by QC! That is inexcusable, especially for a Guitar of that design and style! And is obviously a playability and Tone problem because when the springs rub against the wood like that, it obviously makes a really bad noise that disrupt the vibration of the strings! As far as the Tremolo not staying in tune, I think it was a combination of junk strings and bad springs. I put a nice little dab of BIG BENDS nut sauce on each pivot point of the Tremelo before I installed the new strings on it and between that and the new springs, I am not having any tuning issues at all. And I do some pretty heavy dive bombs with it. After a lot of TLC, this is actually a really nice guitar. Out of the box, it was not. And I blame Heritage for not checking for quality control issues, this Guitar was in Kalamazoo before it shipped off to me so they had every opportunity to double check the quality control of the Chinese factory, and obviously they chose not to! If you’re going to charge $1200 for a Chinese made guitar with the Heritage name on it, the QC needs to be A LOT BETTER!!!!

I also missed the inaugural meeting. Unfortunately, there were some issues at work that necessitated me being there. Didn’t get out to my first one until 2013. I also made it to the following, and final “Barn” year. Man those were sweet!

Rich, We went to different schools. My math is a little different. Every guitar made in the USA that a musician can't afford is a guitar not sold and not manufactured. In the 60's a teenager started out on a Kent and graduated to a Fender, Gibson or Guild. If a Fender, it was a Mustang the Gibson was single pickup Junior the guild a Starfire 3. What is the current price point for a Collins, Gibson, Taylor or Heritage made in the USA?

And they weighed a ton! My friend's 2x12 combo buckled my knees when I lifted it, I imagine the 4x10 combos weighed a bit too

I have purchased a couple of the Ascent+ models. Fit and finish are good. Played well out of the box. I think I paid $699 on sale. I have a 535 also. Well worth it.

Jags and Jazzmasters were designed for flatwounds . . . their whammy bar mechanisms like flats

He was THE BEST.

Nothing really sounds like a P90, like a Charlie Christian or any of those other pickups. Just the shape of the bobbin, the type of pole pieces, etc, make them sound like nothing else. I love them for the buzz saw overdrive they get like Leslie West, but they also have a fantastic clean sound that is very good for semi hollow bodied guitars. I keep thinking about getting a semi-hollow with P90s, but I barely play the semi-hollows I already have.

You might also try a set of half rounds. You get much of the ringing of a round wound but the smoothness of a flatwound. I have a set on my 535. I got them after I tried half rounds on my bass. No more finger squeaks, but it sounded more like an old broken in set of roundwounds than the typical dullness of flatwounds. D'Addario makes them. $10 a set, so it's not like there's a major investment. 9-42s thru 12-52s so you have options. I tried them instead of using Elixers to quiet the finger noise. GHS calls them "Bright Flats". Same style as D'Addario.

You know Syd, I really like P90's. I mean, I know that's not profound or anything: heck, we all do! But for me, it goes far beyond that.

I like Seths they are consistently gread sounding pickup. When I was doing installs for people I installed alot of them and they always sounded great. That's really a beautiful guitar, some serious flame maple there!!! Millies like yours remind me of GIbson L5s guitars which are my favorite Gibsons. And yes, getting older does motivate you to get things done! Go out and rock that new guitar!

I can't estimate how many string choices there are out there, but it's a big number. I listen to jazz players, especially the old school ones, who use flats. Surf music commonly involves flats. They sound great. I tend to use the hybrids (Brite Flats and Half Wounds). They get rid of the squeaks well enough and are brighter. I am well stocked with different string gauges and windings. I can't settle on anything really. I've made peace with that realization.

He bought it..

UA like most of us is aware of the uniqueness of each of Dumble's amps, they have a large library of tone permutations available .. for me. Having been a sound man for 40+ years, I just dial in a good tone and smile. Dumble's have a reputation for liking to be dimed, I'm more of clean Hi-Fi base tone guy and play at 85 db or lower the majority of the time .. at 71 I'd like to keep my hearing a while longer. I'm very happy with the clarity the pedal gives .

Yeah, there's no such thing as a, "Dumble". If Dumble didn't make or rebuild it for you, specifically, it's not YOUR Dumble, it will always be the amp Dumble built for the artist he built it for. There are many amps built by Alexander Dumble and they're all different. That's no judgement on the quality of this particular pedal. It might be great. And Mr. Dumble built some pedals too...

Wondering what one would need to pay to get a marvbird, not an assembly line 357?

The standard run 357 had thinner wings and the slim 60’s one piece mahogany necks.

New favorite pedal, at least for today. Bought used and as with many Lovepedals, no control labels and no manual. Couldn’t find a manual on line either. But - Simple to dial in once you figure out which dial does what. Works great in front of my Mesa California Tweed 40 at low gain (both pedal and amp) for “always on” tone enhancer then a a little hair and grit as you dial up the guitar volume and dig in a little. With guitar volume at 10 - Doesn’t take much pedal gain to get a nice dark and complex breakup kind of like the lead guitar part on the Beatles “I Want You” from Abbey Road. Nice not expensive, fancy or complicated “amp in a box” for a pretty good approximation of Black Panel Deluxe Reverb base tone and breakup. No reverb on the pedal, but my amp has that, so no problem. Add a little delay and it is great clean for jazz and rhythm playing, dime the guitar volume and play a little more aggressively (doesn't take much) and you’ve got a great lead tone with some hair around the edges and more sustain. Definitely a keeper. I’ve got a Greer Lightspeed on the way and thinking to pair the two together and see if there is good synergy between them or maybe run them separately for different flavors, or both.

Were the springs just too big for the cavity? It's strange that they would rub. I probably wouldn't get that model with the Floyd, so I wouldn't have that problem. I only have two guitars with trems, and one is decked. There other is my G&L Legacy but I don't really use the bar.

After a few weeks with this pedal, pairing it with different tube and solid state amps: I’m finding it most useful in front of a tube amp. Very warm overdrive. Thickens tone and gives it more weight, with just a bit of softness around the edges. Really nice. Not “transparent”, definitely colors your tone in the way intended. I’m sure I have not explored or mastered all it can do, and I haven’t used it as a “pedal in a box” straight to interface or PA, but I like it a lot used simply. Maybe because I’m an effects simpleton.

We saw Albert Lee a few years ago at the Acorn in Three Oaks. He was playing his signature guitars through an old Silverface Twin. It’s a small venue so the amp wasn’t jacked up much. It still sounded stellar, both clean and with pedals.

last I heard was about $3.50 and a pack of smokes

There’s been one for sale near me for the last year. It’s a Silverface MV model that’s been completely refurbished. No affiliation. I’ll send you a PM

Very happy with the results with round wounds. Definitely more of the pickup character comes out. Especially with guitar volume at max or close.

Every Chinese guitar sold is one less American guitar sold.

Those MusicMan amps were great.

$1200 isn't unreasonable. Not all Chinese shops are the same. An Eastman SB59 made in China is $2000. It's not the same guitar as an AliExpress Chibson Les Paul for $250. If they are using a genuine Floyd Rose 1000, that's a couple of hundred bills right there. It looks like they are using a traditional headstock, not a scarf joint. I do like the way they are doing the neck joint on the Ascent+.

The old surf sounds seem to use flatwounds with single coils. https://surfguitar101.com/forums/topic/35423/

Sir Brently, $1,200 in 2026 vs $1800 for a US built H150 in 2006, don't know what the currency conversion is but that is not a bolt on neck and these features are arguably something preferable. Without hands and ears on it it's hard to make a value judgment. Best not sell something short just because of where it was built.

I saw him that way too. Loud is a mild description. Steve Howe most often uses Twins. Believe it or not, the Motor City Madman (last time I checked) uses Twin Reverbs too.

Ohhhh. The good ol days

I have a Strymon Time. I’d love to brag but I only use 1 of the 12,382 settings. i see you saved room on your board for a Klon. Nice…

That sounds like a fun project & really great music to play! I caught Brian Auger a few years ago: he was amazing see live, especially after listening to all his albums & session work over the years. Did you know he played the harpsichord intro on "heart full of soul" by The Yardbirds? it's a funny story, he talks about it on youtube somewhere. Congrats on the NGD I always liked that cutaway on a millenium. Beauty!

Seths should sound great in your new Millie. I also like 11's on my gits. They thicken the tone just enough, while allowing for string bends and vibrato.

Those double white DiMarzios look much better than the zebras that were in there. But I would really like to see that guitar with some covers on the pickups. That’s just too upscale of a top. Also, some better reflector knobs the ones that really reflect. That top is worth it. It’s a great looking, Guitar. Glad to hear that. It sounds great too..

the 225's sound great from the clips I've heard, more like the Duncan Antiquity than the Lollar ( I have both )

This 2023 beauty has Duncan's stock .

A friend of mine bought a natural 575 from a Guitar Center years ago. When he got it, he found some neck issue that could not be corrected by adjustment. He took it to the legendary Aaron Cowles, who was doing some upscale work for Heritage at the time. Aaron told him the neck needs replacement. I don't recall the details. Aaron did the replacement. Here's an interview with Aaron. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/gibson-guitar-oral-histories/1/ Aaron died quite a few years ago. I ended up hanging on to the guitar for my friend but didn't play it. Yesterday he sold it to me without ever taking it to his home. If you are feeling sorry for him, consider he has more guitars than anyone else I know. So this is has Schallers. I scoped the innards. It's parallel braced (not all are). Aaron made the neck and but a plain ebony board on it. It's a 3 piece maple. The only piece he got from Heritage is the headstock overlay. My friend requested a five piece neck but Aaron recommended a 3 piece. Aaron fretted it. There are no nibs. That's true with other Aaron builds. Aaron was one of the best of the Kalamazoo luthiers yet a simple man to understand. He always had his pistol handy in shop. He charged very little for his hard work. His humble presentation contradicted his master skills at making guitars and mandolins. The guitar plays well. The neck is to me a medium C carve, maybe a medium plus. It sounds good.

One of the best rock and roll tones that I ever heard in my life was a very early 70's Les Paul Custom plugged straight into a '68 Silverface Twin. Some guy had traded it into Guitar Center and a very good guitarist friend of mine who worked at the store for a while was checking the pair out. It was after closing time so he cranked it and it was awesome. Total rock and roll! If I could afford it at the time I would have bought the combo on site.

Here's another cool fuzz, this is a germanium pedal Ryan built for me, a Rangemaster style treble boost combined with a Big Muff with an adjustable bias. At 22 seconds in the first fuzz lick kicks in, and at 2:06 I crack it wide open for the slide solo!

May have posted this in the past, But since we're focusing on fuzz here.... Never a fan of it, but given this is a Lucinda Williams tune, and I'm a big fan of the fearless Stuart Mathis, I thought...why not get way out of my little box. This is from the Be Good To Yourself project, and since we were tracking nearly thirty songs, I figured I'd better come up with a variety of tones and approaches. I'm pretty much down with what Randy (fdx99) observes in his notes, above. As I recall this track was my Tele for electric rhythm, a Nashville tuned Red Label Yamaha FG-110, and the fuzz was my Nash Strat, bridge pickup, into my Low Power Tweed Twin clone. The fuzz was an MXR Hendrix Octavio, which has a pretty great fuzz! Fuzz is there in a couple of early chords, but doesn't really appear until the guitar outro, last 1:30-ish of the tune. I'm a little proud of this one. The vocalist is eighteen-year-old phenom Māya Beth Atkins.