DetroitBlues

So, ElNumero will need the strings that tarnish the least and collect as little dust as possible...

Part of the issue is Dumble makes very, very few amps and has clauses to the owners about never selling them. Because there is such limited availability, the Dumble clones will be out there in the same way there are dozens of Klon manufactures. People want the sound but between availability and cost, they go for cheaper alternatives. Just like why would anyone want an Epiphone Les Paul when you can buy a Gibson Les Paul? Costs. Then factor how easy it is to obtain, in some cases, even import guitars like a Squier Baritone guitar now sells for nearly double what they were when they first came out... They are hard to find. Too expensive. Myself, I really could care less about the Dumble sound. I prefer the Marshall sound. Fender if I want something a little clean and lots of reverb....

One cool thing about those 535's was the matching wood pickguards. When new owners took over, that went away. Thus my plastic 535 was never installed. Congratulations!

Because the military never taught us how to eat right. Its load up your plate, eat everything you can. But back then, the daily routines outside of PT time, burned those calories in no time. Now we're out, we don't do the 12+ mile road marches in combat gear, six mile company runs, plus whatever training we went through. Now we sit a desks and walk as little as possbile. Didn't know the bad eating habits were in fact bad back then. Still miss having biscuits and gravy for breakfast every day...

A friend of mine has a beautiful, natural finish ES-335. I played it and it felt like a boat anchor compared to my 535. Body felt thicker, weight was more like a Les Paul. Sounded good, had a decent neck profile. Even had an ABR-1 bridge. But just like you, I think my H-535 is a better instrument. If I was smart, I'd taken a picture of the 2 since they are a yin/yang to your picture as my 535 is Wine Red with a dark fretboard compared to the natural finished ES-335.

while I haven't seen this, since joining a cover/jam band, I've thought about switching up to a full multi-effects system that includes amps. Then I'd plug into the effects loop of my actual amp and simply use it as a power amp. With a wide variety of songs and genres, having the versatility of a multi-effect is more appealing than ever. I've had a Digitech RP-250/300/500 units in the past. Not sure if I want to continue down that rabbit hole since I'm so invested in pedals...

I had some deluxe tuners factory installed on my 535, but I believe they were made by Grover:

Congratulations!

Custom Core Model in a couple years when I’m 50.

What’s interesting is they are changing the standard neck profile to be more my style.

Had a Friday off, weather is rather cold, so what better time then a 400 mile round trip to Heritage today. Trip was rather uneventful, but it was nice to see some good friends again. No pictures because they aren’t allowed, not that I asked. Some of the more interesting takeaways…. Factory is expanding, significantly. Demand is so high, every guitar that was being made was already sold. Heritage will be hiring again soon! And I tried a Custom Core aged and a Standard H150 Aged. Those were amazing. They were stunning to look at, felt right in the hand. The “Aged” finishes really reminded me of many of the older Heritages I’ve played. Not overly done, but beat up in the right ways to just feel like it was well played. I’d take my old 140 and you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference. Nearly walked away with that 150 Standard, lucky for me they couldn’t sell it until a defect is fixed. I also proposed a new lineup for the Custom Core line… Custom Core Tuxedo lineup: Bring back the H157 in specific historical models. 50’s, Beefy neck, Black with Gold Hardware, P-90’s. 60’s, Thin Neck. Black and Gold Hardware, Humbuckers 70’s, Thin neck, Argentine Gray and Nickel Hardware, Humbuckers. Offer them aged and NOS. Today was a good day. If just to escape work for a day.

If you’re going by Reverb, look up “sold” listings and go by newest first. The 140’s have two different, distinct designs too. So search from 80s to 90’s, then 2000’s.

I'm only playing a couple amps these days. At home is a Quilter Aviator Cub 50w 1x12 (Fender-ish). At band practice is a Fender Hot-Rod Deville 2 4x10 combo. (freaking loud amp!) But I used pedals on both through the front of the amp. Mostly because in small spaces, I need my dirt to come from somewhere else besides the amp as my ears can only take so much.

Congratulations! I had one of Bob's old guitars once via Brent. 1996 Les Paul Standard in Tobacco Burst. Nice plaintop, another I should have kept. Sold it for peanuts. What ever happened to that huge red guitar Bob had with the Roland synth built in it and had the factory employees signed the back under the clearcoat? As big as Bob was, that one looked proportionally correct on his 6'7" frame.