TalismanRich

Thanks for getting things back up and running. Your efforts are appreciated!

And a newer one as well, with her H-150.

I ran across this one today... Joyann Parker kicking it with her H-535. And the lady has some pipes as well!

The guard you have and Schaller pickups are the same as my 2005 H535. Mine has a different bridge and tailpiece, but then Heritage used to do a lot of customized guitars. My 2003 has the Schaller bridge and tailpiece. Surprisingly, my 535 has the proper TKL case, but it doesn't have the Heritage logo like my others do. I think I remember Jay Wolfe would sell guitars without the Heritage labeled case as a money saving option. It would be the same case. I think Ed Roman did the same thing. I don't know of any real changes that would narrow down the year, other than when they moved to SD pickups, dropped the Schaller hardware or when they had to change from the stamped serial number to a written one (because the stamp wore out!). The serial number was always the definitive criteria. Things were pretty consistent until the company changed hands a few years ago.

Weird... I can't see the pic with any of my browsers.

Oh yeah, the couple of tuners that were problemantic felt really sloppy once I removed them. The new ones are smooth, a bit tighter than the old ones. They tuned up and stayed right on tune after a few bends to stretch in the new strings.

It took a couple of days to get to the project, but it was an absolutely simple job. I didn't even need to use the new mounting hardware, it was exactly the same so I just swapped out the tuner. It took more time that I planned because while I had the strings off, I got the Virtuoso polish out and gave everything a nice buffing, especially under the strings and around the bridge. A little toothbrush action to clean the gunk around the frets was needed as well. The keystones look nice. Stringing up will take 1/4 the amount of time it used to take. Mission accomplished.

The new tuners arrived Thursday late, but I didn't get home until midnight and didn't see them until Friday morning. Hoping to do some work on it tomorrow.

Even more unusual: U2's Edge has switched from his coveted Vox amps to Universal Audio's digital simulator. https://www.guitarworld.com/news/u2-the-edge-switch-to-universal-audio-pedals

Man, if you want a player, that's IT! People pay big money to make a new guitar look like that. Honest wear is different. It's not surprising that is plays and sounds good. Bad guitars don't get played like that. The refret would be of no concern, a guitar that has been played that much will have worn frets. New ones just give it more life. As for the refinish, this is one that DetroitBlues had. Before and after.

Probably the only two guys who REALLY could clarify this (especially the "Les Paul" writing on the label) would be Jim or Marv. I don't know if Rendall was there from the very beginning, maybe even before the incorporation. Certainly they would have known they couldn't sell a Heritage as a Les Paul. Anyone know what the label said on the prototype that hung on the wall for so many years at the bottom of the steps? Also, looking at the headstock, I'm still not convinced that there wasn't a repair done. However, if there was one, it looks to have been very clean and solid. I would pull the truss rod cover and check the wood underneath. $800 is a good price. It will need a good cleaning and polishing. The fretboard looks pretty gunky.

They just got worn out. I guess I'm just playing it too much!

....Or they might be Gotoh Minis or G6s, or the Gotoh Grovers.

Looking at tuners recently, the CC tuners look like Gotoh SGL381s with the 20 button. They look the same as the CC- H150 buttons to me.

H-140s are great guitars. Clearly this one is a real Heritage. The label is vintage early Heritage, the "Les Paul 1979" is strange, but it could be a very early build. It appears to be refinished, which is not uncommon, especially for folks who don't like the original cherry burst. (ask Detroit Blues... he's done that very thing). Also, there are LOTs of folks who have thing about glossy necks. It might also indicate a headstock break that was expertly repaired. I would contact the seller and get some back story on it. The Schaller hardware is pure early Heritage. Clearly the electronics have been changed, but that's not much of a issue. These weren't made to be collectibles, they were designed to be played, so anything goes. Clearly it's a player grade guitar. Cases get worn out if you're playing professionally. As long as the case it solid, that's not a problem. I would say it's worth a visit if it's a local guitar. Maybe offer $850 or 900 if things are in order. Consider it "artisan aged" and it would add $500 to the price!!! ?

If I like the Grovers in the 535, I might consider trying the Ratio tuners in my 157 or my Mille 2000. I'll have to go with the gold tuners for those guitars. Looking at the specs for the Ratios, it says it's a 9.7mm hole, so that should easily fit in the hole from the Grovers. I haven't seen any comments on the weight of the Ratios or the Grover locking vs the stock Grovers. The Chrome 102 tuners are supposed to be .622 lbs where the Ratios are .496 lbs, so a very slight difference. I don't know if the Grover spec includes the shipping material, tho. The number came from StewMac's website.

0.1mm is a really small amount. You're talking .004 inches. The tuners aren't exactly press fit into the holes, so I suspect there would be enough clearance.

Rod, I think you are mixing the measurements. The Gotoh is 27.5mm from the back of the tuner to the base of the button. The Grover is 24.8mm, so not a huge difference. While I'm pretty certain that the Ratios would work fine, I decided to stick with the Grovers. I've had Grovers on all 5 of my Heritages, and they are on my 74 Guild and never gave me a problem. This issue on my 535 is the first time I've run into a problem, so that's pretty reliable. One place even had Grovers with the plastic keystone buttons, but I decided to stick with the metal ones. It's just an aesthetic thing, and I think the metal ones will last longer than I will. I've known of plastic buttons that needed replacing after they cracked or started slipping.

I placed an order for some Grover 502NKs. I decide on the nickel instead of the chrome. They should be here by Thursday or Friday. The plan will be to do surgery this weekend. This will be my first set of locking tuners. Maybe I'll change strings more often after this.

Good info so far. I found some dimensions for the Gotoh tuners, and they are supposed to be a drop in as well. I'll have to track down some of the 502NKs. I'm narrowing down to those and the Ratios.

A couple of the tuners on my 535 are getting flakey. The high E seems to be seizing up somewhat, it gets really hard to turn. The D seems to drift, which makes tuning vary after only a song or two. So, I've been looking at tuners to replace the stock Grovers which I'm pretty sure they are just the 102 Rotomatics. I've been considering going to locking tuners, and have narrowed the candidates down to Grover 502 Rotogrips, Gotoh Magnums, or Graphtech PRL-8341 Ratios. One thing that I DON'T want is to have to redrill anything on the headstock. Anyone have experience with the Ratio tuners? I like the idea of consistent turns for tuning. They come with plates that match up to the original holes. Plus, you can get Ratios with keystone buttons instead of the kidney beans, which I would like to have, but they are more expensive. Obviously the Grovers are a drop in replacement. How about the Gotohs? Are they are drop in replacement? I can't seem to find the spacing between the mounting hole and the screw (0.413 inches). Has anyone used them? Any other candidates that might work?

So the cat's out of the bag! I remember Pete saying that there would be CC versions of the 535 and 530. He didn't go into detail about what specifically would be different. Of course he also told us to keep it quiet until they announced. The blocks are great. It's one appointment that I would want on my 535. I wonder, are they are plastic or MOP? I can live without the bound headstock, as I like the CC headstock, and the inlay looks classy. Now all it needs is the classic maple pickguard. I understand that one reason that they moved away from the wood is that the finish on the wood gets worn off just like the guitar would do without the guard. However, I like that touch. It looks cool, and there are no worries about static buildup in dry weather!

I wouldn't think it unusual for the tailpiece to have more space than the bridge. The top carve drops down there. I remember them saying that the CC guitars have a different carve than the standard line (if memory serves me). I don't know if it's a deeper carve or not. Maybe one of you folks with both types can compare and comment. My only guitar that has the bridge decked is my Vint 54 Strat. I don't use the whammy, it's never been screwed it in.

The Schallers in my 2003 H-157 aren't muddy at all, they sound nothing like the ones in my H-140. Likewise, the ones in my 535 (2005) weren't bad either. I put the Sheptones in just to see how they would sound.

There might have been something weird about some early Schaller pickups. My 87 H140 just sounded dead, very dark and wooly. I tried changing the caps, etc and nothing helped until I put a pair of Alnico Pro 2s in. Now she sings. She made the trip home this summer for PSP2023.