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525, I’m obsessed, don’t have one though


zguitar71

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I’ve been obsessively checking out the vintage ‘55-‘59 ES225 for quite some time now but the pricing is probably too high for me and I just have reservations about giging with a vintage instrument. So even though the obsession will never wane for all the vintage stuff I have turned my attention to the modern vintage equivalent and like always that brings me to Heritage.

So.....now I’m all about the 525. As usual the price/quality and vibe ratio is the best out there. I won’t be able to make a purchase for a while but I’m ready to dream a little more. If you want to post about 525s then please do it. If you own one or played one or just want one let’s hear about it.

My favorite style is the plain top and it would be cool to have a single P90 situated in the middle between the neck and bridge. I’ve never seen a 525 like this but the simplicity is attractive. Eventually I’ll get one and I’ll take the pick gaurd off and my fingers will make a wear spot on the top like my other guitars and I’ll play it loud as f.*! and get feed back, it will be great!  

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What is the big difference betweeen the 525 and the 530 besides the cutaway?

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1 hour ago, rwinking said:

What is the big difference betweeen the 525 and the 530 besides the cutaway?

Rim thickness.

https://web.archive.org/web/20170622181614/http://heritageguitar.com/guitar/h-525/

https://web.archive.org/web/20170715034414/http://heritageguitar.com/guitar/h-530

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Great choice. I miss mine.  The two pickup option is nice. I never used the bridge pickup by itself but the middle position offers noise cancelling which worked great with the lollars.  Got me out of a couple Jams at Jams (lighting, bad power).  The neck position is the tone I would be after.  Not sure how good it would sound with the pickup located between the neck and bridge positions though. It was a lot more feedback resistant then I thought it would be. 

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I first played my 525 at PSP back in 2012 when LK155 owned it.   I told him that if he ever sold it, I wanted first crack at it.   A year later,  he decided to swap that one for one of Brent's H150s,  I made arrangements to drive up to Michigan one night (I was working in northern Indiana) to bring it home. 

Its been in my stable ever since.   I was really impressed with the way it sounded unplugged, and it sounds fantastic plugged it.   Somewhere on Youtube is this guitar at PSP doing Elizabeth Reed.   Probably either 2013 or 2014.

gallery_790_192_606146.jpg

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I  am interested in Guitars which have a fatter, warmer neck tone clean  than a H535 or a ES 335 - I think the thinlines usually sound too close to a solid body .

At 2.25" there seems to be a sweet spot ( sometimes 2") where you really hear the air and get fatter neck tones ( without gain/distortion) and some still have the sustain/bloom quality.

The 525 - judging  from Demos  seems to have both qualities , aided by the 20 fret necks - odd that they used P90s mostly on such a resonant Guitar - humbuckers with parallel , single coils would be better - the Demo I liked most was one with Humbuckers.

One of the Models I want to check out  though...in my hands .  

 

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Nice pic of some 525s! I have also pondered the 530 but I like the pickup switch on the upper bought not by the controls and I prefer the extra bit of body there too. I don’t know it it actually makes much of a difference or not though tonally. I will probably go for a two pickup model for the diversity because in reality in gigs that will be something I need. 

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Years ago I had my 1962 Epiphone Casino stolen. I had a gig that night so I bought an Gibson ES 225 (this was back in 1974, so both the Casino and 225 were cheap to buy as nobody really wanted them....) thinking that with the two P90s it would be the same guitar. It was not. It had much more of a jazzy tone where the Casino had a bluesy/John Lennon R&R tone. Not that the 225 couldn't get a cool tone, it was just easier on the Casino. A couple of days later I got the Casino back and sold the 225. I think with Heritage we are dealing with the 530 vs 525 and they are fundamentally the same as the Casino vs ES 225? I know what you mean about the location of the pickup selector switch....Switching between guitars with the switch located in different places gets weird for a while....

So Christopher, I still have the Casino. If you are down in this part of the state, feel free to come over and try the Casino.

 

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So does anyone have a 525 with a 50s neck. The ones that I have seen advertised with neck measurements are all in the .8” at the first fret and .9-.95” at the 12th. The necks I like are more like .9” at the 1st- 1+” at the 12th. 

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2 hours ago, zguitar71 said:

So does anyone have a 525 with a 50s neck. The ones that I have seen advertised with neck measurements are all in the .8” at the first fret and .9-.95” at the 12th. The necks I like are more like .9” at the 1st- 1+” at the 12th. 

Always glad to share pics here of this custom ordered H525.  It included a 59 neck carve, small block inlays, AAAA wood, matching guard and pearl Heritage inlay on the bound headstock.

That was the only way I could get the neck carve that felt perfect for my big hands.

heritageh525rearnecksn.jpg

kXzpV9.jpg

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7 hours ago, Gitfiddler said:

Always glad to share pics here of this custom ordered H525.  It included a 59 neck carve, small block inlays, AAAA wood, matching guard and pearl Heritage inlay on the bound headstock.

That was the only way I could get the neck carve that felt perfect for my big hands.

heritageh525rearnecksn.jpg

kXzpV9.jpg

Oooh there's so many things I love about that guitar!

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4 hours ago, Spectrum13 said:

Tim fails to mention just how loud that 525 plays unplugged. You would never believe it. 

@ Specrrum13:  Very loud acoustically!  Perfect couch guitar or songwriting partner. :icon_salut:

@ Rockabilly69 and Genericmusic:  Thank you.  :occasion14:

heritageh525fullrear.jpg

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4 hours ago, Gitfiddler said:

@ Specrrum13:  Very loud acoustically!  Perfect couch guitar or songwriting partner. :icon_salut:

@ Rockabilly69 and Genericmusic:  Thank you.  :occasion14:

heritageh525fullrear.jpg

Wondering what that beautiful cabinet or amp that is?  Nice

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13 hours ago, Spectrum13 said:

Tim fails to mention just how loud that 525 plays unplugged. You would never believe it. 

That is what I found on the one I played.

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