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The great Heritage H-150 weight relief experiment


PunkKitty

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I've been experimenting with making my Heritage H-150 lighter. It started off at 9.0 pounds. I did the following so far:
- Removed the PAFs that I had in it and installed a set of Lace Alumitones with CTS pots including 2 push/pull pots to allow coil splitting.
- Changed the tuners to Sperzel Sound Lock tuners.

The combination brought the guitar down to 8.4 pounds. That's what it weighed after I installed the Alumitones. Surprisingly, installing the Sperzels didn't seem to matter. Each Sperzel is about 1.5 ounces lighter than a Grover. So I expected this to bring the guitar down to about 8 pounds. It didn't. But it's still noticeably lighter than my 9 pound Gibson Les Paul. Maybe my scale was off the other night. Who knows?

Things I learned:
- I really like the Alumitones. They are really versatile.
- Installing Sperzel tuners is a major PITA. They use a strange locking process that relies on a series of bends. Stringing is very simple. You put the string end into the little hole at the base of the tuner and push it out of the back of the tuner. Then just tighten the tuner. We'll see how stable these are. I have to repair one of the Sperzel holes I drilled since it is off center a bit.
- The Heritage H-150 comes with what appears to be a Pinnacle zinc locking tailpiece. The bridge is a Pinnacle aluminum bridge. I'm not sure if this is the titanium saddle model or not. Either way, I ordered a locking aluminum tailpiece.

Excuse the messy bench, but here are some pics.
IMG_20211021_212858840.jpg IMG_20211021_205240987.jpg IMG_20211021_210651140.jpg
IMG_20211021_210534961.jpg IMG_20211021_210621655.jpg

 
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Tuners are interesting. New to me and no base with anchoring screw. Tell me how you like those.

I can't think of anything else to do for weight relief.   Nice work! Love the guitar and the finish.

IMG_20211021_210651140.jpg

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4 hours ago, PunkKitty said:

I'm still testing the tuners too. I like the way they look. I don't like the scars left behind.

Scars add to CHARACTER!

BEFORE-My 150 after falling off its stand. AFTER-My self repair. It's the back of the neck. Nobody really sees it and I did a good enough job so that it can't be felt. Now those are scars!

You could make your marks disappear with careful use of a fine grain emery board followed by some polishing compound, colored putty, and a touch of clear coat but your guitar looks great. I wouldn't worry about it. 

BEFORE.jpg

AFTER.jpg

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I am interested in hearing the pickups. Too bad lace doesn't have any sound clips on their website. If I were you, I wouldn't worry too much about the back of the headstock. It's just showing how you have taken a guitar and made it yours. I have an idea of how you can help it lose more weight. It involves a 1" auger bit and a drill, but the results will be pretty visible...?

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I'll post a link to me playing some cowboy, jazz, and power chords at some point. I have to figure out how first though. I've never done it before. Someone on another forum suggested drilling out the wire channels. No. I'm not going that crazy. No auger bits either. 

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4 hours ago, ElChoad said:

I have an idea of how you can help it lose more weight. It involves a 1" auger bit and a drill, but the results will be pretty visible...?

Not if she drills into the cavities where they can't be seen. 

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I wonder what kind of scale she uses that is that accurage, to weigh a guitar? Certainly not a bathroom scale. Myself, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a 9 lb guitar and an 8.5 lb guitar when strapped on. Seriously, is that minute a weight loss detectable??

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13 hours ago, PunkKitty said:

A bathroom scale is all I have. And yes, I notice a difference.

There's the problem. My bathroom scales are always waaaaay off. Notoriously weigh on the high side! ?

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15 hours ago, PunkKitty said:

A bathroom scale is all I have. And yes, I notice a difference.

You should invest in a digital kitchen scale. They are pretty inexpensive and will give you accurate weights. The one I have goes up to 11 pounds. I had a '76 Standard that was too heavy for it, but my Gibson Goldtop weighs in at 10 pounds, 1.6 ounces. My H-150 is 9 pounds, 6.2 ounces, and my BFG is 8 pounds, 3 ounces. You can get one right now on Amazon for $15. It goes to 22 pounds.

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There was a time when I ran the overweight program at our Air Force base.  Those who were overweight by the charts were ordered to lose 3 lbs a month or more by their squadron commander until their weight was acceptable.  My job was to counsel and weigh them.  If they didn't comply they could be fined, lose rank and even imprisoned for disobedience of a lawful order.

Every Wednesday the technicians from metrics came to calibrate the scale.  They came as a pair to make sure everything was done perfectly and documented.  Their cart had known 25, 50, and 100 lb weights to check the scale.  I never saw them need to adjust the scale week after week.

Despite this, every Wednesday I'd hear angry people tell me how wrong the scale was.  I recall one person mad at me because he said he only ate one sandwich a day yet he still gained weight.  Others only had a strange diet like pickles, sauerkraut, and glasses of vinegar for the week.

The people I listened to the most were the metrics team.  Put a known weight on the scale to check it before putting the unknown weight.  That removes doubt.  If you don't have a known weight, take an object like a cinder block or small brick, weigh it, and record that weight.  Then weigh the object you intend on reducing, in this case a guitar.  Each weight check in the future would be compared to the brick or block that is your standard.  You can be certain of the percent change in weight that way.  If your goal is to know absolute weight, you need a precision balance scale and measure at sea level.  We almost never need a precise absolute weight.

 

 

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34 minutes ago, Yooper said:

Bathroom scales are best for simply indicating weight loss or gain. It's that damn scale in the doctor's office that will matter. 

You don't  have nurses telling you it doesn't matter if you have on shoes pants or shirts?  

 

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45 minutes ago, Spectrum13 said:

You don't  have nurses telling you it doesn't matter if you have on shoes pants or shirts?  

I think they'd LIKE it if I had heavy boots and layers under a large overcoat. It makes it easier for them to say, "You need to watch your weight".

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