josephdviviano Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 I've been looking for a hollowbody p90 guitar for many years, and this year thanks to a very generous gift from friends and family, I finally had the chance to buy myself a proper one. For the past ~15 years, I played one electric: a 2004 gibson les paul studio. With the release of the USA Epiphone Casino, I thought my decision was made for me. In my city there are not many of these kinds of guitars around (even low-cost import models) so it wasn't hard for me to do the tour and play all the major options. In the end it came down to this 2021 production H530 and the USA Epiphone... I couldn't get along with the Godin necks, I didn't connect with the Eastman I played, and I preferred the thinline construction of this guitar over the Guild X-175 (a great guitar by the way). I went back and forth between the two guitars (at two different stores) a few times, and I couldn't believe that for the exact same price, this guitar has such a better neck, better action and setup, less flaws in the finish, more balanced pickups (the volume difference on the Epiphone between bass and treble was not really workable) and a substantially more resonant body. And all of this with a longer neck, making it substantially easier to play the upper registers. It just felt like a flawless instrument, and I'm sure will be a companion for many many years to come (touch wood). For anyone out there wondering if Heritage is worth it, my answer is unequivocally yes: this is a finely made instrument with no discernable shortcomings. It is a far better guitar than I am guitar player. I get the feeling that, with them, your money is going to craftsmen and women who are paying attention to the details, not marketing departments and a mass production factory with output quotas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoslate Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 Congrats on finding a guitar you've so obviously bonded with! 530's are certainly their own thing, and wonderful instruments! And in your post, nice to see you acknowledge this: "...craftsmen and women...." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartyGrass Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 How about crafthumans? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gianluca Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 congrats, that's a nice piece enjoy it ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbp810 Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockabilly69 Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 what a beautiful guitar, congrats!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 Beautiful H530, congratulations! I am surprised the Epiphones were the same price. Not familiar with the US models though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 Congratulations on that fine looking H-530! Play it in good health...and Welcome to the HOC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genericmusic Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skydog52 Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 Very nice. Love that platform and P-90s rawk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josephdviviano Posted February 13, 2022 Author Share Posted February 13, 2022 1 hour ago, bolero said: Beautiful H530, congratulations! I am surprised the Epiphones were the same price. Not familiar with the US models though. Yes, they're new, and made in the Gibson factory -- they're essentially standard production ES-330s with the Epiphone visual cues. Seems to have been a good bit of marketing by Gibson since they're sold out everywhere (even being flipped online for a quick profit by questionable folks). The one I played was good, but noticeably less resonant / acoustically loud and much bassier. I'm not sure what about their construction would lead to this. It fed back more quickly. In some cases this was kinda cool, but in others it was hard to control the bass. Finally the treble pickup was much further from the strings than the neck pickup, making the two very unbalanced. I suspect the neck angle wasn't set quite right at the factory, but I'm not expert enough about guitars to say for sure. All I know is they felt quite different in the hand and the H530 felt more refined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Flying Bird Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 I know a guy named Joe Viviano. You don't her that name every day. I played a 530 once and it was very alive even without an amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElChoad Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 You have played the same guitar for 15 years??? That is worthy of congratulations in and of itself. ? Welcome to the club! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josephdviviano Posted February 14, 2022 Author Share Posted February 14, 2022 2 hours ago, ElChoad said: You have played the same guitar for 15 years??? That is worthy of congratulations in and of itself. ? Welcome to the club! The les paul is surprisingly versatile! That guitar will be with me for the rest of my days, same with this 530. Though the les paul is developing a small neck twist... so maybe it won't make it. I need to make sure that does not happen to this new guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greywolf66 Posted February 18, 2022 Share Posted February 18, 2022 Beautiful choice , Enjoy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zdzislaw Posted February 20, 2022 Share Posted February 20, 2022 Good for you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeBaron Posted March 6, 2022 Share Posted March 6, 2022 Great choice. My H530 has been my favourite guitar for a few years. A beautiful instrument.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
y2kc Posted March 6, 2022 Share Posted March 6, 2022 Great guitars ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chico Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 as a person who wants so badly to get a H535 in the stable (missed my chance years ago at a PSP), I see the 535 and 530's and wonder what is the difference ? I mean, bridge construction aside, what is the diff and why would I choose one over the other? GREAT LOOKING AXE YOU HAVE!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 23 minutes ago, chico said: as a person who wants so badly to get a H535 in the stable (missed my chance years ago at a PSP), I see the 535 and 530's and wonder what is the difference ? I mean, bridge construction aside, what is the diff and why would I choose one over the other? GREAT LOOKING AXE YOU HAVE!! You're kidding, right? H-530's are full hollowbody like the old ES-330 vs. the H-535 being semi-hollow like the ES-335. The H-530 sounds much more acoustic and open compared to the 535. Both sound great to my ears, but definitely different animals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chico Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 On 3/7/2022 at 9:53 PM, Gitfiddler said: You're kidding, right? H-530's are full hollowbody like the old ES-330 vs. the H-535 being semi-hollow like the ES-335. The H-530 sounds much more acoustic and open compared to the 535. Both sound great to my ears, but definitely different animals. nope not kidding that's why I'm here. I've owned a semi-solid H155 DC and Millenium H155 but never those models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 29 minutes ago, chico said: nope not kidding that's why I'm here. I've owned a semi-solid H155 DC and Millenium H155 but never those models. Hey Chico, no offense. As one of the long time posters here, I thought you were kidding. Both the 535 and 530 are great choices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josephdviviano Posted March 14, 2022 Author Share Posted March 14, 2022 @chico thank! I think it is beautiful too. From my experience, H-530 is: More open and woody sound. Has a single coil / p90 "snap" to it that sounds more acoustic. Does not sound anything like a fender single coil sound, but also fairly different from a Gibson humbucker vibe. Noticeably less sustain than my Les Paul, but increased resonance and liveliness. I have it strung with 11s and it is very loud acoustically which I love. H-535 sounds much more like a les paul, but with different attack and more mids. I'm not sure I would own a 535 and a 150 simultaneously, but I could happily own a 530 and 535 or 150 simultaneously. Very beautiful sound. Much less loud acoustically than the H530. I think it would be fair to say that the 535 is a better "all-rounder" and the 530 is a more specific choice. For me, it was a no-brainer because it contains my favorite low/no-gain tones and is sufficiently different from my Les Paul. I'm thinking this will be my only two guitars for the foreseeable future unless I fall backwards into a pot of gold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HANGAR18 Posted March 15, 2022 Share Posted March 15, 2022 On 2/13/2022 at 1:06 PM, josephdviviano said: I've been looking for a hollowbody p90 guitar for many years, and this year thanks to a very generous gift from friends and family, I finally had the chance to buy myself a proper one. For the past ~15 years, I played one electric: a 2004 gibson les paul studio. With the release of the USA Epiphone Casino, I thought my decision was made for me. In my city there are not many of these kinds of guitars around (even low-cost import models) so it wasn't hard for me to do the tour and play all the major options. In the end it came down to this 2021 production H530 and the USA Epiphone... I couldn't get along with the Godin necks, I didn't connect with the Eastman I played, and I preferred the thinline construction of this guitar over the Guild X-175 (a great guitar by the way). I went back and forth between the two guitars (at two different stores) a few times, and I couldn't believe that for the exact same price, this guitar has such a better neck, better action and setup, less flaws in the finish, more balanced pickups (the volume difference on the Epiphone between bass and treble was not really workable) and a substantially more resonant body. And all of this with a longer neck, making it substantially easier to play the upper registers. It just felt like a flawless instrument, and I'm sure will be a companion for many many years to come (touch wood). For anyone out there wondering if Heritage is worth it, my answer is unequivocally yes: this is a finely made instrument with no discernable shortcomings. It is a far better guitar than I am guitar player. I get the feeling that, with them, your money is going to craftsmen and women who are paying attention to the details, not marketing departments and a mass production factory with output quotas. Very nice! I dig that finish too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgt1577 Posted March 15, 2022 Share Posted March 15, 2022 Beautiful 530! Seems to be the same color as my 535! Antique sunburst??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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