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Honduran Mahogany, both neck and body are 3 piece, with reverse oriented grain in the middle piece for stiffness. That is what Tony Zemaitis always did in the originals, and only the first generation of Zemaitis reissues are built that way. The newer ones are one piece, and use African Mahogany. It's a nice wood but it doesn't sound the same. The top on this guitar is slightly carved too, the new ones aren't. Another thing these first generation guitars have unbelievablly good fretwork and the nicest ebony fingerboards that I've ever played on. The grain is ridiculously tight, and they are finished to perfection. They are smooth as a baby's as* so to say. I have 6 Zemaitis guitars, and I really like all of them, but this one, and the Dragon are first generation, and they both really stand out. As for Wolfetone pickups, I'm a fan. I have a Legend in the neck of one of my other custom shop Zemaitis guitars along with a Fenris in the bridge. And my Custom Shop SG Special has a mean and meaner P90 set. He really makes great sounding pickups! The only weak point on the first generation Zemaitis guitars were the pickups, they just used DiMarzio DP103s. They had to pick a pickup they thought would work for most people, but frankly they don't it for me. When Tony Zemaitis built the originals he would many times have the buyer of his guitars supply him with their favorite pickups. If the owner didn't specify what pickup they wanted, Tony would many times use Bill Armstrong pickups that were custom wound for him. His son Kent Armstrong still winds that exact pickup, the 12 pole, so I had him wind me a pair for the Dragon. The don't work with Zemaitis pickup rings so I had to make custom pickup risers for them. They sound GREAT!

Another member that used to traverse to PSP from Vegas, very passionate old school heritage fan. Great guy, We created some really fond memories here in Vegas, especially as cruising Vegas in the Cobra! RIP Eric, condolences to your family and young kids... You will be sadly missed.

Is that a mahogany slab gtr body? 1 or 2 piece?

Hey, that's really nice! I'm a Wolfetone fan too: have them in my #1 Heritage

This 1st gen Zemaitis reissue (the best of all the reissues) just got a new set of uncovered Wolfetone Legends (they were covered when I got them). It had DiMarzio DP103s in it which didn't quite do it for me. The Wolfetones are lower in output and sing through a gained up amp. No potting and the are just the right amount of microphonic to get interesting:) I also went from .010 Ernie Ball strings to the .009 Pyramid Nickel Classics, and the lighter gauge also added a little bit of snap on top. And. I love the lesser string tension.

I'm glad your pickups don't hum. Mine do. They are reverse wound, so when both are on and the volumes are similar, there's no hum. I use a pedal to eliminate the hum otherwise.

To put this politely, reasonable people have different opinions. I have no quarrel with someone whose preferences differ from mine. I would appreciate a certain humility that precludes stating an opinion as a universal fact though. I do understand that love of guitars is a certain manifestation of mental illness that I suffered with most of my life. I am confident of this much on the topic: weight relieved H-150s weigh less.

I had the same experience but in reverse. Everyone is different…My first Heritage 25 years ago was an amazing 535. Gorgeous!!!! But just too big for me and didn’t sit right on my lap or against my body due to where the contours were. Got a 575MH and was in love. Now a 575 custom, 550 custom and an Skb. All feel ‘just right’.

Hurrumph.

Says the guy who owns the most Fab of Millies.

Thanks for the kind words, Rich. The 530 has risen rapidly in the hierarchy of go-to guitars. I was apprehensive about the P-90s because they're single coil (I think) and I detest single-coil buzz. There's no buzz and I love some of the righteous tones I can dial in. The light weight of the 530 is a nice bonus! My first H was a 530 built to order for me in 2009 or 2010 and I knew not squat about pickup voicings back then.

Millie's are Fab.

Classic!

In my life I have witnessed in myself and others the same feeling of an instrument not fitting well. I have also seen looks of disbelief. A friend of mine was asigned the upright bass in high school. I had a cello. It didn't matter how we liked it. I had a Howard Roberts as a kid. It was big. My teacher said after a while I'd get used to it. He was right. But we are grown men. We don't have to put up with that anymore. One of my guitar teachers was Joe Fava. We were in his small teaching room, and he would smoke. He focused on technique and stopped me everytime my fingers didn't move correctly. It was constant criticism with occasional "good". I practiced this uncomfortable technique two hours a day. Eventually it became natural. Violin players told me the same thing. I wouldn't dare to complain. He'd say play your instrument properly or quit. Eventually it because okay. I went through the same with a bass clarinet. I have a H-575, two actually since I'm borrowing one, but like the feel of the H-530 a bit better. To get sentimental, I enjoyed the days being a kid and having a strong teacher who told me exactly what I'm supposed to do. It cut out a lot of noise from the other voices. Then Hendrix came along.

Don't feel bad about the 575 not fitting. I don't feel comfortable when I was playing them either. The 525 is slightly thinner and felt better. I bet you could play Girl from Ipanema on that 530. This morning I've already played Lying Eyes and Fire on mine. That's kind of a wide spread.

It really doesn't matter what reality is... you can find opinions going both ways. More weight = more sustain. Light resonant wood = more sustain. As to what qualifies as "tone", that's entirely whatever the person wants it to mean. I remember playing a Guild Bluesbird that was chambered. It rang very nicely. Millenniums do as well. I can't say my Mille is missing anything in the tone department.

This is so odd. As mentioned, there was an uproar when Gibson did this. There was this argument that heavy guitars sound better and have more sustain. I have owned two weight relieved H-150s, one I got by accident since I ordered it. The Heritage dealer didn't even know it was weight relieved. He would have charged more. I very much approve of this design. If it adversely affects sustain or tone, I don't notice.

Just outside that 9lb territory. Nice…

Well, that happens!

I would think of all the players I know who might cotton to a 575, you would head the list. That’s a darn shame.

ergonomically it doesn't work so back to Ft. Wayne it must go . . . silly me thought it might fit me like my new 530 but, alas, not so. And I was planning on getting the music for Girl from Ipanema. Oh, the humanity!

Yea, I'm curious about the weight. I got to pick out the woods and neck for my custom 150 with Marv and Jim. It's in the 8lb range, right around 8lbs 16oz😎

I’m amazed at how easy it is to play considering it has 11s and I’m used to 10s. It plays really nice! Has a nice hollow body tone I’m not good at describing it, quite mellow when using the neck pickup. Bridge has a good amount of twang. Very long sustain aside from two dead notes. I’m going to get those things that clip on the neck to fix. I am definitely loving the guitar!

Congrats! I love mine CC model. The cherry is my 2nd color choice.

This is more H-530s than I've seen in a long time. I must say, I'm really enjoying this guitar. It sounds really good plugged in, but it also does great unamplified. I play a lot just sitting in the den, and for a while, it has been my ASAT that sat on the stand next to the recliner. The ASAT is now in it's gig bag, and the 530 is next to me to pick up and play on a moments notice.