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Here is what I know about the famous HRWs. I have discussed them and other inventions attributed to Ren with Ren. Some things he's very open about. The HRWs he's not. He had a hand in the tailpiece with fine tuners on it. I'm not sure if he just liked it or he influenced it. He did explain that using it is a more precise way to tune. Another project of his is the balanced string sets. He took several commercials sets and noticed the pull for the string to be in tune required varying poundage for each spring. He showed me how he tested this by hanging weights on each string until it achieved pitch. He worried that the unbalanced strings would cause neck twists. The string maker in Battle Creek, GHS, created "balanced sets" for Heritage and may have begun this for Gibson since Ren was innovative at Gibson also. Yet another project is the 4 mount pickup bezel. This lifted the mount off the wood by small washers under the corner screws. That purportedly freed the top to vibrate more freely. The HRW remains shrouded in secrecy. It does sound different than the parent Schaller pickup. The best explanation is that a Schaller coil and magnet is emptied from the casing and placed in liquid nitrogen. It then is put back in its case and soldered. If true, the HRW is not the first cryo treated pickup. The toggle switch is drilled with the same bit used for neck side holes, and the same dot is put in place. The dot is sanded down and buffed. That I have watched being made. AFAIK, there is not patenting to cryo treatment. https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/articles/features/is_it_cool_or_not_cryogenically_frozen_gear_explained-108422 https://www.guitar-list.com/guitar-science/cryogenic-pickups

hey amazing! great article the truss rod history with his father Rem chamfering the nut was fascinating, I never knew about that! And it's funny: I never knew the development history of Bigby's, but after I got my first one I wondered why they didn't just drill holes in the roller bar. Now I know the answer: they did originally, but strings were breaking and Ren came up with the fix they still use. Thanks for writing/posting that. Here's to The Honorable Ren-aissance man!

It's always a good day when you you have an email from fretfiler42 in your in basket! Great conversation! Thanks for sharing.

You're welcome! Thanks so much!

Great interview! Thanks for sharing it with us!

This comes up a lot in my conversations with guitar playing friends. We all agree the amp is the biggest factor in great tone. When you've got a great amp almost any decent pickup will sound good. But... those Lollar Imperials in my Teye sound good with any amp of mine that I've plugged that guitar into. I've recorded it with both of my Boogies DC2 6V6 tubes and Fillmore 50 6L6 tubes, my Marshall EL34 tubes, and my Dirty Girl 6973 tubes. That Imperials just sound great. I also had another Teye with those pickups, and they sounded great in that one too. I wonder if Teye spec'd those Imperials specifically for his guitars. I've had mixed luck with Lollar pickups, and his P90s never really did it for me. But them Kuz sold me that H535 P90, and those sounded great.

Hi All! I write for Buddy Guy's Legends "BG Blues and Music News" here in Chicago and my recent interview with Ren Wall went up today. Thought many of you would enjoy reading it. Thanks everyone! https://www.bgbluesnews.com/post/ren-wall-ren-aissance-man-of-music

We're starting at 9 am and will probably be running until 7 (or later). If you can get any time we'll be here for you! Mike

That is just a superb guitar Brent! You need to take the oath to never sell that one, 8lbs 6oz is insanely light for an LP custom style guitar, and as we age that becomes more and more important. Enjoy your new beauty!

Cool lights in the guitar cubby! Silver burst is definitely unique and had your name all over it.

I really like Wolfetone pickups, I have legends, mean/meaner P90s and an A2 Marshallhead. All of them sound great and he has great customer service. I also have a set of “60s” P90s from Tyson Tonelab. I bought them in 6/17. I got them in 11/17 after many calls and emails and finally was in the process of canceling the order. Only then did he send them out. They are the best set of P90s I have. I have original ‘57 from Gib, a set from Throback, Lollar, and Wolfetone and the TTL stand out. It is just a shame he is so awful with customer service.

Yep! Absolutely! Funny, but I should really know better than to describe a certain tone that I'm hearing for any given product, for every time I do someone will have a difference of opinion. But yet, often times amps, types of guitars, effects, strings, or even the actual player himself never become part of the conversation. The fact of the matter is that tone is very subjective, and there are simply too many variables involved for us all to arrive at the same conclusions.

In what universe is this statement true.

I’ve heard of such infamous gatherings. Alas, my granddaughter will be 1 that same day, therefore I must regrettably decline such divine sonic extravaganza.

I finally was able to spend some time with the Heritage tonight. I took off the factory 10s, put on a fresh set of 9s and did a full setup along with fretboard conditioning. This H157 displays all the signs of Heritage’s top tier quality and construction. Fit and finish are great!! Fret work (PLEKED from the factory) is great too!! Electronics are also great quality. Low friction pots. Switchcraft toggle and jack. Heritage pickups. I don’t know the specs on these new Heritage pickups. They call them 225 Classic Hot Pickups. To me, they sound like an Alnico 4 or 5. They sound really good!! The neck is a beefy 50s carve. Feels great. Not a baseball bat. Only 8lbs 6ozs! So light for a 157! Tone and playability are both superb. Warm, rich tone. It’s an amazing guitar!!

Y'know, the amp has a little bit to do with the tone of a guitar, too!

I agree, they don't sound "hi-fi" in that recording. There's some nice tone going on there! I just recall my pickup rabbit hole experience from 10 to 15 years ago when I picked up a set of Imperials, and compared to the others they just didn't sound right to me. Of course, it could've been the guitar I installed them in, too. No pickup is likely to work well in every guitar, either!

These are Lollar Imperials in my Teye, I don't think they sound HiFi at all...

It’s here!! OMG ITS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL But I have to go to a 50th birthday party Maybe I’ll get it switched over to 9s and setup tomorrow night? STAY TUNED…..

Yeah, I agree about ThroBak's consistency. I've had several sets of them without any issues, and the SLE-101s are the ones that have remained. Between Tom Holmes' pickups and ThroBaks, I haven't felt a need to look any further. Wolfe's Legends can't be beat for the price, either. I did have one set of Imperials about 10 or 11 years ago but, frankly, they just didn't do it for me. If I remember correctly, they had sort of a "hi-fi" type of high-end that just didn't sound very vintage-like to my ears. I do understand why some folks really like them, though, for they do have a certain tonal quality about them that's appealing to many. As far as ThroBak's customer service goes, thankfully I've never had to deal with it, but I do have to admit that it would certainly put a bad taste in my mouth if a company didn't honor its lifetime warranty for a defective product.

Mahogany

This looks fantastic. Interested to hear the tone report. @brentrocks mahogany or maple top?

Well you've always loved Silverbursts, so there you go. Way to go on the score Brent!

Thanks for the kind words! Hopefully you can make it! Doc will have some new stuff there so it should be a fun day!