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Mike was in my last band. Terrific player/collaborator. And a wonderful guy.

Well said. What if they did a blind test three times, all using the same exact guitar? How many times have each of us changed the tone of a single guitar by swapping out pickups? (I think the amp and the length of the cable makes a much bigger difference than the pickups.) Hell... Billy Gibbons in recent years has been able to get a Les Paul tone out of a Telecaster by having his technician tweak the guitar and everything in the signal chain for his shows with ZZ Top. All we really need to do is pick one solid body guitar that feels good to play and that should theoretically be the last guitar we'll ever need because we can tweak it to sound like any solid body guitar ever made.

I remember my first LP was a 79’ Custom. I swapped out the T-Tops, because they were too microphonic. I put a set of Duncan 59s’ which in 90’ were still considered great pickups. This was way before the whole “Boo-teek” thing started. That guitar sounded great, but had to weigh 12lbs. Back in 90’ I was a kid, so the weight wasn’t an issue. Over the years I’ve found that heavier LP style guitars sounded better (to me). Not sure if there’s any science behind that, or just by chance.

Nice picture !! The kids must have rocking hard on that 12LBS LP !!! In my personal point of view i am thinking heavier LP will sound better? Am still unsure and am sure many debate will arise on weight issue..... maybe am more of a old school guy... remember hearing Alex skolnick from Testament (previously a Heritage H150 artist) said weight is on the LP that rocks.... Fast forwarding today i was lucky to have pickup a 2001 era R7 BB at 4.5kg, R8 at 4.4kg and recently R9 at 4kg with my H150 oxblood whom i bought last year weights 4.3kg.... i probably think LP least at 4kg.... not too light else it wont feel like an LP

Was actually late on an LP... but isnt the gibson custombucker similiar to the 226 parson pickup? Both has alnico 3 magnets... except for 225 parsons is potted and that could have blanketed the unpotted pickup abit.... yet what are the tonal diff between these? The 225 parson vs Custombuckers....

I had a look at Michael Oletta's website and I like his comment, "The Jazz images I treasure are not just a "documentation" of the Jazz Artist. The image should reflect the music, mood and the moment." Exactly this. Nearly thirty years ago the tutor on a photography course I was attending said that you take good images of subjects you're passionate about. I also see that he plays bass - I know a few jazz photographers who are also musicians...

Wow, that's a nice 535!! Congrats! Interesting about the magnet strength differences. I had HRW's in a 535 too & eventually swapped in other pups to experiment. They looked just like that. Pup swaps in a 535 are a hassle & as I liked the other pups, I eventually sold the HRW's since they were just sitting in a drawer. Good to hear you found a case!

That's a great pic! I have a guitar that belonged to a dead man. I think of him every time I pick it up. I hope he approves of the stuff I play on it. RIP

Ozone, baby!

I had a '99 H-150 that must have been between 11 to 12 pounds. It sustained for days. I liken it to a piano. Great tone! I sold it because it was so heavy -even in my late twenties. I have only heard one guitar like that and it was a friend's father's '59. Yeah, nice suite... I found several suits in the dumpster out side of my apartment. I brought the jackets in to give to a young kid living near me. A buddy said to put on the jacket and glasses and do a Stephen Stills thing and he took a photo. The kid loved the jackets. I didn't tell him they probably belonged to a dead man.

This is a complete shot in the dark, but worth a try nonetheless. I am trying to track down a 2007 Goldtop H150 Classic I special ordered in that year. It had an ebony fretboard which sets it apart some. I do have record of the serial number, but won’t post that publicly. It had a unique spot on the back of the body that was lighter than the rest. I sold it to HOC member 602a in 2010. I believe he then sold it to someone living in Seattle. I had to sell it at the time. I would love the chance to buy it back or at least know what became of it. Maybe someone will see this and know. If so, please message me.

The only thing I've used the really works is an ozone generator. You have to use them in a well ventilated space for safety.

LOL

You could line up 7 R7s and they would sound similar, but not exactly the same. A while back I had several L.P. style guitars in the house so a friend and I decided to have a tone party. The lineup consisted of an R7 goldtop from mid 2000s, a 70s L.P custom, a L.P. classic, and finally a core 150 with stock 225 pickups. We played all through a Suhr SL68 100w plexi style head into a 70s Marshall 412 bottom cab loaded with original blackbacks. I really do love a good R7 with the fatty neck and burstbuckers, but I've gotta say, we both clearly choose the Core 150 as the champion that day. When I first heard those 225 pickups I was underwhelmed. I just didn't spend enough time to get what makes them good. The lower output makes for great clarity, but when run into an amp that is cranked up it was a thing of sonic beauty. Seriously, it sounded way better than the guitars that were there that day. The L.P. custom had some hand wound units...can't remember the winder. Also, the R7, whole lit was a nice guitar, I've had other ones that were better sounding. Saying that a core 150 sounded "Les Pauly" is an odd statement.

Hey that's good info on the vintage BB's

Great setlist!!

Tad, that wasn't smoke.... that was leftover mojo from being played in a bar! 😜

that would be excellent. Nice to have that original case. On mine- I had to do it. There was no hope for the case and no matter what I did to the guitar it wouldn’t matter if I was just putting it back into the ‘ashtray’. It was bad.

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Great photos, I bet you sounded great.

Hoping to not have to as well. I like the older style of case and this one is great condition minus the smell of course. Being in the sun has aleviated the smell from the outside of the case now working on the interior.

I was debating that as well. Can't hurt to try. I will update as I go.

I’m a firm believer in the wood of a guitar does mater. I also find I prefer the sound of my 9.25 lbs 150 to any other LP I’ve played or owned which includes a PRS, G brand, Collings, Tokai and Eastman. I still have the Tokai and the Eastmans. The others were all lighter weight guitars and they were more resonant or louder acoustically but the actual tone wasn’t the bell like ring on the bottom end that I really love about the 150 and every note has the same intensity. That quality comes out through the amp, the Collings was close but not quite there. I have been lucky enough to play 2 Black Beauties, a ‘59 and a ‘60. Both were heavy probably upper 9 to 10 pounds and triple pickups. I passed on buying the ‘59 in 1988 for $1000 (if I could only reverse time) and the ‘60 I played in 2019 at a local shop with the $60k price tag hanging on it. The ‘60 was just dull. I would not trade the 150 for either of these guitars. I would love to get my hands on one of the limited run 157s with the p90s, I’ve always had an attraction to the black customs.

If you want Les Paul-type comparison videos, I reckon these are guys are the best... I seem to recall in Doug and Pat's second video they changed the pots in their Heritage to 500k with good results... (9 minutes into the Doug and Pat Show Pickup Shootout 2)

I didn't have to replace the case.