tsp17

thanks my friend.

Henriksen amp arrived this afternoon. Super easy to dial in with this Eagle Classic. Amp sounds great right out of the box with all the dials at 12:00. Looking forward to a little more tone tweaking tomorrow. It will go to the gig Friday. I was a little concerned that it wouldn’t be loud enough to keep up with our drummer, but with the volume only at 10:00 my wife shared: “Honey, that’s really loud!” Another good feature is the headphone out that defeats the speaker. Wife and family will appreciate that. Super easy to tote at 20lbs. Comes with a nice gig bag with a big front pocket for cables and other accessories. Two separate eq’d channels so i can put a mic or another instrument in for solo gigs or to accompany a singer or whatever. I ended up being the front man at gigs by default (someone had to do it), so being able to put a mic into this amp simplifies things and opens another input on the PA. Love the Benedetto B-6 pickup with this guitar. Really a perfect match. Really good with this specific amp. Always a little nervous buying things without ever playing them, but this combination really works well. The Eagle Classic was a good call in the end; so was the pickup switch and amp purchase. I have a feeling this amp may become the go to for gigs since it is so light and compact. Maybe that will be the end of my new gear craving (for a while at least). More to come….

Liked it straight away, super playable/comfortable, neck profile suits me, very aesthetic without being flashy, love the neck pickup only vibe/look, but something was not quite right to my ear. Tried it with multiple amps, but couldn’t get what i was seeking. Decided to swap the Schaller Golden 50’s for a Benedetto B-6 (one of my all time favorite pickups)….still not feeling the love after much amp switching, new strings, etc. Then i started fiddling with my amp settings and BINGO!!!! On all my other guitars I have always used fairly scooped EQ. With this one, boosting the mids to about 2:00-3:00 was magic. That plus a little delay effect and: Eureka, i found it! Tight while still organic. A little more acoustic sounding than my two pickup archtops, which is part of what i was after. Volume control bump gives it a little more electric sound. Very versatile for what my band does. Real Book ballads to boss nova to full electric modal jazz jam tunes. It came with some Doug’s plugs so feedback should not be an issue. The plugs alter the sound a little, but not dramatically. Still sound like the same guitar. A little less acoustic sound. Getting closer to roughly the late 60’s/early 70’s (pre-pop era) Benson tone that i am looking for. Check it out. Links: George Benson Thunder Walk on Giblets and Gravy Billie’s Bounce Body Talk . I just ordered an open box ($200 discount) Henriksen Bud 10 (solid state, 20 lbs - good for the portability and the 65 year old back, two independent channels, super clean) that is voiced a little between a fender sound and a polytone sound. Cabinet built for feedback resistance. We’ll see how that goes. I’ll probably use it on the gig Friday 2/13. Will report back. Overall - after a couple of weeks thinking i might have made a purchase mistake and would have to sell it, I’ve found a great vibe with this guitar. Will update this thread after gig on Friday, or perhaps sooner after the Bud 10 delivery scheduled for today. Should be a fun pre-super bowl day exploring what the combination of Eagle Classic-Henriksen Bud 10 can do.

To my ear, Seths are much better, but that’s just me. I haven’t done a direct swap, but when I’ve played similar guitars with Seths, i notice the musical and textural difference. Seths are more articulate, organic, smoother and just sound better for what i am looking for. You may have a different experience. I’ve had 59s in multiple guitars and only found them to sound great in one. Even in that one i swapped for a Benedetto B-6 and it was better for my use. That said, 59s sounded VERY good in that specific guitar (H575).

Only way to learn is to do it. Go get'um Brent. Good project. Let us know how it turns out. I'd like to learn to do more of my own guitar tech work too, so you'll be my role model!

Paul at Green Oak is an HOC member and A1+. I bought an amazing custom order that he designed back in the day and I wish I still had it. I have also bought more than one H from Wolfe. Good people.

LOL, me too. right on!

yep- that's what i think too. good match for this guitar. i've used the B6 is a couple of 16" inch archtops and liked them a lot. looking forward to seeing what it does for this one. I had one fail once, but ever since tthen I've been really happy with it. will let you know how this one plays out (pun intended).

Thanks Mark. X-Braced. Great to know that the tops are same as GEs. I suspected as much. It is my understanding that the two models share DNA, but the Classic is a simpler statement, mostly aesthetically. Suits me better anyway. I do like the standard plain fretboard without markers visually, nice and clean look, but yes- having the dots is a good and clear visual cue to where you are and where you are going. Benedetto B6 pickup is on back order so I wont get it back from the shop for another 10 days or so. Will report back.

Arrived Thursday. Gorgeous and plays beautifully. Played it for a couple of days now. Took it to my luthier to install a Benedetto B-6 (built in version of Benedetto’s S-6 floating pickup). I love this pickup and i think it will suit this guitar beautifully to bring out a little more acoustic voice. Especially since this model has only a neck pickup so it retains a little more of that woody/acoustic vibe. Deserves to be heard that way. Feedback is definitely a bigger issue with the single pickup and all solid woods, but part of the allure of this one was that it came with custom Doug’s Plugs for the F holes. A little less acoustic feeling with those in, but feedback is not an issue. Very excited to get it back from the shop this week.

Very sorry to hear it.

Excellent!!!! Well done Brent. 525’s are terrific.

Thanks. Yes, certainly I will play it first. Like I said in the original post - I’ve been surprised before by pickups that I “knew” from prior experience weren’t right for me- but in a different guitar I found them to be terrific. I didn’t think I liked Duncan ‘59s - then I got a 575 with them in it, and it was a great combination in that specific instrument. Lesson learned there.

That’s great to hear. Thanks. Always a little bit of a crap shoot when buying on line. But Jay and team at Wolfe are super professional, reliable and they have the really good stuff (like HOC member owned Green Oak). They have never steered me wrong. I always have confidence buying from them.

Always wanted one of these. I have a 550, 575 and SKB- so this one slots nicely in a missing spot as a 17 inch solid wood spruce top masterwork that I can gig with since I don't play my SKB at clubs/restaurants/bars. Nice bonus- comes with fitted Doug's Plugs to make it all the more gig-worthy without feedback issues. Should arrive late next week. Pickups are Schaller Golden 50's, which I've never played but the guys at Jay Wolfe's shop tell me they are on the bright and articulate side, kind of like HRWs. Will probably swap them out, but we'll see. I've been surprised before by pickups that I thought I wouldn't like, but turned out to be great in a specific guitar. More to come.... Anyone here have experience with Golden 50's? If so, please let me know your thoughts. Picture from the guys at Wolfe:

Jazz guy. His lessons are excellent.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=9I8x1qvgtG4&si=dZJp39wWA_JoK1qC Happy Holidays to all!

Nice!

Welcome!

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’.

Thx @skydog52 I played it this morning. I played it this morning. I was deeply rewarded. I’ll try to record some samples over the weekend and post them.

Serial No. starts with T, so looks like 2003 according to the chart. Also has a 011 stamped above the serial no., which I've always taken to mean it was number 11 from the limited run, but I've never tested that theory. @skydog52 @MartyGrass @Gitfiddler is that right? anyone else?