[New Heritage Owner!]

On 10/14/2023 at 2:36 PM, TalismanRich said:

Don't you wish you still had the Jag?

I just remembered that I have some photos of the Jaguar.

I was really young when I owned that.

[New Heritage Owner!]

On 10/14/2023 at 2:36 PM, TalismanRich said:

Don't you wish you still had the Jag?

For sure. The Jaguar was a really nice guitar.

But at the time, I had my mind set on getting a Les Paul and I knew I didn't have the money to own both (still a teenager) so I sold the Jaguar when the time came and invested that into a really cool Gibson SG Custom. It had 3 pickups and, if I recall correctly, the hardware on it was gold plated. I wish I had kept the SG also but I got it at a great price so it was the last stepping stone before I finally got my Les Paul Custom in 1972-73, thereabouts.

I really loved that Les Paul and didn't even mind that all of the gold-plated hardware tarnished and pitted within a very short time. Unfortunately, darker days were ahead when I found myself between jobs and needing to pay rent. That would have been more than 20 years later, in 1996, when I sold that Les Paul for a low price of $600 which was right about what I was paying per month for rent. After that, I swore that I would never again become so attached to a material object and I have kept that promise to myself.

However, in a short 4 years, I had really turned things around financially. That was when I stopped by a local music store wanting to buy a Les Paul only to find out the store didn't have any Gibson guitars, However, according to the store owner, he did have a guitar that was just like a Les Paul, only better. So that day in January of 2000, I walked out of that store with my Heritage H150 Deluxe. (The one that arrived at the Heritage factory just today as the prerequisite for them to send me a brand new H-150 standard.)

As much as I grew to detest that Tiesco guitar, I remember looking at the prices for one of those a few years back and I couldn't believe how people were actually willing to pay a whole lot of money to own an old one.

[New Heritage Owner!]

2 hours ago, Millennium Maestro said:

Another guitar brand own by the Singapore based Bandlab corp

i did some research about Teisco some years ago. Going by memory, I think that Sears rebranded some Teisco models and sold them under the name Silvertone. My recollection of myTeisco was that it played and sounded really bad. Obviously, it was a very cheap guitar. By the time I was 15, I had save up enough money to purchase a used Fender Jaguar which was a big step up from the Teisco.

[New Heritage Owner!]

22 minutes ago, Steiner said:

That's a mistake you'll only make once.

I was thinking exactly that but I added a two words to it: ... "I hope."

[New Heritage Owner!]

On 10/8/2023 at 1:18 AM, golferwave said:

If you want to get rid of the barrel jack you can drill out the input jack hole with normal wood drill bits.

Fantastic and that WAS the plan. However, a miracle came my way.

I am abandoning the refinishing project because Heritage is sending me a brand new H-150. It should arrive next week.

I'll have more details once it arrives and I can take photos.

I hope the new H-150s don't have the barrel jack.

[New Heritage Owner!]

On 10/8/2023 at 9:42 PM, TalismanRich said:

Have i confused/frustrated/scared you off  enough?  

Absolutely not. You have inspired me to deep dive into this subject. I really appreciate it.

I thought I would share something that happened the other night that I'm still laughing/crying about.

By way of background, I learned to solder as a kid. I started playing guitar at age 11 so by age 13, I had a Teisco electric guitar and quickly learned the need to repair my own cables. I found an old photo of me at something like age 14 with my Teisco in my bedroom

I am (was) pretty good at soldering. About 5 years ago, I visited the home of a friend of mine who was head of IT for a product-research company. He had salvaged a defective keyboard that needed some component soldered back on to the printed-circuit board for the keyboard to function properly. I took the opportunity to use that situation to teach him how to solder which I demonstrated to him by soldering that tiny component back into place.

Shortly after my earlier postings, I removed the electronics from my Heritage using my old, basic-style soldering iron. It was a particular challenge because the soldering was a terrible mess. However, I persevered and finally got everything loose. By of excuse for the words that are to follow, I have ADHD. "Staying in the present" is a particular challenge for me. My work space is limited so I started to gather the parts I removed before unplugging the soldering iron.

Not paying attention to the hot soldering iron, I bumped it and it fell to the hardwood floor below. I saw it hit the floor and knowing how hot it was, I wanted to make sure it didn't burn the floor. So, I immediately reached down and grabbed it. Unfortunately, I grabbed it by the metal shaft instead of the handle.

The good news is, I didn't burn the floor. That bad news is... well, I attached a photo of the bad news.

Needless to say, the solderless kit looks more attractive to me now.

 

[New Heritage Owner!]

On 10/6/2023 at 1:05 AM, TalismanRich said:

Upgrading the harness will do certain things depending on the parts used. 

I would like to get your opinion on something. I was studying the various components and thinking how to put them together when I wondered if there might be an easier way for someone like me who has no prior knowledge in this subject.

I found the following kit:

Mojotone Solderless Les Paul Short Shaft Guitar Wiring Harness Manufacturer Part Number: Z4LES728 for $119.99. It includes 4 x CTS 500k vintage-taper pots, 1 x Switchcraft USA toggle switch, 1 x Switchcraft USA mono output jack and 2 x Mojo Tone Vitamin T oil-filled .022uf capacitors. (Sweetwater: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Z4LES728--mojo-tone-solderless-les-paul-wiring-harness-short-shaft)

By coincidence, I studied a video yesterday that compared 8 different capacitors. I had already concluded that I found the sound of the paper in oil .022uf to be most pleasing to my ear and I think that is what is in this kit.

Also, I will be drilling out the shaft where the barrel jack resides so I'll need a jack cover. Gibson Accessories Metal Jack Plate for Les Paul – Nickel Item ID: PRJP040 for $12.99 (Sweetwater https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PRJP040--gibson-accessories-jack-plate-nickel).

You were addressing the taper on the pots and (going by memory now) and saying that a logarithmic taper is more consistent with the way we hear changes in volume. Do the pots in this kit represent what you were recommending?

I really appreciate all that I've learned from you so far. Many thanks.

[New Heritage Owner!]

On 10/6/2023 at 8:19 PM, golferwave said:

I didn't catch a picture of the outside of the input jack but if there is no jack plate then you have one of the barrel jacks. I would address that as well while you're changing everything else out.

Sorry that I got a little confused about the reference to the earlier posting made by someone else. I don't know how to edit it so this is the best way I know how to fix it at this point. However, I really do want to learn how to go about changing out the input jack to one with a plate.

[New Heritage Owner!]

On 10/6/2023 at 8:19 PM, golferwave said:

I didn't catch a picture of the outside of the input jack but if there is no jack plate then you have one of the barrel jacks. I would address that as well while you're changing everything else out.

You are right and it has always been a problem (which is probably why the luthier who worked on this soldered it to the top of the tone pot). Can you point me in a direction as to how to go about changing the barrel  jack to one with a plate?. Maybe there is a kit for this?

In the time since I read your posting about, "Upgrading the harness will do certain things depending on the parts used...", I have been immersed in videos about pots, capacitors, shielding, and wiring. I had no idea there was so much to this but thanks to you, I am starting to get a clue.

[New Heritage Owner!]

1 minute ago, Steiner said:

I started with RSGuitarWorks.  I stopped using them when they forgot how to make an H-575 harness; they wanted to charge for a custom assembly even though I know they've produced them in the past.
The H-150 harness is the same as the Les Paul's.  They'll get you going with schematics.  Drop your volume to the 5-8 level and lower the tone as needed.  The change is eye opening.

I don't hear a lowering of volume as much as a cleaning up with the volume pot.  The pot values make a huge difference in the circuit between the pickups and amplifier.  A good harness should allow you two or three useful tones without adjusting the amp.  RS recognized that and created a better mousetrap.

Fantastic. Thank you so much. I'm convinced for sure. I am going to unsolder the mess I have today.

[New Heritage Owner!]

9 hours ago, TalismanRich said:

Upgrading the harness will do certain things depending on the parts used.   You can get pots with different tapers, which means that how quickly or smoothly the sound changes will be different with a 15% audio taper vs a 30% taper or a linear taper.    What these numbers mean is that for a 500K pot,  a 15% will measure 75K ohms when turned 50%.   A 30% taper will measure 150K ohms at the mid point.  Linear taper means it will be 250K when turned half way.   Since volume is a logarithmic function (because we hear that way),  the use of a log measurement is supposed to make it more like what you hear.  Turn it up from  50% to 100% and it sounds twice as loud. 

The capacitor value will make a huge difference in the brightness.   In the typical humbucker setup,  a .022uF cap is used.   The higher the value, the darker the sound as you roll off the control.  You might even want to have different values, like .015 for a neck pickup vs .022 for the bridge.   I really don't hear a difference between the Vishay metal film caps that Heritage uses and an oil filled cap.   The Vishay caps are good units.  

If you can solder, then it's not hard to make up a harness.   I made a template out of a piece of cardboard, and soldered everything except the pickup and switch on the cardboard.   Then I mounted the pots, connected the caps and ground wire and installed it.  This is the result.

Finally there's vintage wiring scheme vs modern wiring scheme.   You can read how these differ lots of places.   Seymour Duncan has wiring diagrams for each type.   https://www.seymourduncan.com/resources/pickup/wiring-diagrams

For Heritage guitars, you want short shafted pots.  

That's all for now.   It's a fairly easy job assuming you can solder.

 

That is incredible. I had already decided I needed to start over but I didn't know where to begin. Thanks to you, I have a roadmap. I didn't even know where to start to ask about this.

I appreciate this so much. I don't think I've ever read a single posting anywhere on any website that compares to how helpful your posting has been.

I can't thank you enough.

One question that might answer itself once I get going but I don't see the input jack so I assume it doesn't lead into this compartment, is that right?

 

[New Heritage Owner!]

50 minutes ago, Steiner said:

I've never met a guitar (any brand) that didn't improve from an upgraded harness.  Heritage is no different.

I honestly didn't know that. Thank you.

[New Heritage Owner!]

3 hours ago, Steiner said:

A lot of components used on new guitars are simply placeholders; the plastic nut, POS bridges and Especially the wiring harness.  The $100 spent on the upgrade was the best investment ever - except they're addictive; be very careful.

In general, I know this is true. However, I wouldn't expect this from Heritage on any level. Have you found examples of Heritage doing this kind of thing?

[New Heritage Owner!]

17 hours ago, TalismanRich said:

Something about that setup looks fishy.   I've never seen that much corrosion, crud and dust in any of my factory setups and I have guitars from 87, 00, 03 and 04.   Did you buy that one new in '99?  If not,  I would suspect that someone else had a hand in there. 

Thank you for replying.

“FISHY” is a good word for it. I explained a bit more of the back-story to @kbp810 above. In summary, it didn’t come from the factory that way. Yes, I did buy it new but how it got this way, is a whole other story you can read about above.

What appears to be corrosion is actually the remnants of my first “FAILED” attempt to refinish the guitar.

[New Heritage Owner!]

On 10/4/2023 at 7:21 AM, kbp810 said:

Wow, I don't think I've ever seen a mess like that come out of the factory before. Stranger things have happened though. 

Either way, I'd be doing a wholesale electronics change on that. Get rid of it all and start over fresh. 

Would be interested in seeing the refinishing progress

Thank you very much for replying. I probably should not have posted that without providing more context. The real story behind this is one that I hope I don't ever have to fully explain publicly because it involves the name of someone who is very well known, someone who should have known better (I realize I'm being obscure here but I posted this because I'm looking for solutions and not looking to tarnish anyone's reputation.)

Please forgive me for not providing a bit more explanation. What you are seeing is NOT how it came from the factory. I actually don't know what it looked like at first. I had always had problems with intermittent shorting since the day I purchased it in January of 2000. However, my career was that of a general contractor, not a professional musician, so the problem constituted an annoyance but not a professional hindrance or else I would have addressed it more aggressively.

However, in 2005, a friend of someone who is now my EX-girlfriend, dropped my guitar and broke the headstock off. I don't mean cracked it. The only thing holding the headstock to the guitar was the strings. Heritage recommended a luthier for me. In the course of that repair, I also asked him to address the shorting problem. What you see now, for the most part, to the extent that it differs from the factory, is due to his implementation of the solution and it DID work. However, more than 18 years later, it does leave me with a bit of a problem.

I didn't intend to rewire the guitar but now, after reading your observation, I'm thinking I should do that. (Thank you for breaking the bad news to me, seriously.) So, this dovetails into the next question I have and that is, "How?" I compared the photo of my existing condition with the photo of the OP of this thread and I was unable to reconcile them.

My first impression, beyond the sloppy work, when comparing the 2 photos, it appears as though mine is wired incorrectly. Here are the two photos together oriented how I think they should be oriented. I attached a copy of to this post.

“A Dummies Guide to Rewiring a Heritage H150…” This is what I need.

Do you have any suggestions?

[New Heritage Owner!]

I have a 1999 Heritage H150CH. I just started to refinish it. I was going to remove all of the electronics until I took a closer look at it. I've never seen such a mess in my life. One of the flanges from the input jack is literally soldered to the top of one of the tone pots. As a result, the knob of that one pot has always been at a slightly different angle than the other 3 controls.

I'm afraid to even try to unsolder it.