zguitar71
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Posts posted by zguitar71
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On 5/3/2024 at 7:06 AM, Kuz said:
I will default to Terry Mcinturff (master luthier and has made guitars for all major artists)…... His point; the wood dictates the essentials of an electric guitar's tone & sustain. Different pickups will change the overall tone/timbre, but it won't enhance the sustain, or the openness, or fix muddy or thin guitars. Pickups can only magnify what the acoustic tone coming from the body's chassis is producing.
I have read so many arguments about wood making a difference, the discussions seem to fall apart into chaos and anger. I’m not sure how anyone could argue with Terry Mcinturff though. I also firmly feel wood plays a huge role in the sound of the guitar and feel of the guitar. It is why I love my 150 so much, it is a joy to play plugged in or not. It is a joy to thump the neck with my finger and hear what it sounds like. When the guitar sounds great unplugged or just tapped on with a finger it will definitely sound great with good hardware, electronics and a great amp. They all come together for a killer sound. I play all my guitars unplugged the majority of the time. When I plug them in they all translate the unplugged sound and feel into the amp. I don’t use pedals and all my amps are fender derived so not super high gain and I think that really allows the guitar to express itself. Each one has its own character but they are all LP derived.
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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.
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1 hour ago, nuke said:
I detest the absolute absurdity of YouTube videos like this. There are a couple of YT formulas to get a lot of hits on guitar vids, the first being, "...I can make this cheap used squier just as good as the custom shop all those rich guys paid too much for!" The other is "you can't hear it/yes I can hear it!"
First of all, Gibson has churned out a LOT of things with the "Les Paul" model name on it. Thing is, they ALL SOUND DIFFERENT even though they all say, "Gibson Les Paul". It depends, what wood, what construction method, what hardware, what pickups and even what strings are on it, what it is plugged into and most of all, who's playing it.
My 1998 H150 came with SD 59's, and Nashville Tune-o-Matic and a zing stop bar. It weighs a bit over 9lbs. It also came with 70's era Les Paul potentiometer in it, namely, 300K/100k volumes and tones. So, it sounded pretty dark most of the time I've owned it. I had occasion to replace a pot, was surprised to find the values and put in the more commonly used "vintage" era 500k pots. Incredible difference in tone, much brighter, fuller and a touch more output.
I have a 60th Anniversary Gibson Les Paul 1960-Reissue, V2. It's 1 piece mahogany, no weight relief, 8lbs, 1oz in weight. It has the correct "'burst" era ABR-1 screwed into the wood and the light aluminum stop bar. It has the Custombucker III pickups, unpotted, alnico-III very PAF type in it, and the 50's era wiring. It does that, "beefy telecaster" Les Paul thing, in spades. Plus, at 8lbs, it is a joy on my aging back.
These two sound incredibly different from each other, despite being so extremely similar in so many ways.
But my Gibson Les Paul sounds incredibly different than a Norlin era Les Paul with the pancake body and a maple neck, and different than an 11lb example from the 1980's with Tim Shaw's, or T-tops, or any of the overwound, ceramic magnet pickups they offered at the time.
So, really, no one can hear the "brand", but you can discern between instruments that were built differently, of different materials and methods, even if the brand and model are the same.
My just acquired 2001 H535 is super light and it gets that classic 335 tone. I had a 1997 ES335 "dot reissue" that sounded like poo, no matter what you did with it.
I completely agree that G’s LPs have changed over the years. Just taking a standard model, the Norland difference is huge, many had 3 piece maple necks. If they put on a blindfold and played a mid 70s LP with a pancake body and maple neck would they say it doesn’t sound like a LP or would they gush over how great and perfectly LP it sounds. It really is ludicrous to think the branding on a headstock could make a difference in tone on otherwise identically built guitars.
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Yes, I agree the pickups have the biggest influence on the sound of the guitar. The 225 pickup are a bit bright so possible that is what gave the impression that it doesn’t sound like a LP.
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I recently watched a blind test video that Andersons loves to make. This one had 11 different versions of the classic LP type guitar. One of the guitars included is a Heritage CC H150, the tester Rob has good things to say about the guitar, calls it “Les Pauly” but does say it doesn’t sound like a Les Paul. I have not found this in my life, I can’t tell the difference. I can tell a difference from one guitar to the next within G branded LPs and the same is true with Heritage but they all have the same classic LP sound though different flavors of it. If the Heritage has a unique sound then is there a “Heritage” sound? Rob plays the Heritage at 7:34 into the video.There is a review at the end of the video and he talks more about the 150 having a different sound. Mostly I take this with a grain of salt but why not have a discussion about it? Does only a G brand LP sound like an LP? This is eluded to in the video.
Heritage
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I had no idea they ever made a guitar like that! I googled it, it a really cool guitar. It’s time to bring it back.
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How about the 137? That should come back and have a Jr version too, single and double cut.
For something completely different there could be a set neck guitar that covers the Tele thing. Long scale, similar pickups and controls and woods but a 3x3 headstock and maybe a 10 degree angle.
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Static, as others have said. I removed the plastic pick guards from my guitars and no more static issues. I had a special that was really bad with this, the removal worked for me. There must be a way to keep the plastic from building static. Remove yours and see if it still happens if it doesn’t then the search for the remedy can begin. I would imagine copper tape with a lead to the ground wire might work. Idk.
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For jazz I think the neck pickup reigns supreme. The formula is more important than who the builder is imo. I like Wolfetone because I can have them build as I like and they are not too pricey. Two recipes I would go to are lower winds with the impedance in the low 7s.
One way to go is with an A3 magnet, more airy sound, very clean and not muddy at all, more crisp but in the neck this is ok imo. They are fairly weak but that is ok for jazz.
Next I think A2 magnet are great for a bit of a scooped sound and kind of slappy, more character, a little darker than A3s and more powerful but not muddy or overwhelming. These are great for soloing.
OK, I said two but here is three. Same wind but A4, more even, drier tone. This is nice for chord melodies, imo. So the type of playing can be important to the decision.
for the bridge I would go with an upper 7 ohm wind with an A2 magnet, not too bright and great for soloing. I love A2 in the bridge for all electrics with the difference in the wind.
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11 hours ago, deytookerjaabs said:
One thing hard to replicate is the microphonic thing.
I'm not taking about squeal/feedback either. I'm talking about the raw aspect of it. Not all old pickups have that thing either, my '62 pat stickers don't. So that's important to consider. But, for instance, I have some old strat grey bottoms. Upon installing them when I flipped the 5-way switch it came through the amp far louder than the switches on any other guitar. It was like "ooooh, we got a wild one here!".
I've had that same feeling with other vintage guitars regardless of the finer details. You hit the toggle switch and it goes "ker kuh klunk" right through the pickups, like the guitar is humming.
That type of microphonic makes a guitar ring a bit different, subtle and more personal but it's still there. If I had to go off the ledge, I'd say those guitars you hear just a tiny bit more body in the note on that first millisecond of the pick attack. That's not something I've experience with replica pickups/harness as of yet.
That is the result of not wax potting a pickup, they are sensitive to being tapped with a pick or when the switch is flipped or can make a signal from being talked loudly into and the vibrations associated with that. I don’t have potted pickups in any guitar and they all do this. The pickups vary from Wolfetone Legends in an Eastman, original P90s in a ‘57 ES225 to Tyson Tonelab P90s in an H150, and Throbak P90s in a Tokai Special.
The best part of the times we live in are the guitars and accessories that go with them. We are living in an era with some of the best guitars ever built, some of the best hardware, best pickups and on and on. I’ve had the good fortune to play quite a few vintage guitars in my life. Some were worth peanuts at the time and I didn’t buy them, if only I could see the future. I never bought a double cut JR but played so many in stores when they were a cheap guitar. I just played an Eastman SB55dc and it was every bit as good as any 58-60 I’ve ever had my hands on. The magic in all these guitars is a good piece of wood, hardware, pickup and good craftsmanship. All of that is plentiful currently. I was just in Rudy’s Music in NYC and they had a ‘59 Jr. for a mere $27k. What?! For me the vintage market is no longer about superior tone, it is only about coolness and history. If I was rich I would buy as many as possible but I’m not and it isn’t an issue because I can literally buy a new or used newer guitar at does it just as well.
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For about $750 less you can skip the fancy case and get a padded envelope with a set of Wolfetone pickups in it and start ripping it up. Also if you don’t like the A4 sound you can re-authenticate them with a set of rough cast A5, 2, 3 or 8 magnets from Philadelphia Luthier for $7.95. I assure you these magnets were scientifically analyzed. Most people would benefit more from the Wolfetones and spend the $750 on guitar lessons.
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I bought an Eastman SB57 this summer and I started playing it more than the Heritage for a while. The newness and because it is a really good guitar lead to it being the guitar that I played through the gig and the heritage was backup. I played my last two gigs with the Heritage because I felt guilty, like I betrayed my friend and all the reasons that I love the guitar flooded back and it’s the number one like it has been for the last 12 years. Sometimes when you love someone else for a bit you realize why you love the one your with.
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15 hours ago, rockabilly69 said:
But I think a lot of the resonance is lost electrically if the pickups are potted, losing their ability to sense the vibration of the wood, and all custom cores have potted pickups.
I could not agree more, I always change the pickup in any guitar I buy to non potted. If I’m in the market for a guitar I assume the cost will be a few hundred more for a new set of unpotted pickups.
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I’ve never heard that a relic’d guitar sound more open or better than a non relic’d one before. I can say that with about 40% of the finish rubbed off my 150 neck it does sound different now than when it was new. When I move my hand over the bare areas or scratch my fingernail on them it is louder than on the non bare areas. The guitar is more open than before but is that from the finish wear or the play time over the years and many hours of vibrating in front of a loud amp? Maybe a combination? It makes sense that a factory aged guitar could have more resonance and openness. I’ll never sport a guitar that wasn’t aged through real life and preferably from my real life; however, I do like to look at some of them because when done right they are quite beautiful.
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On 1/18/2024 at 12:43 PM, michaeljames said:
Agree. I'm also looking into a Don Grolsh set neck. Never had one of those. Heard good things. We'll see. FWIW I did communicate with Bill who has the H140 3 pup I once owned. Passed as the finish was sanded off the back of neck.
I’ve never played a Don Grolsh but I’ve always wanted to. It’s probably a killer guitar.
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I have a 2011 H150 Goldtop with p90s. I love the guitar and cannot imagine that there is a better guitar for me out there. I have no doubt the CCs are killer and I’ve play a few at a shop about a year and a half ago. They are very nice but they were not tonally better than mine, not worse either but different. I don’t subscribe to lighter is better. I feel that each individual guitar is its own beast and deserves to be played and judged and passed up or bought based on sound, playability and looks and for me it is in that order. My guitar is 9.4 pounds so it isn’t light but it sustains, resonates and has a very natural reverb to it that comes through the amp. My advice is to play the guitars (if you can) and try to decide which one is the best for you without letting the higher end appointment affect your thoughts. If you can have someone else play the guitar acoustically so you can hear them that is a great way to go. I would buy either one as long as it does it all the way I want it too. Either way they will both be excellent guitars as far as construction is concerned.
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I’ve always like his videos and abilities and of course I like this one. I also like that he put a plane Jane painted standard in the video too. Showing the other end of the spectrum is nice, there is still a great guitar available if you can’t afford the high end.
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Very cool! Nice set up.
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Oh man! A P blue CC would pair well with my Goldtop. I love that Heritage is really upping their game.
On a side note, my band opened for Artur Menezes this summer, he’s a bit of a bad ass. It’s not just his playing, he sings well and writes some good tunes too.
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I’m always no on a pick guard. They are just in the way.
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I have a Super Eagle and I never play it any more because of the size. It is a real shame because the guitar is very nice. I use my semi-hollow guitar for jazz gigs all the time now. A semi-hollow with a mahogany body and neck and a maple top would be perfect.
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Which model Heritage are you interested in? That does suck about the Gibsons. I sold an early PRS about 15 years ago and wish I had not. In 1988 I could have bought a `59 Black triple pickup Les Paul for $1000 that I had in my pocket and turned it down, 20 years later they jump to $75,000 in value and I could just die. In `88 people only wanted the Burst Les Paul's from the late 50's and they were selling for 25K then, people bought the triple models for the PAF pickups and put them other guitars. Live and learn.
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The v2 was a purchase back in `89 when I was 19. I wanted a v guitar but could not afford one. I walked into my local guitar shop (Amro Music in Memphis TN at the time) and they had the V2 out with a tag that showed the invoice with the price they paid for it and next to that a price tag with the same number on it. It sold to me for $450, they had it in the back of the shop since 1980 and go sick of looking at it collect dust. The V2 was very pricey at the time, something like $1450 around $4300 today. The guitar really is not very good. The thing is very awkward and the pick-ups sound like poop. There have been article written about them in the past and some people think they could be the next `58 V but I'll believe it when I see it. If it does go sky high in value it will be for sale and I will look forward to an early retirement. I still have the Warranty card that the store filled out but my lazy ass never finished and never sent in along with the bill of sale and some other crap that came with it trying to sell me some Gibson brand shit.
The Strat is a Warmoth DIY with SD 5-2 pickups and sounds great.
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Here are some pictures of my stuff.
All 6 The back of the SE The well worn ES347 Some neck wear to go with some case wear.
Does the H150 sound different than a G brand LP?
in Heritage Guitars
Posted · Edited by zguitar71
Double post, sorry.