TalismanRich

I don't have a "need" for the nibs, except that they do make the edges of the frets much less dangerous. The perfectly rounded edges of the frets of my Melancon T are great. If I was to have one of my Heritages refretted, it would probably be with nibless stainless steel frets. However, at my age, I doubt I'll ever wear out the frets of the guitars I have.

I wish I had woodworking skills. It's probably something that could be done pretty easily if you know what you're doing. The binding might be the hardest part to learn.

My H140 is unbound, so no nibs on the fret ends. My 157, 535 and Millennium all have nibs although the 535's binding appears to be thinner than the 157 and Millennium, so the nibs aren't as apparent. The Millennium is a 2000, my 157 is 2003 and the 535 is a 2005. I think pretty much all Heritages with bound fretboards have the nibs on the fret ends. They have a device that cuts the binding down after it has been put on the sides. Here's a video of them doing fretboards and binding nibs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjz0tX9q5t8 The binding should not be inside the actual fretboard. The frets should be right to the edge of the wood, then the binding is applied later.

I did run across a schematic for the 120R. https://elektrotanya.com/premier_120r_sch.pdf/download.html That might give you a bit better idea of how the reverb and trem are wired.

I'll make you a deal. Meet me in K'zoo on the 1st, and I'll share MORE than 3oz with you!

Its good to hear about someone else who has discovered the 1/2 round or groundwound strings. I agree with you. You get most of the roundwound sound, with a smooth feel.

This is what the locking Grovers look like on my 535. I like the keystones more than the kidney beans. They are the same weight as the originals, 9.6 oz for the set.

For me, the one guitar that I think this might be useful on would be my H-157. That guitar is 9 1/2 lbs, so on the heavy side. But any change would need to be gold/locking/keystone button replacements. I really like the way the Grover Keystone tuners look on my H535. I don't know if 3oz would make that much difference, I would probably get more reduction swapping out the Schaller bridge and tailpiece for lighter parts.

I've never run across a Premier amp. From the bit of checking I've done, they appear to be old style point to point or terminal strip construction, much like Valco did in the 40s to 60s. I did run across this video about Premier guitars and amps from Mike and Mike's Guitar Bar.

The neck ring of my 157 cracked which left a section that finally broke off. I bought a standard 1 hole ring, and drilled the two extra holes. It worked perfectly. It really doesn't need to be reinforced, there's no pressure since the spring and screw are pressing against each other.

Archive.ORG has the old websites. https://web.archive.org/web/20130507174337/http://www.heritageguitar.com/dvip.html

This was posted on their website abut a dozen years ago: INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE D-VIP (DOUBLE VAR-I-PHASE CONTROLS) Please Note : The D-VIP controls work best with our new HRW pickups. Each HRW pickup, has four lead out wires, plus ground, plus complete full length wire shielding for all 5 wires. ( Right handed player ) Sitting in the playing position. Lower left = master volume control, for both pickups Lower right = master tone control , both pickups. Upper left VIP control knob. 10 = in phase, for fingerboard pickup. 0 = out of phase, for fingerboard pickup. ( mini switch down) Please note that when on "O", there is little volume, because the bass and mid-range have been phased out. Upper right VIP control knob. 10 = in phase, for bridge pickup. 0 = out of phase, for bridge pickup. ( mini switch down) Please note that when on "O", there is little volume, because the bass and mid-range have been phased out. Two Mini Switches: ( 3-way ) The one on the left = Fingerboard Pickup, The one on the right = Bridge pickup. Position: 1 ( Down) = VIP ( VAR-I-Phase) The only time the VIP works, is when the mini-switch is down, for that pickup. Position : 2 - ( Middle) = FULL, (Both Coils), ( normal ) Position : 3 - ( UP ) = COIL TAP, ( single coil) Note: Main toggle switch, works like normal. UP: Front pickup. Middle: Both pickups. Down: Bridge pickup.

BTW, did anybody else see that Rudy's Music in Soho, NY may have lost quite a few guitars when the roof of the building caught fire? No fire damage in Rudy's but the water was cascading down the walls. The Soho shop has been closed for several days. The initial report was "hundreds of thousands of dollars" of damage, but I haven't heard how much was actually damaged. I remember that a lot of guitars were repaired after the Nashville flood in 2010. The amount of damage will probably depend on how long the guitars were wet.

The PRS SE line hasn't diminished the brand, nor has G&L's Tribute line (they are actually pretty good). Ibanez has the G10 line, Jackson had the Dinky line, Fender has Squire. These aren't guitars that an intermediate or pro level player will be buying. However, for someone starting out, it could be a great starter guitar. I'll bet it beats the crap out of the Silvertone I started with, or the Kent/Guyatone Videocaster that replaced it.

My situation seems to be different. Right now I have 5 guitars that I can grab an play. My 140, Strat, Melancon Tele, Taylor and Dean Acoustic are either in an open case, or on a stand. I've played 4 of the 5 in the past two days. Last week, I played my 535 for 2 1/2 hours when I was jamming with my friends, and pulled out the 157 for about an hour of just playing around in the basement (it did start to get a bit heavy after an hour). I like playing all my guitars. When I have to clean things up and put all the guitars away, I miss just grabbing another.

Around 50 years ago, I was in Tillers Music, lusting over a Guild Starfire IV in natural that looked almost exactly like that. Unfortunately, it was way beyond the budget of a college student paying for tuition, dates, etc. That is a GREAT looking guitar.

I just looked at Wildwood's selection of LP Customs and they are all 9.75 to 10+ lbs. Choice of black or Pelham blue. Gibson also shows white, but no burst colors.

That's a good sign that Heritage realizes that some people LIKE the Custom styling over the standard line.

I took the question to be "what model would be your favorite, not which guitar that you currently own, or have owned, is your favorite. It's a bit of a different direction. There are a lot of models from years past that, to me, would be the perfect instrument. Just because I don't have one doesn't mean it can't be my favorite! I've kicked myself a few time for not latching on to a guitar, just because I didn't really need it. Then again, there have been a few times when I just said "screw it" and pulled out the plastic.

I would have to say my favorite would be an H-555. I think their semis are great, and I like the extra appointments for the 555 (bound f-holes and headstock, nice inlays, multilayer binding on the body, gold hardware, ebony fretboard). A nice 5 piece neck would be a plus, although a mahogany neck is fine. Early ones had maple necks. I've never compared a maple vs mahogany neck, so I can't really say which I would prefer. Alas, I have to suffer with a measly H-535.... life is cruel sometimes! BTW, I have a 525, and it's REALLY nice. I liked the sound better than the 575, which always sounded "boxy" to me. The 575 is probably much better for jazz, but for what I play, the 525 sounded better. I'm not a jazzer. LK got this one from Kuz, and when I played it, I told him that if he was ever going to sell it, let me know.

I was just reading this and was going to post. I think it says a lot about Meng's love of the music business. Heritage, Harmony, Bandlab/Cakewalk, Teisco, NME, Guitar.com, ReverbNation, now Manny's. Everything is music related. There are still brick and mortar stores out there that are doing well. Manny's was an icon in the business, but the building isn't part of this. It was demolished some years back and a hotel was built there. I'm guessing he's looking at building a retail "brand". He already has Dawsons in the UK and Swee Lee in Asia. This gives him a "name brand" in the US.

What the heck am I supposed to do with those? Beat them with a stick? My old drummer friend left his kit in my basement some years back. I tried to learn a bit of drumming. It was hopeless! As someone who has ZERO coordination and even less sense of timing, about the only thing I could do with them would be to throw a blanket over them so they don't get dusty!

It's not unusual that a series of customized guitars would be built back then. My H535 doesn't have the standard Schaller bridge and tailpiece or bridge. It's a Nashville style. I don't know who spec'd it, but it's factory stock. Folks like Jay Wolfe and Ed Roman bought enough guitars at a time to spec special builds. I know that the Ed Roman Class of 59 and Blues Deluxe guitars came with a stoptail and Tone Pros bridge. If they didn't want the Schaller hardware or pickups, it would be a simple thing to tell the factory to build a few dozen with XYZ hardware.

I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing it's Jescar Fret Wire 47104. That's typically considered their Medium Jumbo wire.

SO what was wrong with the 170 that made you send it back?