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TalismanRich

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Posts posted by TalismanRich

  1. 3 hours ago, Spectrum13 said:

    How does he get away branding it Gibson?

    Probably the same way that Kris Derrig did when he made the Les Paul that Slash used.    It's unlikely Gibson will come after you if you make a couple of guitars, but start making a bunch and the lawyers will be working overtime sending cease and desist orders.

    The problem comes in when you start selling it as a Gibson.  

    • Like 2
  2. 1 hour ago, Kuz said:

    For me, the advantages of the Custom Core over a Standard 150 are:

    -guaranteed weight of being under 8.5lbs (which I heard from a dealer that Heritage is no longer guarantying the weight, so make sure you ask for a CC weight) Mine is 8.4lbs.   (I personally believe and have heard through my own experiences, that lighter guitars are more resonate and alive.)

    -I also believe and have personally experienced that "aged" guitars sound more open, drier, and resonate to me.  I think the checking of the nitro allows the body to vibrate more. 

    -I prefer the "feel" of the aged CC as it feels old and broken in.

    -I prefer the look of the CC headstock.

    -I trusted the advice and direction on the CC build of Edwin Wilson, formerly of Gibson Custom Shop.

    ***PLEASE, these are only my opinions, yours may vary.  I have owned 4 standard 150s and currently my CC Aged 150.  Was it worth the increase in price for the CC over a standard? For me, yes it was, for the reasons listed above. *** 

    I've heard people say that heavier guitars resonate more,   I've heard that lighter guitars resonate more.   Clearly there isn't a consensus about that.   I'm of the opinion that there's more involved than weight.   However, for me lighter guitars are a plus in the "stand and play" department!  I was playing my 157 yesterday, and after 30 or so minutes,  I had to stop.  But it sounded killer while it lasted.  20 years ago, that wasn't a problem.

    I've got a bunch of guitars and none of them have checking, including a 1947 BR3 lapsteel.   Equating checking with the guitar vibrating really doesn't make sense.  That's actually the first time I've ever even heard anyone say that.  The nitro coating is incredibly thin and it would be next to impossible for it to restrict the wood from carrying vibration.   My belly pressing up to the back would dampen far more vibration than any coating.

    The look of the CC headstock is a nice improvement.     

    The Don Grosh looks really interesting.   I've played a couple of Grosh guitars and they were excellent instruments.   I don't know that I've ever seen that model.  The ones I've seen were Strats and Teles. 

    • Like 2
  3. I remember when I bought Lyle's 525 years ago.   He drove to PawPaw from Canada to drop it off and pick up the blue H150 that Brent had.   I drove up one evening when I was in Warsaw IN, about a 150 mile trip in the middle of winter, to pick up my guitar because I just don't feel comfortable with shipping guitars anymore.  

    If I was buying a guitar withing about 250 miles,  I would just make a day of it and drive to pick it up.   The shipping cost would just about pay for the gas, and I know that it wasn't going to be crushed.

  4. That looks like my son's signature.   It amazes me that so many folks just sign with a scribble like that.  Maybe it's because schools quit teaching script.   It's either print or scribble.   I've seen people sign government documents like that, like a passport.    Does anybody use a real signature these days?   It's not like you're signing 50 autographs while wading through a crowd on the way to your limousine.

  5. The slightly "wonky" serial number was a hallmark of the stamp used for the Heritage numbers.   Sometimes the number would be difficult to read if a letter or number smeared or was worn.   The numbers on my H140 ('87 D serial) are very sharp and distinct.   The ones on my H157 ('03 T serial) are well worn and the numbers aren't perfectly aligned.  The 2nd number is even missing the top of the number!   Yours is classic Heritage.

    A handwriting expert would say those are authentic Heritage labels.   I don't remember who would write out the labels, but that H is very distinctive and look just like the H on a few of my Heritages.  

    I would say   99.99999999999999% authentic.    Put any thoughts out of your mind and enjoy a great guitar.

  6. I'm guessing that the pickups were changed, which happens more often than not.     The guys at the factory would have routed the hole deeper if they were putting in the long legged pickups.    FWIW,   SD59s are the standard pickup now for the H150 standard.    The 59 normally comes with the long legs.  

     

     

  7. All the links are to Google User Content.   Must be some settings in Google that are keeping some users from seeing them.

    https ://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ABLVV84RVFgQ_XWqk9Gpc3Hdjte2eyLUnOH2xTh4J-yz-JN7SO7DBrJdfjyHK-DdYJJVdzOpsjQeQW_5XGvdFPc0ue3QU1DQNO37yEWC0RxM2gYY_nrS1rygjfnfw_VvpsyA-M7fCjvscfMTC1JwNa9hh-guVuWt_VwhKCHOjaiRqNF1GY61p6iF2J_Ocg5PrcxZmKq_En-1QLRbjKZ2W5yyO31Nqdoi742IOCg5WNwyShysC1unOntvKLV7bxI-1RWm96SGqa4ZD0Awr0IPx8VZ0mfrgPYWKcT3OuunFOARf6K7Cf8cNRRrqMme6ed92Ut9BLQuat2f83eKcbQdoFvmJCYI9lKMBZVzD-QujHFoiQ_qKwbxovPRePXoFqZ5XI4O2jCJ_AjxX98oQxojzFEZW5kpNh357vrn2VgngnUdSNxvYxj68neNKk34dfS3Ez8JPx_HlIXHFaZP5xipGcw7iTICGBtY5D3l3oqt08m2Svo5QrDPV0t1KV5WjvH5Mkk8aqta1MoMk_KNZd8sMWo7u72xLlHWrzpQhawuNk6u04P4Q1wtl96bIIx5xb4MhctDWRfpLRwV-ZaFWv2bd5SX0Yfz5jmPKEjPuxCeoO3ptpKxRj_IgoRQz4AYP49zsdYH8DAP-7bf8I67U9IZaHwDu0odvwaTDgEPAHsyPv8_nUFbLBUvPlygrs693tLIj3lDF0QcYcj3gIisEFmys0MA-GcrvCj1ni59Uv2hRnv0a0uqVCogcxjgbni6We_qHr21PM84nJcokbqcLzSh1zXxC7Z6-gycXyB3zIRDN_d6sD-UzJ8QpkT0BgK8vw85gucfeLx6SQ-jUip5L3rDaAfB51Q_Xr5Zv9_zQYhIfbbw9a3u473zyELjp16K-ENhHXJSdPM=w1381-h932-s-no?authuser=0

  8. JW,   I ran into that issue when I tried to install a pair of SD Seth Lovers in my H157.   The original Schallers have short legs,  the Seths have long legs.   As such I really couldn't install the pickups.   Luckily, when I put my Alnico IIs in my H140, they just fit.  There's no downward movement left, but they are good where they are.

    If you need to replace the pickup,  you need to look for a pickup with short legs.    A lot of manufacturers will make short leg PAFs if you ask.

    As for the mounts,  I have replaced the ones in my H157, and since I have the Schallers still in there,   I simply drilled two holes to let me use the two mounting screws of the Schaller pickups.   It looks factory stock.

     

  9. I can't really say style is better than the other.  Like MG, I have good guitars with both kinds.   But something to remember is we're talking about $300 guitars here.  That's retail, so the manufacturing cost has to be somewhere in the $75 to $100 range max for materials and labor.    Set necks take much longer to do, with the aligning, gluing, clamping and drying.    A CNC neck can be bolted in and be ready to go to the next step in a couple of minutes.   Time is money, so the bolt on makes perfect sense for this level of guitar.

     

     

     

  10. The white H150 is classy looking.   I remember the guys at Heritage saying that white was one of the hardest colors to get right.    I think that's one reason you rarely see a white Heritage.   

  11. 4 hours ago, Heritage1970 said:

     But, when the investors number one priority is making profit for the 1,000 companies they own, I guess nothing surprises me.

    If the company doesn't make money,  it doesn't exist.   I've watched the industry in which I worked for over 40 years disintegrate in a matter of 10 years.   We're talking a multi billion dollar industry, not a single manufacturing site.   At least 25 major manufacturing sites disappeared, leaving 2.

    I'm thankful that Meng is growing his business and wish him success.    As long as the business makes money, it will continue.   It's not a hobby!   We might not like all his decisions, but it's his business to run.

    3 hours ago, Jackman said:

    This is sad to see.   I wish they would have developed a “value priced”  brand like other companies have done (Epiphone, Squier, LTD, etc.).   The guitars look like cheap Asian bolt on neck, poly monstrosities, and it sucks to see the Heritage name on the headstock. 

    PRS just puts SE to distinguish their Asian builds.  G&L puts "Tribute Series" on their import line.  On the other hand,  Gretsch has 4 lines,  but they really don't distinguish them on the headstock.   Like I mentioned before,  a truss rod cover with "Ascent" on the headstock would have been nice.   It does show on the back "Designed in the US,  Made In China".  It's easy to see.   Plus they all have the belly cut which very few US builds have unless they were custom made.

    In the end,  it doesn't mean that the US made guitars are cheapo stuff.   They're still the same as they were last year and the year before. 

    • Like 3
  12. In a way,   I would rather Meng have revived the Teisco guitars for the lower end and maintained the Heritage as the higher end.   It would be more of a play like Gibson/Epiphone than PRS/ PRSse.    However,   Teisco was never considered a high end guitar that I remember.   They were almost like Valco, they made guitars for both their brand and numerous distributers, much like Guyatone.   

    It will be interesting, with the import and US Heritages on the low and high, and the Harmony guitars in between.    I wonder if there are plans to being the Chinese builds to the US, or to keep them in the Asian market.

  13. 11 hours ago, HANGAR18 said:

    I don't choose a "favorite guitar that I would never sell" anymore because as soon as I do, that winds up being the first one that I sell if I get in a pinch.

    I have guitars that I will never sell, but it's more for sentimental instruments.   My 157 was my first Heritage and my 50th birthday present to myself.  My Melancon was my "survived cancer" guitar... it waited for me in the store for over 6 months.    My Taylor was a gift from my parents, and my Guild was the guitar I bought in '73.    But if I had to pull out only one guitar to play,  it would be the 535.  

    As Yoslate said,  it's a Swiss Army Knife of guitars.

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