plexirocker 68 Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 I have been on a mission since I bought my 150 recently to compare it agianst some of the "finest" Les Pauls out there. I know I'm probally gonna upset somebody and someone will say I'm lying but here's the truth. For starters I have owned hundreds of guitars old and new and have been a semi- pro studio guitar player for over 20 years. In that time I have played many vintage guitars that were rented or borrowed for the session. When I bought my recent 150 I was able to play it at a big dealer so I had about 20 to pick from. I bought the one that clearly was a tone winner. A bit heavy at 9.1, no biggie for me. It blows away my current owned G# paul in tone and I was floored how it sounded like a great 50's LP. I took it to Nashville with me on vacation and directly compared it to the Historics at the G# shop and then took it to Gruhns to compare it against some 50's goldtops. In every case the 150 was superior in tone to the Historics and was dead even with the 54 goldtop. I was a big believer in the long neck tenon theory untill that comparison test. Mainly becuase the Historics on the most part do sound a bit better than standard lp's and I thought that was the difference. Keep in mind 150's do NOT have a long tenon. So to make a long day short I thought I would tap on the back of every guitar I played and without a doubt it's the WOOD. Heritage uses Honduran Mahagony like the vintage Lp's and Im convinced this is the difference. The 150 has a very clear well balanced tone, great sustain. On many Historics the guitars are "dampened" sounding to me almost sounds as the tone is just the nut and the bridge and no body sound at all. They also have a "thud" tapping the back of the body not a clear crisp "pop" for lack of a better term. The 54 LP did have the same tonal aspect as the 150 by tapping the wood. The biggest tonal difference is clarity and balance, the 150 and 54 LP had clearer fuller lows, clearer highs and no midrange congestion, clear and open sounding with a "woodier' tone. Great sustain with more complex overtones also. This is my experience with my guitar and I'm just stating the honest facts of direct a/b testing. I wish everyone could hear what I was able to hear. Heritage makes a great guitar and to me sounds way way closer to the great 50's G#, IF you can find the gems that are out there. Great job Heritage There's simply is no better way to compare instruments than direct a/b testing, it can really be an eye opener plexi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fxdx99 Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Enjoyed the post, plexi - thanks for your experience. Interesting a/b that you did. While you may upset some folks with these findings, I'm kinda thinking the majority on this site won't be TOO upset 8) I've an '83 NAMM LP as well as an 05 150. I like them both and to be honest, my preference over which one varies back and forth. The 150 is a brighter sounding guitar and it plays/feels better. The LP has a slightly different tone (darker, honkier) that works better for some songs than the 150. The 150 has a wider range of tones, tho, and works better across more amps than the lp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kazwell Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Thanks for sharing your experience. Only thing is, you compared the creme of the crop 150 -at least out of 20 and that 20 may have been the pick of the litter since it was a larger dealer-but this is just speculation. I would say, the best way to prove Heritage is the undisputed leader is to also compare the H-150 you found to be the least best sounding of the group. Regardless, I honestly believe if your experience was put down into a full page guitar ad, and placed into Guitar Player magazine, it would stir up some serious commotion in the guitar world. Of course, an increase in demand usually means increase in price, so maybe it would be better left in this forum :wink: +1 Karma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Great comparison, Plexirocker! I've also compared a few Gibby LP's to my Heritage 150 and 157. No, I don't have access to vintage models or as many as you, but must agree that Heritage has truly upped the ante on great sounding, resonant solid body LP style instruments. My comparison models are: LP Supreme, Historic R7 Goldtop and R8 Custom. All of these are incredible guitars with their own personality, feel and tone. For starters, they all weigh about the same as my Heritages (roughly 8.5 - 9lbs). They all sustain well, but the H150 has them beat. I don't know how it does it, (Honduran mahogany?) but notes ring out, bloom and go on and on with the 150! Also both the 150 and 157 I used for the test are HRW loaded. Hands down they sound better than the Supreme's alnico 490 setup, and HRW's are slightly more open and complex sounding than the smooth 57 Classics in the other Gibbies. In your comparison you mentioned truly vintage, benchmark LP's with PAF's (I assume). How did they compare to your 150 and what p'ups are in it? Original Gbrand PAF's can cost a small fortune. Conversely HRW's are a couple hundred buck up-charge and are based on German Schallers. Heritage never compares itself to or bashes Gibson in their limited marketing efforts. But they have somehow captured the magic (mojo?) of a bygone era of guitar making in my opinion. 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitArtMan Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Cool post. What dealer other than Jay has 20 H-150s in stock to choose from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffB Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Im not upset at all. I agree with all you said. I tried quite a few G***** historics and couldnt find what i was looking for. As soon as I started plugging in 150's I started hearing it. It took me 30 sec's to figure out the one I bought was the one for me. I feel like I own a slice of tonal tradition when I think about my guitar, feels good. :angel: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kazwell Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 I have an H-150, and although the sustain is pretty good, I have yet to obtain this "endless" sustain people speak of. What amp settings are you folks set at to obtain this? Sure, with a ton of volume and or overdrive. Is this with the amp cranked? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikenov Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Mine is set to eleven ;D ;D ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Flying Bird Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 I have an H-150, and although the sustain is pretty good, I have yet to obtain this "endless" sustain people speak of. What amp settings are you folks set at to obtain this?Sure, with a ton of volume and or overdrive. Is this with the amp cranked? Kaz, the old 150 I used to own had the sustain with out being plugged in at all. I have always believed that a good guitar would sound good just by itself. Plexi, great post. I have found most Gibs I pick up locally or at the store in Nashville feel dead. Your watermelon thumping test was a good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kazwell Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Kaz, the old 150 I used to own had the sustain with out being plugged in at all. I have always believed that a good guitar would sound good just by itself. Endless sustain without being plugged in?!!!!....I must have bought the wrong H-150..... :'( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 I get pretty good sustain unplugged with both GBrand and Heritages. BUT after plugged in the Heritage takes it to another level. Amp settings were: Master...8; Volume...5; Treble...8; Bass...5; Mids...5 (Blues Jr.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brentrocks Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 that is good to hear form an "experienced" guitar owner/player Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plexirocker 68 Posted April 25, 2008 Author Share Posted April 25, 2008 thanks for the replies ;D Again I have no malice toward G#'s, heck I still own a couple but I was making a point that in my experince with some great vintage guitars that contrary to what folks say you CAN get those great vintage era tones from new guitars. Heritages have it and it's in the wood. ;D IMHO most Historics just don't, that doesn't mean their bad, they just don't sound like the golden era LP's in my experience I was able to compare it to several Historics and 54-58 goldtops with and without PAF's. I wanted compare my pick of the litter 150 to the best of the Lp's from the 50's to the modern Historics. So when I compared them I picked the best of the bunches and then compared what I though was the best to the best. That's why I went to nashville to Gruhns and the Gibson shop, I knew in that town I could get more numbers and have a better test. I put a good couple of knuckle raps on the back right below where the neck meets the body, the guitar facing away . I put my ear real close but not on the body itself and you can hear the overtones in the wood. This takes pickups out of play. The 150 and the vintage pauls had the same tonality where the historics were mostly dead and "thumpy" That's just wood to wood testing without paf's or other things in play. All these tonal charachters were there UNPLUGGED. Plugging them in makes pups, caps ,wire, pots in play!! That can all be changed! On PAF's- the great Paf's are like microphones. In other words they replicate the accurate tone of the guitar without getting in the way, so you take out a PAF and put a Dimarzio Super Distortion in there the tone changes completely, now your tone becomes that pup. PAF's are articulate,clear and bloomy because they are NOT toying with the e.q. of the guitar and masking certain frequencies. Many great PAF clones out there now. Wolfetone Dr. V's are the closest IMO. There's a host of others that are excellent also, save your money I looked for years to find any Historic that sounds like the vintage guitars I've used. Nodda one for me. When I was looking for a 335 I gave up, till one day I took a buddies early 60's 345 with PAFS into a heritage dealer and went head to head with the real deal. Yep that was it :angel: a killer 535, bought it one the spot then I had to really find a LP. Heritages do have the true vintage tone to me minus the PAFS, but that's no biggie anymore. I guess I have a bit different tone perspective or outlook. When I'm tracking and I hear playabck in the monitors I can't see the logo on the guitar ;D I would also add I'm a huge fan of the Fernandes lawsuit era Fender copies. No better closest thing to the real deal than a great Fernandes Fender copy. plexi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundersteel Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 When I bought my H150 last year, I also tested it "unplugged" against the others I tried out. It had the best sound, and it sounds even better plugged in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmikdebriis Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Great review, and thank you... I'm sure I speak for many in asking (and Gitfiddler already has asked) what pups are in the H It's a hot subject around here.... :police: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plexirocker 68 Posted April 25, 2008 Author Share Posted April 25, 2008 Great review, and thank you... I'm sure I speak for many in asking (and Gitfiddler already has asked) what pups are in the H It's a hot subject around here.... :police: Wolfetone Dr.V's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb27 Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Interesting thread. Thanks for the comparison report. Would love the opportunity to try out 20 different Heritage 150s ... 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundersteel Posted April 26, 2008 Share Posted April 26, 2008 Would love the opportunity to try out 20 different Heritage 150s Head to Jay's--I'm sure he'd be able to accommodate you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb27 Posted April 26, 2008 Share Posted April 26, 2008 Head to Jay's--I'm sure he'd be able to accommodate you! any estimates on the drive time from Toronto to Florida? ;D :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundersteel Posted April 26, 2008 Share Posted April 26, 2008 any estimates on the drive time from Toronto to Florida? I'd say about 3 days--and about $1000 in gas! Or you could fly... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacques Posted April 26, 2008 Share Posted April 26, 2008 Say, Plexi - what was the reaction of the people in the shops when they found out your Heritage was so much better? Or didn't they listen in when you compared? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundersteel Posted April 26, 2008 Share Posted April 26, 2008 I wonder what the people on the LPF would say?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brentrocks Posted April 26, 2008 Share Posted April 26, 2008 I wonder what the people on the LPF would say?? exactly the opposite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundersteel Posted April 26, 2008 Share Posted April 26, 2008 exactly the opposite Probably! I wonder what would happen if someone did a "blindfold challenge" to test them two out. I think it would be interesting to say the least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brentrocks Posted April 26, 2008 Share Posted April 26, 2008 just like the old pepsi challenge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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