DetroitBlues Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 I was looking at a few 137's, I really like the TV Yellow and Cherry finish models. But I keep thinking there is something a little off when I looked at them. Then, it dawned on me. There is no pickguard. I played Steiner's 137 last year and I loved playing it. Today I saw a pic of it, and noticed it had a pickguard on it. Does the 137 model usually come without a pickguard? Another question, P-90's. Is there a way to raise or lower the height of the pickup on a 137? From what I've seen, you can adjust pole pieces, but not the entire pup like a strat single coil or a humbucker. Or am I missing something? Also, can you 137 share some pics? I'd like to have an idea of what I'm looking for to decide which one best suites me. Thanks everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steiner Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Hey Blues, where you been? The PG on my 137 came from Cryoman (or something like that). He used to post here but I haven't seen him around in ages. The 137 doesn''t normally come with a PG. We can always benchmark mine if you please. The pickups don't functionally raise/lower unless you chug into the wood with a chisel to lower or shim to raise. They are FUN guitars. Simplicity at its best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schundog Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Of course, Eljay won this one this year. Great guitar! Ask me how I know!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schundog Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Sorry about the messed up code in the last post. Here is what my 137 WOULD look like with a pickguard, if I could bring myself to screw holes into the top; Lyle, LK155, was nice enough to give me this at this year's PSP, as HE couldn't bring HIMSELF to put it on his 137, either. 137s aren't the prettiest Heritage, but I've gotten some of the best tone I've ever gotten from a guitar from mine. http://i840.photobucket.com/albums/zz327/schundog/PSPIV/heritagedowntown135.jpg[/img]"]http:// Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted October 4, 2011 Author Share Posted October 4, 2011 Well, we all know I have no fear of messing around with a guitar, as my 140 refinish went.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eljay Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 My new 137 quickly established itself as a favorite! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koula901 Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Here's mine, with the Fralin noiseless P90s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavesNotHere Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Here's mine, with the Fralin noiseless P90s That's beautiful! I love the double cut. To me, a pick guard would destroy the Kalamazoo feng shui artfully crafted into the instrument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 those look killer without a PG, I would have a hard time deciding whether to use one as well koula that's beautiful, is it a 137 with maple top? never seen one before Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted October 4, 2011 Author Share Posted October 4, 2011 Here's mine, with the Fralin noiseless P90s Isn't that a 170? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LK155 Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 DB, H137's are fun. Of my three Heritages, the H137 is the smallest, the lightest, has the beefiest neck, and has the most distinctive sound (P90's). Although I can't call it my favorite (the 535 has that honor), it is often the first one I pick up to play. TV yellow is very nice. Mine is quite yellow, not that wimped-out pale color like Schundog's. Apparently you can buy shims to raise the pickups, but why would you want to? I trust the folks at KZoo to put them in the right place, and haven't had any desire to muck with pickups. It sounds terrific as is. I went through a phase of wanting a pickguard, got one from Cryoman, and then never installed it. I now think the guitar doesn't need it. Personal choice. The biggest problem I have with the H137 is that my wife continually refers to it as the 'Baby'. I keep telling her it's a 'Junior', not a 'Baby', to no avail. Get one! They're relatively inexpensive. You'll enjoy it. Lyle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoslate Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Definitive plank! Less is, in fact, more, form following function.... I still wish I'd scored Bird's, the single p'up, with the redneck spatula! I hear that one in my dreams!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitArtMan Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Here's the second one off the line... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koula901 Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 those look killer without a PG, I would have a hard time deciding whether to use one as well koula that's beautiful, is it a 137 with maple top? never seen one before Thanks! : ) Its an H 137 Deluxe. It has a maple veneer top. Brent had one exactly like it, first, and I liked his so much, I ordered mine the same color with the veneer. Isn't that a 170? Actually . . no. It is indeed a 137. It just happes to be double cut, and I prefer the 3 knob configuration to 4. It's hard to tell the difference, visually, between a double cut 137 and a 170, but actually there are huge differences because the 170 has a full maple cap on it, so, is more like a 150; mine is more like an LP Jr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthpawGuy Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Horrible things they are . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Flying Bird Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Horrible things they are . Indeed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted October 4, 2011 Author Share Posted October 4, 2011 ...TV yellow is very nice. Mine is quite yellow, not that wimped-out pale color like Schundog's.... Sure hope you two are good friends, I'd think those be fightin' words if it was my guitar! Eljay may not like that either! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skydog52 Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Here are mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koula901 Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Skydog -- did you buy your VWB from Brent? that's the big brother to my H 137 deluxe - exact same color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skydog52 Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Skydog -- did you buy your VWB from Brent? that's the big brother to my H 137 deluxe - exact same color. Hey Katie. Yes indeed that is the one. Except yours has the controls on the wrong side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schundog Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Sure hope you two are good friends, I'd think those be fightin' words if it was my guitar! Eljay may not like that either! Oh, yeah, Lyle and I are buddies. He's "My Brudda from anutha Mutha." It was odd enough that we each had similar looking Millenium H-155s. THEN, he all but wrote the check himself in his encouragement for me to buy my "wimpy" H-137, giving us both the same 2 guitars. THEN, the copy-cat just HAD to get a Trans-Red 535 like mine, only, he's quick to point out, HIS has Seth Lovers and a pickguard! PICKGUARD?! We don't need no stinkin' pickguards!! Frankly, I think he just disses me because he has an inferiority complex, what with being from Canada, and all, eh?! Here are MY three guitars that Lyle also has. His ARE NOT better than mine; He just makes them sound that way with his playing........ http:// Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJLII Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Here's the one I brought to PSP this summer. TV Yellow, Pigtail Bridge, Sperzel tuners, Cryoman Pickguard (I prefer the look with the pickguard). I tried the shim thing for the pickups but had better luck with just jacking up the polepieces Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barrymclark Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Here's the second one off the line... Gothic H137? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HRB853370 Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 What I don't get is, as simplistic as they are, why do the command such a high price? I can buy a nice 150 all day for the price of a 137! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eljay Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 good question, slammer. fwiw, i have a les paul, jr. it's a nice, "cheap" or at least "cheapish" guitar (by today's standards). plays "all right" --damning with faint praise -- and makes hot and nasty p90 sounds all the while with 60-cycle hum. in comparison, my ill-gotten 137 feels like a very high quality instrument, plays like buttah, and has a tonal pallette well beyond what i expected from p90s. so, the answer that evolved in my little head as i pecked this reply out on my ipad is that a lot of good labor seems to go into the 137, representing a significant mfg cost. doesn't completely explain why they cost in the neighborhood of 150s considering maple caps, deluxe finishes, etc. speculate that it's a marketing decision to protect the brand. 137 owners seem to dig 'em! eljay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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