Bonefish Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 It looks like most all of the differences between an H-150 and H-157 are cosmetic. So, is there any tone difference? Just curious what your thoughts are. I am definitely noticing some differences between the 1996 H150 I had and the 1996 H157 I have, but that could just be a fuzzy memory or any number of things that have happened to those guitars in the last 15 years. Would love to hear your thoughts. Not to hijack my own thread, but I also ought to mention that I really like the ebony fretboard. Has a great feel to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shook494 Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 So let me just start by saying I miss my 150:( I did just play a Q serial# 157 at GC and was amazed. I think they sound the same. Maybe that's just me? It's basically the same guitar with extra binding and ebony fret board IMO. I love them both. I also love the ebony boards and block inlays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 that's why I like all-mahogany bodied 157's otherwise it's really just the ebony fretboard & binding/inlay differences Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mars_hall Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I think you will find, if you listen close enough, that every guitar you play will sound slightly different. That said, I truly believe the 157s as a whole sound slightly tighter with a bit more sustain and low end. I own three 157s and six 150s, but that just give me a chance to compare what I have at my home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I think you will find, if you listen close enough, that every guitar you play will sound slightly different. That said, I truly believe the 157s as a whole sound slightly tighter with a bit more sustain and low end. I own three 157s and six 150s, but that just give me a chance to compare what I have at my home. Do any of the 157s have the same PUs as the 150s? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I think you will find, if you listen close enough, that every guitar you play will sound slightly different. . +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mars_hall Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Yes, I pretty much stick with the more popular SD pups across the board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredZepp Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 It seems like the ebony board does make a slight difference, maybe more snap.. more defined. But that could just be what I hear because I expect to hear that. And all of my guitars have different pickups, so it's not possible to do a real comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HRB853370 Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I think you will find, if you listen close enough, that every guitar you play will sound slightly different. That said, I truly believe the 157s as a whole sound slightly tighter with a bit more sustain and low end. I own three 157s and six 150s, but that just give me a chance to compare what I have at my home. Whoa Mark, you must be in solidbody heaven with all those! Shall I dare ask how many Heritage semi's you might own, or even more daring, how many archtops? Hee hee! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonefish Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 It seems like the ebony board does make a slight difference, maybe more snap.. more defined. But that could just be what I hear because I expect to hear that. I think that's the difference I noticed. Again, could be the pickups or just differences in guitar, but there seemed to be a bit more snap or bite to it. Not growl, but definition to the notes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartyGrass Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I talked with Aaron Cowles a couple of weeks ago on this topic. Aaron is a world class luthier who does the Heritage tap tuning. He also is a great player and was a friend of Chet Atkins. He showed me his personal Gretsch-like guitar. He got the wood from Heritage, and it's basically a thin H550. It has TV Jones pups, a Bigbsy, an ebony board, and really is stunning. So I asked him about tone woods. He told me that basically good wood is good wood. You put a couple of decent pickups on it and get a decent amp. The rest of the tone quest is in the fingers. You may disagree with Aaron. But Aaron has personally built guitars for some of the best musicians in the history- Wes Montgomery, Johnny Smith, Barney Kessel, Kenny Burrell, Ted Nugent, Chet Atkins, and many more. His words are worth consideration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCovach Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I think the most significant difference for me is that the 157 has binding along the back, which tends to dig into the ribs a bit. I prefer the 150 for that reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoNameBand Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I think you will find, if you listen close enough, that every guitar you play will sound slightly different. That said, I truly believe the 157s as a whole sound slightly tighter with a bit more sustain and low end. I own three 157s and six 150s, but that just give me a chance to compare what I have at my home. I agree with Marshall. The best word to describe the tonal differences between a 150 & 157 (Les Paul Std & Custom), is the sound is tighter with the mids being scooped a little also, especially noticeable with distortion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonefish Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 I talked with Aaron Cowles a couple of weeks ago on this topic. Aaron is a world class luthier who does the Heritage tap tuning. He also is a great player and was a friend of Chet Atkins. He showed me his personal Gretsch-like guitar. He got the wood from Heritage, and it's basically a thin H550. It has TV Jones pups, a Bigbsy, an ebony board, and really is stunning. So I asked him about tone woods. He told me that basically good wood is good wood. You put a couple of decent pickups on it and get a decent amp. The rest of the tone quest is in the fingers. You may disagree with Aaron. But Aaron has personally built guitars for some of the best musicians in the history- Wes Montgomery, Johnny Smith, Barney Kessel, Kenny Burrell, Ted Nugent, Chet Atkins, and many more. His words are worth consideration. We all realize that great tone comes from the fingers. The question had nothing to do with how great tone is achieved. The question was specifically about the difference in tone between two different guitars which happen to use very similar tone woods (and we all also realize that different tone woods have different tones). If you'd like to lecture about how people should only look for great tone from their fingers, that's probably be a great post. But I'm a bit tired of seeing every post that asks anything related to tone, pedals or wood get hijacked by some wise old sage saying its all in the fingers and the only true way to play a guitar is plugged directly into an amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJTopes Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I talked with Aaron Cowles a couple of weeks ago on this topic. Aaron is a world class luthier who does the Heritage tap tuning. He also is a great player and was a friend of Chet Atkins. He showed me his personal Gretsch-like guitar. He got the wood from Heritage, and it's basically a thin H550. It has TV Jones pups, a Bigbsy, an ebony board, and really is stunning. So I asked him about tone woods. He told me that basically good wood is good wood. You put a couple of decent pickups on it and get a decent amp. The rest of the tone quest is in the fingers. You may disagree with Aaron. But Aaron has personally built guitars for some of the best musicians in the history- Wes Montgomery, Johnny Smith, Barney Kessel, Kenny Burrell, Ted Nugent, Chet Atkins, and many more. His words are worth consideration. This is the "tone is in the hands" debate. Which I agree with to some point. Two players playing through the same equipment will sound different. How ever I owned an oddball Les Paul that had an alder body, maple neck and an ebony finger board. It didnt sound like a Les Paul. (Almost like a Strat.) If there would be a difference between a 150 and 157 I think it would be because of the ebony finger board and maybe bette rwood being used in the higher model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartyGrass Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 But I'm a bit tired of seeing every post that asks anything related to tone, pedals or wood get hijacked by some wise old sage saying its all in the fingers and the only true way to play a guitar is plugged directly into an amp. I understand your point very well. Aaron was telling me what I posted because I'm someone who needs to be reminded. I, too, have had quite a few H157s and H150s. I have found no consistent difference. All of the other factors within the guitar- wood density, neck thickness, nuances of the bridge, pickups and circuitry- seem to outweigh the effect of a slighter hard fretboard. It seems that someone would have done spectral analysis on this topic to resolve it. A pretty simple experiment would be with 10 rosewood and 10 maple Strats all made the same day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartyGrass Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 This is the "tone is in the hands" debate. Which I agree with to some point. Two players playing through the same equipment will sound different. How ever I owned an oddball Les Paul that had an alder body, maple neck and an ebony finger board. It didnt sound like a Les Paul. (Almost like a Strat.) If there would be a difference between a 150 and 157 I think it would be because of the ebony finger board and maybe bette rwood being used in the higher model. I owned a Les Paul that was all maple. It had the usual Gibson 57s. That was a bright guitar, no question. A maple neck is a much larger wood difference than simply changing the fretboard. At one point I had a couple of 535s and a 555 with a maple neck. The 555 was brighter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mars_hall Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Whoa Mark, you must be in solidbody heaven with all those! Shall I dare ask how many Heritage semi's you might own, or even more daring, how many archtops? Hee hee! Don't really own any Heritage semis or archtops, but surely covet Mildred and Kenny's NFH. I have a 335 I played most of my gigging life and didn't really find a decent LP style I could respect and actually afford till Heritage. Had a new 20th Anniversary Black Beauty, but really wanted an L5-s or a wine LPC.. Still do ;p They sound different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HRB853370 Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Don't really own any Heritage semis or archtops, but surely covet Mildred and Kenny's NFH. I have a 335 I played most of my gigging life and didn't really find a decent LP style I could respect and actually afford till Heritage. Had a new 20th Anniversary Black Beauty, but really wanted an L5-s or a wine LPC.. Still do ;p They sound different. No worries, you have dibbs on Mildred if it ever has to leave home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthpawGuy Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 My scientific analysis, my black 157 sounds darker than my bright coloured 150. Just sayin' Seriously though the 157 has more low end grunt than the 150, no idea what pickups are in the 157, they're stock. The 150 has Pearly gates. The 157 is also a pound or more heavier, that may also be part of the equation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjsanders Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 not much diff for me. if you were to make 2 guits outa the same tree(s), one a 150, the other 157; then recorded 'em using the same player & same amp & settings, then i prob'ly couldn't tell the difference. but it's possible to get a more immediate attack to single-notey stuff w/an ebony board. the right player can exploit that to the extent it does make a sonic diff. haven't heard that from rosewood yet. besides, if you add enough input gain to your sound, i couldn't tell a strat from a les paul from a 335 anywayz... in olden times the LP Standard had a maple cap & the LP Custom didn't. that made a big enough diff for me that i've usually preferred the all-mahogany sound (as mars points out, every guitar sounds different)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 ..besides, if you add enough input gain to your sound, i couldn't tell a strat from a les paul from a 335 anywayz... Doh! Those might be fightin' words to others on here!!! (not me though) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonefish Posted June 28, 2012 Author Share Posted June 28, 2012 Can someone pickup the phone and give Ren a call? Perhaps he'd know if they do anything additional that would make those guitars sound any difference or if the difference some of us are hearing is simply the difference between guitars and in no way related to 150 vs 157. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big bob Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 If you listen really close you might notice that a guitar with multiple binding like a 157 has a brighter tone with longer sustain, it's caused by the extra glue In between the plyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredZepp Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 If you listen really close you might notice that a guitar with multiple binding like a 157 has a brighter tone with longer sustain, it's caused by the extra glue In between the plyes. But that depends on what type of glue is used , doesn't it? Some vintage style glues produce more sustain ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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