Incoming: 2001 Heritage Eagle Classic Custom

[tsp17]

Always wanted one of these.   I have a 550, 575 and SKB- so this one slots nicely in a missing spot as a 17 inch solid wood spruce top masterwork that I can gig with since I don't play my SKB at clubs/restaurants/bars.  Nice bonus- comes with fitted Doug's Plugs to make it all the more gig-worthy without feedback issues.  Should arrive late next week.  Pickups are Schaller Golden 50's, which I've never played but the guys at Jay Wolfe's shop tell me they are on the bright and articulate side, kind of like HRWs.   Will probably swap them out, but we'll see.  I've been surprised before by pickups  that I thought I wouldn't like, but turned out to be great in a specific guitar.  More to come....

Anyone here have  experience with Golden 50's?  If so, please let me know your thoughts.

Picture from the guys at Wolfe:

 

 

[tsp17]

[kennyv4]

That's a beauty. I saw that guitar at Jay's place when I bought my H530.  Pictures do not do your guitar justice. Congratulations and enjoy.

[tsp17]

1 hour ago, kennyv4 said:

That's a beauty. I saw that guitar at Jay's place when I bought my H530.  Pictures do not do your guitar justice. Congratulations and enjoy.

That’s great to hear.  Thanks.  Always a little bit of a crap shoot when buying on line.  But Jay and team at Wolfe are super professional, reliable and they have the really good stuff (like HOC member owned Green Oak).  They have never steered me wrong.  I always have confidence buying from them.  

[Gitfiddler]

@tsp17...Congratulations on your latest archtop score.  GE's are wonderful, world class instruments.  Play it in good health.

[TalismanRich]

Nice guitar.   I still love those old style wooden pickguards!!!

I wouldn't swap out anything until you played it.   Schaller pickups are like any others... they have a sound that may or may not be what you prefer.    If you go back and read comments  you'll hear that they are hard,  soft,  bright,  full, like an SD59, Alnico Pro II,  a Dimarzio PAF or a Gibson PAF.    That pretty much covers the range from left to right.

They are a potted, Alnico 5 based pickup, with 4 wire connections for coil splitting if you want to go that route.  Schaller quit selling pickups which is what prompted Heritage to switch to Duncan (59s and Seth Lovers).   They have 3 mounting holes on the baseplate, so you can adjust the tilt if you need it.    

I've got Schallers in my H-157,   Sheptone Tributes in my H-535,  Seth Lovers in my Millennium, and Alnico Pro IIs in my H-140.  I can make more of a change in the sound by changing my amp than I can between any of the guitars.   Playing clean through the Princeton sounds nothing like the Patriot or the DSL401.   In the end,  what's most important to me how the guitar feels in my hands.   Then I can tweak the tone to what I want.

 

 

[tsp17]

1 hour ago, TalismanRich said:

Nice guitar.   I still love those old style wooden pickguards!!!

I wouldn't swap out anything until you played it.   Schaller pickups are like any others... they have a sound that may or may not be what you prefer.    If you go back and read comments  you'll hear that they are hard,  soft,  bright,  full, like an SD59, Alnico Pro II,  a Dimarzio PAF or a Gibson PAF.    That pretty much covers the range from left to right.

They are a potted, Alnico 5 based pickup, with 4 wire connections for coil splitting if you want to go that route.  Schaller quit selling pickups which is what prompted Heritage to switch to Duncan (59s and Seth Lovers).   They have 3 mounting holes on the baseplate, so you can adjust the tilt if you need it.    

I've got Schallers in my H-157,   Sheptone Tributes in my H-535,  Seth Lovers in my Millennium, and Alnico Pro IIs in my H-140.  I can make more of a change in the sound by changing my amp than I can between any of the guitars.   Playing clean through the Princeton sounds nothing like the Patriot or the DSL401.   In the end,  what's most important to me how the guitar feels in my hands.   Then I can tweak the tone to what I want.

 

 

Thanks.  Yes, certainly I will play it first.  Like I said in the original post - I’ve been surprised before by pickups that I “knew” from prior experience weren’t  right for me- but in a different guitar I found them to be terrific.  I didn’t think I liked Duncan ‘59s - then I got a 575 with them in it, and it was a great combination in that specific instrument.  Lesson learned there.