unikh550 Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 Am a new member. In 1997, ordered a H-550 custom w/o pickups, controls, pickguard, and the blank fretboard of the Eagle Classic. When I told Heritage I wanted to put a CC pickup that I had handy, they drew the suggested location and braced the top a little more there. Since then, I've come to learn that this is the closest I'll ever come to the tone of Barney Kessel's ES-350. Barney liked it when I came to his home in '98. Would love it if Heritage would make it part of a limited run on a carved top guitar. Haven't noticed any other posts or sitings of other Heritages with this pickup. You have to baby it at gigs by positioning yourself in different ways to the amp and other players, but that clear, biting tone can't be duplicated anywhere. Lucked out by getting this guitar, but would dig a Sweet 16 or Eagle- or anything in that price range- come out. Any others who did the same thing?- Chuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 Hello and Welcome, Unikh550! I've never seen a Heritage with a Charlie Christian p'up setup...but would sure like to see yours. Post a photo of your very unique H-550 when you get a chance. You mentioned that you have to "baby it at gigs...". Do you mean that it feeds back more than other p'up types? I find that Johnny Smith floaters are the most challenging for live performance due to feedback. Once the top gets vibrating, the only way to control feedback is by turning away from the speaker and/or turning down the bass EQ on the amp. Some guys tape the F-holes or stuff foam inside to better control the howling. Tell us more about this cool sounding guitar of yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCovach Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 I can imagine what you mean about the hum. I have an early 50s Gibson Consolette table steel with P-90s and despite my best shielding attempts, it can hum like crazy if it's not positioned correctly. I'm a huge Barney Kessel fan as well. I only saw him in person once: back in the early 1990s when I was teaching at North Texas he did a workshop. What a great, great guitarist and a sweet guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoslate Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Had the great good fortune to see Barney Kessel, Joe Pass, and Herb Ellis on the same bill at The Hollywood Bowl in the mid-Seventies. No one seemed to be having more fun than Kessel! An amazing gig! Would Like to see pics of your box, Chuck. Welcome to the forum. 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unikh550 Posted January 2, 2008 Author Share Posted January 2, 2008 Will take pics & upload them as soon as my brother-in-law shows me how. Heritage gave me more flame all around than I've ever seen on the dozen or so H-550's I've seen since at shows, etc.-Chuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
111518 Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 I'm pretty new here myself, but welcome Chuck. H550s, Charlie Christian pickups, Barney Kessel ... all indicators of great taste, at least in my book. I regret I never got to see Kessel, but I remember a great story he told in an interview about having the chance to jam with Charlie Christian, sitting down to play, and realizing that everything he knew at that point were the licks he had stolen from the guy sitting across from him ... a lesson in the need to move beyond one's influences, and indicative of Kessel's humility. I regret not pursuing a chance I once had to buy a 175CC at a decent price --that CC-pickup sound is what I've always thought people were trying to get by rolling off the tone control on the neck humbucker, but that's NOT the sound --it's far more raucous, at least that's the best word I can come up with, or perhaps "metallic," except that "metal" now has a completely different connotation. It would be cool if heritage offered CC-pickups, esp. since those 175's, mediocre as they tended to be as guitars, are now very pricey. Look forward to pictures of the 550CC, and more about the behavior of the pickup. Larry (111518) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soybean Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Haven't noticed any other posts or sitings of other Heritages with this pickup. You have to baby it at gigs by positioning yourself in different ways to the amp and other players, but that clear, biting tone can't be duplicated anywhere. I don't have a Heritage with a CC pickup, but i do have a Gibson with one. Yours is very interesting and may be the only one ever made. And you're right about the sound being so unique. I wonder if your pickup was one of the old ones left in the factory after Gibson moved. Anyway, I've had good luck getting rid of the hum with the EH Hum-Debugger pedal. I wouldn't use it for recording because it changes the sound a little bit, but for live performance, it gets rid of all the hum and sounds very good. http://www.electric-guitar-review.com/2007...x-hum-debugger/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 No, not a Heritage, BUT...if they would only build an H-575 like this...and add high quality solid woods, etc... http://gorgeousguitars.com/es175cc/1980_gibson_es175cc.php3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soybean Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 H-575s are always made with solid woods, even the sides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoslate Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Gitfiddler: Thanks for the "gorgeousguitars" site posting! Lovely piece is that 175CC!! Always dug those guitars, and that is a nice one. The other boxes for viewing on that site are spectacular as well; A/B-ing the re-ish to the '54 he has there was fun (and that Benedetto!!!). That '54 is truly amazing and, of course, lacks the volute and that big, wally headstock of the reissue. Color on both is "the note"! One of my favorite things about this forum is how you guys share wonderful finds such as this. I just don't spend enough time on the net to unearth this sort of thing. Thanks, guys! 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
111518 Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 This discussion made me curious about the availability of CC pickups. I find that Jason Lollar makes a CC type pickup (his come without the huge three bolt plate). There's a co. in Britain making an actual reproduction, plate and all --actually they make several models, with solid or notched bars). Since Heritage is already using Lollar p-90s, doesn't seem a stretch that they would make a 575 with a Lollar Charlie Christian. I'm on a one-year guitar buying moratorium --had to replace my truck far sooner than expected-- so one of you guys should order up 575 with a CC-pickup and tell us all about it. Lollar makes a CC-style pickup for tele neck position ... that I'm seriously considering trying. Here's the link to the co. in Britain /www.ccpickups.co.uk/index.html Also found this picture of a heritage eagle with one of the CC reproductions http://jazzarchtops.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/imgp1389.jpg ---just cause a man's on a diet doesn't mean he can't look at the menu, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unikh550 Posted January 5, 2008 Author Share Posted January 5, 2008 My sister came down to see us in Bloomington, IN and she took the pics of my H-550, and will put them on this site Monday. I know that the owner of that Eagle has to also be a Kessel fan for he has put on the Fender chickenheads as I have. Like Barney said, when you're on stage adjusting your controls (which you'd better, with this honking pickup), you can't tell where the numbers are. However, you can see where the point of the knob is. Looks like there are a few of us out there.- Chuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoslate Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 unikh: Chickenheads, Yes! Have 'em on my 576, and I have a set ready to go on the Super Eagle I have on order. I love the retro vibe, and they are mighty practical, now that the eyes have gone. I don't even need to look at 'em. Adjust my controls simply by feel. And speaking of retro, I've ordered the Super with Lollar P-90's.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
111518 Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 ...just fyi The Brit co. that is making CC pickup repos is also making repos of the knobs used on es-150s and es-250's. These aren't quite as visually unambiguous as a good ole' chickenhead, but might be an interesting alternative if you were going for that early-electric guitar look on a modified/special order heritage. http://www.ccpickups.co.uk/picture_library/knob_6.jpg http://www.ccpickups.co.uk/picture_library/250.jpg OK, so I can't afford any of this stuff, so I think I'll work on a CC solo today. Again, fyi, there's a great online Charlie Christian transcription site ... I think Gary Hansen, who constructed this site, picks the coolest solos to transcribe (among alternate takes)and does it better than many of the published books. www3.nbnet.nb.ca/hansen/Charlie/ccsolos.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy R Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 Seymour Duncan is making accurate CC's now as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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