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My Grail...

yoslate

By yoslate
in Heritage Guitars

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FredZepp Mentor

FredZepp

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Congratulations on a great acquisition Rob. There is almost nothing beter than opening the case and bonding almost instantly with the contents, and then enjoying the warmth that follows, of course, I'm talking about a case of Scotch. But what the heck, the same feeling happens with a great guitar doesn't it. I hope you enjoy "drinking deeply" with that new gitfiddle.

;)B);):D

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yoslate Proficient

yoslate

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So, what'd I find?

- It's comfortably light! Very low 9lbs., if that. But it's resonant, lively, and has very good sustain, acoustically.

 

- The obligatory cracked pickup rings, both of them, not well contoured to the top. The p'ups are not original, so I lay this at the feet of the guy who switched the pickups out...that would not be pro-fusion (Chris). I think Stew-Mac is the place for those? Or Ren? Advice, anybody (I know it's been a topic here dozens of times)?

 

- The hardware, a Gibson type tailpiece and tune-a-matic, are Schaller, I think, as it's stamped "Made In Germany." It's a little on the heavy side. I'm assuming factory spec stuff. Sperzel tuners...ivroid buttons, with a pretty quick ratio (18/1?). I like the feel of the actual buttons; and the gears are very smooth; They don't look like Kluson tulips, which is nice in that they're not "Gibson-esque", and they complement the bound and inlaid headstock nicely!

 

- The nut is functional. It's grooved a little deep, I think, and there is the occasional "ping" on the A (a bit odd), and the B. I'll get Tom to do a bone nut for me, when I have a few extra bucks. Not a priority, just now.

 

- Headstock inlay is perfect, laser cut, I suppose, and a nice touch for a 20th Anniversary.

 

- The binding is flawless! I once posted that I wasn't the type to go over a new guitar with a magnifying glass. Well, I did this one. That's the HOC working me over! Couple of spots where the red finish from the back and sides barely leeched into the binding, but that's not avoidable, and I really had to put the hard eye on it to see. Headstock binding couldn't be cleaner nor more well done.

 

- I've already described the top! Perfect pieces of maple! Lovely color(s).

 

- The red finish on the back and sides is more...well...red than I'd choose. It's distintive, but a bit strident, a bit bright for my tastes, but who's gonna see it? There's one spot, maybe 1/4th" long by 3/16ths" wide, in the curve of the horn, where the color didn't take as well. Other than that, the back and sides are flawless.

 

- The neck carve strikes me as odd. It's everything and nothing, at once. The nut is 1 11/16ths". I prefer 1 3/4ths", which I have on the other 150 and the Super because I have long fingers. The carve seems a slightly shallow "C' shape, just the fuller side of a thin 60's carve. Not what I'd have spec'd, but it sits nicely in the hand. Similar to my 576, but not the wide shallow "D" I love on the other 150 and the Super.

 

- Pickups will go in a hurry! Tone Zone in the neck; an Air Norton in the bridge. What am I going to do with those? Played it through the Vibrolux at 3/4. Couldn't wind them up, Cindy was just upstairs. The Norton is OK, I guess, not very distinctive, at all, but it delivers what you'd expect from a bridge p'up which has no distinct character. The Tone Zone had no character at all at that volume (I know, it's not a "quiet" pickup). It's muffled across its spectrum. No snap; no ring...no nothing. Both pickups can get pretty loud, I'd think. It's looking like lower-wind TomBuckers for replacements. Slider has suggested 6.9 for the neck and 7.9 for the bridge, which I think makes sense for me. Thanks, Mike (Mike knows his beans, guys)!

 

- Last night: Strings off!!! Chris tells me they were .008's. Unplayable, for me! I polished the frets (looked as though they hadn't been played much at all, recently...oxidation). They came up nicely...I love that bright look! cleaned and oiled the fingerboard. Not a special piece of Rosewood, but just fine. Restrung with D'Addario .010's. Then I had to change the setup. I'll give it to Tom to dial in, but I got it close, which I do entirely on feel. Sorry...no math to relate where anything is. The stoptail was buried in the top. Brought that up maybe 3/16ths" or a 1/4th, to reduce the string break angle over the tune-a-matic. Had to run the tune-a-matic up too, then. The only other adjustment was the trussrod. Even with the raised lower end, there was still a bit of rattle on the two E's. The neck was dead straight. Backed the nut off not a quarter turn, which gave me just a little relief at about the seventh fret. Seemed fine after that.

 

Tone report will have to wait for the TomBuckers. The only thing about this guitar is that it feels too "new" for me. I've owned only one new guitar. I love an instrument with a patina and a history. This thing is really low-miles! And it has that feel, which I'm just going to have to play out of it. Tough assignment!

 

Thanks again to my consulting team (Mike, John K., Brent, Randy, and Kenny), and to Chris (pro-fusion), who made dealing for the guitar as easy as it could ever be. The HOC is great guitars and great guys. Can't wait to take this thing to PSPIII.

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pro-fusion Apprentice

pro-fusion

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Nice comments, and I agree. I'm pretty sure that the nut is a replacement installed by the previous owner. I seem to recall that from the eBay listing that I pulled the trigger on.

 

I'm not sure what the previous owner was smoking when he installed those pickups. The Tone Zone has its uses, but going in the neck position on a 150 is not one of them. The Air Norton is ok for a medium-output pickup, but it doesn't add anything to this guitar's basic characteristics. A low-wind pickup is a great idea for it.

 

The brightness of the red finish on the back/neck surprised me a little, too. It's not one of the more transparent finishes I've seen Heritage do. I wonder if the Heritage guys had a reason for this, since this guitar is supposed to be all vintage-ish and stuff.

 

I also agree about the neck, though I prefer 1 11/16" nuts. I've played a number of Heritages and never run into a carve like this one. I had a difficult time describing it adequately to Rob and resorted to comparing it to Jacksons. I suppose that's one of the fun things about handcrafted guitars--no two of them are exactly alike.

 

BTW, Rob is a great guy to deal with, and I'll gladly do guitar business with him anytime.

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fxdx99 Experienced

fxdx99

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Excellent report, Rob! 'Course we'll have to forgive your dangled participles or whatever those things are (snicker... he said participle).

 

Great detail, can't recall reading a better ngd review. Looking forward to a pic of it when you get the chance. Or better yet, get a vid of you on it w/your band - that'd be some bees knees right there!

 

Have fun wringing out that newness!

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yoslate Proficient

yoslate

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Congrats, Rob, glad that you got your 150. If you are going to go for the Tom Short pickups, now is the time --25% off. (I ordered a set of minibuckers yesterday. Hey, they were on sale; I saved 65 bucks on the pair.)

 

Thanks, Larry! Yeah, I've done my homework, and Mike an Kuz have sold me on the TomBuckers, a custom wind. And I e-mailed Tom and got a very friendly, quick response, sale price, too. He seems a terrific guy. Looking forward to comparing notes on p'ups....

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tulk1 Experienced

tulk1

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Nice. I tracked down Pics on one of Pro-fusions threads when he got the guitar. It's a looker. I love that finish.

Peanuts - hate the mess, but it also means you just received a shipment. I guess it's worth it.

Congrats on the NGD. I bet you are gonna make that axe sing!

 

Did I miss the pics? How about a link back? I really can't remember what that guitar looked like. I know it's got to be a beaut, tho'.

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Kuz Experienced

Kuz

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Did I miss the pics? How about a link back? I really can't remember what that guitar looked like. I know it's got to be a beaut, tho'.

 

Link, Link, Link, Link...!!!!! ;)^_^

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yoslate Proficient

yoslate

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I know, I know...! I'm at the mercy of others for photography. The only pic I have is one Chris sent me, and it's in my HOC mail. I tried, but I can't seem to be able to pull it out and insert it in this thread. They're coming...promise. Thanks guys.

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yoslate Proficient

yoslate

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Great top! Get that pickguard off.....it's a sin to cover even a centimeter of the flame on that one!

 

 

First thing I did, Mike! It's been gone. Thought about a Gibson-type guard (personal aesthetic), but that would require two more holes. I was a little surprised to discover that. Ain't drillin' two more holes!!! Guess we'll go full frontal!

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