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And, dovetailing here, I think I've mentioned somewhere that my '61 PAF's have been in my Custom Core 150 (after residing in my 20th Anniversary 150) for a while. Veddy, veddy nice! Hoping some Gibson purist somewhere is horrified.

Installed a set of vintage Gibson pickups in my 2017 Heritage H535 Custom this morning. In the bridge…a 1981 Gibson Shaw PAF 7.30. In the neck…an early 70s Gibson T-top PAF 7.15. I gotta say, I like the tone of these pickups in this guitar A LOT better than the last guitar I had them in. (IYV hollow body). I have tried a few different styles of pickups in this H535. It originally came with Duncan Seth’s, which sounded great. Then I had a set of 70s DiMarzios in it and those were great too…but definitely a different flavor. And now the ol’ Gibsons. So far, I’d have to say, the gibsons are more balanced and versatile of the 3 sets!

Yeah, the thing with Dumble amps is no two are identical. He built each and every one of them for the particular artist. It's not "a" Dumble, in the sense of one Fender Twin Reverb being a member of a large population of such amps produced. It's "your" Dumble if he made it for you. If you buy someone else's Dumble, it's still that artist's Dumble. I've seen the insides of an ODS and a couple of Fenders that Dumble modified. He had some general approaches that evolved over time, but each and every amp he built was a work of art, intended for a particular person to play and tailored to suit that player. He also rebuilt amps when they got sold to a different artist, in fact he recommended that as a way to get the amp quicker, rather than a scratch-build. The Dumble estate and name are being curated by the Dumble preservation association and they're trying to make new ones with the name. I have some doubts, since the man himself isn't around anymore. I hope they can protect his name and reputation though. There are some "clones" of Dumble amps who's schematics have leaked out. ODS #182 is probably the most "cloned".

I was in a couple of country bands. The amp I used was the same one I used in the "blues" bands and the same amp I used to play rock from Rolling Stones to Foo Fighters, Metallica or whatever bs Ive played over the years...even dance orientated pop and disco. A fender Concert II with what ever OD pedals worked best. Ive had it for 41yrs. It blew a fuse once, in 1999. Tube amps, so unreliable.

Brilliant synopsis, but you left out one last nugget... HRW's sound a lot like Schallers, only lowered a tiny bit into the pickup ring. 😗

Get a t-shirt made with this picture on it, and wear it to the next practice. Tell 'em "See, you can do country with a 535!"

yeah Rich's post already mentioned that along with the wider headstock, push/pull tone pots, and the weight relief. Personally I am not a fan of any weight relief. I like my standard H150s, especially because I modded them with all the electronic and hardware choices that I like, and the one that I bought used was cheap, I got it for right around a grand! Even with the pickups and hardware changes it came in under $1600. My new one I paid around $2300 for and still had to upgrade. Which is still cheaper than a Custom Core these days:) I also had to recuit the nut and dress frets on the H150s. And both of them are considerably heavier than the lighter Custom Cores. I also like the aesthetic touches of the Custom Cores better, especially the bigger headstock, the slightly different lower horn, and the body carve, which I love the look of. That said, I don't like the custom core tuner choices, or the hardware. And most likely I would replace the pickups as I'm not a fan of potted pickups. That's why I don't own one. If I didn't have to upgrade, I would buy a used one.

thanks! similar to mine with my Millie, but slightly different. I'm not 100% satisfied with mine, so I'll try yours!

ALL DONE!!! Playing and sounding great!!!