Kuz

In 2005-ish (maybe 2006 or 2007), I picked up at the factory a 150 Goldtop that I custom ordered through a dealer but just wanted to pickup at Heritage. I asked Marv if he would install a poker chip and Gibson LP pickguard that I bought and brought with me on my brand new 150 Goldtop. He said, "We used to install those years ago at Heritage, but due to the lawsuit we don't use/install them anymore". But he was kind enough to do it anyhow, he said to just keep it between us. So now the secret is out.... I think he is safe from litigation.

When I was the Praise Band Director at church for 6 years, every Sunday I used my Boss M8 looper and LOVED it. I could store (on the unit and store to my computer) all my patches for all my songs. Before each Sunday, I would just download the the stored songs (and their patches) to a separate bank and the songs were done. We did a lot of songs weekly (a lot for a Praise Band) 8-11 songs each week and each bank was a song, within in song I had the 4-5 patches I would use. A bank was a one step (up or down) and the patches was one step to control 4-5 pedals all at once... NO MORE TAP DANCING. And mostly importantly, since I saved each song to my computer, the work flow was simple & easy and I didn't have to program each song & it's patches every week. Just download them from the computer and done. We did over 130 songs so having all my songs & patches saved was wonderful. Plus with the Boss M8, it acted like a muli-effects unit BUT you are using your great sounding analog pedals. Personally, I have never heard a mult-effects unit that sound good, give me my analog pedals over digital effect units anyday!

Too late, it's sold off.

Yes, most definitely. The source and the type of Magnet (A2, A3, A4, A5) is 90-95% of the pickup's tone.... BUT.... All A2 magnets are NOT the same. A cheap over sea's magnet is NOT the same as a US sourced, US made to exact specs magnet. Chinese magnets are harsh & brittle sounding and can be all over the place in terms of output. I have paid $80 for a set of USA specific spec'd magnets. I am sure many here will scoff at that, but you get what you pay for...

Boom!! This it the word. Well, said.

I have a Gibby CS '62 335 RI with their Custom Buckers that use A3 magnets for neck & bridge. I have a CS '64 345 RI with their MHS pickups (A3 in the neck, A2 in the bridge). I have also tried to use a number of Peter Florence Custom Voodoo humbuckers (A3 magnets in neck & bridge) in my Heritage 150s over the years. I do understand what he means when he says the neck is pickup is "dark". I personally would not call A3 pickups "dark", but very "sterile, flat, and anemic". The A3s to my ear don't have enough punch. I am an A2 humbucker fan. I had the Parson's Street A3 potted pickups in my Custom Core and took them out because the A3 bridge was under powered (and without any overdrive when played clean, it was kind of bright) and the neck A3 was just SO focused and flat that it had little to no bloom or overtones. But again, this has been my experience with all A3 humbuckers not just the Heritage A3 pickups. I really am just not an A3 fan. A2s all day for me.

Ha, ha,... yes, of course I mean .022 caps.

Here is what I always add/mod to my Heritage guitars (current and in the past); -Throbak Pickups -RS Guitarworks 500K pots and reissue Luxe Bumble Bee 250k caps -Faber locking ABR-1 bridge, Aluminum stoptail with Faber locking stoptail studs -Kluson (or the same looking Grover Deluxe) tuners -Poker chip (rhythm and lead) -Metal pointers under the volume & tone knobs

I got this beauty used from Willcutt's a couple of years ago. Like new, not blemish anywhere. Did I say it came with Throbak P-90s that are just f'ing INCREDIBLE!!! She was under $3K. I think my LP Jr/137 tones are covered. Heritage has lost it's way. No way a Heritage 137 slab guitar (with a stupid tuneamatic & stoptail??? wtf???) should cost over $2500.

Yep, I have Faber locking ABR-1 bridges and locking stoptails on all my Tuneamatic/Stoptail guitars. I hear more sustain (especially with the Aluminum stoptails) and all the hardware is locked down tight, the hardware won't move if you remove the strings. The Faber hardware is superior to any other locking hardware made, both in the materials used and the locking mechanisms.

I would have loved a GM Heritage 150 back in the day, even with EMGs. GREAT CATCH, Brent!!! But there is two things I wished Heritage would have changed on the GM 150; -Gary Moore is a Blues/Rock legend. I wish they would have made his signature in mother of peril inlay on the headstock. -Every GM 150 I have seen and read about are close to 10lbs or more. I wish they would have made them around 8.5lbs like the Custom Core 150s.

Use a thick shoe lace or wrap guitar polishing rag around one side under the pot, then just pull up one side, then the other. They will pop right off.

My 1965 ES-335. It played and sounded amazing in wonderful condition. I made a lot of money off the sale but it is one guitar I would love to have it back... at the original cost I paid for it (paid $1900) (sold it 8yrs later for $10,000). But once the money from the sale is gone, you can never really get the guitar back.

Mark, it is great when the chemistry of the band comes together and it looks like you are finally there! I love all my guitars and currently don't have any PRS guitars. But I can tell you that from my experience PRS guitars are the most versatile guitars out there. Get a PRS with a Trem and they can sound close to a LP & SG, and the coil tapping is surprisingly good for Strat & Tele tones. If I could only have one guitar for a gig, a Trem equipped PRS with coil tapping would be the one. I will eventually get another PRS DGT, but I have two kids with college expenses right around the corner. And don't let anyone tell you that Guitar -->input cord ---> amp is the only way to play. NO professional plays this way. Clubs don't allow you to play loud enough anymore for amp only distortion. Even Robben Ford uses a zen drive to goose his $50K Dumble. You aren't less of a guitarist if you use pedals. Your tone doesn't suck if you use pedals. Hello, David Gilmore forever has used a clean amp and pedals for his OD/Dist and no complains of his tone. EVERYONE use pedals. One question; How long are you banned from driving? That really stinks. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

That's a shame Mark, but you showed a lot of patience. Time to move ahead with a new guitarist. Life is too short not to enjoy yourself playing out at gigs!

Mark, it is always good to feel vindicated. And why is it that the truth always comes around after the fact? I am glad the band is still together and hope your drummer is up and running (or at least up and walking) soon! Yea, turning on the footswitch for the lights helps. Lately, I learned that plugging the input cord from my pedal board to my amp helps make my guitar sound louder!!!! Ha, ha

Mark, I am really glad you were able to solve this issue in a civilized manor. I know many here on the HOC were advising you to fire him, but maybe now the message came through loud in clear. It's my experience that she will go through cycles of good & bad behavior, so I would be prepared that the "bad" wife may come back. Hopefully, another quick talk to the husband will get her back on track if needed. Bottom line, it's like rebooting your iPad or computer....you don't have to reboot that often but it fixes the problem quickly until the next glitch & reboot. Again, I commend you on your patience and civil behavior especially when you did nothing wrong.

Yes, your patience is something I envy. I probably would have been more direct and made the situation worse. But the "playing" members of the band should all have an equal vote on band matters (not wives or girlfriends). It is really petty and selfish of the band member (with the wife) to back out of a gig when he agreed to do it. If the band says "yes" that should be the end of it. I can also speak from experience, that there are no amiable separations from a band. Leaving members will hold a grudge and say, "Let's keep in touch" but like when your girlfriend breaks up with you and says, "Let's still be friends" both parties know you will never speak again. I guess the moral of the story is; at all costs try to work it out before leaving because it will be hard (if not impossible) to restore what you once had. FWIW, I LOVE my Gretsch Penguin. I had a couple hollowbody Gretsch guitars, but the feedback was a real problem with stage volume so I sold/traded them. I would go with a solidbody or semi-hollow for more flexibility and an actual usable guitar on stage. That Duesenberg is HOT!!!

Mark, I feel your pain. I basically quit a some would call successful acoustic duet because it seemed I was the only one trying to find new gigs and figuring out new cover songs. My buddy had plenty of "free exposure" gigs he found and discount gigs for friends (free food & drinks), but the kids were getting older and I needed at least something in my pocket to justify being away from the family. Then when due to a medical illness I was forced to quit drinking, I didn't mind that my buddy would drink, but he started to get hammered past the point of where he could perform. The first 12 years of the acoustic duet band was great, but I would rather play at Church every Sunday then go back to gigging every weekend and do all the work for practically no money. As far as flubbing a solo, we have all done it (myself numerous times). But it is my experience most people listen more to the chords, melody & lyrics then the solo. Honestly, I doubt most people noticed. Keep on playing because, trust me, you will miss gigging in front of an audience..... I know I did. Best, John

Sounds like some real good progress with the band, Mark. Congrats!!! I am playing and singing (praise leader) tomorrow. Our praise band is having a few issues with dedication and direction. I am going to offer my services for another church that is starting a contemporary worship band. My hope is to stay in both for now. Keep plugging away and get that amp checked out. It is always easier to play when you aren't thinking about your tone when you play!! Best, John

It is ALWAYS harder to concentrate on playing well when you have tone/mix/monitor issues. But I am glad to hear you trudged through it and know what to concentrate on moving forward. Good luck and keep on striving for better tone and a better dynamic mix!!!