TalismanRich

I like all that swirly stuff on the tops. Plantain tops are only good on TV Yellow guitars. However, if you leave them out for a few days, they start to do some self aging.

I'll pay a Million extra if you duct tape a banana to that canvas!

It doesn't matter if they offered it. They would get changed anyway. I have realized that it doesn't matter what the factory uses. If they use SD, they get swapped for Dimarzios. If they use Dimarzio, they get swapped for Lollars, IF an amp company uses JJs, they get swapped for TungSols. If it came with TungSols, then it really needs TADs. If it has a Jensen speaker, it really should have a Celestion. If it has a Celestion, it gets swapped for an Eminence or Warehouse. Heck if it has GHS strings, it really should have D'Addarios or Ernie Balls. Mojotone makes the P90 that Josh had them put in the HOC 137. They sounded pretty darn good. It's a pain in the butt to change pickups in a semi or hollow body, but it can be done with a bit of patience.

THe only way I can see going direct to PA/FOH is if you have in ear monitors, which I don't. If you've got high dollar, big time PA, IEM, etc. then it probably can work. You can have your roadie take care of all the particulars to make sure everything is up to snuff for the show. U2 does it. When I get together at my drummer friend's house, we use headphones, no amps. I tried using my old PodXT but it had some real noise issues. I grabbed a Strymon Iridium from a local fellow, and it does fine. It's not the same as having an amp, but it's just for a few guys jamming. For actually playing on a small stage in front of people, having an amp is still preferred for me.

I'm very fond of the appointments of the CC 535 and 530. The blocks and inlay give it an extra touch of class.

We saw the Pelham blue at PSP. It's a cool looking color. Enjoy your new guitar. It looks like a winner.

I was discussing this elsewhere. Marshall has two manufacturing sites, Milton Keynes and Dong Nai, Viet Nam, near Ho Chi Minh city (old Saigon). Have you got any Marshall amps built in China? I figure they might subcontract some things, but it doesn't appear that they have a full manufacturing site. Marshall was sold to the Swedish Zounds group, and the Altor bought a large share of that. I think the Swedes changed things more, when they started selling headphones, bluetooth speakers and drums. In any case, it's just another equity firm buying and selling a company, not much different from when Ford bought Jaguar, then sold it to Tata of India. They still make the Jaguars in England. HongShan also owns large shares of Byd (EVs) ByteDance (TikTok) Genesis MedTech, Monzo (digital banking) and over a hundred other companies. It seems to be a big difference from what Ming has done building up an empire of music related companies.

#1 - Wooden pickguards RULE! #2 - Bound headstock look better than unbound! #3 - That neck with the stripe really fits the guitar. Outstanding guitar... too bad you have to give it back.

Yeah, it's "VINTAGE" now. Some guitars hold up better than others. It's in good shape, not even up the the realm of "light relic". I don't see any checking, but the finish is slightly dulled. Hardware is still shiny. I did noticed a slightest bit of wood showing by the binding between the 2nd, 3rd and 4th frets. In another 38 years, maybe it will look like one of those famous guitars with no finish on the neck.

It's very much like my '87 H-140, but a touch less "clowny". I swapped the pickups for Alnico Pro IIs because there was an issue with one of the original pickups. It's a really solid guitar, plays and sounds very good, especially for a 38 year old guitar! I have heard people say they got guitars with BGN and couldn't find any reason why it was so marked. Often it was a minor finish flaw.

How much older do I need to get to that point? Maybe when I move into that assisted living home? 🤣

I remember some years back when the 59/JB was supposed to be the hot combo. The JB is a hot pickup so it can give some punch, the 59 is more of your conventional PAF. Those things change every year. It's like the latest viral cat video.

Short of buying a Custom Core model, the only place you can get the 225s is via the second hand market. There just happens to be a set here on the HOC. I'm not big into changing pickups, although I've changed them in my H140 and 535. I have a pair of gold Seth Lovers on the shelf that I was going to put in my H157, but the legs are too long for the rout, and I'm not going to butcher the wood to install them. The Schallers are short leg, and the Seths are long leg. I've got Seth Loves in my Millennium LE, so I can always play that one.

I brought my Heritage Patriot to one PSP. At 65lbs, that was enough. I barely got it back into the basement. I needed something lighter. My Amp Shop '65 Princeton build fits THAT bill fabulously. In a pinch, I could always pull out my Classic 30. They are actually a great workhorse of an amp.

That's not a beer belly, it's a pony keg!