TalismanRich

This is a fairly small club. There are mics on the amps, but that's only for the video feed that they use for Facebook. It also appears that the Katana is the house amp along with the bass amp and drum kit. Some acts bring their own amps, but I was looking over a few videos of other groups and they all have the same bass and guitar amps.

A friend's band was playing a local club a few months back and I noticed that the harmonica amp was crapping out during the last half of the show. Last night, I saw he had replaced the old Fender with a new tweed Blues Jr. The guitar player also changed amps, going from an old Fender Deluxe to a Boss amp.

These days I play a lot quieter than I did 50 years ago. When our band from back then got together last month after 50 years, one of the things I mentioned was that our parents were saints for putting up with us. 4 or 5 guys in a basement with amps turned up almost all the way, playing for 2 or 3 hours. One day our drummer's mother pointed out that the clock on the wall had rotated sideways from the bass player's sound. I remember at one PSP, I had my 525, and if I turned towards my Patriot amp, it would start to howl on a lot of notes. It's a LOT more susceptible to feedback than my 535 or Millennium LE.

They have had ear protection available for years. I remember Jim Deurloo cutting a backplate during a tour and he had in a pair of earplugs. They also have safety glass available. Everyone who goes on the tours is required to have a pair. I took my own since I had to use them at work.

I got the impression that the "factory special" was a Sweetwater spec'd guitar. The Lollar PAF and jumbo frets vs the CC spec 225 and Medium Jumbos frets. Plain top vs figured top. I would guess they move enough that they could specify a factory run, a bit like Wildwood does with their "Wildwood Spec" guitars.

For those interested, this is how the H-535s are put together. You can see the center block, how they add the kerfing, and how the top is made and curved. This is from almost 10 years back, but the process is the same now. It's not a process that would be done by CNC.

I've only changed out one set of tuners on all of my guitars. A few of the original Grovers on the 535 were getting tight, so I swapped to a set of Grover locking tuners. I didn't notice any change in tone or sustain. The improvement was merely in tuning and easier string changes. I can change picks and hear all kinds of differences. I've changed strings and heard differences. For sure there is vibration going on there... clip on tuners work even with fretted notes. I wonder though, how much of that vibration gets all the way back down the string and into the pickups from the headstock. Or maybe I just don't worry about minor changes. I'm more likely to twist a knob and do gross changes.

Agreed, probably a customized SAE. Heritage, especially very early on, would do a lot of customization, and was exploring lots of different ideas. This is from the 1989 catalog.

While the Ascent and Ascent+ lines are good entry levels, they aren't made in the same factory as the standard and Custom Core ranges. Len, you should join us for this year's PSP, and see the way things have changed. While many things are still being done "old school", there are some improvements, like the spray booth where the air is filtered (no dust to get on the finish, and safer) and the PLEK machine to make sure the guitars have consistent setups. Heck, you might just find the exact guitar you want while you're there!

The guitars that I have played at the factory were every bit as good as my 2005 535. I don't think you'll find CNC robots making the H535s. I believe that they might be rough carving the necks (not sure if this is absolutely true), but putting together a semihollow body is a multistep process that doesn't lend itself to CNC manufacturing. The top and back are a 3 piece laminated sandwich that is then steam pressed in a form that gives it the arch. The center block is a solid block with the pickup areas cut out, and there is a piece that matches up to fill the gap between the top and block. Then you have kerfing that is applied to the rim before the top and bottom are glued. The pieces are then assembled by hand to form the body. Rough cutting the neck profile means that the starting shape should be more consistent in terms of thickness and curvature, but there is still a lot of handiwork to finalize things. If you've ever watched someone hand rolling a neck, there can be a lot of variation. It doesn't take a lot of sanding to go from a fat to a thin neck. In the past it was all done freehand, checking it with a pattern every so often. If you think about it, the old duplicarver was a primitive "cnc" machine, minus the computer. It's akin to the patterns that someone like Hillerich & Bradsby uses when carving baseball bats. A CNC just follows a computerized form to cut the wood.

That version of the tailpiece and bridge was made by Schaller of Germany. They still sell the roller bridge, but I don't think the tailpiece is a current item. Thomann is a Schaller dealer. https://schaller.info/en/bridges/ If you want to change the style to a more common bridge and tailpiece, many people here swear by the Faber units. The trick it to make sure that you use the correct spacing.

They are all hand sprayed, so every one is different, depending on the way the painter feels on that day. There's no "template". It's free hand.

Mark, good to hear from you again. Glad to hear you're enjoying your time. I missed reading your tales (sometimes good, sometimes tales of woe). Should there come a day that you get the bug, you'll surely find some like-minded mates to scratch the itch. Don't stay away so long next time.

Lordy Mark, Do you have a black cloud floating somewhere over your head? I remember what it was like when my leg was in a cast for 6 weeks. UGH! Hope you heal up quickly!

Wow, you were looking to replace a guitar player, and you end up with a rotation of drummers! That stinks that your man had to bow out because of arthritis. This aging stuff just sneaks up and bites us when we're just having fun. Hopefully the days of drama and drunken spouses are far behind you. Perhaps you can grace us with some videos of the new band.

I can't think of a more eloquent way of putting the HOC and PSP in perspective. Yes, this is a hobby for most of us, but the friendships are what make it all worthwhile. Well said!

You mention the neck/body junction, but I don't see a photo of that joint. Perhaps I am not understanding the nature of the problem. Is the problem only with the binding, or is there a more structural issue with the neck joint? While I personally would not have an issue with the offcenter dots, it clearly is a fault. Your best recourse is to deal with the seller. If he is an authorized dealer, he should act as the bridge between you and the factory. Having modified the guitar with the Bigsby may present a problem. Changing the binding on the neck would be one way to remedy the situation, and I fear that it could result in more visible flaws. The dots are knocked in by hand, so the dot could be drilled out by hand, filled and redrilled for the new dot.