Any Heritage 575 owners

[groovin]

I have a 2 yr old custom 575.  It was ordered on faith as there weren't any heritage guitars available downunder to try.  9mths later it arrived and since then I have had a sort of love/hate relationship with it.  My loves are the build quality and tone of the instrument.  My peeves are the cheap  pots and the fact that mine is a real feedback demon.  Put it within sniffing distance of an amp and it howls like a wolf on a moonlit night.  Really is like have a wild animal in your hands.

 

I'd like to know what other 575 owners think and if they have similar experiences.

 

 

[Thundersteel]

First of all, welcome to the club!

 

What about the pots don't you like? I've had 2 Heritages (both solid bodies), and the pots seem fine to me. I don't know whether they use different pots in the 575s or not. You might want to try an RS Guitarworks upgrade kit.

 

What type of pickups are in the 575? If they are the Seth Lovers, they are unpotted which may cause feedback.

Have you checked your cables? A bad one will cause it, too.

 

Hope this helps...

[Gitfiddler]

Welcome aboard, Groovin!

 

The H575 is an all solid wood hollowbody archtop, so it will be very prone to feedback at higher than medium volume.  The only way around that is to have a laminate/plywood top guitar.  And even those feedback!  I had an ES165 (plywood like an ES175) that used to howl like a banshee in heat until I learned how to EQ my amp and turn the amp away from that vibrating body. 

 

The H575 is a fantastic guitar, but like all hollowbody archtops made of solid wood, ya gotta work with them until you find that sweet spot on stage.  Heritage will build a laminate/ply top H575 on special order.  Jay Wolfe has a couple to drool over on his site.

 

That's my sweet H575 in my avatar...and she can howl with the best of em. 

 

Another trick is to cover the F-holes with a clear plastic food wrap material.  Even George Benson tapes his big-bodied laminate GB200 for live performances.  Lee Ritenour stuffs foam inside his F-holes, even on his 335! 

[High Flying Bird]

I love it when the air coming out of the 535's f-holes cause an atmospheric disturbance in the room.  And yes, it is a lot like a wild animal but I love it.

I usually have to get the Vox wah-wah set into the base position to do this, but it is manageable and on purpose.   

[sweet-tooth]

Feedback is a thing of beauty...when it's kept right at the edge. What I mean is that in order to really effectively play that sort of archtop, one must learn to ride the edge of massive resonance and feeding back. Feed back, to me, is simply a case of the resonance of the instrument/ amp combo getting the best of the situation and going a little too far. A good analogy would be catching a wave; there is a fine line between taking off and riding a wave to the end and missing that crucial point and getting dumped and tossed around. BTW I play a sweet16

[groovin]

Firstly thanks to you all for the warm welcome.  Here's a pic of my beauty. I hope I'm attaching it correctly.  The body is all maple rather than having a spruce top.  It has a tunomatic bridge instead of the wooden one. The pickup is a single HRW in the neck position.  Generally the guitar exhibits a brighter sound due to the maple and metal bridge which balances the natural large bottom end of the guitar.  My tastes are broad from jazz to country and oldies pop.  Although I regard this guitar as a  one trick pony, Have have also a Martin D35 and a Fender Strat that I have the right guitar for any occasion or genre.  My wife tends to regard my "toys" as a "solution waiting for a problem".  LOL 

 

The guitar is not gigged - I just play at home.  I use either a Fender twin and the sound is very rich and full.  The issue with feedback is that the guitar exhibits a pronounced resonance centred  around "A" to "A#".  Thus the open A string just wants to go into hyperdrive all the time.  I don't  play loud indoors (bless the neighbors) but I honestly can't have the amp in the same room and get the volume past 2 on the dial.

 

One thing I've noticed is that the propensity to feedback also depends on the string gauge.  The thicker the strings, the lees feedback.  I guess physics dictates that heavier strings are harder to move.  I generally use 11-52 gauge and the action is low.  Due to problems of arthritis I can't play with heavier gauges although I suspect that 12 - 52 would be about right for this guitar as it seems to sound better with heavier gauges.

 

I fully understand about it being an archtop etc but I guess it is the uneveness of the resonance that is the issue for me.  ie. the high Q resonance around A while the rest of the notes are relatively even.  A luthier I spoke to suggested installing some damping pads inside the body but I think this would affect the overall sound too much.  I havn't  experimented with using the "fingers" tailpiece to change the effective string length and resonant frequency of the string yet.  Does anyone else use this tailpiece?

 

Does anyone have the sruce/mahogany variation and would like to compare differences in sound/tone.

 

Cheers

 

 

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[High Flying Bird]

"The guitar is not gigged - I just play at home.  I use either a Fender twin and the sound is very rich and full.  The issue with feedback is that the guitar exhibits a pronounced resonance centred  around "A" to "A#".  Thus the open A string just wants to go into hyperdrive all the time.  I don't  play loud indoors (bless the neighbors) but I honestly can't have the amp in the same room and get the volume past 2 on the dial."

 

Sounds like the "A" is the sweet spot for that guitar.    I got a re-issue Blues Deluxe a few months ago.  I can't get the volume past 2 in the room we play in.  It has a sweet spot on the 3rd string, 12th fret when in the feedback mode but you have to fret the note to get it going.

 

That's a purty guitar you got there.   

[sweet-tooth]

I don't  play loud indoors (bless the neighbors) but I honestly can't have the amp in the same room and get the volume past 2 on the dial.

 

 

2 is quite loud for a twin. I use a '94 twin with my sweetie and when in my home never go past 3 with my attenuator set at -8db. When gigging I crank to about 4.5 - 5 on my clean channel with gain at 6-8 depending on my mood and drop the attenuator to -4db.

 

Speaking of attenuators, that may help you. I recommend the THD Hot-Plate.

[Thundersteel]

That sure is a pretty guitar. I bet it sounds righteous with that Fender twin!

 

I suppose the guitar's resonant frequency must be around 440 Hz; that's why it's feeding back on the A note.

[groovin]

Thanks for  all the tips.

 

Does anyone else have any thoughts or experiences to relate about their 575?

 

Cheers

[Gitfiddler]

As far as the six finger tailpiece goes, if you loosen the tension it lessens the sustain, and hopefully some of the feedback.  Conversely, by tightening the tailpiece, sustain increases.  You might experiment with your 'A' string 'finger' by loosening it more than the others.  That's one of the benefits of that unique style tailpiece.

 

Also, with a Twin, you've got two 12" speakers barking back at you.  Try turning the Bass and Mid down to '0'.  Then ease them up until feedback returns, then you'll hopefully control that howling beast.

[soybean]

I have two 575s and use them all the time. One of them is my main jazz guitar for gigs. It works great in a small setting… four and five piece groups at "jazz volume". I have not had a problem with feedback in these environments. One time, i took it to a louder gig. The band played funk and smooth jazz at volume and the guitar did not really cut it. There was some feedback (not uncontrollable) but the bigger problem was loss of solid tone in the larger venue. The guitar amps were mic'ed through the PA system as was the whole band. I was really wishing i had brought the Heritage 576 or Academy that day. I've decided, the louder the gig is, the more solid my guitar should be.

 

As to your question, a spruce top 575 will have more feedback problems than the standard 575 (which has an all maple body). A carved spruce top guitar with floating pickup will have the most feedback. Most jazz players use small, closed-back amps which will have a lot less feedback than a twin reverb, but there are still some things you can try. Point the amp away from you, place the amp on your right side or in front of your guitar. Try turning the bass down on your amp. If you have a parametric EQ, you could try to filter out the offending frequencies, but be careful not to do too much, as your guitar will end up sounding thin.

[groovin]

Thanks to all for your tips.  A couple of days ago I tried changing to heavier strings (12-52s) and this helped although my arthritis is not so thankful.

 

I also played a bit with the fingers tailpiece which had the effect of changing the natural resonant frequency of the string and I was able to "tune out" some of the feedback.  I reckon I can get another notch or so from the twin now.

 

I previously commented on the quality of the pots.  I find that already they are geting "crackly" even though the guitar is stored in its case when not used.  I wonder how things would be if Heritage used CTC components like Fender does.  My '89 strat is as good as the day it was made.

 

Cheers 

[DaTech]

I also have a custom 575 ordered on faith down under! I have never had any problems due to feedback. I play with the guitar facing the amp, which is about 40 cm away. The only real differences between our guitars are that mine doesn't have the finger bridge and that it has a bridge pickup, which probably attenuates some resonance. It has 2 Seymour Duncan 59's and 11-47 gauge strings.

 

I too have experienced some crackling with one of the pots.

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[Thundersteel]

Those 575s every has are gorgeous. Now I'm gassing for one!

[Dick Seacup]

^^^^^  +1

 

Same here. :

[Windstring]

Hello Folks, I recently joined so I'm commenting on everyone's comments - like making up for lost time  Anyway, I do believe you have purchased a superb guitar in the 575. As others have said, all guitars that have inherent acoustic resonance (ie you can hear them when they are not plugged in) will be prone to feedback. Because 575s are designed to have that nice inherent woody tone (that's why they are usually carved), they will be more prone to feedback than most. The key, again as others have said, is to be careful with EQ and with your location in relation to your amp....and, of course, your overall volume. Because I am going deaf, perhaps from playing too loudly in the past, I like the way that archtops force me to play more quietly. Also, with advancing years, lugging smaller amps is another bonus. Anyway, the main point I wish to make is that your guitar is absolutely fine, and that all of us who own 575s (mine is from 1991, blonde, 2 Schaller pickups) are likely to experience feedback at some point, unless the various abovementioned precautions are taken. Cheers.

[manoc]

Hi there !

 

I bought a used H575 Classic last December and I LOVE it, the sound, the versatility, the feel, the look  and even the smell !

Of course feedback can be a problem, but as we gig without drummer there's no need for playing too loud on stage, so it's no problem for me.

 

One question to the other owners:

 

As I don't like playing wound G-string, I use .011Strings with a plain G, so I had to fit a Tun-O-Matic bridge to preserve intonation.

BUT: I don't really like the sound of this bridge, the wooden stock bridge was much more what I like.

Now the Question: is there a wood bridge, which is compensated for a plain G-String ?

Any ideas or suggestions  ???

 

thanks in advancefor any reply and

best regards from the Black Forest

 

Martin

[yoslate]

Feedback, in manageable small doses, I love it!  I have a 576, granted, a slightly different animal, but it'll take off, if I let it, especially with the way I usually set my compression.  Can be a problem with my '76 Vibrolux on an amp stand. 

 

Saw Leroy Parnell in a small venue about a year-and-a-half ago.  He was using a couple of Marshalls; I thought, "Way too much amp for this room!!"  And he's not shy!  But he had hinged, tryptic lexan baffles set up in front of each cabinet.  We were sitting down front, not directly in the line of fire, but close.  Once he got rolling, about two bars into his first tune, it was quite surprising.  The amps were obviously breathing, his tone was great, but no one down front was having a wig blown off.  The cabs were mic'ed inside the baffles, so front-of-house sound guy had a lot of discretionary room.

 

I Usually try to avoid playing at that kind of volume, but I've used a similar set up a couple of times in recording situations, and it seems to help make the feedback problem much more controllable.  I could see where a Twin would really make a spruce top jump.  A baffle might prove a low-cost solution in which you wouldn't have to compromise anything about your guitar set up.     

[JohnCovach]

I attended a master class with Joe Pass back in the late 1970s and later we went to see him perform in a club.  He said his ideal was to have equal amounts of volume coming from the amp and the guitar itself.  When there was too much amp, he thought that sounded wrong.  Most gigging situations won't allow that quiet of a volume level, but at that kind of level a 575 can sound really great with no feedback issues.  I have done outdoor gigs with my 575 at pretty high volume without problems, but a small club with a loud band would be an issue.  I have gigged pretty regularly with my 576, however, and not had too much of a feedback problem.  One of the videos on my YouTube page (playing with the BackBeat) features me playing the 576 in a small club at pretty high volume.

[Krohawk1]

Try PRS pots - they are expensive, but you can't beat them!

[Windstring]

Joe Pass...He said his ideal was to have equal amounts of volume coming from the amp and the guitar itself. 

Thank you Sir - nice quote. I agree with him and with you. It is certainly possible to play 575s or any other fully hollow archtop at reasonably loud volumes, but I still think that there is a point of diminishing returns. When I really need to play at louder volumes, I'll tend to pull out a solid plank like a Strat or something. The beauty of archtops is hearing (and feeling) the "wood" and the "air" together...and these qualities tend to be undermined by lots of amplification. Cheers.

[JohnCovach]

On the other hand, Steve Howe's main guitar with Yes has been a Gibson ES-175 since the 1960s.  That's a laminated top guitar (not solid, like the 575), but he plays it at high volumes.  He even played an ES-5 Switchmaster for a short time!  According to the other guys in the band, his guitar is so loud on his part of the stage that they wonder how he can hear anyone else in the group.  But like you, I've always opted for a solid body in such situations.

[Windstring]

On the other hand, Steve Howe's main guitar with Yes has been a Gibson ES-175 since the 1960s.....

 

Yes, indeed. And assuming he hasn't sold them, he has many other guitars to choose from too. Having played too loud for too many years, I now wear a hearing aid. I simply don't have time for more acoustic damage. If I go to a gig (as a listener) and the band is too loud, I'm out the door no matter how much the ticket cost. My remaining hearing ability is too important. On another note, the more recent 575s with the spruce top and the built-in "4-point" pickup are actually louder acoustically than my 1991 model which has quite a thick solid maple top. I sense that the Heritage folks vary somewhat in the thickness of the carved tops, which is actually a nice thing to see because it reminds me of the fact that their guitars have more "individual hands-on luthiery" than most of the "more famous brands". Cheers.