After a couple years with Stetsbars...

[rooster]

Hi. Just putting in a review of the Stetsbars I have been using on 2 of my H150s for the last couple years. I won't deny it was a bit of work to set them up right, including "back-filing" the nut to minimize contact, and a bit of adjustment on the set point for the intonation, as a Heritage has a slightly different position of bridge/tailpiece than a modern Gibby (I wouldn't be a bit surprised to learn that the Heritage spacing is the "vintage correct" spacing).

 

However -- they stay in tune extremely well. It took a bit of breaking in, but if I put a little Guitar Grease (basically graphite and paraffin, StewMac sells it for a very reasonable price) in the nut slots before a gig, I can dive bomb the little buggers and come back into tune with a slight tug on the bar. The tone is a tiny bit different, in that it seems a little bit brighter than before, and there is the slightest loss of sustain, but with an H150, it doesn't hurt it much -- those guitars are sustain machines in the first place.

 

Nice units, very well made, much higher quality than just about any trem on the market as far as machining and detail, and I didn't have to cut a big chunk out of my guitars to mount them. Hats off to Eric Stets for a fantastic product at a reasonable price (made in USA doesn't come cheap, as we all know).

 

rooster.

[rooster]

Oh, I forgot -- this post is useless without pics...

 

 

 

There we go.

 

rooster.

[FredZepp]

HA.. I was just ready to post about the pics....

 

 

here's one I found...

[H]

Hi Rooster, nice job and a good, long-term review. What are the pickups you have on those 150s?

[rooster]

Hi Rooster, nice job and a good, long-term review. What are the pickups you have on those 150s?

 

Those are Bill Lawrence L-500s, the ones made by Bill & Becky (now Shannon as well, she's taking care of most of the administration these days, I believe, and doing a fine job) in California. In the Sunburst, that's a L-500C in the neck, at 2.4H inductance, rings like a bell, and in the goldtop, that's an old L-495, which is very much like a P-90. The lead pickups are both L-500L at 4.8H inductance. Fantastic humbucking sound, although with these two guitars, since they are on the "warm" side, I switched the lead pickups out for a L-495 at 4.8H in the goldtop and a L-610 at 6.4H in the 'burst. I found that the P-90 sound was still plenty heavy, but offered a "zing" that I couldn't quite get out of these guitars with the L-500s.

 

However, my black-and-tan still runs L-500s in the neck and bridge. Can't recommend Bill & Becky's work enough. Their pickups are the best I've played, and I've played a lot of pickups. If you search for "Wylde", you'll find them. It's a long story, and their is documentation a-plenty on their website and Wyldegate forum. I think the thing I like about their stuff is that no matter which ones you use, you always hear the sound of the "wood" coming through. I run his L-280s and L-298 in my strat as well, and get everything I want out of all my guitars; they sound a LOT better than I play.

 

rooster.

[bolero]

that's pretty neat, and a unique design

 

thx for the review!!