MartyGrass Posted June 18, 2011 Posted June 18, 2011 There's a tendency for some to want to change a stock guitar. That can be for straightforward reasons, like putting a PG or Bigsby on it. I believe some of us just want to customize it to make it unique and ours. I originally had an attitude that Schaller PAFs are probably not as good as SD, Fralin, etc. That notion is gone now. I won't use the word better, but I'll say the Schaller Golden 50s are not second class citizens. They sound simply great in a H535 and Super Eagle I have. I wouldn't change them out. Today I was checking out reviews of the Schaller Roller Bridge. Again, I had a feeling that this was not held in high regard. I was wrong. Here's an example of a set of reviews. http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_tailpieces/Electric_guitar,_Tune-o-matic_bridges/Schaller_Roller_Bridge.html I have often adjusted the string separation with this bridge. The rollers make it smoother to tune and help keep it in tune with string bending. A lot of thought went into this bridge. It's the only TOM bridge I've had on a solid body that the thumbscrews didn't tear my skin off! I have had no problem with the Schaller TP but am interested in comments on this. My opinion is that the hardware and pickups Heritage used a few years ago from Schaller are generally very good quality. The major obvious objection to the hardware is the appearance. TonePros looks like it just fits on a H150 and H535. Schaller would also fail the TonePros test! Take the strings off and carry the guitar upside down by the bridge.
High Flying Bird Posted June 18, 2011 Posted June 18, 2011 I like Schaller's stuff. I don't think I will ever need to tote my guitar around by the bridge.... that's what Bigsbys are for.
MartyGrass Posted June 18, 2011 Author Posted June 18, 2011 did somebody say custom. Exactly! I was looking for amber and you were looking for bones.
barrymclark Posted June 19, 2011 Posted June 19, 2011 I have found no issue with the Schaller stuff. None at all. Good pickups. Good hardware.
Guest HRB853370 Posted June 19, 2011 Posted June 19, 2011 Germans are known for overengineering their stuff. The Schaller components are no exception. Besides, why would Heritage even consider using substandard components on their great guitars? They wouldn't!
DetroitBlues Posted June 19, 2011 Posted June 19, 2011 There's a tendency for some to want to change a stock guitar. That can be for straightforward reasons, like putting a PG or Bigsby on it. I believe some of us just want to customize it to make it unique and ours. I originally had an attitude that Schaller PAFs are probably not as good as SD, Fralin, etc. That notion is gone now. I won't use the word better, but I'll say the Schaller Golden 50s are not second class citizens. They sound simply great in a H535 and Super Eagle I have. I wouldn't change them out. Today I was checking out reviews of the Schaller Roller Bridge. Again, I had a feeling that this was not held in high regard. I was wrong. Here's an example of a set of reviews. http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_tailpieces/Electric_guitar,_Tune-o-matic_bridges/Schaller_Roller_Bridge.html I have often adjusted the string separation with this bridge. The rollers make it smoother to tune and help keep it in tune with string bending. A lot of thought went into this bridge. It's the only TOM bridge I've had on a solid body that the thumbscrews didn't tear my skin off! I have had no problem with the Schaller TP but am interested in comments on this. My opinion is that the hardware and pickups Heritage used a few years ago from Schaller are generally very good quality. The major obvious objection to the hardware is the appearance. TonePros looks like it just fits on a H150 and H535. Schaller would also fail the TonePros test! Take the strings off and carry the guitar upside down by the bridge. I like the shaller bridge and tailpiece on my original '85 H-140. The pickups however were not my cup of tea. But Tone Pro's can say all they want when they are holding up a $200 Epiphone Les Paul 100 crap guitar... Let's see them do that with a guitar someone will actually gasp like a H-157 or a '59 LP....
schundog Posted June 19, 2011 Posted June 19, 2011 I have the Schaller Roller bridge on both the H-525 and H-155 I got from you, Mark, and Schaller pickups in my H-170 and H-535. I MAY change the pickups in the 535 to Antiquities or Seth Lovers at some point, or get another 535 with them, but there is certainly nothing WRONG with either the hardware or the pickups, at least in my experience. Do the Tone Pros stuff look more "right?!" Yes, if Big "G" is the benchmark. There is a well respected member of the forum here that swears he gets much better sustain from the TP stuff, and REALLY dislikes the Schaller pickups. I have a hard time dropping the coin for 2 small pieces of aluminum to MAYBE hear a minute difference. YMMV.
heritagefan7 Posted June 19, 2011 Posted June 19, 2011 The Schallers in my 555 sound wonderful and are really versatile. They might not do a perfect cover of the Beatles or of Metallica...but it's cool tht they can give a fair to good rendering of either and still do their own thing as well. I'm a blues guy & they work really well for what I'm doing right now.
tbonesullivan Posted June 19, 2011 Posted June 19, 2011 I've got a schaller roller bridge and tailpiece on my H535, and the H158 Millennium I got from you also had the roller bridge. Never had any trouble with any of them. My problem with the tonepros, and then the babicz and Callaham stuff is that while they say "it's so much better has so much more sustain the original bridges suck", they provide no real proof of any increase in tonality or of a positive difference in tone and sustain. I also love how the writeups at Callaham carefully avoid saying anything that specifically says that the hardware on any "legendary" guitar like the original run les pauls had inferior hardware, even though the hardware used was pretty similar to what is still used today.
Jimbob Posted June 19, 2011 Posted June 19, 2011 I have no major gripes about Schaller hardware at all, for the functional design and durability speaks well for itself. My Eagle Classic, an earlier H150, and my H535 all came with Schaller pickups, and I especially like them in the Eagle Classic. I think they're great pickups for some hollow-body guitars. I swapped the Schallers out in the 535 for SD '59s a few years ago, and I'm still in the hunt for a new set of pups for that guitar. After having the '59s for a while, though, I think I preferred the Schallers. I never cared for them in the H150 for some reason....maybe a bit too mellow?....difficult to describe. The roller bridge is a great idea, but I've had saddles pop out on occasion, and if a guitar is in good alignment, I've never seen the need for the saddles to move laterally. I really don't mind them, but I prefer a Tonepros bridge. I've never had any functional issues with the stop-style tailpiece, either, but they are quite heavy, and I tend to think they look a bit too large and bulky for a smaller-bodied guitar, such as the 150, 140, 170, etc., but I'm sure that's just me. All in all, I guess I'm one that prefers the "G" features and diversity of Tonepros hardware, but the Schaller stuff most certainly functions very well. I won't immediately swap any of it out unless I feel a need or if I happen to have something on hand that I think might sound a little better. For example, I tend to like the sound of an aluminum tailpiece with steel studs on an LP-style guitar, and as far as I know, Tonepros is one of the very few companies that offers an option such as this. Anyway, just my 2 pennies.
Donelson Posted June 19, 2011 Posted June 19, 2011 Funny I was thinking about that Schaller roller tuneomatic just tonight. I had one maybe 25 years ago that I put on my 1953 Gibson ES175. Best feature was being able to tweak the string spacing. I wonder if one of those would fit on my H575C? I like the wooden bridge sound but it's nice to have a tuneomatic around to really perfect the intonation of your axe to fit your style of playing & strings, to then take to a luthier for reference for a new carved bridge if needed. Or, for a different sound. It's a nice luxury to have both types of bridge for a jazz box. I've had my H575C for three years & it's still all stock. Schaller PUs etc. The sound & feel has improved dramatically from regular play and attention to setup. I really don't see the point in altering anything. Sounds fantastic "as-is". I'm in the minority I know, but "pickups are pickups" is what I believe after 40 + years of playing.
Joey Posted June 19, 2011 Posted June 19, 2011 I bought my 1995 Heritage H555 new in 1995. My guitar had Schaller pups (not Schaller Golden 50s) which I recently changed to Fralin Pure PAFs. What an incredible improvement to the tone of this guitar! I wish I made the change sooner. The tone is clean, articulate and warm. The neck pup is now extremely clean unlike stock Schallers which can get muddy when hitting medium volumes. All I can say is that based upon feedback I have read it appears that the Schaller Golden 50s which many people like are not at all the same as the standard Schallers.
Joey Posted June 19, 2011 Posted June 19, 2011 I bought my 1995 Heritage H555 new in 1995. My guitar had Schaller pups (not Schaller Golden 50s) which I recently changed to Fralin Pure PAFs. What an incredible improvement to the tone of this guitar! I wish I made the change sooner. The tone is clean, articulate and warm. The neck pup is now extremely clean unlike stock Schallers which can get muddy when hitting medium volumes. All I can say is that based upon feedback I have read it appears that the Schaller Golden 50s which many people like are not at all the same as the standard Schallers. Prior to changing the pups, I did change the roller bridge for a Callaham bridge and and standard tailpiece noting an improvement to sustain. In fact, there is a notable improvement in tone playing the guitar acoustically. I am not quite sure why Heritage put a roller bridge on a guitar without a tremolo system. It appears that the newer production guitars have the standard Gibson style bridge and tailpiece.
barrymclark Posted June 19, 2011 Posted June 19, 2011 I bought my 1995 Heritage H555 new in 1995. My guitar had Schaller pups (not Schaller Golden 50s) which I recently changed to Fralin Pure PAFs. What an incredible improvement to the tone of this guitar! I wish I made the change sooner. The tone is clean, articulate and warm. The neck pup is now extremely clean unlike stock Schallers which can get muddy when hitting medium volumes. All I can say is that based upon feedback I have read it appears that the Schaller Golden 50s which many people like are not at all the same as the standard Schallers. If memory serves, the standard Schallers in Heritage were the Golden 50's. I really liked them when I had a 140 loaded with them. I made the mistake of taking them out and trying out a couple of different pickups in their place. I regretted that and reinstalled the Schallers. Never looked back.
Joey Posted June 19, 2011 Posted June 19, 2011 If memory serves, the standard Schallers in Heritage were the Golden 50's. I really liked them when I had a 140 loaded with them. I made the mistake of taking them out and trying out a couple of different pickups in their place. I regretted that and reinstalled the Schallers. Never looked back. The pups I took out of my guitar were just labeled Schallers, not Schaller Golden 50s as I have seem on some pups. I understand that Heritage started using Schaller Golden 5os in later production after my guitar was made in 1995. In any event, the Fralins I replaced them with made my guitar come alive and I am very happy with the results. My only regret is that I did not do this sooner as my H555 is my "go to" guitar. It's a great thing when we find our tone which is very subjective. As a player, I am happy to hear that the Golden 50s are working out for you as my Fralins are for me which is all that matters. One thing is for sure, Heritage owners are all playing fine instruments.
DetroitBlues Posted June 19, 2011 Posted June 19, 2011 The pups I took out of my guitar were just labeled Schallers, not Schaller Golden 50s as I have seem on some pups. I understand that Heritage started using Schaller Golden 5os in later production after my guitar was made in 1995. In any event, the Fralins I replaced them with made my guitar come alive and I am very happy with the results. My only regret is that I did not do this sooner as my H555 is my "go to" guitar. It's a great thing when we find our tone which is very subjective. As a player, I am happy to hear that the Golden 50s are working out for you as my Fralins are for me which is all that matters. One thing is for sure, Heritage owners are all playing fine instruments. I was thinking the same. I don't believe Schaller made anything other than one type of humbucker orginally.
MartyGrass Posted June 19, 2011 Author Posted June 19, 2011 Nothing against Fralins. Had a semi-hollow with them and they were great. Got another with the Fralin Low Winds on order. I'm just saying the Schaller PAFs are pretty darned good.
Jimbob Posted June 19, 2011 Posted June 19, 2011 You guys got me curious about my old Schaller set, so I took some DCR readings on them. My bridge measures out at 8.0K while neck is at 7.6K. While I know this doesn't mean too much regarding tone and sometimes output, my guess is that they're wound to standard PAF specs, FWIW.
Joey Posted June 19, 2011 Posted June 19, 2011 With Fralin pups, it's not just the output levels. Lindy demagnitizes his Pure PAF which is part of the the process he uses to get his Pure PAF sound.
MartyGrass Posted June 19, 2011 Author Posted June 19, 2011 With Fralin pups, it's not just the output levels. Lindy demagnitizes his Pure PAF which is part of the the process he uses to get his Pure PAF sound. Does he use Alnico 2s and weakens the magnet to simulate aging? My understanding is that lower winding and hot magnets improve articulation. Correct?
mark555 Posted June 19, 2011 Posted June 19, 2011 I just couldn't get on with the schaller hardware on the 555 so I took it all off and replaced with more traditional looking hardware and Seymour 59 pickups - a great improvement all round for me.
MartyGrass Posted June 19, 2011 Author Posted June 19, 2011 I just couldn't get on with the schaller hardware on the 555 so I took it all off and replaced with more traditional looking hardware and Seymour 59 pickups - a great improvement all round for me. Were you having mechanical or sustain problems with the hardware or was it more cosmetic? I've recently become a fan of SD 59s also. I know that some find the midrange scooped out a bit. Fortunately my amp has a knob that fixes that! The string articulation is good also.
Joey Posted June 19, 2011 Posted June 19, 2011 This is the description on Lindy's site which he also confirmed when I called and spoke to him. he is a very accessible guy and will answer any questions. NEW! Pure PAF Introducing the "Pure PAF". This is my favorite humbucker. We wind these to 7.5k in the neck position and 8k in the bridge. We hand-weaken the magnets to soften the treble and smooth the grind. Lindy demos most of his pups personally on his site which helped me in my decision making process. The demo was very representative of what I got.
FredZepp Posted June 20, 2011 Posted June 20, 2011 I don't have any quality issue with Schaller hardware at all, it's well made. I changed the tailpiece on a couple of 150's just for the appearance, but left the roller bridge as I like the more rounded edges of it. But also some of my Heritages came with the the gibby style hardware when I bought them. I have an old set of Schaller pickups that I'm waiting for an opportunity to throw in some worthy axe that I run into. They were swapped out of my '89 140, so they are 22 years old. The original owner had swapped it to a Dimarzio PAF and Super Distortion long ago .. While I have many kinds of pickups and they do have a different tone, I find that a really good amp goes a long way in making them sound good.
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