aarsvold Posted August 2, 2011 Posted August 2, 2011 In november 2010 I bought my first (and only) Heritage guitar. It was used and the former owner had swapped out the 59´ bridge and replaced it with a tremonti treble. I thought the sound was fantastic but I really didn´t like the look of the tremonti. I put my eyes on the Seymour Duncan Antiquity pickups and then decided to install two of those to get the perfect guitar. I also installed a bigsby system. Well I ended up never really liking the new sound I got. In a way the antiquities were fantastic, but for me, the sound was a bit dull. Being a huge Neil Young fan I really want the ugly sound that comes when turning up the volume of my Fender Tweed reverb. That sound got lost with the new pickups. I also lost some sustain with the bigsby but that was kind of expected. Yesterday I finally gave up after half a year trying to convince myself that i liked this new sound. Yesterday I swapped back to the 59´and tremonti treble and yes, I am happy again. So: I guess the old saying applies to me: If it works, dont fix it. Here is how the guitar looked when i bought it: And here is hoe it looked with the antiquities: Now it looks like on the last picture but the bridge pickup is black like in the first pic. (I dont have a pic of it yet)
FredZepp Posted August 2, 2011 Posted August 2, 2011 That's a fine 150 there. Interesting tale of pickup swaps.
Millennium Maestro Posted August 2, 2011 Posted August 2, 2011 I told you not to mess with the white whale!! LOL
kbp810 Posted August 2, 2011 Posted August 2, 2011 Sometimes its tough to fight the urge to tinker around with stuff... I'm always fixing things that don't need fixing!
DetroitBlues Posted August 2, 2011 Posted August 2, 2011 I needed to tinker with my guitar, but it may just be because a pot was actually bad making me think the pup's were junk...
brentrocks Posted August 2, 2011 Posted August 2, 2011 you did a good job of covering the Bigsby holes
the jayce Posted August 2, 2011 Posted August 2, 2011 Yep! I always wondered why so many folks mess with factory.. Must be they feel they know more about building and making the guitar sound better than the actual company and luthiers that build them???? or so they think.........
DetroitBlues Posted August 2, 2011 Posted August 2, 2011 Yep! I always wondered why so many folks mess with factory.. Must be they feel they know more about building and making the guitar sound better than the actual company and luthiers that build them???? or so they think......... Or we buy a 2nd hand guitar that was already messed with and needs work...
GRMJazz Posted August 2, 2011 Posted August 2, 2011 Whenever I get the urge to mod, I simply think back to my most recent gig, and how good the rig sounded... Better yet, I can think back to kickin' back for a tune while someone else played my rig... Slowly.... set.... the..... screwdriver ....down..... and take three.... steps.... back! In fact, I've lost my appetite for a HRW neck pup......
aarsvold Posted August 2, 2011 Author Posted August 2, 2011 Well this whole process was a bit strange. First of all the guitar was already modded when I bought it. As I said it had this ugly tremonti treble wich in fact sounder perfect with the 59. Me being a perfectionist, it just couldnt bare the look of that tremonti treble and wanted to mod the guitar closer to its original state. I came across these antiquities but again as I said. THey sounded dull even though I guess that sound was closer to the original than the tremonti was. So in a way I just now modded the guitar back to a state further away drom original and I love it. And also, to clear things up, I still use that bigsby so I have to live with less sustain than I had before, but the bigsby is just a part of my style that I need. So, this guitar is a bit messed with, but I simply love it.
Trouble Posted August 2, 2011 Posted August 2, 2011 Or we buy a 2nd hand guitar that was already messed with and needs work... My 150 came with a set of DiMarzio pups the previous owner felt like it needed, but he also included the origanal 59's. I swapped back to the 59's and I'm happy.
the jayce Posted August 3, 2011 Posted August 3, 2011 Or we buy a 2nd hand guitar that was already messed with and needs work... I should re-state my opinion... I to am guilty of messing with a guitars origins and spent countless hours and money only finding myself pulling everything off and bringing it back original and selling off what I thought to be the perfect upgrade at a loss. Just a classic case of livin and learnin. Buying second hand and fixing someone elses mess is understandable for sure. A luthier once told me and I quote,,,,(custom kills unless it's from the custom shop... leave it to the pro's) true'r words where never spoken..
aarsvold Posted August 3, 2011 Author Posted August 3, 2011 A luthier once told me and I quote,,,,(custom kills unless it's from the custom shop... leave it to the pro's) true'r words where never spoken.. I couldnt disagree more with that statement. There are millions of guitarists around the world and equally many opinions on what good sound is. We cannot limit ourselves to the sounds other people (luthiers) decide we should like. Its the exceptions that brings the world forward, not the ones that does the same as everybody else. So, what sound do you thing Neil Young would be having if he only played guitar with original setups? What sound would Eric Clapton have? Yes they are pros and knows what they are doing, but also amateurs have this very same freedom to experiment. And suddenly out of the blue, they hit the right spot and fabulous sounds are being created. If you have paid for a guitar, you have no obligations to not mess with it if you want to. That counts for Heritage guitars to. Heritage guitars are made for playing, not for collecting. At least for me.
the jayce Posted August 3, 2011 Posted August 3, 2011 For me I guess the next big new sound would be more from an amp or effects used, or somthing from that angle. The guitar is the main tool of the equation but creating a sound unique to others seems more likely to come from tweaking amps and many different effects combinations. I guess it just boils down to good ole whatever works for what your looking for. For me personally changing a guitars features and componets never made any kind of a huge difference in the overall scheme of things. Cost a lot of money to change pickups ect but none of that really made a huge difference. Good amps, wha's, and pedals are what always brought the guitar to life and gave it unique sounds. the electric guitar is just a portion of someones sound,,,so much more to the equation than just the guitar it's self. Good luck in finding that perfect sound your searching for.....I have been trying for 25 years and havnt even came close.. Theres a light at the end of the perfect tone and sound tunnel but unfortunately only hendrix,page,srv, and a few others have ever reached it..
aarsvold Posted August 3, 2011 Author Posted August 3, 2011 If you have much to gain from modding the guitar depends on what you are after I guess. For me personally I was after a bit gritty sound like Neil Young has when he rocks. That is probably why the tremont treble pickup worked for me because it was closer to Neils firebird-pickup than the original one. Here is what Neil Young has done with the guitar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Black But in general I think many amateurs destroys their guitars too so its not always great to mod it.
mark555 Posted August 3, 2011 Posted August 3, 2011 Yep! I always wondered why so many folks mess with factory.. Must be they feel they know more about building and making the guitar sound better than the actual company and luthiers that build them???? or so they think......... Well, I did. My 555 had schaller pups that sounded awful and I didn't like the roller bridge. I replaced them Seymour 59's and traditional style bridge and stop bar, both of which are factory options from Heritage. So yes, in this case the guitar sounds better than it did when it left the factory.
Jazzpunk Posted August 3, 2011 Posted August 3, 2011 So: I guess the old saying applies to me: If it works, dont fix it. Been there! Spent several hundred dollars swapping Phat Cats for Lollar Imperials in one Heritage only to realize I liked the Phat Cats much better. DOH!
mtpatty Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 I mod the hell out of mine- almost all have sperzel locking tuners, all have the pups ripped out, and most get tonepros bridge and tailpieces...I love BK pups; Dimarzio's, Suhr Aldrich pups... and I have a new love for Burstbucker 3's... go figure...
DetroitBlues Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 I should re-state my opinion... I to am guilty of messing with a guitars origins and spent countless hours and money only finding myself pulling everything off and bringing it back original and selling off what I thought to be the perfect upgrade at a loss. Just a classic case of livin and learnin. Buying second hand and fixing someone elses mess is understandable for sure. A luthier once told me and I quote,,,,(custom kills unless it's from the custom shop... leave it to the pro's) true'r words where never spoken.. I also learned from a resale point of view any enhancements/improvements you make on a guitar do nothing toward its value. The guitar is worth the same even if it was stock. I had an Epi LP Standard with Gibson BB Pros, bone nut, strap locks, hsc, etc. Resale value was the same as stock model with no case. Hard lessoned learned there. Spent around $800 for a guitar when it was all said and done to only get $260 on the resale market...
MRDeluxe Posted August 16, 2011 Posted August 16, 2011 Great looking guitar! I've always been a Neil Fan as well and think what you have going on there is pretty cool. I personally, love to tinker. I can't get enough of tweaking amps, pedals, and doing various "mods" or installs on many of my guitars. The funny thing to me is, now that I own an H535 I can't seem to find myself wanting to change anything from its completely stock state. With the Schaller hardware and pickups I had read so much about on other forums, I was almost sure I would be swapping the hardware and pickups. Maybe I'll have to find myself another 535 to mess with just for some different flavors. Oh, and my lead player loves to use this line on me... "If it ain't broke, then mod it until it is..."
DetroitBlues Posted August 16, 2011 Posted August 16, 2011 Oh, and my lead player loves to use this line on me... "If it ain't broke, then mod it until it is..." That's a good one!
NoNameBand Posted August 16, 2011 Posted August 16, 2011 "I thought the sound was fantastic but I really didn't like the look of the tremonti." Why didn't you just add a pickup cover to match the other pickup?
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