vejesse Posted March 5, 2012 Posted March 5, 2012 Hi Guys. I've been working on a new project I'd like to share. I's a 575 I got through Ebay a few months back. A pawnshop in Texas was selling it. Like new condition but with the lacquer melted through where the guitar would touch the wall hanger. What's interesting about this guitar is that it has a maple top with X bracing. Also, the top is a little thinner as if it was carved for more acoustic volume. I called Heritage and the guy couldn't give me any clue as to the origins but he said he had never heard of a maple top 575 that didn't have parallel type bracing. The guitar came with no holes for the pickupd or pots but I routed out for a full size neck humbucker. This one is a Seymour Duncan Seth Lover. I may switch to a pickup with more resistance as the sound is a little transparent for my taste, maybe one of those Kent Armstrong handwound ones. Also needed a refret. Worst Heritage fret job I'v ever seen - the fret radius didn't match the board and the fret tang was so narrow you could literally pull the fret out with your fingernail. I refined the board to a 12" radius and installed Stewart Macdonald .092" wide frets. Also carved a custom compensated bridge saddle for Thomastik flatwound .011's and made a new rosewood pickguard. The only thing left is to swap out the tailpiece. The big H is buzzing against the rest of the taipiece. Why Heritage chose to use these is beyond me. Otherwise a great axe. Take a look:
Steiner Posted March 5, 2012 Posted March 5, 2012 Something tells me you know your way around a guitar. The 575 is a stellar guitar! Yours appears to be a beauty. Welcome to the club.
smurph1 Posted March 5, 2012 Posted March 5, 2012 PS I was not giving you the finger..Don't know what's up with the emoticons..LOL
FredZepp Posted March 5, 2012 Posted March 5, 2012 That's a great looking 575 . It's odd that the label doesn't mention the customized nature of this one. But it sounds like it fell into the right hands to get it to the instrument that it can be.
DetroitBlues Posted March 5, 2012 Posted March 5, 2012 Very cool. Wonder if the fret wire radius was a direct result of someone not keeping the guitar in the right conditions? Texas gets awfully hot and dry. Wonder if the fret slowly warmed up over time.... If the top is in fact thinner, wouldn't X-Bracing be the best way to control it since its a carved top, not a multi-ply top?
smurph1 Posted March 5, 2012 Posted March 5, 2012 Very cool. Wonder if the fret wire radius was a direct result of someone not keeping the guitar in the right conditions? Texas gets awfully hot and dry. Wonder if the fret slowly warmed up over time.... If the top is in fact thinner, wouldn't X-Bracing be the best way to control it since its a carved top, not a multi-ply top? Makes sense to me but I'm a hillbilly...
NoNameBand Posted March 5, 2012 Posted March 5, 2012 Great work. Looks like you've got a great guitar on your hands. I hope you play it as well as you have improved and restored it. You'll make a great couple.
vejesse Posted March 5, 2012 Author Posted March 5, 2012 Thanks guys. I thought about the wood shrinkage but I don't think so. No other joints on the guitar seem to be affected and the frets ends were level with the fingerboard edge. It may be the case that Heritage glued on a fingerboard that was still seasoning but I think what's more likely is that they took some bulk rolled fretwire with a particular constant radius and just pressed it in as such. The fingerboard radius as I measured during the refret was sort of a compound radius from 9 through to 14 or so and it just didn't match with their fretwire. I have another 575 I've had for years. It has a considerably lower neck overstand/offset and the bridge is almost 3/16" shorter. Looking through the holes for the pickups you can see that the top is thicker as well, maybe 3/32" thicker near the center seam. It has a more "electric" sound and a more consistent sound throughout the neck as well, which is maybe better for live playing. The fingerboard has been refretted probably seven times and the last two or three side dots are getting consumed. Time for a new fingerboard. Even when new I don't think the board was as thick as this newer 575. This new 575 also has a chunkier neck and I'm still getting used to it.
NoNameBand Posted March 5, 2012 Posted March 5, 2012 This is very common in all guitars. Due to humidity, the fingerboards will shrink especially, as they are not finished as the rest of the guitar is. All you need to do is file the ends of the fret wires down smooth with the sides of the board/binding. Then with seasonal changes in humidity, it will most likely, not occur again. There are special files for this that will not affect the binding on the neck. See All-parts or Stewmac.
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