H525 setup, finally

[LK155]

My new, formerly Kuz's, H525 came with flatwound strings, 11's. I've never had flatwounds on anything before, but was willing to give them an extended audition period. Their good point (I can only find one) is that they are dead silent when you're moving your fingers along the strings. No noise whatsoever. This is great for long slides up the neck to find that next chord.

The trade-off, it seems, is that they sounded just plain dead to me. Especially the low A and E, which kind of thudded the notes out instead of ringing clearly.

 

So today I declared the audition period over, and changed strings.

 

It now has GHS burnished pure nickel roundwounds on it, still 11's. John had somehow left these in the case, and I'm glad he did.

 

Wow! What a difference! This guitar is about 50% louder acoustically than before, and amplified, the notes just sing. Clean and clear, exactly what I like. Still can't believe a change of strings could make so much improvement.

 

And along with the string change, I lowered the high-E side of the bridge just a smidge. I've been playing my PRS quite a bit lately, and its action is nothing short of fantastic, with an extremely flat fretboard and 3/64" string height (at the 12th fret) on both the bass and treble sides. Compared to the PRS, the H525 strings felt quite high, even though they measured 4/64" on both sides.

 

The bridge height on the bass side didn't get touched....the low E string is sitting at 4/64".

 

 

But that tiny adjustment on the treble side made a noticable improvement. That side's now at a hair over 3/64" and it plays beautifully. No buzzing anywhere. Heritage necks are the greatest.

 

 

So I'm going to pay myself $50 for the setup. That seems fair.

[pegleg32]

Good move, but I would think it was more than that. I think you owe yourself $100 at least.

[heritagefan7]

Hope she sings--sure she does! Nice to be able to do your own work and have the benefits of the cost and the git afterwards.

[H]

Good move, but I would think it was more than that. I think you owe yourself $100 at least.

And if you can't bring yourself to take the whole ton, I'll take fifty for you. As long as they've got Lizzie's head on 'em

[MartyGrass]

For quite a while I hated the dead thuds of flatwounds. Here's what I learned.

 

There's no way you can ribbon wrap a core without dropping the sustain and brightness. But you can compromise by using GHS Brite Flats or D'Addario Half Rounds.

 

http://www.ghsstrings.com/strings/electric/brite-flats

 

http://www.daddario.com/DADProductFamily.Page?ActiveID=3768&familyid=2&sid=b19bab3d-5abb-43fb-9e15-e0dab6c1ecb6

 

I would suggest you buy the GHS because their local to me and will keep my neighbors employed. But I tend to use D'Addarios because they are slightly brighter, and I really like the light top, heavy bottom set (10-52s).

 

The "best buy" of flatwounds for me is GHS. They are brighter than most and have fairly good sustain. I use the 12s. They cost less than $10 and last a long time. They will squeak very slightly.

 

http://www.ghsstrings.com/strings/electric/precision-flats-2

 

If you are willing to put up with the usual diminished sustain of flatwounds but want some brightness and no squeaks, get stainless steel strings like LaBella.

 

http://www.juststrings.com/guitarflatwound.html

 

Round wounds don't squeak much in the 9-42 or 10-46 sets. They become intolerable to me in fatter strings.

 

My two cents.

[Hfan]

Glad it worked out Lyle and I like that fancy schmanzy ruler.

[LK155]

Glad it worked out Lyle and I like that fancy schmanzy ruler.

 

Yeah, that's a Stewmac STRING ACTION GAUGE that I got after some other HOC member claimed it to be indispensable.

It is. Expensive little bugger, but so much easier to manage than trying to sandwich bits of an automotive feeler gauge together and get an accurate reading.

Just like the ability to play a G7b13 chord, it's a worthwhile addition to my guitar toolbox.

[Gitfiddler]

Increased volume and tone is immediate when changing from flats to roundwounds. My 525 came from Parsons Street with rounds, but I changed it to 11 D'Addarios so that it matched my other archtops. Now I'm planning on going back to rounds...maybe 12's by LaBella, so it can be a bit more versatile. I miss the subtle overtones that only a good set of roundwound strings can give.

 

Enjoy your beautiful 525, Lyle. They are true tone monsters, no matter what strings you put on them!

[soybean]

…H525 came with flatwound strings, … they sounded just plain dead to me. Especially the low A and E, which kind of thudded the notes out instead of ringing clearly.

I agree. Flats have always felt dead, even the half round recommended above. They never worked for me even though I play jazz. It's not strictly true that flat wounds are only for jazz. All the early Beatles records were recorded using flat wound strings.

 

Heritage necks are the greatest.

Yes, their necks are great; especially the mahogany ones. but the frets have not been great until they started using Plek system.

[Guest HRB853370]

 

Yeah, that's a Stewmac STRING ACTION GAUGE that I got after some other HOC member claimed it to be indispensable.

It is. Expensive little bugger, but so much easier to manage than trying to sandwich bits of an automotive feeler gauge together and get an accurate reading.

Just like the ability to play a G7b13 chord, it's a worthwhile addition to my guitar toolbox.

 

A ruler? Expensive? Like, what is expensive?

 

I agree. Flats have always felt dead, even the half round recommended above. They never worked for me even though I play jazz. It's not strictly true that flat wounds are only for jazz. All the early Beatles records were recorded using flat wound strings.

 

 

Yes, their necks are great; especially the mahogany ones. but the frets have not been great until they started using Plek system.

 

But alas, they DO NOT Plek their fretboards!! See? Perception really is reality!

[LK155]

 

A ruler? Expensive? Like, what is expensive?

 

 

 

But alas, they DO NOT Plek their fretboards!! See? Perception really is reality!

 

 

Stewmack price is $18.95. Look under Tools, then Measuring.

And I think the shipping charge ALL THE WAY UP TO CANADA, BY GAWD, was about $12.

(It's only $14 to have the damn thing shipped to Venus. Or maybe up as far as Uranus.)

 

Kuz had this H525 plekked after he bought it.

[Guest HRB853370]

 

 

Stewmack price is $18.95. Look under Tools, then Measuring.

And I think the shipping charge ALL THE WAY UP TO CANADA, BY GAWD, was about $12.

(It's only $14 to have the damn thing shipped to Venus. Or maybe up as far as Uranus.)

 

Kuz had this H525 plekked after he bought it.

 

Ok, thanks!

[bolero]

Wow that's nice lyle!!!

 

......I think we need some better pics of the rest of the gtr though

[Kuz]

Well, I will defend my use of flat wounds if you wat that dark smokey jazzier tone.

 

For the record, those strings were about 10-12 months old, so even if you switched to a new set of flats they would have been a big improvement!!!

 

Now, did you not promise me if you altered the guitar in any way you would have to return the 525 to me???!!!

 

Please return it, double boxed, via Fed Ex and overnight shipping!

[LK155]

John, I didn't alter it one bit. String replacement falls under the category of routine maintenance, right? Not alteration.

Besides, you obviously don't need an H525, I see one in your signature pix. Looks a lot like mine, too.

[Kuz]

John, I didn't alter it one bit. String replacement falls under the category of routine maintenance, right? Not alteration.

Besides, you obviously don't need an H525, I see one in your signature pix. Looks a lot like mine, too.

WHOOPS!!! Looks like there are two guitars in my signature that need to go!!!

[Kuz]

Thanks Lyle for reminding me about my 525...... I fixed my signature!!!!!!!!!