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NGD: Vintage Sweet 16

MartyGrass

By MartyGrass
in Heritage Guitars

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MartyGrass Veteran

MartyGrass

Posted
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I just got this 20 year old ALSB treat. I am impressed. This is my fourth Sweet 16 and the best.

 

I asked the seller to give me some history on this guitar. Here's his response:

 

 

dont know too much about the guitar before I bought it in 2005 from Ken Kamber in Mendocino (at the time). I confirmed its build date with Rendall at Heritage, who as you probably know, is one of the undersung heroes of the guitar-building world. Shortly after buying it, I had the Lollar low-wind and RS electronics (really just a trend-following experiment that turned out great), as well as the intonated bridge (a must have for me over the straight bridge, due to my fanaticism over chords) installed by Gary Brawer. He further improved the intonation of the bridge by notching it for .013 - .054s. He also did a touch-up on the frets, but as youll see, didnt take any real mass off. If you havent heard of Gary, hes easily one of the best in the business. In addition to what you may be able to find about him on the web, hes the first guy in the U.S. to buy and use a PLEK, hes who the names and THEIR techs (Keith Richards, Buddy Miller, etc.) use when they come through town. Though not an archtop specialist, if it doesnt have to do with brace repair, hes the guy. I played this guitar pretty heavily for about two years when I first got it, mostly in duos. Then, the day job and other responsibilities forced me to play less frequently, to the point where smaller hollowbodies were just easier for me to leave around, grab when I could, and not worry about them being out of their case. Consequently, she has been mostly in the case for about 5 years (yikes!). It sounds good now, but believe me, after about a month of playing, it will sound better. I once babysat my teachers Gibson Johnny Smith and Dangelico New Yorker (both hand-picked by his teacher, Johnny Smith) for a few months, and I thought the DAngelico sounded like dry crap compared the the Johnnhy Smith. After he got back from traveling, he explained that hed been playing the Smith mostly for the last year, and to check in with him in a few months. Sure enough, after him playing the DAngelico, it sounded waaaay better than what I heard.

 

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The neck is medium- thin. The guitar plays very well and has a great acoustic tone.

 

A surprise is that it is parallel braced. Usually the single pup guitars are X braced. Here is a discussion on the differences. Since I tend to use heavy strings, parallel bracing is good for me.

 

 

http://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/guitar-amps-gizmos/20762-x-bracing-vs-parallel-bracing-tone-bars-archtop.html

 

Here are the pix. The first three I just took.

skydog52 Mentor

skydog52

Posted
Posted

Beauty Mark! You have a nice stable of ladies.

MartyGrass Veteran

MartyGrass

Posted
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Played it last night through my Evans. It sounds fabulous. The Lollar Low Wind is a great choice for old style (Wes) jazz. The pickup was positioned pretty low and this seems to be the sweet spot.

 

I can't tell if the RS Guitarworks electronics added to the good results, but maybe.

 

I now have traditional jazz boxes with P90s, Schallers, Alumitones and a PAF. Each is distinct. If I were in a lifeboat and could only grab one based on amplified tone, only the P90s would survive. But another day might be another story.

Ned Contributor

Ned

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Very nice indeed. I would love to see a group shot of you're stable. Great taste

SofaPlayer Apprentice

SofaPlayer

Posted
Posted

So beautiful! The two stripes on the back of the neck / headtsock almost make the back of the headtsock look embossed. Congrats & enjoy!

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