H150 Issues - help !

[holdgaj]

I bought an H150 just before the Heritage company changed ownership. Bought from the USA, I live in France. I've got a few issues with the Guitar bit haven't returned it under warrantry because of the ownership change & also the shipping costs. The main issue is that I cant get it to play clean with a reasonable action - i.e. < 3mm. I would expect it be OK at 2mm (5/64) which is what Heritage specify I believe. I think part of this problem may be a defective fingerboard, but I'm not sure. Perhaps some other H150 owners can set me straight. On all guitars I have owned up to now, I've been able to check the fretwork by getting the neck straight and putting a straightedge on it. On this guitar, if I get the bass side of the neck flat the treble side is in backbow, If I get the treble side level I still have relief on the bass side. Now I know that some guitars are designed to have more relief on the bass side of the neck, is the H150 like this ? What have in effect is a hump on the treble side of the fingerboard,its between the 1st and 5th frets. I'm not sure whether to get the fingerboard levelled or not.

 

Other H150 owners - how's your action set ? have you got more relief on the bass side of the neck ?

[Gitfiddler]

Sounds serious!  If it were my newly purchased Heritage, I'd send it back for a look see.  It should have been plek'd at the factory, but if some sort of neck warpage has occurred afterwards...and still under warranty, I say send it back.  The ownership change should not modify your one year manufacturer's warranty.  Only the expense of shipping as well as the probably long delay in repair are at issue.

 

Good luck and please tell us how this plays out.

[PacerX]

I bought an H150 just before the Heritage company changed ownership. Bought from the USA, I live in France. I've got a few issues with the Guitar bit haven't returned it under warrantry because of the ownership change & also the shipping costs. The main issue is that I cant get it to play clean with a reasonable action - i.e. < 3mm. I would expect it be OK at 2mm (5/64) which is what Heritage specify I believe. I think part of this problem may be a defective fingerboard, but I'm not sure. Perhaps some other H150 owners can set me straight. On all guitars I have owned up to now, I've been able to check the fretwork by getting the neck straight and putting a straightedge on it. On this guitar, if I get the bass side of the neck flat the treble side is in backbow, If I get the treble side level I still have relief on the bass side. Now I know that some guitars are designed to have more relief on the bass side of the neck, is the H150 like this ? What have in effect is a hump on the treble side of the fingerboard,its between the 1st and 5th frets. I'm not sure whether to get the fingerboard levelled or not.

 

Other H150 owners - how's your action set ? have you got more relief on the bass side of the neck ?

 

K - some background...

 

I have my guitar necks set rack-straight.

 

My view may be flawed to some, but I view relief as an excuse for bad fretwork.  I set my guitars up for the lowest possible action, where the limiting factor become the fretboard radius.  If you can set it so low that fretting out on bends becomes an issue, you're now in the ballpark of what I look for.  I'm such a maniac about it that I have had brand-new guitars refretted.  My brand-new Godin is going in for this surgery this week.

 

The only solution that I can see for your guitar is to level the fretboard.  You're in France, so sending it back might be a problem - but it may be the only solution.

 

What gage of strings are you using?  In what tuning?

[GuitArtMan]

Well I've had fretting issues with brand new Heritages - even the pleked ones:

H-535 - dead fret at the 15th fret.  Buzzed horribly and fretted out completely before I could even bend a half step.

H-137 - buzzed horribly at the nut on the A and D strings and to a lesser extent on the low E string - even with excessive neck relief.

 

In your case it sounds like the neck may be twisting.  You should have that looked at and fixed on Heritage's nickel.

[GuitArtMan]

K - some background...

 

I have my guitar necks set rack-straight.

 

My view may be flawed to some, but I view relief as an excuse for bad fretwork.  I set my guitars up for the lowest possible action, where the limiting factor become the fretboard radius.  If you can set it so low that fretting out on bends becomes an issue, you're now in the ballpark of what I look for.  I'm such a maniac about it that I have had brand-new guitars refretted.  My brand-new Godin is going in for this surgery this week.

 

The only solution that I can see for your guitar is to level the fretboard.  You're in France, so sending it back might be a problem - but it may be the only solution.

 

What gage of strings are you using?  In what tuning?

My acid test is when I start to lower the action does it start to buzz evenly up and down the neck or are their obvious high spots.  The opposite is also something I look for - when I raise the action does the buzzing go away all up and down the neck evenly or does it clean up in some areas first.  On the guitars that does this for me, there is always some slight relief in the neck - but then I have a fairly heavy right hand attack.

[PacerX]

On the guitars that does this for me, there is always some slight relief in the neck - but then I have a fairly heavy right hand attack.

 

Hmmm...

 

An interesting difference...

 

I have a very light right hand and a very heavy left hand (picking is generally optional for me on single note lines).

[GuitArtMan]

Hmmm...

 

An interesting difference...

 

I have a very light right hand and a very heavy left hand (picking is generally optional for me on single note lines).

Uh huh.  I recently put together a VanWarmoth guitar.  After bolting it together and stringing her up I had a dead straight neck with ridiculously low action - I think it was like 2/64" on the treble and about 2.5/64" on the bass.  If I played with a very light touch, it was buzz free!  Of course with my right hand I had to raise it some and add a tad of relief - I think I ended up at 3.5/64" treble side and 4/64" bass side, but I'm too lazy to go measure.  I find with a dead straight neck, with my right hand, I'll get buzzing in the lower frets - say 1 - 7 or 9 or so.

[holdgaj]

I'm using Thomastik 10's in standard tuning. These are low tension strings so I'm going to need neck some relief. Here's my usual setup method. I raise the action up to 3mm or so, then adjust the rod until it plays buzz free all over, then drop the action down to where it feels comfortable.

 

Returning the guitar to the US will cost me $400 - and then there's the possibility that 1) it wont get fixed properly and 2) the journey back by air will cause further problems, requireing further work. I can probably get the work done locally for $400. So I'm reluctant to send it back.

 

As an aside I found the customer service at Heritage pretty poor - the first response was, in effect "you dont know how to setup a guitar - read this guitaqr setup 101". At no stage was there a statement of regret that I was having issues. I guess the imminent ownership change was a factor.

[jacques]

Did you get a second opinion from a qualified luthier?

[PacerX]

I'm using Thomastik 10's in standard tuning. These are low tension strings so I'm going to need neck some relief. Here's my usual setup method. I raise the action up to 3mm or so, then adjust the rod until it plays buzz free all over, then drop the action down to where it feels comfortable.

 

Returning the guitar to the US will cost me $400 - and then there's the possibility that 1) it wont get fixed properly and 2) the journey back by air will cause further problems, requireing further work. I can probably get the work done locally for $400. So I'm reluctant to send it back.

 

As an aside I found the customer service at Heritage pretty poor - the first response was, in effect "you dont know how to setup a guitar - read this guitaqr setup 101". At no stage was there a statement of regret that I was having issues. I guess the imminent ownership change was a factor.

 

I am not familiar with Thomastik - are these a  standard .010"-.046" set of 10's?

 

Well, the guitar should be stable enough that the journey back and forth won't cause any problems.  We are talking about a solid body electric here.  While not of tank-like proportions like a Fender, it shouldn't react as badly to shipment as you think.

 

I am concerned by the response you got though... a guitar tech reviewing the instrument (as stated above) may be the best next step.  This person should also be able to talk to Heritage in terms they better understand and would provide a valuable second opinion.