digitalboytn Posted March 23, 2014 Posted March 23, 2014 I saw the photos of the custom Sweet 16 that Vince Lewis ordered,so I thought I would post a photo of a couple of similar guitars were made for me by Heritage as an artist deal...These were made to my specs and have a no inlays in the fingerboard or headstock,the ultra woods package,tap tuned top and back,venetian cutaway,1 3/4" nut with a FAT neck and a single floating HRW pickup..They were further customised with a Gotoh bridge with GraphTech saddles,a GraphTech nut,stainless steel frets and a KRK Audio Pure Archtop transducer system with a stereo output jack... I have owned and played many fine archtop guitars in my lifetime,but I have never played anything that is better than these Sweet 16's... Just after the first one arrived,I took it down to California Vintage Guitars in Sherman Oaks CA so that the guys could check it out...There she was all shiny and new and when we compared her to a very expensive 1958 D'Angelico New Yorker,she left the D'Angelico in the dust...The guys in the shop were shocked,but I was rather happy about it all... Another guy I know in CA who is a Heritage endorsee,had just ordered a custom Sweet 16,but when played he played the "D'Angelico killer",he sent his back to the factory and told them to try again I am so grateful to the guys at Heritage for making me these really incredible guitars that give me the greatest pleasure ever time I play them.. Thank you...ajw
DC Ron Posted March 23, 2014 Posted March 23, 2014 Welcome to the club! Wow, those are nice. Any pics of the backs? I'm a sucker for ultra woods...
ScottNaylor Posted March 23, 2014 Posted March 23, 2014 Thanks and welcome to HOC! How do you ever choose between those two? 🎼🎶😍
skydog52 Posted March 23, 2014 Posted March 23, 2014 Welcome to a Great place to discuss these fine instruments. Those two are fine examples! What year are those?
big bob Posted March 23, 2014 Posted March 23, 2014 Looks like you told the guys you wanted some 16 inch archtops, and make them sweet! I really want a sweet 16.
MartyGrass Posted March 23, 2014 Posted March 23, 2014 Interesting. Why no Sweet 16 on the headstock veneer but 16 on the bridge base? That's subtle. I like the ebony PGs. Very classy. Antique natural really brings out the quality of the woods. I see the bear claw on one. Lastly, I don't see how they can contain a HRW in the thin Floater #3 casing. The bobbins and magnets shouldn't fit. Ken Rambow builds Heritage's jazz pickups. Perhaps he knows how to make that work. Generally the problem with floaters is that there is too little space between the top and strings to put anything hot there. ?????
RJLII Posted March 23, 2014 Posted March 23, 2014 Hubba Hubba. Throw a couple P90s and some parallelogram inlays on there and that's my perfect guitar.
digitalboytn Posted March 23, 2014 Author Posted March 23, 2014 Sorry...No pics of the back of the Sweet 16's yet,but here's a couple of shots of some Victor Baker 7 String archtops that he made for me...This should keep the flame enthusiasts happy for a while Regarding the HRW pickups,I think that's what they were...I had originally wanted Bartolini's because they have excellent string to string definition,but Ren told me that I'd be happy with these ones that he had designed...Maybe it was that he wanted me to get a HRW fitted into the body ? But I like the purity of a floating pickup to retain the acoustic qualities,so that was my preference..I don't know too much about all of that technical stuff...I just play them
MartyGrass Posted March 23, 2014 Posted March 23, 2014 My guess is that you have Heritage Floating #3, which Ren worked with Ken Rambow on. These are excellent at articulation and note definition. They are thin and light so they have minimal effect on acoustic sound. Some would argue that a pickguard with a floating pup should not be attached to the top, rather it should be screwed into the neck. It probably has no discernible effect either way since the top is relatively "dead" where the PG is screwed in. You can tell this by tapping out the top. You have a couple of very nice looking 16s there. What have you found that prevents feedback when gigging? Where is your amp positioned? Do you mute your open strings with your palm?
jimsoloway Posted March 23, 2014 Posted March 23, 2014 Man I love the way those look with no inlays. When I ordered my new guitar we discussed all the possibilities for a 25.5" guitar and one of the options was basically this guitar with a top mounted pickup and controls. I guess this is one more idea to tuck away "for after".
Vanschoyck Posted March 23, 2014 Posted March 23, 2014 Those are cool. As interesting as it is that the two are so much alike, even more intriguing are the slight differences, like where the controls are mounted.
tulk1 Posted March 23, 2014 Posted March 23, 2014 Those are really nice. Just something about a big box guitar that draws the eye. And as Mark (MartyGrass) pointed out those probably are not actuall HRWs. Especially in the flat cover. If those are Ren/Rambow pickups, then ... wowzers!! Not to be contrary (ok, maybe a bit), but I'm not sure I understand the comment about your buddy that sent his back and told them to "try again". Did he not get what he ordered? Or did he just like yours so much ... a very custom order ... that he wanted one like it? I'm sure there's lots more to it than what I'm getting from one short sentence. Just seems odd, tho'.
Gitfiddler Posted March 23, 2014 Posted March 23, 2014 Wow, 4 amazing archtops! That's quite an entrance to the HOC. Welcome!! Congratulations on your 2 Custom Sweeties. That model is Ren's favorite, I'm told. From your description, the boys on Parsons Street did an outstanding job on both. Do you have any sound clips or a website so we can hear some of your 6 or 7 string playing?
digitalboytn Posted March 23, 2014 Author Posted March 23, 2014 I'll answer a couple of questions here...I don't like inlays or any of that palava,so all of my guitars are made with the focus on tone and not on the window dressing... The bridges are pre-made,so my request for no inlays there was over ridden by the practicalities of the situation... These guitars were initially being made at the same time,but when they were carving the back of one of them,they found a small mark in the wood and as these were going to be clear finish,they decided to make another instrument for me and the one with the mark would end up as a sunburst finish for some lucky punter... This is also why the controls on the pickguard are slightly different...Soon,they will be getting slightly smaller pickguards - the tone control will get the flick - replaced with a volume control for the piezo pickup to give me onboard blending... The serial #'s are : T09701 and U36002...These guitars replaced a pair of Guild Artist Awards that I was playing when I wanted something slightly smaller to tuck under my arm... The guy who sent his custom Sweet 16 back after playing one of mine,compared the two guitars and the difference in tone and projection was quite pronounced...His one just didn't have the energy of the D'Angelico killer because all of those small custom details DO add up to having a large effect on the sound.. I think that the main features that contribute to this would be the tap tone top and back,the FAT neck,the floating pickup,ventian cutaway and no inlays to disturb the flow of the energy ... Like I said before,I have owned and played many fine quality archtop guitars and I have never found anything that sounds better
digitalboytn Posted March 24, 2014 Author Posted March 24, 2014 Here is some photos of the back of one of the Sweet 16's as requested...This is serial # T09701...The other guitar is almost identical,but she is safely stored away in Western Australia right now and not available for the photo shoot
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