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New Guitar Day: 2007 Heritage H-150CM Goldtop, 9lbs (Help with Pickup Decision)

jamison162

By jamison162
in Heritage Guitars

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jamison162 Contributor

jamison162

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I finally will be joining this club for real.  The question hasn't been whether to buy a Heritage or not, but whether which one to buy.  I have been so indecisive.

The first time I played an H-150 (a bandmates), I knew I would own one.  Well, today, this baby will be dropped off at my house.

 

A beautiful champagne colored Heritage H-150CM goldtop.  I will be adding a plastic switch ring, amber tip, gold speed knobs, strap locks, and possibly upgrading in the future to locking tuners and Tonepros hardware.  I have some Jensen PIO caps and CT pots on hand also, but I really like the Heritage smooth pots.

 

Basic pickups are Golden Age which I plan on having rewound to Dr. V's by Wolfetone.  My friends H-150 has 59's, which I love, but are almost too much for these guitars.  Heritages have so much push and output, that they do not need anything above say 8.5k, and I even find A5's mags too much.

 

So....that leads me to my main question.  What do you guys really think of the Seth Lovers in these guitars?  Has anyone compared them directly with 59's.

My other options for A2 mags and PAF style low outputs are gonna be the Gibson Classic 57's, Wolfetone Dr. V's (which I will try), Antiquities, WB Vintage Pafs, WCR Darkburst or Crossroads maybe.

 

Any ideas?

 

Got a killer deal on this one by the way.  About the price of a new Standard Faded.

 

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wingnut1 Apprentice

wingnut1

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Beautiful guitar, I'd like to get a goldtop with PAFs.  I never appreciated them when I was younger and had many chances in the 70s and 80s to get on for a couple hundred $, but I never did.

Kazwell Collaborator

Kazwell

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I just switched to Seth Lovers from the SD 59's just last night! Difference between night and day. Was never impressed by the sound of the 59's and actually prefer the Schallers over them, but they were already loaded on the H-150cm that I wanted cause I really liked the finish-translucent amber.

Anyway, I really don't think you can go wrong with the Seth Lovers. They have a crisp microphonic quality -neck pickups are not too bassy, the bridge is too trebly for some, but I through it sounded great. Just make sure if you install them the neck pu's are not set too high.

 

Hard for me to describe them in the depth that some folks on harmony-central for instance can communicate. I can tell with pickups within seconds whether my ears like or dislike the sound when I put  a new pickup in and last night I could tell immediately that these are outstanding pickups.

 

I will say that I am using this guitar for more clean jazzy to dirty blues stuff. I have another LP type with EMGs I use when I want to shred. However, I was getting some nice squeaky harmonics on the higher gain models on my Vox tonelab through headphones. Will play this afternoon through an amp to see if I get all that much more feedback than I get with my potted humbuckers on another guitar I have.

 

Can't really speak for the more specialized botique Humbuckers from folks like Jason Lollar of Lindy Fralin or Voodoo. Have heard good things about all of these but have never played a guitar with them installed-mp3 soundbites don't really give me a clear idea of what they really will sound like when implemented with my rig and general style.

 

When you think about it, the combo of a Heritage with Seth Lovers is a match made in guitar heaven- a product created and redeveloped by the original folks that made the legendary guitars from the 50's (and beyond) rematched with a product created and redeveloped by an individual that developed the legendary pickups of the 50's (and beyond).

 

 

For this reason alone, the Lovers are stayin put in this guitar.

jamison162 Contributor

jamison162

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Not to mention Seth Lover was also from Kalamazoo, Michigan.

 

So are the Seths brighter or warmer than the 59's.  59's are great in bright guitars, esp. Epiphones.  But I do not like the fast and hard attack of the A5's magnets anymore.

Love the softness and openness, classic sound of A2's.  My only concern is the bridge being too bright.  It should be warmer and fuller sounding though.  At any rate, if I have any issues with the bridge, I plan on just swapping the A2 for an A4 from RS Guitar Works or an A5 magnet.  No need to swap pickups anymore.  I'm sure these will be staying.  Matter of fact, I need to call RS and get the scoop on those A4's.  I hear they are in between the A2 and A5 mags (best of both). 

 

Duncans Website has a T/M/B rating system:  So they show Seth Lover having more mids but bass and treble the same.

59's = 8/3/6

SL's = 8/4/6

Thundersteel Proficient

Thundersteel

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I prefer the Seth Lovers to the '59s. The SLs have an "airy" sound to them; I always felt the '59s sounded too muddy for me.

jamison162 Contributor

jamison162

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What's the specs on the HRW's?  That's the mystery.  I'd like to know.  I remember email Heritage/Ren about that once; don't think I ever got a reply.  It's a big secret.

Kazwell Collaborator

Kazwell

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I would say the Seth Lovers definately have a brighter sound in the bridge than the 59's. I had a chance to play them through an amp. The sustain with the SL's is also much better. Of course, I am using 11 through 52 gauge strings so I will get a bit warmer sound than with a lighter gauge.

Dick Seacup Proficient

Dick Seacup

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What's the specs on the HRW's?  That's the mystery.  I'd like to know.  I remember email Heritage/Ren about that once; don't think I ever got a reply.  It's a big secret.

 

Well, I just scoped the spare pair (thanks to the generosity of a fellow HOC member, I do have a spare pair...for now!) and the bridge is 8.21 ohms and the neck is 7.38 ohms.  I was surprised, thinking they would be higher.  Beyond that, well, I'm not about to pull them apart and I wouldn't know how to tell what sort of magnets are in there anyway. :)

Thundersteel Proficient

Thundersteel

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Gold tops should have P90's.

 

Jay has a couple of those in stock right now!

yoslate Proficient

yoslate

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Allow me to confuse the issue further....  Best sounding LP I've ever owned was a '52...no re-ish, the real thing!  If I could have just one guitar back, that's the one!  Closest I've been able to get is with my 150.  Cosmetics (almond burst, marvelous chevrons) are very different.  Neck (1 3/4", ebony, very shallow) decidedly different.  Tone...pretty close after dropping a pair of Duncan phat-cats into it: warm but not at all brown, clean but not without character, articulate, and very nicely balanced.  They're P-90's with chrome covers, pole screws in the center of the cover, which drop straight into the routing for a Humbucker.  Exquisite middle position tone!  Have the same p'up in my 576.  Mahvlusss, dear!    8)

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