detroitd Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 I'm a Heritage fan, have played quite a few Heritage guitars and appreciate the Heritage legacy; I have never owned one. I'm considering buying an H530. I played one at a local shop recently, a gold-top. It plays and sounds great; I have a few questions... The fit a finish have suffered a bit, perhaps from being on the wall at the guitar shop, it has some nicks. When I turn down the volume on either of the pick-ups, even just a little bit, the P90 hum increases significantly. Same deal if I switch to a single pickup. I know about P90s and own a semi-hollow with P90s, but this hum was quite a bit more than I'm accustomed to. Is this typical of 530s? I'm told this bad-boy has Lollars. Looks like someone (likely the tech at the store) adjusted the pick-ups quite a bit, the screws have been raised to be much closer to the strings. The plastic on the P90s themselves is not 100% tight to the body (there are some openings between the body and the pickup plastic) I imagine this is because the top is arched and nothing to worry about (this will be my first P90 archtop.) The Gibson 330s I played had quite a bit less hum when adjusting the volume on a single pickup or switching to a single pickup. Just wanted to see if this is typical. I wish there was another 530 to play within a radius of 150 miles or so of LA to compare, alas there is not. Thanks in advance!
Kuz Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 Did you play other P90 guitars at the same place as where you played the 530? The Key with P90s is how clean is the electricity? Any neon lights near by? You need to compare the hum from each guitar in the exact same place. I always thought Lollar p90s actually had significantly less hum than other p90s. Also you will ALWAYS get more hum on the neck or bridge pup alone vs in the middle "hum canceling" position. I have had three Lollar P90 Heritages (525, 535, and 150) and because of the lack of any "neon bar lights" where I play and record, the hum is almost impossible to hear.
212Mavguy Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 Ignore this. The shop employee raised the pickups and pole pieces by reference from the littler brains.
Hfan Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 Welcome detroid, glad you found us, I'm 73Fender on TGP. If there is no hum in the dual pup position with the volumes equal, I'd say one pup is RWRP. Funny that the Gibsons were quieter but there could be other variables in play, pick up type, adjustment etc. I believe a common starting point for P90 height is 1/8" from the pole pieces with the last fret fretted. Wolfe told me this and I have read it in other places too. Maybe go back to the store and ask to lower the pick heights.
brentrocks Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 The H530, IMO, is one of Heritages closet secret models.....awesome tone!!!
barrymclark Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 The H530, IMO, is one of Heritages closet secret models.....awesome tone!!! I have heard this numerous times about this and the 525. I look forward to playing one some day!
Millennium Maestro Posted February 16, 2015 Posted February 16, 2015 I played 2 530s at NAMM, I have a very strong reference for what to expect with a 530... I have ordered a full hollow prospect custom, I should be able to give you a comparable. I have also heard amazing things about the prospects! I will be ordering a 530 BUT it will have humbuckers, one thing I noticed at NAMM was the hard mounted dog ear p90s were fixed height and the bridge appears to be elevated a little higher than my normal setup action and I want to have a little more height control on the pickups along with slammin action.
rockabilly69 Posted February 16, 2015 Posted February 16, 2015 I played 2 530s at NAMM, I have a very strong reference for what to expect with a 530... I have ordered a full hollow prospect custom, I should be able to give you a comparable. I have also heard amazing things about the prospects! I will be ordering a 530 BUT it will have humbuckers, one thing I noticed at NAMM was the hard mounted dog ear p90s were fixed height and the bridge appears to be elevated a little higher than my normal setup action and I want to have a little more height control on the pickups along with slammin action. Bridge P90 pickups need to be right under the string for optimal tone, that's why Gibson put spacers on the ES330 reissues.
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