jaminben55 Posted April 29, 2015 Posted April 29, 2015 I just purchased my first Heritage, a used H-535 25th Anniversary model. A couple questions have, 1st the stock pups. I believe they are the HRW pick-ups. Not sure as I have yet to receive the guitar from the shop I purchased from. I like to tinker and install new pups in just about every guitar I own. I am looking for feedback of the Stock vs. Lollar Imperials vs. SD Seth Lovers Feedback? Appreciated... Any other ideas to someone new to Heritage?
PunkKitty Posted April 29, 2015 Posted April 29, 2015 Hi and welcome. I would keep the HRWs. They are very rare pickups that sound fantastic. They were made by Ren Wall at Heritage. If you insist on replacing them, Seth Lovers are a good option. I really like Mojotone 59 Clones. I haven't tried Lollars, but a lot of people really like them. If I could afford it, I'd buy a set of Throbaks though. If you decide to replace the pickups, it might also be a good idea to replace the wiring harness.
heritagefan7 Posted April 29, 2015 Posted April 29, 2015 Welcome! folks here are great. Glad you are here and congrats on the 25th anni. Lots of folks comment on how much they like the HRWs. My experience with the Seth Lovers is that they are great, and have a lower output vibe than the HRWs I have heard. Both are wonderful IMO, just different. Enjoy the HOC--again, it's a great place!
tonedeaf Posted April 29, 2015 Posted April 29, 2015 I have a 535 with HRWs and would not even think twice about replacing them. The only guitar I own that has better tone is a 576 with HRWs. I also have a 575 (spruce top) with Seth Lovers and it is number 3 in tone. Oh, BTW. Welcome to the forum. You should be well on your way to another Heritage in short order.
jaminben55 Posted April 29, 2015 Author Posted April 29, 2015 I am looking forward to picking up the guitar, perhaps tomorrow. I am pretty excited for a guy who owns a bunch of guitars. The workmanship and attention to detail, is it that much higher than the big guitar company? Everyone I have talked to has really complemented the craftsmanship of the Heritage company as a whole...
PunkKitty Posted April 29, 2015 Posted April 29, 2015 I think of Heritage as Gibson Custom Shop quality at a fraction of the cost.
bsck1 Posted April 29, 2015 Posted April 29, 2015 Welcome to the HOC and congratulations on your FIRST Heritage masterpiece.
Gianluca Posted April 29, 2015 Posted April 29, 2015 welcome to the HOC H535 Cutom order owner equipped with SD59s split coil on Tone Controls, I'd keep my Heritage guitar as it comes from the factory HRWs PUs are very well rated here(but never had the pleasure to try them)
HANGAR18 Posted April 29, 2015 Posted April 29, 2015 Welcome! I am partial to Seymour Duncan pickups.
jaminben55 Posted April 30, 2015 Author Posted April 30, 2015 Picked up the guitar today, had the neck adjusted while I was at the shop. I must say that it plays very nicely, it has a fast clean neck. I found the neck pup to be a little boomy on the low end so we lowered that pup. They are not bad sounding pickups, but not perfect, at least to my taste, especially while played clean. While I was at the store I was able to play a new 535 w/ Seths and loved the tone, particularly in the bridge, which is unusual for me as I really have a hard time finding bridge pickups I actually like the tone of. I also played another '35 style guitar with Lollar Imperials and liked those too, albeit not as much as the Seth Lovers. When I got home I took the pickups out and found them to be SD '59's. Then it made sense why the neck sounded dark and scooped in the mids. I admit that while I am not 100% sure about the tone, and it does sound better w/ dirt, I will probably change them out. Two things took me by surprise though... The knobs were speed knobs and while I like them on my LP, I prefer the hats on the semi-hollow. I went to change them and the new hats are too big, usually meaning import pots. I took some old amber hat knobs from an Epi and they fit. I am a little surprised that Heritage would use import pots instead of CTS. Not what I expected.... The other thing is the block inlays seem to have a thin plastic film on them, like the kind you find on a new pickguard. The inlays seem to be some type of metal or alloy, not MOP or acrylic even. Hard to imagine a 5 or 6 yr old guitar having a film on the inlays. Any input on this from anyone? I do love the feel of the guitar and the looks are killer. I will have to get a photo posted, sooner vs. later I suppose.
rockabilly69 Posted April 30, 2015 Posted April 30, 2015 Picked up the guitar today, had the neck adjusted while I was at the shop. I must say that it plays very nicely, it has a fast clean neck. I found the neck pup to be a little boomy on the low end so we lowered that pup. They are not bad sounding pickups, but not perfect, at least to my taste, especially while played clean. While I was at the store I was able to play a new 535 w/ Seths and loved the tone, particularly in the bridge, which is unusual for me as I really have a hard time finding bridge pickups I actually like the tone of. I also played another '35 style guitar with Lollar Imperials and liked those too, albeit not as much as the Seth Lovers. When I got home I took the pickups out and found them to be SD '59's. Then it made sense why the neck sounded dark and scooped in the mids. I admit that while I am not 100% sure about the tone, and it does sound better w/ dirt, I will probably change them out. Two things took me by surprise though... The knobs were speed knobs and while I like them on my LP, I prefer the hats on the semi-hollow. I went to change them and the new hats are too big, usually meaning import pots. I took some old amber hat knobs from an Epi and they fit. I am a little surprised that Heritage would use import pots instead of CTS. Not what I expected.... The other thing is the block inlays seem to have a thin plastic film on them, like the kind you find on a new pickguard. The inlays seem to be some type of metal or alloy, not MOP or acrylic even. Hard to imagine a 5 or 6 yr old guitar having a film on the inlays. Any input on this from anyone? I do love the feel of the guitar and the looks are killer. I will have to get a photo posted, sooner vs. later I suppose. Pics of the guitar and especially the inlays please, that sounds interesting:)
High Flying Bird Posted April 30, 2015 Posted April 30, 2015 Welcome aboard. I had HRWs in my 535 and swapped them for SD Phat Cats. Part humbucker and part P-90. Glad I did and will never look back. You can get a pretty penny for those HRWs too. ;^)
TalismanRich Posted April 30, 2015 Posted April 30, 2015 I'm pretty sure you have MOP if you have block inlays. The standard block inlays on Heritages are MOP. They don't even use plastic for the dots of a standard 535. Some of the inlays will be a combination of MOP and abolone. I know they deal a lot with Custom Inlay in Caneyville KY. They do really nice work down there. It wouldn't make much sense for Heritage to use cheaper stuff on the 25th Anniversary models than they would on a standard 157 or Milli. The other thing is the block inlays seem to have a thin plastic film on them, like the kind you find on a new pickguard. The inlays seem to be some type of metal or alloy, not MOP or acrylic even. Hard to imagine a 5 or 6 yr old guitar having a film on the inlays. Any input on this from anyone?
big bob Posted April 30, 2015 Posted April 30, 2015 Could the inlays be stickers? Some people do that, put stickers over the dots.
FredZepp Posted April 30, 2015 Posted April 30, 2015 Is your 25th anniversary the red one with pinstripes ... from Chicago Music Exchange?
jaminben55 Posted April 30, 2015 Author Posted April 30, 2015 Is your 25th anniversary the red one with pinstripes ... from Chicago Music Exchange? Yes. That is the one. I think it is totally HOT!! I am waiting to take pictures until I get the Black Top Hats. I do not like the speed knobs on the Semi's and the shafts on the pots are metric... (??)
Blunote Posted April 30, 2015 Posted April 30, 2015 I bought a new H150 that was mistakenly advertised with Seth Lovers but arrived with SD-59s. The dealer sent me Seth Lovers to swap in and I'm glad I did. The Seths really nail that vintage PAF tone. My other two Heritages are the H535 and Millennium (Millie) Std Deluxe. Both have HRWs and I love that tone too. When the pots on my Millie started to go bad, I had Pete Moreno change them out. Even though I'd dropped off a good set of CTS pots, he'd forgotten they were in the case and replaced them with Music Man pots that he likes better. I learned a few things: First, Heritage wasn't above installing cheapo pots in their high end guitars. The ones Pete took out were of the $3/ea variety. Second, pots do make a difference in the sound of the guitar; the HRWs in that MIllie sound even smoother clean and tone down some of the brashness on the bridge. Third, wiring HRWs for split coil is a waste of time. The basic tone doesn't change. Oh, and in my case, I removed the amber top hats on my 535 and installed black speed knobs. If you need a set of amber top hat knobs, you're welcome to them.
jaminben55 Posted April 30, 2015 Author Posted April 30, 2015 I just ordered Seth Lovers last evening, they should be here early next week. The 59's are not really what I think of as a vintage PAF sound. I may just rebuild the wiring harness with CTS pots and a Switchcraft 3-way switch and jack. I am also partial to Mallory tone caps, so I will add that to the list. As long as I am in there, may as well... It all depends on time, I have a show next weekend and would like to debut the guitar then.
FredZepp Posted April 30, 2015 Posted April 30, 2015 That is an amazing looking 535.. for sure. I don't believe we've seen a 25th anni that had block inlays .. or the torch inlay on the headstock. You may want to see if those are aftermarket. Also check the Heritage label inside for possible details on custom features.
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