In praise of the 535

[Gitfiddler]

She's been seen here before, but since this is a 535 thread......

[stormymonday]

I'll play.  My H-535 showed up a couple of weeks ago.  It joins an Epi Dot and ES-339 and a Gibson ES-335 Studio on my wall.

 

[JazzyPete]

I recently bought a 535. I have custom Gibson and fender axes and this is better than the hype. Sensual sounds with the Seth Lovers. Neck is EXACTLY right. It would be hard to part with.

[High Flying Bird]

On 11/23/2019 at 7:05 PM, Gitfiddler said:

She's been seen here before, but since this is a 535 thread......

Dig it.

[JazzyPete]

Anyone tried Sadowsky?

[bolero]

I didn't know they made hollowbody guitars?

here is an old pic of my 535, back when I had a Bigsby B5 mounted on it

 

I used a Vibramate, so didn't need to drill any holes etc

now the Bigsby is gone, and the 535 is back to stoptail

 

 

 

 

 

 

[rockabilly69]

2 hours ago, bolero said:

I didn't know they made hollowbody guitars?

here is an old pic of my 535, back when I had a Bigsby B5 mounted on it

 

I used a Vibramate, so didn't need to drill any holes etc

now the Bigsby is gone, and the 535 is back to stoptail

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks a cool looking H535, and looks cool with the Vibramate. I never had luck with the Vibramates I put on my guitars, lots of tuning problems. I took them all off!

[bolero]

ha!

well, I got sick of the pain-in-the-ass string change factor, as well as tuning stability. going from an H150 to the H535

I was always tweaking the tuning

that said, a Bigsby is sublime, I really enjoyed it

I may try one of those Vibramate String Spoliers, one day. makes string changes much easier

ps JimW, Alicia, Sasquatch, myself visited the Bigsby plant in Kalamazoo, while we were at PSP.

it was SUPER cool!!! they still hand mold everything, in sand with molten aluminum ( aluminium for you Brits )

[bolero]

ps I am not wearing any pants or undergarments, in that pic

[DavesNotHere]

That's just wrong on so many levels. 

[LeBaron]

I'll play too. Those two babies have been on here before, 2004 H535 and 2018 H530

[rockabilly69]

On 12/11/2019 at 4:20 PM, bolero said:

ha!

well, I got sick of the pain-in-the-ass string change factor, as well as tuning stability. going from an H150 to the H535

I was always tweaking the tuning

that said, a Bigsby is sublime, I really enjoyed it

I may try one of those Vibramate String Spoliers, one day. makes string changes much easier

ps JimW, Alicia, Sasquatch, myself visited the Bigsby plant in Kalamazoo, while we were at PSP.

it was SUPER cool!!! they still hand mold everything, in sand with molten aluminum ( aluminium for you Brits )

When I change strings on a Bigsby equipped guitar, I string the ball end loop onto the Bigsby. When I pull the string up to the tuners, I clamp it to the fretboard with a capo. That way it stays in place while I'm running the string through the tuner until it's tightened .  

[yoslate]

On 12/11/2019 at 6:21 PM, bolero said:

ps I am not wearing any pants or undergarments, in that pic

When go photos go bad....

[EllenGtrGrl]

Hi,  I'm a new forum member. 

I've been playing guitar for 41 years, part of that time semi-pro, and with most of my playing time done with hollowbody and semi-hollowbody guitars (even for the seriously high gain stuff - IMO hollow and semi-hollow guitars have a wonderfully throaty sound, when playing them at mega gain levels).  I've known about Heritage Guitars since the 80s, but I always played Gibsons (Les Paul Signature, Howard Roberts Fusion [my main gigging guitar in the 90s], Gibson ES-135, and Gibson ES-137), Ibanez ASes, and Gretsch Country Clubs, and the occasional Fender. 

Recently, I decided I to thin my guitar herd (I live in an apartment, and it's a hassle to find space for 6 guitars), and get one really nice electric.  The 60s Baja Tele, and the ES-137 went bye-bye (sorry ES-137, I decided I just didn't like your thin, 60s Slim Taper neck).  In their place I bought a a Fender American Original Jazzmaster (it had a chunky enough neck for my preference, and Jazzmasters sound cool).  Well, it turned out the be a rather expensive failed experiment for me (especially considering that I had to spend $450 to have the guitar refretted [I have a severe Nickel allergy, and as a result, due almost all guitars have nickel alloy frets ANY guitar I buy needs to be refretted with Jescar EVO Gold hypolallergenic fretwire - and no, I cannot use stainless steel frets, because I also have a major allergy to Chromium, which is a major component of stainless steel]).  While the guitar sounded good, the occasionally mentioned Jazzmaster design flaw of the volume control placement, reared its ugly head up.  My right hand ring finger kept on hitting the volume knob, when I was playing.  Ugh!!

Considering that I also missed having a guitar with f-holes, and that I also play jazz, when I play clean, I cried uncle, and took the Jazzmaster back to the shop I bought it from, to see what I could get, that would meet my requirements for a hollow or semi-hollow guitar, with at least a Medium C neck in thickness (I play classical style [with my thumb behind the neck], and thin necks are uncomfortable for me, so as of several years ago, I have preferred to play guitars chunkier necks).  I didn't have high hopes, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised! When I mentioned to the salesguy I usually deal with, that I wanted something with a beefier neck in a hollow or semi-hollow guitar, 1 minute later he handed me a used 2015 Heritage H-535, and said "try this, it has a nice meaty neck." I put on some nitrile gloves (whenever I try out electric guitars, I bring a pair of nitrile gloves with me, to keep the nickel strings, from causing my dermatitis to flare up), gave it a quick play and said "yeah! now we're talking!" It had a nice chunky neck (sort of between a 50s Gibson, and a 60s Gibson - leaning towards the 50s side of things), that felt oh, so comfortable in my left hand. What sealed the deal, were the Duncan Seth Lover pickups in it - beautiful, round jazz tones, and great sounding rock rock tones too.

Unfortunately reading all of the H-535 posts in this thread, are depressing me!    You see, I had to leave my H-535 at the shop (Cream City Music), for the obligatory refret job (to replace the Nickel alloy frets) from the on-staff luthier (I also included a set of Ernie Ball Cobalts, to be installed on the guitar, since I can't use Nickel or stainless steel stings anymore). Also, when I got home, a little online searching informed me that the hardware (bridge, tailpiece, and tuners) are nickel plated, so I will have to also replace those.   In short, I can't play my H-535 at the present time. 

With regards to my guitar's nickel plated hardware - I've contacted Heritage, to ask them what hardware they used, so I can get compatible chrome plated hardware (if any of you want to chime in with the hardware information I need, feel free to do so).  Below is a photo of my new (to me) guitar.  It's the photo that was on Cream City Music's website

2015 Almond Burst H-535

 

[Steiner]

Say, EllenGtrGrl, welcome to the HOC.  Yours is precisely the model and finish that turned me on to the Heritage brand.  I too appreciate the high-gain, timbre of a hollow body guitar cranked.  With that, I'm issuing a stern warning.  Heritage guitars are just so good that nobody stops with just one.  You're going to need a bigger home!  Especially with the level of enablers here.  It's good to have you on-board.  You have chosen well!

[PunkKitty]

Hi Ellen! *Waves*

[EllenGtrGrl]

Hi Punk Kitty Girl!!    Long time no see!!  Hope things are going well for you.

Ellen

[DetroitBlues]

On 12/10/2019 at 11:20 PM, bolero said:

I didn't know they made hollowbody guitars?

here is an old pic of my 535, back when I had a Bigsby B5 mounted on it

 

I used a Vibramate, so didn't need to drill any holes etc

now the Bigsby is gone, and the 535 is back to stoptail

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've contemplated buying a gold B7 with a Vibramate... But since I went the gold hardware route, I cannot convince myself to spend the money because my 535 sounds perfect just the way it is...

[rockabilly69]

On 12/14/2019 at 11:40 AM, EllenGtrGrl said:

....With regards to my guitar's nickel plated hardware - I've contacted Heritage, to ask them what hardware they used, so I can get compatible chrome plated hardware (if any of you want to chime in with the hardware information I need, feel free to do so).  Below is a photo of my new (to me) guitar.  It's the photo that was on Cream City Music's website

2015 Almond Burst H-535

 

welcome aboard Ellen! Nice looking guitar you've got there!!! If you want hardware that will work perfectly for your situation, and in my not so humble opinion, better than what came stock on any Heritage, check out this link from Faber. https://faberusa.com/product-category/heritage-upgrades/

Everything you need will be here. One of the absolute best upgrades of the bunch is to dump the Nashville bridge and the cheap inserts and go with the replacement german steel inserts and the locking ABR conversion bridge. It's fantastic and far better than any of the other brands that Heritage has used. All of his parts are available in chrome-plating. And the Larry Corsa who runs that show stands behind every product he sells!!

[EllenGtrGrl]

2 hours ago, rockabilly69 said:

welcome aboard Ellen! Nice looking guitar you've got there!!! If you want hardware that will work perfectly for your situation, and in my not so humble opinion, better than what came stock on any Heritage, check out this link from Faber. https://faberusa.com/product-category/heritage-upgrades/

Everything you need will be here. One of the absolute best upgrades of the bunch is to dump the Nashville bridge and the cheap inserts and go with the replacement german steel inserts and the locking ABR conversion bridge. It's fantastic and far better than any of the other brands that Heritage has used. All of his parts are available in chrome-plating. And the Larry Corsa who runs that show stands behind every product he sells!!

Thanks for the info.  That's just what I wanted to know! 

Ellen

[Genericmusic]

On 11/24/2019 at 7:06 AM, stormymonday said:

I'll play.  My H-535 showed up a couple of weeks ago.  It joins an Epi Dot and ES-339 and a Gibson ES-335 Studio on my wall.

 

[High Flying Bird]

On 12/13/2019 at 1:09 AM, rockabilly69 said:

When I change strings on a Bigsby equipped guitar, I string the ball end loop onto the Bigsby. When I pull the string up to the tuners, I clamp it to the fretboard with a capo. That way it stays in place while I'm running the string through the tuner until it's tightened .  

In my string changing kit I have a small rubber eraser, the kind you yourself puts onto the end of a pencil.  Push it under the string at the Bigsby pin and the barrel of the string will go nowhere.  

[rockabilly69]

54 minutes ago, High Flying Bird said:

In my string changing kit I have a small rubber eraser, the kind you yourself puts onto the end of a pencil.  Push it under the string at the Bigsby pin and the barrel of the string will go nowhere.  

great tip!

[High Flying Bird]

On 12/18/2019 at 2:38 AM, rockabilly69 said:

great tip!

Learned the hard way.  ;^)

[rockabilly69]

7 hours ago, High Flying Bird said:

Learned the hard way.  ;^)

pretty much the reason I came up with the capo trick:)