Rob2020 Posted October 30, 2020 Posted October 30, 2020 I've just received my shiny new H530 from Chicago Music Exchange. I'm used to Fenders , so it will take a little bit to adjust to the shorter scale and flatter radius. I've only played for a little while this evening. It feels more delicate than my Fenders and more polite. I had CME set it up with TI Jazz Swing 11s, so there's that. I'll try out some roundwounds and perhaps 12s, and will probably have a Bigsby B7 put on. I think strap locks will be a good idea. I can be a bit heavy-handed. These pics are not the best representation (especially of the color of both the 530 and my Jazzmaster), but I wanted to prove this had happened, since I've made a few posts with no proof. Best to all
Rob2020 Posted October 31, 2020 Author Posted October 31, 2020 Thanks! But I bet they are all beauties. Nice woody tone. I'm looking forward to getting to know it. I've been kicked out of the living room (where my main amp is), but it sounds good through a little 5 watter I have in my study.
kennyv4 Posted October 31, 2020 Posted October 31, 2020 I'm glad your new guitar finally arrived. It's beautiful. except for the strap locks, you might want to keep it stock for a while and get use to it. because you may end up liking it that way. Congratulations and enjoy.
Gitfiddler Posted October 31, 2020 Posted October 31, 2020 Very nice!! H530's are special beasts. Play yours in good health.
Rob2020 Posted October 31, 2020 Author Posted October 31, 2020 11 hours ago, kennyv4 said: I'm glad your new guitar finally arrived. It's beautiful. except for the strap locks, you might want to keep it stock for a while and get use to it. because you may end up liking it that way. Congratulations and enjoy. Thanks. Musician's Friend is having a 25% off sale on Bigsbys, so I ordered one for this guitar and one for my Tele (I really like gently using the tremolo arm on my Jazzmaster). There's a 45 day return period, so I'll hold off installing it for a while, and will try out different strings and guage during the interim.
Rob2020 Posted October 31, 2020 Author Posted October 31, 2020 The guitar was too subdued for my taste with the TI Jazz Swings, so this afternoon I swapped them out for my favorite roundwounds (Gabriel Tenorio 11s), and now the guitar sounds great to my ears. (I first used an unwound 3rd, but then put on a wound 3rd which I'm keeping on.) I feel a little guilty that I had CME put on such an expensive set of strings (the TIs), but I did want to hear how it sounded with those. Happy Halloween!
Rob2020 Posted November 2, 2020 Author Posted November 2, 2020 Tried a set of 10s today (D'Addario EXLs) and I like the slinky feeling better than the 11s. I'll try D'Addario EPN 10s next. The guitar will need to adjusted since it was set up for 11s, but I'll need to have that done anyway when I have the Bigsby put on.
Rob2020 Posted November 2, 2020 Author Posted November 2, 2020 I should mention -- the fit and finish on this guitar appear flawless. And it's very comfortable in my lap.
Rob2020 Posted November 2, 2020 Author Posted November 2, 2020 thanks! I'm playing open chords capo'd up on the 5th fret right now and it's just lovely
Rob2020 Posted November 2, 2020 Author Posted November 2, 2020 plays wonderful fingerstyle too (volume turned down to 4-5 and lots of sound coming from the guitar acoustically)
Rob2020 Posted November 2, 2020 Author Posted November 2, 2020 I have to say until tonight I was wondering if I should have got a 535 instead of the 530, but after playing this evening quietly I'm really digging this guitar
MartyGrass Posted November 2, 2020 Posted November 2, 2020 Here's a couple of thoughts about the pickups. First off, Lollars are just great P-90s. I put a thicker shim under the neck pickup. This elevates the magnets and bobbin. The screws can be lowered. It seems to minimize the volume drop with string bending. That's a very easy mod to make next time you change the strings. A great feature of the Lollars is the reverse windings of the two pickups. This greatly diminishes the hum when both pickups are on. I tend to favor the neck pickup more for tone. Raising the neck pickup allows more of a neck emphasis when both pickups are on equal volume settings. That rolls back the brightness of the bridge pickup when both pickups are on 10 for volume. In other words, when the bridge pickup is at a volume of 10, it will contribute less to the amp output but equally in hum reduction. It gives more hum reduction without as strong a presence of the bridge pickup in the tone. It's a jazz guy thing. The pics show a set of shims, which are cheap and easy to use, plus the relationships of the bobbin, screws and magnets. Raise the bobbin and magnets with the shim, lower the screws. Try it. It's easy to undo if you'd like.
Rob2020 Posted November 2, 2020 Author Posted November 2, 2020 Thanks, Marty. I see your location is Kalamazoo. Are you with Heritage?
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