The great Heritage H-150 weight relief experiment

[JeffB]

Ive put on 4kg/8.8lb over the last 8weeks. This is a very good development, Im excited about it.

My H150 still weighs  4.76kg /10.5pounds. Verified on scales that are checked by officials 4 times a week. I wouldnt mind it losing a pound or so.

If I stand on my bathroom scales and check weight then stand on the scales with my H150 and then deduct my weight from that it is inline with the checked and maintained scales.

[PunkKitty]

I looked up some previous posts. The guitar was 9.5 pounds when I got it. So a drop to 8.4 pounds isn't bad. Like I said, the lighting in my house is pretty bad. To be safe, I have a 5 pound lead weight in the basement that I can check the scale with. 

[MartyGrass]

If the goal is the lowest practical weight, you are doing a great job.

Now you need to use very light strings,  maybe 7s like Jimmy Page.  (kidding)

[MartyGrass]

0.07 strings!

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9M07-eNsHg

[TalismanRich]

Back when I checked the weights on my guitars,  I used the 8kg Mettler balances at work,  checked to 0.1g.   

Postage scales that are accurate to 0.1 oz are available for $25-30 and hold 35-50lbs,   That should be good enough.

[rockabilly69]

Just now, TalismanRich said:

Back when I checked the weights on my guitars,  I used the 8kg Mettler balances at work,  checked to 0.1g.   

Postage scales that are accurate to 0.1 oz are available for $25-30 and hold 35-50lbs,   That should be good enough.

that's what I use Rich and they are pretty accurate. 

[PunkKitty]

According to the 10 pound weight I have downstairs, my scale is .2 pound off. The weight weighs 9.8 pounds.

[rockabilly69]

On 10/21/2021 at 9:20 PM, PunkKitty said:

Things I learned:
- I really like the Alumitones. They are really versatile.

  
 

 

 

 

I don't know if you know this Monica, but there are special fitting humbucker rings for those aluminum tones, so they don't have the big gaps all the way around. I don't know if they are sold separately. Although they may add a little weight, I think that those mesh covers would make your H150 look really great!

 

[PunkKitty]

I know about them. But I had some credit from MF. That and the discounts they had brought it down to $77 for the set delivered.

[HANGAR18]

22 hours ago, MartyGrass said:

There was a time when I ran the overweight program at our Air Force base.  Those who were overweight by the charts were ordered to lose 3 lbs a month or more by their squadron commander until their weight was acceptable.  My job was to counsel and weigh them.  If they didn't comply they could be fined, lose rank and even imprisoned for disobedience of a lawful order.

Every Wednesday the technicians from metrics came to calibrate the scale.  They came as a pair to make sure everything was done perfectly and documented.  Their cart had known 25, 50, and 100 lb weights to check the scale.  I never saw them need to adjust the scale week after week.

Despite this, every Wednesday I'd hear angry people tell me how wrong the scale was.  I recall one person mad at me because he said he only ate one sandwich a day yet he still gained weight.  Others only had a strange diet like pickles, sauerkraut, and glasses of vinegar for the week.

The people I listened to the most were the metrics team.  Put a known weight on the scale to check it before putting the unknown weight.  That removes doubt.  If you don't have a known weight, take an object like a cinder block or small brick, weigh it, and record that weight.  Then weigh the object you intend on reducing, in this case a guitar.  Each weight check in the future would be compared to the brick or block that is your standard.  You can be certain of the percent change in weight that way.  If your goal is to know absolute weight, you need a precision balance scale and measure at sea level.  We almost never need a precise absolute weight.

 

 

I'm glad I got out of the military when I did. The same period of time that I was a super skinny pencil capable of running 6 minute miles was the same time when I started growing love handles. Now I'm 250 lbs, eat less then I did back then and still have a very physically active work life. I have NO IDEA how to loose weight, so I just buy more guitars.

[PunkKitty]

I played the guitar for 90 minutes today at practice. I was standing the whole time with it hanging on my shoulder. No pain. No fatigue. This is a wonderful instrument. I like the Alumitones, but they didn't work well for distortion with my ZT Lunchbox. A pedal will solve that. I'm not sure if I like the Sperzel tuners. They seem very touchy. But it might have been the new strings.

I have more experimenting to do. This time, I'm going to use flat humbuckers in my 9 pound Les Paul. Well, on the LP. These are slightly larger than regular pickups. I don't know what kind of magnets they are using. My guess is neodymium. But the price is right. I have some extra pickup rings. I'll tape them to the top of some plastic humbucker covers. I'm wondering if I can get a more traditional tone in a lightweight LP type of guitar. 

[HANGAR18]

9 hours ago, PunkKitty said:

I played the guitar for 90 minutes today at practice. I was standing the whole time with it hanging on my shoulder. No pain. No fatigue. This is a wonderful instrument. I like the Alumitones, but they didn't work well for distortion with my ZT Lunchbox. A pedal will solve that. I'm not sure if I like the Sperzel tuners. They seem very touchy. But it might have been the new strings.

I have more experimenting to do. This time, I'm going to use flat humbuckers in my 9 pound Les Paul. Well, on the LP. These are slightly larger than regular pickups. I don't know what kind of magnets they are using. My guess is neodymium. But the price is right. I have some extra pickup rings. I'll tape them to the top of some plastic humbucker covers. I'm wondering if I can get a more traditional tone in a lightweight LP type of guitar. 

I hope you are trying all these pickups that you swap out on multiple amps before moving on to the next pickup swap. I'm under the impression lately that amplifiers do a lot more to shape tone than pickups shape tone. Yes, pickups do shape tone a lot. All I'm saying is that I *think* that amplifiers *might* have a greater influence. Your mileage may vary.

[PunkKitty]

I am. I'm also keeping the old pickups and harnesses in case I decide to switch back.

[DonA]

Does that guitar have a lightweight aluminum tailpiece?  My 2019 H-150 does and my 2019 H-535 does not.  They weigh probably a couple of ounces less than a zinc tailpiece (I didn't weight them, but it's noticeable when you pick them up).  They also sound really good (to my ear) on a mahogany/maple guitar.

[PunkKitty]

It did not. It does now.

[pressure]

I've been looking for titanium strap buttons and screws for my SuperLight Millie to keep the weight down. I can find titanium screws but not buttons. The SuperLight Millie does not have a neck strap button because I feel regular metal buttons, including aluminum, are too heavy. I'm enjoying your lightweight build PK.

[DonA]

3 hours ago, PunkKitty said:

It did not. It does now.

Oops!  I missed that in your first post!

[DetroitBlues]

On 10/26/2021 at 8:02 AM, HANGAR18 said:

I'm glad I got out of the military when I did. The same period of time that I was a super skinny pencil capable of running 6 minute miles was the same time when I started growing love handles. Now I'm 250 lbs, eat less then I did back then and still have a very physically active work life. I have NO IDEA how to loose weight, so I just buy more guitars.

Because the military never taught us how to eat right.  Its load up your plate, eat everything you can.  But back then, the daily routines outside of PT time, burned those calories in no time.

Now we're out, we don't do the 12+ mile road marches in combat gear, six mile company runs, plus whatever training we went through.  Now we sit a desks and walk as little as possbile.  Didn't know the bad eating habits were in fact bad back then.  Still miss having biscuits and gravy for breakfast every day...

[HANGAR18]

45 minutes ago, DetroitBlues said:

Because the military never taught us how to eat right.  Its load up your plate, eat everything you can.  But back then, the daily routines outside of PT time, burned those calories in no time.

Now we're out, we don't do the 12+ mile road marches in combat gear, six mile company runs, plus whatever training we went through.  Now we sit a desks and walk as little as possbile.  Didn't know the bad eating habits were in fact bad back then.  Still miss having biscuits and gravy for breakfast every day...

I LOVE biscuits & gravy!!!!