pro-fusion Posted May 29, 2009 Posted May 29, 2009 Well, the UPS driver delivered a nice big package today, my H-150 20th Anniversary Ed.! I'll post more of a review later on when I've spent more time with it, but my first thoughts are: --it's much lighter than my 157; I'd say about 9 lbs. One-piece mahogany body with very open grain--gotta be Honduran. --much sweeter-sounding than the 157; they are incredibly different. --the Air Norton in the bridge was installed backwards, I guess to warm it up. That wasn't necessary, since the guitar still has a sweet crunch when I turned the pickup around. It immediately gave off a "Sweet Child 'O Mine" vibe on a hot Marshall patch on my Axe-FX. The 157 with Duncan Distortions has a crazy scream through that same patch, more like John Sykes. I kind of like the Air Norton, actually, and am going to live with it for awhile before I decide whether go the boutique route. The Tone Zone in the neck has gotta go, though. Totally wrong for this guitar. --The fretboard probably isn't Brazilian, but it sure is nice and dark colored. --The guitar probably had Duncan Antiquities originally, since those are listed as stock in the catalog and the back-plate sticker doesn't list the pickups. --I don't know if it's factory, but it has vintage-type capacitors installed. RS Guitarworks? I don't know. My 157 certainly doesn't have this. --The only thing I'm not sure about, oddly enough, are the Sperzel tuners. Their motion isn't as smooth as I'd expected. All in all, I'm pleased. I was having guilt pangs for the last couple of days, thinking I'd pulled a Nigel Tufnel and gotten two of essentially the same thing for no good reason. But now that I've had a chance to fire up the rig, I realize that this 150 and 157 are much different flavors of "sonic ice cream" that are both very useful tools for me. And I have to laugh thinking about how much the Nashville gang would charge you for an LP Standard of the quality of this 150, assuming you could even get one. Since it's dark here on the East Coast, I couldn't take a very good pic, but here is the 150 getting to know the rest of the gang in my dimly lit studio. This photo does the top on the 150 no justice--it has fantastic 3D flame. And if you look closely at the 157 and Millie, you'll notice that it's officially "Daily Truss Rod Adjustment Season" here in the swamps of Our Nation's Capital. I'll take some better pics this weekend, weather permitting.
pushover Posted May 29, 2009 Posted May 29, 2009 Congrats on the new family member... And we didn't even know you were expecting Looks really nice, glad you're liking it and not second guessing yourself for making your purchase decision. Clearly your knew what you were doing.. whether you knew it or not? On the truss rod front, I'm having all sorts of issues with my "other" guitars, but my two heritage guitars seem to be fairly stable, at least by comparison. On the totally positive side... during the summer months, the fret edges aren't so sharp on my Fenders
Dick Seacup Posted May 29, 2009 Posted May 29, 2009 Nice looking guitar. Not sure what to tell you about the Sperzels. I can say that I really dig the locking Grovers on my Millie DC. I'm thinking of putting a set on the 170. What is the white Millie DC looking thing in the back row?
golferwave Posted May 29, 2009 Posted May 29, 2009 Sperzels are the best tuners I've had on any of my guitars.
pro-fusion Posted May 29, 2009 Author Posted May 29, 2009 On the truss rod front, I'm having all sorts of issues with my "other" guitars, but my two heritage guitars seem to be fairly stable, at least by comparison. Both the Millie and 157 require more adjustment than my other guitars. One-piece mahogany necks don't seem to like our cruddy climate around here very much. To be fair, though, I just reinstalled our window AC units this afternoon--it's recently started to get kinda tropical in here without them. While I had it, Brent's 555 with the maple neck was rock solid and never needed adjustment. What is the white Millie DC looking thing in the back row? That is an Agile AS-820 semi-hollow 12-string. Slightly larger body than the Millie, but smaller than a 535. I bought it used for about $150, and it's a nice little utility guitar to have. Sperzels are the best tuners I've had on any of my guitars. I've had locking Sperzels on plenty of guitars and never had any problems. Normally, I prefer them to Grovers. Maybe these tuners will smooth up a bit over time.
Dick Seacup Posted May 29, 2009 Posted May 29, 2009 Can't wait for the clips: Millie vs 150 vs 157!! Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! Monster Guitar Shootout! Sorry, uh, I sorta flipped out there...too much radio in the 80s or something.
Kuz Posted May 29, 2009 Posted May 29, 2009 Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! Monster Guitar Shootout! Sorry, uh, I sorta flipped out there...too much radio in the 80s or something. Bill Goodman's Gun & knife shop. Call a Buddy, bring a Friend! (Radio jingle that drives me nuts)
pro-fusion Posted June 1, 2009 Author Posted June 1, 2009 Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! Monster Guitar Shootout! Your wish is my command! I recorded a little blues ditty featuring the 150 in the left channel and the 157 in the right one, with the Millie playing a supporting role on clean rhythm guitar. http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7658469 The difference between the 150 and 157 here isn't quite as apparent as I thought it would be--not nearly as much so when I play with more gain than this and stereo effects.
pro-fusion Posted June 1, 2009 Author Posted June 1, 2009 I should add that both lead guitars are played through the exact same patch on my Axe-FX with no modifications. Normally, I would use different amp sounds to heighten the contrast. I modified a Marshall patch on the Axe-FX to lessen the gain somewhat and make all the stereo elements (chorus and delay) into mono effects. Doing that seems to have removed some of the distinction between the guitars, because the two guitars sound night and day different on my normal version of this patch. I love 'em both.
Kuz Posted June 1, 2009 Posted June 1, 2009 FWIW, I have 4 guitars with Sperzel Ivoroid tuners ( I paid the upcharge) and love their looks and function.
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