ArisGr Posted June 2, 2009 Posted June 2, 2009 Hello everyone. I'm a new member.My name is aris and i'm greek. I just purchased an h - 150 goldtop from the official heritage distributor in greece.This one was used for some months. I got it at the price of 1200 euros (the guy who owns the shop wanted 1500 but i bargained it). Generally it fells and it plays great and i could say it is just what i had in mind when thinking of a good sounding warm-tone les paul. The bridge though is a bit higher on the upper part (chords E,A,D) and the bridge pickup had the same problem as well. I straightened the pick up but i dont know what to do with the bridge. i'd be gratefull if anyone gave me a piece of advice on my problem. I would also love to see what other owners of this model have to say about the particular guitar in general. p.s (Please excuse my bad english...it's been a while since i used them lately) thank you.
mars_hall Posted June 2, 2009 Posted June 2, 2009 I am unsure if you are talking about the nut or the bridge. Upper chords action may feel higher due to a higher nut. If it is the nut, you may need to have a pro lower the slots. Be sure before you act on this. If you are talking about the action in general, you can lower it by loosening the strings a bit and adjusting the thumbwheels under the bridge down. Be sure not to lower too much as you will get fret buzz. After lowering it down, you may need to adjust to bridge saddles to get proper intonation again, though this depends on how great a change in the lowering you did. You will find that pressing on the strings with different pressures will have a greater effect than moving the saddles slightly.
Thundersteel Posted June 2, 2009 Posted June 2, 2009 Welcome Aris! If you're saying the bridge is higher on the E,A,D strings than on the others, then it should be a very simple adjustment--just turn the thumbwheel clockwise until the bridge is down to where you want it. It may be easier to do this if the strings are loosened a bit first. Maybe a photo will help us understand it better.
Kuz Posted June 2, 2009 Posted June 2, 2009 Take it back to your dealer and have them set it up correctly. If it is what we are talking about it should take them all of about 5 mins.
mars_hall Posted June 2, 2009 Posted June 2, 2009 I am unsure if you are talking about the nut or the bridge. Upper chords action may feel higher due to a higher nut. If it is the nut, you may need to have a pro lower the slots. Be sure before you act on this. If you are talking about the action in general, you can lower it by loosening the strings a bit and adjusting the thumbwheels under the bridge down. Be sure not to lower too much as you will get fret buzz. After lowering it down, you may need to adjust to bridge saddles to get proper intonation again, though this depends on how great a change in the lowering you did. You will find that pressing on the strings with different pressures will have a greater effect than moving the saddles slightly. If you get G-Tune 2.51 (shareware) and a chord that allows you to plug into your soundcard, you can set the intonation perfectly by chiming at the 12th fret and then pressing at the 12th fret and zeroing the intonation. If the note is sharp, adjust the saddle away from the pickups. If flat do the opposite. You may find that adjusting the saddle away from the pickups may make the open string sharp, This is sometimes due to an increase in tension placed on the string as it interacts with a close tailpiece. Just retune the string and continue.
Spectrum13 Posted June 2, 2009 Posted June 2, 2009 ArisGr, Glad you have a 150 Goldtop but sorry it was not setup right. I don't know what is translated into Greek, but one book I recommend it "how to make your electric guitar play great" by Dan Erlewine. He will walk you through the nuts, bridge and other adjustments. Just like my 150 Goldtop, yours will need a little work before it becomes perfect for your playing style.
smurph1 Posted June 2, 2009 Posted June 2, 2009 Take it back to your dealer and have them set it up correctly. If it is what we are talking about it should take them all of about 5 mins.Yeah..If you are unsure you can do it yourself..Take your sweetheart to a tech you trust and they should have it purring like a kitten in no time..
ArisGr Posted June 2, 2009 Author Posted June 2, 2009 Thanks everyone!!! I will take your advice into consideration..I notice though in lots of conversations that 150's do need a little set up before they're good to go..is that a fact ? I do not consider it a problem though as long as the guitar lasts for a long time and considering they're handmade.
mars_hall Posted June 2, 2009 Posted June 2, 2009 Thanks everyone!!!I will take your advice into consideration..I notice though in lots of conversations that 150's do need a little set up before they're good to go..is that a fact ? I do not consider it a problem though as long as the guitar lasts for a long time and considering they're handmade. Probably not that different than any other guitar. Everyone has their own thoughts about how their own guitar should play and feel. Since there are probably more H150s out there than any other Heritage guitar, it's natural that you will see more posts.
Jazzpunk Posted June 2, 2009 Posted June 2, 2009 Thanks everyone!!!I will take your advice into consideration..I notice though in lots of conversations that 150's do need a little set up before they're good to go..is that a fact ? I do not consider it a problem though as long as the guitar lasts for a long time and considering they're handmade. Almost all guitars need some sort of basic set up after purchasing. I am not too handy at doing my own adjustments so I prefer to trust the work to a skilled luthier. Worth a few extra bucks to make sure it's done right IMO! Enjoy your new guitar!
ArisGr Posted June 2, 2009 Author Posted June 2, 2009 I see..this is my actual opinion as well..although i 've been kinda messin around with my other guitars i 'm afraid with this one cause i don't want to do anything stupid...u know how it goes when someone is a rookie like me! so i guess i 'm gonna take it to a pro.. thanks anyway!! p.s this forum is great!!!!!!
Mikenov Posted June 2, 2009 Posted June 2, 2009 Aris, Agreed. I am not afraid to take a file to one of my crappy guitars but with my Heritages I generally defer to my tech (who is awesome!). I maybe would be able to figure out how to make my guitars play that way through hours of trial and error but since I there are many days where I am busy from 5:30am to 10PM doing work/family stuff, there is no way I have time for that learning curve. Maybe in 30 years
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