gregjf Posted July 10, 2009 Posted July 10, 2009 I'm a proud owner of a 1992 (I'll have to confirm this, but the serial number is I33305) gold Heritage H-150 P guitar. Thank you, mars_hall for the tip that it's not an H-140 like the seller told me (yes, I checked under the control cavity cover). Here are the pics in the Member's Gallery: http://www.heritageownersclub.com/forums/i...=si&img=896 While surfing Seattle's Craigslist, I stumbled upon this guitar, and knew that I had to have it. I have a predilection for gold guitars, since having recently found a 1998 Fender '57 reissue Stratocaster in Aztec Gold. You'll find a pic of this Strat in my member's gallery too. This H-150 in gold, was listed for sale for $750 and I ultimately paid $650 after assessing the work needing to be done. The original Schaller stop tailpiece was canted dramatically forward, with the anchors having rounded out the holes in the body. I took it in to Mike Lull Guitars, a local repair guru in Bellevue, WA, and had him replace the stock bridge and tailpiece with a Tone Pros locking setup. I'm somewhat proud of my "mod" to the tailpiece (I show this in one of the pics). Without top wrapping the strings over it, the tailpiece couldn't be set up locked down to the body. Since this somewhat defeats the marginal benefit of the Tone Pros hardware, I dug through my handy-dandy miscellenious parts bin and found a perfect set of spacers, that once installed, kept the string angle perfectly aligned over the bridge. Their brushed aluminum finish matches the hardware under the guitar knobs and switch. The frets had a bit of wear, so I had them Plek'd by Mike Lull and a new bone nut installed. The string spacing was cut into the nut poorly, and Mike thought it may have even come from the factory this way. This guitar now plays perfectly! Phase two for this guitar may be installing some new humbuckers, replacing the stock Schallers. To be honest, I find myself enjoying the Schallers more than I thought I would, after having read numerous posts regarding their somewhat dubious sound. I'd love to get anyone's opinion as to a good replacement set of humbuckers (and yes I've read many posts regarding this!). Mike Lull recommended a set of VanZandt True Bucker Vintages (with a Vintage Hot in the bridge position). Has anyone heard these? What, perhaps, I love most about this Heritage guitar is the gold nitrocellulose lacquer finish. Unlike other gold guitars, on this H-150, you can actually see the grain of the wood through it. I don't know if whether new, it came like this or if it's a function of the natural patina having aged this way. Does anyone have experience regarding this? I'm not a fan of bright shiny new guitars and as such I fell in love with the wear this guitar has. Someone with an obviously aggressive picking technique left their marks on the finish between the pickups. The lacquer used must have been somewhat brittle on these early models, given the generous marks, scratches and dings this has. I enjoy looking at used guitars and seeing the history revealed by their patina. I'm a 52 year old, who after a brief 30 year hiatus, only recently took up guitar playing again. This Heritage guitar will go down as one of my favorite finds. Everyone owns Gibson Les Pauls, but I feel part of a very discriminating and unique club with this purchase! Greg
SouthpawGuy Posted July 10, 2009 Posted July 10, 2009 Hi Greg, and Welcome to the HOC. That's a fine looking 150 you have there. You may have realised that these Heritage guitars are addictive, this one may not be your last ....
cod65 Posted July 10, 2009 Posted July 10, 2009 stunning! I like the backside as much as the front. Looks like you won the Golden Ticket from Willy Wonka!
gregjf Posted July 10, 2009 Author Posted July 10, 2009 Hi Greg, and Welcome to the HOC. That's a fine looking 150 you have there. You may have realised that these Heritage guitars are addictive, this one may not be your last .... Yes the addiction is certainly there, now, for Heritage guitars..... just don't tell my wife. She doesn't completely understand me buying "used" guitars and then spending more money "fixing" them up. That, unfortunately, is part of the joy in guitar acquisition for me. To be honest, she is pretty damn understanding. I just have to pace myself.
Scooter Posted July 10, 2009 Posted July 10, 2009 Greg, that's a nice goldy. Great find. Is that a Carr Mercury lurking back there? Those things rock! H-150 and a Carr Mercury...Now that's a happy couple. Welcome to the HOC.
brentrocks Posted July 10, 2009 Posted July 10, 2009 Gold is glorious WELCOME!!!! how do you like the Schaller pups? you gonna keep em?
gregjf Posted July 10, 2009 Author Posted July 10, 2009 Greg, that's a nice goldy. Great find. Is that a Carr Mercury lurking back there? Those things rock! H-150 and a Carr Mercury...Now that's a happy couple. Welcome to the HOC. Yes it's a Carr MINI Mercury amp. It's the same as the Mercury except for the 10" speaker and a bit smaller cabinet. It comes stock with an Eminence Lil Buddy hempcone speaker which I found a tad bit dark. After trying out a few speakers, I settled for a Tone Tubby 10" alnico hempcone speaker which gives a bit more bite, but still has the warm overtones of a hemp speaker. I absolutely love this amp for my purposes... as a practice amp in my office. If I were gigging out with it, I'd probably choose the 12" version. By the way, you might notice a little trick of mine..... I raise the amp up on hockey pucks when it's on the carpeting, to open up the sound a bit.
golferwave Posted July 11, 2009 Posted July 11, 2009 That's a beauty all right Greg and welcome to the HOC! You certainly did everything right on the guitar even down to the bone nut...well done! There's been quite a bit of discussion here on the forum about the Schaller golden 50's pups and the consensus has pretty much been that we like em. They certainly have a bite to them and with many types of music are really good. With that beautiful goldtop though I might invest in a set of Seth Lover Duncans or another set of pups that might sound better to your ears. One thing to watch for however is that during the time period your guitar was built if the boys at Heritage were installing the golden 50's they would only rout enough wood out for those to drop in. The Schallers are "thinner" from top to bottom than most humbuckers so some modification will need to be performed for a set of Duncans or other brands to fit. No big deal but when the new set won't seat all the way down you'll know why.
gregjf Posted July 11, 2009 Author Posted July 11, 2009 Gold is glorious WELCOME!!!! how do you like the Schaller pups? you gonna keep em? I've always been more of a Strat guy, so I'm no expert on humbuckers. I'll probably end up replacing them because that's what I tend to do... I like to tinker with stuff. I must say that I like the sound the Schallers have. If anything, they may lack a bit of articulation. Any suggestions out there for a replacement set of humbuckers given the poplar body on this guitar?????
gregjf Posted July 11, 2009 Author Posted July 11, 2009 That's a beauty all right Greg and welcome to the HOC! You certainly did everything right on the guitar even down to the bone nut...well done! There's been quite a bit of discussion here on the forum about the Schaller golden 50's pups and the consensus has pretty much been that we like em. They certainly have a bite to them and with many types of music are really good. With that beautiful goldtop though I might invest in a set of Seth Lover Duncans or another set of pups that might sound better to your ears. One thing to watch for however is that during the time period your guitar was built if the boys at Heritage were installing the golden 50's they would only rout enough wood out for those to drop in. The Schallers are "thinner" from top to bottom than most humbuckers so some modification will need to be performed for a set of Duncans or other brands to fit. No big deal but when the new set won't seat all the way down you'll know why. Thanks for the tip on the routing issue. I'll mention it to my guitar "guy" when I get the itch to upgrade the pickups. I'll ask again here..... given that this guitar has a poplar body instead of mahogany, would you guys recommend darker sounding pickups such as SD '59's over something like the Seth Lovers? I'm assuming the poplar body is a bit brighter sounding. Anyone heard of VanZandt True Bucker Vintage humbuckers? My guitar repair guy recommended these pickups for this guitar, but I didn't bring up the poplar issue with him.
brentrocks Posted July 11, 2009 Posted July 11, 2009 I've always been more of a Strat guy, so I'm no expert on humbuckers. I'll probably end up replacing them because that's what I tend to do... I like to tinker with stuff. I must say that I like the sound the Schallers have. If anything, they may lack a bit of articulation. Any suggestions out there for a replacement set of humbuckers given the poplar body on this guitar????? this is my next Heritage....it started its life as a H 150 P, had a fall and was re-necked. Its going to be a Silverburst, and it might be done tomorrow? i'm putting Duncan Pealy Gates in it...i had them in a H 157 and i liked them A LOT!!!!
gregjf Posted July 11, 2009 Author Posted July 11, 2009 this is my next Heritage....it started its life as a H 150 P, had a fall and was re-necked. Its going to be a Silverburst, and it might be done tomorrow? i'm putting Duncan Pealy Gates in it...i had them in a H 157 and i liked them A LOT!!!! So that's what a naked poplar body on a H-150 looks like! I'll have to check out the Pearly Gates pickups too.
fxdx99 Posted July 11, 2009 Posted July 11, 2009 Congrats on the new 150 - great gold finish. You did well on the price, too, shoot, ya stole the thing! Gotta sound sweet thru that Carr. The 150's gonna be a nice compliment to the strat, too.
golferwave Posted July 11, 2009 Posted July 11, 2009 Try Sheptone.com (Shep) or manliusguitar.com (Mick). Check out their humbuckers and email em about what you have with the poplar body. These guys know pickups and hand wind them personally. The prices on the manlius pups are hard to beat.
Mikenov Posted July 11, 2009 Posted July 11, 2009 congrats man. Nice all gold axe. I am actually the proud owner of my own all gold 150 as well. Did the same thing you did. Put tone pro's on it, had the frets leveld (no plek but a good job) and replaced the pickups with P-Rails. It really is my #1 mostly because it has a very unique neck. Wide and sort of flat. I just love playing it. Enjoy it and welcome to the club!
SouthpawGuy Posted July 11, 2009 Posted July 11, 2009 I notice that all three are left handed ! mind you it took me about ten minutes of staring at the ..... ... ( guitars ) to notice
Thundersteel Posted July 11, 2009 Posted July 11, 2009 Welcome to the club! Since you are a member, and like gold, maybe you should be "Goldmember?"
gregjf Posted July 12, 2009 Author Posted July 12, 2009 With these three young ladies, you wouldn't need a new guitar to be happy eh?
gregjf Posted July 12, 2009 Author Posted July 12, 2009 Try Sheptone.com (Shep) or manliusguitar.com (Mick). Check out their humbuckers and email em about what you have with the poplar body. These guys know pickups and hand wind them personally. The prices on the manlius pups are hard to beat. Where are Manlius pickups made?
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