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525-First Impressions!


Jazzpunk

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Initial Impressions:

 

The 525 is even cooler lookin' in person! Pullin' her out of the case for the first time was love at first sight. ;)

 

Once I tuned her up, I was kind of shocked at how good she sounds acoustically. Dare I say better than my 575?! Not sure why but rings out beautifully when strumming chords. Fuller than I was expecting. So much for what I thought I knew about laminated tops!

 

Didn't get to crank up the Fargen due to the late hour but even at low volumes I was very pleased with the Lollars. Full round tones on the neck pup and nice bite to the bridge pup. Looking forward to turnin the volume up tomorrow and takin 'em for a spin!

 

OK now for the '?' part of the post. The neck is a bit big for my hands. Not sure if it's much thicker or wider than my 535 but feels like it for some reason. I noticed I was starting to get some fatigue after only a short period of playing time. The action is not great and the guitar is in need of a set up so I'm reserving final judgement until I get her fine tuned. That's the only negative though and it's obviously personal to my own preference in neck styles.

 

There is something really special about the 525. It's a real beauty and inspires a different approach than my other guitars. I know one thing for sure, if it turns out that I cannot get accustomed to the neck on this one I will only sell her in order to fund another one!

 

Awesome guitar and perfect way to end the week! :)

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Initial Impressions:

 

The 525 is even cooler lookin' in person! Pullin' her out of the case for the first time was love at first sight. ;)

 

Once I tuned her up, I was kind of shocked at how good she sounds acoustically. Dare I say better than my 575?! Not sure why but rings out beautifully when strumming chords. Fuller than I was expecting. So much for what I thought I knew about laminated tops!

 

Didn't get to crank up the Fargen due to the late hour but even at low volumes I was very pleased with the Lollars. Full round tones on the neck pup and nice bite to the bridge pup. Looking forward to turnin the volume up tomorrow and takin 'em for a spin!

 

OK now for the '?' part of the post. The neck is a bit big for my hands. Not sure if it's much thicker or wider than my 535 but feels like it for some reason. I noticed I was starting to get some fatigue after only a short period of playing time. The action is not great and the guitar is in need of a set up so I'm reserving final judgement until I get her fine tuned. That's the only negative though and it's obviously personal to my own preference in neck styles.

 

There is something really special about the 525. It's a real beauty and inspires a different approach than my other guitars. I know one thing for sure, if it turns out that I cannot get accustomed to the neck on this one I will only sell her in order to fund another one!

 

Awesome guitar and perfect way to end the week! :)

 

Give her time on the neck. She definitely has a more archtop feel on the neck than your 535. I actually prefer the neck on the 525.

 

In a week, you will forget about any fatigue because you will be playing her SO much.

 

But as you know, the setup is crucial!!! Lower that action to 4/64th and start playing!!!

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Give her time on the neck. She definitely has a more archtop feel on the neck than your 535. I actually prefer the neck on the 525.

 

In a week, you will forget about any fatigue because you will be playing her SO much.

 

But as you know, the setup is crucial!!! Lower that action to 4/64th and start playing!!!

 

 

I have a feeling your right. I ended up playin' for about another hour after posting and am already starting to get used to it. I'm going to drop her off with my luthier today and than I'll report back!

 

On a side note, what kind of case did your 525 come with Kuz? The guy who sold me the guitar stated that this was the original case but it's a bit too large for the guitar (not giant but enough that the guitar shifts around a bit inside) and it does not have 'The Heritage' logo on the outside. That seem odd?

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JP, don't sweat it on the "official Heritage case" because one really doesn't exist.

 

Some "Heritage" cases are black with the Script logo.

 

Some "Heritage" cases are black without the Heritage logo (Ren said that sometimes they don't get their order in in time for the script, so they ship without the logo- This doesn't bother me. I am super anal about any ding on the guitar, but a case is a case. It is just to protect the guitar)

 

And my 525 came from Jay Wolfe's with a brown tweed case (I was told it came from the factory that way, or else Jay "upgraded" to that case because it was his design). And yes mine is a little slight loose in the case. I can feel it move slightly while carrying it, so I probably should put some old t-shirt in there for extra support.

 

Glad to see you are happy to be in the "p-90 TONE club"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Home sweet home!

 

525_matte.jpg

 

Just a beautiful piece, Jazz'. Beautiful! All that's good about vintage. All that's good about just built and buffed at Parsons Street! Congrats! I'd own that one in a heartbeat! If it sounds anything like Kuz's...!

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JP, don't sweat it on the "official Heritage case" because one really doesn't exist.

 

Some "Heritage" cases are black with the Script logo.

 

Some "Heritage" cases are black without the Heritage logo (Ren said that sometimes they don't get their order in in time for the script, so they ship without the logo- This doesn't bother me. I am super anal about any ding on the guitar, but a case is a case. It is just to protect the guitar)

 

And my 525 came from Jay Wolfe's with a brown tweed case (I was told it came from the factory that way, or else Jay "upgraded" to that case because it was his design). And yes mine is a little slight loose in the case. I can feel it move slightly while carrying it, so I probably should put some old t-shirt in there for extra support.

 

Glad to see you are happy to be in the "p-90 TONE club"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Good to know Kuz, thanks. I bet your tweed case is pretty pimp! :wacko:

 

Just took her to my luthier, Fren Asken. After a quick truss rod adjustment the action was much better. I decided to get a fret dress as well as it really made a difference on my 575. It'll take a little longer to get her back but should be worth the wait.

 

Fren's a great guitar player as well and it was a pleasure hearing him fire off some fusion inspired runs with the 525 cranked through his Brown Note D'Lite. Man those P-90's sound good!

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Wow - what a beauty. Yeh, definitely a looker. Congratulations on a great score, JP.

 

The cedar creek case is really nice - really nice indeed. Good fit, very well made.

 

Played the 525 out twice today, both times thru a '56 Gibby GA6 amp. This morn at the coffee house jam where it exceled. Lower volume where all positions set in the mix very well. Sounded great (even on the Jimi tunes Angel and Little Wing). Then played a last minute set at a benefit at a bar early evening. Louder small/crowded bar with the volume cranked. Fun on most of the tunes with the GA6 being pushed by the P90s and just groooowwwwling. The ambient noise tho had me wishing for a single coil and slightly larger amp. Still fun, but as the volume grew the mix was muddier.

 

A great and fun guitar to play. Enjoy!

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Beauty!

 

You'll get used to the thicker neck. My 555 and 157 have kind of a flatter bottomed neck compared to my 575. I am guessing the 575 is similar to the 525.

 

Going from on guitar to another, they are all slightly different, but after 2 minutes, I don't notice.

 

Now you have me wanting a 525!

 

Hope you enjoy it!

 

LH575

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