I have a question about the H575

[GrandpaLarry]

I'm a new member who recently purchased an H535. I've always loved ES335 style electrics, to a large extent because some of my earliest guitar heros played them. Danny Kalb and Mike Bloomfield, were just 2 of the guys I really admired. I actually got to strum Danny Kalb's red 335 backstage at a Blues Project gig back in 1965!!

 

I'm really happy with my axe. I believe it has a lot in common with Danny's axe. Still, I do have a long standing prejudice in favor of solid wood guitars for their obviously superior acoustic tone.

 

That being said, I'm hoping to acquire an H575 at some point. My question to all of you out there who play one of these concerns your opinion of this axe's acoustic tone.

 

Could I get a few opinions from some of you about the 575's unplugged tone?

[Kuz]

Jazz box heaven.

 

Played mine today at church and got more compliments than I deserve.

[Gitfiddler]

Full hollow, solid wood 575's sound pretty good unplgged, but much it depends on the strings being used. Wound or Half-Rounds have a more lively ring to them than Flats and bring out the guitar's subtle overtones. Since I mostly use Flats on my 575, it is only good to noodle unplugged with lowered expectations than when it is plugged into an amp. Sitting on the sofa, playing the 575 sans amp, while watching sports is one of my private pleasures.

 

If you plan on using regular wound strings on your forthcoming 575, you should get great acoustic tones from it. My recommendation would be to not use anything lower than 11's however. Hope that helps.

[JohnCovach]

I have to agree, nothing lighter than 11 if you care about the acoustic tone. If it's about the plugged in sound, 10's are fine. Compared to the laminated top sound of a Gibson 175, I think the solid wood sound of the 575 is much nicer, though the Gibson has a deeper body. That's the upside of the 575. The downside is that this increased resonance leads to feedback problems a little more quickly than a 175.

[pjoshh]

I use 12s wound on my H575. It has a useable acoustic sound, nice woody tone, but does not match an acoustic guitar. However, plug it in....................!!! I had the chance of a Gibson 175 or a H575. I played them both side by side through the same amp and bought the H575. The price was comparable. I play in a number of bands and own several guitars but in a 7 piece dance band the H575 is my (and the rest of the band's) choice. The only limiting factor is me!!!

[Kuz]

Maybe I misunderstood the OP question.

 

Acoustically, the 575 is nowhere near as good as a true flattop acoustic.

 

BUT, plugged in the 575 has the classic woody jazz tone we crave.

 

PLUG the 575 in, that was how it was intended to be played!!!!!

[peacemaker]

Maybe I misunderstood the OP question.

 

Acoustically, the 575 is nowhere near as good as a true flattop acoustic.

 

BUT, plugged in the 575 has the classic woody jazz tone we crave.

 

PLUG the 575 in, that was how it was intended to be played!!!!!

 

Unlike a lot of the addicts around here I only have one Heritage . . . so far. It's a 575. Used to belong to Jazzpunk. Kuz is right: it was intended to be plugged in. I've got rounds on mine now and, quite honestly, haven't pulled out my flat top since it arrived. For playing around the house, and even singing along with, it's a lot louder and acoustic-y than I thought it would be. I wouldn't hesitate to play it for a living room sing-a-long. Not that I bought it for that. I most certainly did not. I think my most favorite thing to do with it is plug in and turn the volume on the guitar down to where the amp and the acoustic voice of the instrument are more or less equal or a little heavy to the amp side. Heaven! Totally immersed in guitar beauty! I play almost exclusively in churches and like Kuz, when the 575 comes out (which is pretty much every single time I play now!), I get way more compliments than I deserve.

 

Flatwounds are . . well . . . flat acoustically. Plugged in, they are pure jazz deliciousness. With rounds, I can and have used this one guitar in situations where I would have switched between acoustic and electric before. I do have to watch out for feedback at higher (or even moderate) volume.

 

I have D'addario nickel-plated round .12s on it now. Mistake. I wanted pure nickel, the shop guy said they were pure nickel, took them home and they're nickel-plated. They're too bright . . . almost plasticky sounding. Don't like them at all. Next set will most definitely be pure nickel round or half-round/burnished. I wouldn't put anything lighter than .11s on it if I were concerned about acoustic tone. If I really wanted an acoustic archtop with the option of plugging in, I'd look at a sweet 16. But, the 575 is juicy jazz beauty (or more rock/blues with rounds) plugged in, and acceptable unplugged. It's the best, most versatile, beautiful guitar I've ever owned. Not that I've owned a ton . . . 6-8 . . . but it's my favorite guitar by far.

[barrymclark]

The 575 is great guitar. It is definitely fighting for a top spot in the want list. No doubt.

[zydecosoultrain]

The 575 is great guitar. It is definitely fighting for a top spot in the want list. No doubt.

 

 

My 575 was the best musical investment I ever made. I can't play it enough ...

[JohnCovach]

Maybe I misunderstood the OP question.

 

Acoustically, the 575 is nowhere near as good as a true flattop acoustic.

 

BUT, plugged in the 575 has the classic woody jazz tone we crave.

 

PLUG the 575 in, that was how it was intended to be played!!!!!

 

I don't think anybody would expect any arch-top guitar to sound like a flat-top acoustic, with or without pickups. The best comparison is with a traditional acoustic arch-top. And in a such a comparison, the 575 stacks up pretty well.

[peacemaker]

I thought I might add this: my 575 has a fair bit of vibrations you can hear buzzing around the finger rest & pickup rings & other places too. A pure acoustic instrument would likely have all this stuff engineered out I imagine. If I were playing it acoustically a lot, this buzzing would be a bigger deal, but plugged in it's a non-issue. Don't know how other 575s are in this regard...

[Gitfiddler]

Interesting. I do not get any vibrations from my 575 acoustically. Each is different, however.

[Kuz]

Interesting. I do not get any vibrations from my 575 acoustically. Each is different, however.

 

I don't get those vibrations either?????!!!!!

[harf]

I'm a new member who recently purchased an H535. I've always loved ES335 style electrics, to a large extent because some of my earliest guitar heros played them. Danny Kalb and Mike Bloomfield, were just 2 of the guys I really admired. I actually got to strum Danny Kalb's red 335 backstage at a Blues Project gig back in 1965!!

 

I'm really happy with my axe. I believe it has a lot in common with Danny's axe. Still, I do have a long standing prejudice in favor of solid wood guitars for their obviously superior acoustic tone.

 

That being said, I'm hoping to acquire an H575 at some point. My question to all of you out there who play one of these concerns your opinion of this axe's acoustic tone.

 

Could I get a few opinions from some of you about the 575's unplugged tone?

[harf]

I just got an H-575 with a spruce top. My previous guitar was a Heritage Eagle classic (also spruce top). Believe it or not, the 575 has a noticeably louder and somewhat better acoustic tone. As another person mentioned, if I mix the amplified tone roughly 50/50 with the acoustic, it sounds much like an unamplified acoustic guitar but much louder. If I crank up the amp I prefer the tone of the Eagle classic - it had a sweeter more flute like tone in the upper register. I believe this is most probably due to the fact that the 575 has Seth Love pickups and the Eagle classic had the stock Schallers. At any rate, the 575 would not hold a candle to a straight out acoustic guitar, but it does come out pretty well acoustically.

[peacemaker]

I don't get those vibrations either?????!!!!!

 

Hmmm...I just figured that was kinda "par for the course." There doesn't seem to be a way to stop it...I would just expect it to happen with the way the finger rest is cut to fit around the pickup rings. Now you've got me all worked up about it! ;-)

[Steiner]

Hmmm...I just figured that was kinda "par for the course." There doesn't seem to be a way to stop it...I would just expect it to happen with the way the finger rest is cut to fit around the pickup rings. Now you've got me all worked up about it! ;-)

 

 

I've successfully treated this on two 575s. The trick is to get it to occur while you have a free hand. Find a resonate note and push on the various components on the face to find the culprit. It's a pretty simple fix. In both my cases, the pickup was loose and just required tightening the orienting fastener.

[SteveHoffman]

So (I'm not yet an expert on Heritage) what is the difference between a "Sweet 16" and an H575? Is it the pickup configuration or what?

[Steiner]

So (I'm not yet an expert on Heritage) what is the difference between a "Sweet 16" and an H575? Is it the pickup configuration or what?

 

The single Sweet 16 I played seemed more resonate and acoustic - a beautiful guitar! Generally the 16 is cross braced and the (two pickup) 575 is parallel braced.

 

The 16 has a spruce top, the maple (side and back) 575 has a maple top - the mahogany (side and back) 575 has a spruce top.

 

By design, the 16 has a 5 piece curly maple neck and ebony board, the 575 a mahogany neck and rosewood board.

 

Because Heritage is a custom shop, there are custom models out there that muddy the waters between the two.

 

Welcome aboard!!!

[SteveHoffman]

Thanks for the info!

[Gitfiddler]

The single Sweet 16 I played seemed more resonate and acoustic - a beautiful guitar! Generally the 16 is cross braced and the (two pickup) 575 is parallel braced.

 

The 16 has a spruce top, the maple (side and back) 575 has a maple top - the mahogany (side and back) 575 has a spruce top.

 

By design, the 16 has a 5 piece curly maple neck and ebony board, the 575 a mahogany neck and rosewood board.

 

Because Heritage is a custom shop, there are custom models out there that muddy the waters between the two.

 

Welcome aboard!!!

 

 

All of the above is correct. However another difference between the two guitars is that the 575 is 24.75 scale and the Sweet 16 is 25.5 scale (the same as the Eagle, Golden Eagle and Super Eagle).

[Steiner]

All of the above is correct. However another difference between the two guitars is that the 575 is 24.75 scale and the Sweet 16 is 25.5 scale (the same as the Eagle, Golden Eagle and Super Eagle).

 

Doh!

 

Tanks GitFiddler!

[Hfan]

I've successfully treated this on two 575s. The trick is to get it to occur while you have a free hand. Find a resonate note and push on the various components on the face to find the culprit. It's a pretty simple fix. In both my cases, the pickup was loose and just required tightening the orienting fastener.

 

I had a vibrating / buzzing pickup on my 575 back when I got it from Wolfes in 2006. It was noticeable when playing unamplified. I forget how I got rid of it though, I've got CRS...can't remember shi. My575 sits in the case way too much, one day though...

[Kuz]

All of the above is correct. However another difference between the two guitars is that the 575 is 24.75 scale and the Sweet 16 is 25.5 scale (the same as the Eagle, Golden Eagle and Super Eagle).

 

Beat me to it.

 

The shorter scale 24.75 is a little fuller and less snappy. (Think George Benson, Pat Metheny)

 

The longer scale is a little snappier and not as compressed. (Think Kenny Burrell)

 

I LOVED my Sweet 16 and is one of two guitars I regret selling over the past 25yrs, but my 575 Custom just sounds incredible amplified and I have always been more of a short scale kind of guy.

[peteraltongreen]

Hi Grandpa Larry,

I bought a 575 in 1988.The top is solid,carved,as I'm sure you know.After 22 years of playing this beaut,the acoustic tone has improved immensely.It now sounds a bit like the Joe Pass virtuoso guitar sound ( I use .012" to .052" Ernie Ball roundwound Strings ).Electrically,through a variety of Fender amps I use,it always sounds great.It's got that wonderful warm,full sound of a quality jazzer,but it can be nasty if necessary,like Steve Howe ( ES175) of Yes & Asia fame.A word of warning.At high volume,as with any deep bodied jazzer,it can feed back.The only 16" archtop guitar I have that sounds better,acoustically is a 1953 Gibson L4,carved top again,with a Charlie Christian pickup on it.Unless you hear the 2 side by side,you'd never know the difference.( Just 35 years to go with the Heritage ! ) You'll love it !

Peter Alton Green ( U.K.)