H150CM Tone Report

[LPSlinger]

The H150CM arrived Friday on schedule; when I opened the case (frozen cold from 3 days in a FedEx truck) I couldn’t believe my eyes, WOW,

the vintage sunburst looks faded as a real ’59 might look today (much lighter than expected.. reminds me of Jimmy Page’s #1) the mineral streaks

provide much mojo to the top. It took nearly 3 hours to fully acclimate to the environment before I could even get an idea what she was going to

feel like!  I was tempted to break her in during my gig that night, but, decided bonding shouldn’t be done on stage!

 

For me, the neck has the perfect contour; chunky, yet, comfortable (reminds me of a ‘50’s carve).  The fret work is flawless, with one exception:

I don’t know if it’s the Plek process, but, I find that in some positions the fret work prevents me from choking notes and extreme bends; it reaches

a point where the notes get stunted. In my lead playing, these techniques are part of my signature sound.  I was a disappointed by the realization that

I may have to bring it to a luthier to get all the frets properly leveled. For rhythm playing, it absolutely rocks though.

 

The Seymour Duncan 59’s sound throaty and thick, not as clear or articulate as the WCR’s darkbursts, but, deliver that LP grunt I’ve grown to cherish; clean,

they have a wonderful, warm round sound;  They’re warmer, and less brittle when compared to Burstbucker2’s in my Standard. The neck pup is also a bit dark

or muddy in comparison to WCR Darkburst. I’m thinking the SD ‘59s are a good pairing for this tone monster (at least for now! LOL)

 

Over all, I’m ecstatic, the craftsmanship is what I expected; once the fret issue gets addressed, it’s destined to become my #1!

 

 

 

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb6/NMT11/Gear/Heritage/DSCN1061.jpg[/img]

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb6/NMT11/Gear/Heritage/DSCN1055.jpg[/img]

[slider313]

Congratulations on your new H150 !!! That's one beautiful looking guitar.

[Gitfiddler]

Congratulations and thanks for the tone report!

 

That thing looks vintage already!!

 

Enjoy and play it in good health.

[jacques]

Tone report? I don't HEAR anything! :uwp: (replace 'pics' with 'clips".)

[cosmikdebriis]

Nice balanced report 8)

 

I'm jealous as mine is currently sat at Heathrow Airport (UK) waiting for customs to do their worst. :'(

 

Enjoy your guitar, cool colour too 8)

[LPSlinger]

Thanks for the well wishes! I'll post a sound clip soon. Has anyone ever experienced the fret issue I described?

[brentrocks]

very nice axe!!!  i'm sure you are very pleased!!!

[LPSlinger]

very nice axe!!!  i'm sure you are very pleased!!!

 

Thank you; and Yes, Indeed! ;D

[squawken]

Thanks for the well wishes! I'll post a sound clip soon. Has anyone ever experienced the fret issue I described?

 

I have experienced waht you are talking about.  I ended up getting a high gain amp which helped, but not entirely.  I haven't fully resolved that issue.  I thought it might be the pickups?

[SouthpawGuy]

I don’t know if it’s the Plek process, but, I find that in some positions the fret work prevents me from choking notes and extreme bends; it reaches

a point where the notes get stunted. In my lead playing, these techniques are part of my signature sound.  I was a disappointed by the realization that

I may have to bring it to a luthier to get all the frets properly leveled. For rhythm playing, it absolutely rocks though.

Maybe the neck is too straight ?

Perhaps it needs a truss rod adjustment or the action might be too low. I like to bend a lot myself and I can get a five fret bend on my Millennium, the same on my LP Gbrand, both have D'Addario 10's.

Possibly the strings need replacing,  and as you know different brands of the same gauge are easier to bend than others.

Sometimes the neck can have a hump or high spot which can be difficult to cure on set neck guitars, if you look down the neck from nut to bridge does it dip roughly at the seventh to twelfth fret area or does it have a high spot past the twelfth ?

This "rise" will not be cured by adjusting the truss rod and a visit to a good luthier would probably be required.

Hope this helps.

[LPSlinger]

I have experienced waht you are talking about.  I ended up getting a high gain amp which helped, but not entirely.  I haven't fully resolved that issue.  I thought it might be the pickups?

 

Thanks for replying Squawken; I don't see how the pups would factor into this issue; to me, it has to do with some of the fret crowns getting in the way of the string being played down the neck somewhere.. I'm having a similar issue with my goldtop, I plan on taking to a luthier to have him look at the frets; I just assumed it was due to wear and tear. On a new guitar this shoudl not be the case! >

[LPSlinger]

Maybe the neck is too straight ?

Perhaps it needs a truss rod adjustment or the action might be too low. I like to bend a lot myself and I can get a five fret bend on my Millennium, the same on my LP Gbrand, both have D'Addario 10's.

Possibly the strings need replacing,  and as you know different brands of the same gauge are easier to bend than others.

Sometimes the neck can have a hump or high spot which can be difficult to cure on set neck guitars, if you look down the neck from nut to bridge does it dip roughly at the seventh to twelfth fret area or does it have a high spot past the twelfth ?

This "rise" will not be cured by adjusting the truss rod and a visit to a good luthier would probably be required.

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks SouthpawGuy; I appreciate the input; all of my PRSi & Gibbys have very straight necks, I don't any issues on any of them whatsoever; I suspect the Plek...

[yoslate]

Slinger:

 

Congrats, my friend!  What a Lovely Stick!!!  I trust you'll keep it forever and play the absolute life out of it!  In the event you decide to pass it on, eventually, you have a ready buyer, right here!  Enjoy!

 

slate   

[Thundersteel]

That IS a very nice 150!

 

Maybe you should talk to Jay about the problem. He's very helpful, and will steer you in the right direction.

[Cryoman]

I get a tiny, tiny bit of "fretting out" on my "Winey" H-150. Only on the E string.  I will level and polish the frets out of this easily.

 

I have a more severe case with my Gibson ES-339 (G, B and E strings) that I'm less confident in dressing out.  Will probablly take to a Gibson cert luthier to correct since the guitar is quite new...

 

Sometimes very little polishing can take out this out. My experience is that a straight neck general diminishes "fretting out"...

 

Good luck with that great looking new guitar.

 

Cheers, Cryoman

[LPSlinger]

Thanks for the suggestions Thundersteel & Cryoman; I called Graham today only to realize that they are closed on Monday! 

I'll try again tomorrow.

 

Yoslate, The pictures don't do her justice; she's so much nicer in person!!!  ;D

[CharlieJ]

Hey, curious if you resolved this fretting issue yet?

[GuitArtMan]

I've said it before and I'll say it again - plek schmeck.  All three of my pleked Heritages had issues as did the pleked Suhr I owned. 

535 no. 1 - Dead fret at the 15th fret.  I couldn't even bend the B string up a whole step before it completely choked out.

H-137 - Low nut the low E and A strings buzzed horribly off of the nut, and the D string would buzz some as well.  Some random fret buzzes.

535 no. 2 - Horribly high nut and some random buzzes.

 

All three were worked on by Michael Tuttle of best frets and came back playing much, much better than when I sent them in.

www.bestfrets.com

[cosmikdebriis]

Thing is...

 

If I bought a £200 guitar then I'd expect issues. But if I pay £2000 then I certainly don't expect fundamental problems >

 

Personally, I like to buy "used" as I find the previous owner will usually have already sorted such issues. ???

[brentrocks]

Thing is...

 

If I bought a £200 guitar then I'd expect issues. But if I pay £2000 then I certainly don't expect fundamental problems >

 

Personally, I like to buy "used" as I find the previous owner will usually have already sorted such issues. ???

 

i almost always buy used as well....a lot for those reasons as well as others

[rooster]

I've said it before and I'll say it again - plek schmeck.  All three of my pleked Heritages had issues as did the pleked Suhr I owned. 

535 no. 1 - Dead fret at the 15th fret.  I couldn't even bend the B string up a whole step before it completely choked out.

H-137 - Low nut the low E and A strings buzzed horribly off of the nut, and the D string would buzz some as well.  Some random fret buzzes.

535 no. 2 - Horribly high nut and some random buzzes.

 

All three were worked on by Michael Tuttle of best frets and came back playing much, much better than when I sent them in.

www.bestfrets.com

 

I've not been happy with PLEK jobs, myself. On pretty much every guitar I have bought in the last 5 years or so (strange, but all 3 are Heritage H150CM's), I usually give them a fret job. First, I straighten the neck completely, using a notched ruler. Then, using a 12" radius block with 400 grit paper, I level the frets. Then, on the higher frets, usually starting at about the 14th fret or so, I lower them progressively, so by the time I get to the last fret, it's about 3 or 4 thousandths of an inch lower than the rest of the fretboard. I increase the radius on these frets a tad in the middle, so I end up with something like a 15"-16" radius on the 22nd fret. Then, I crown and polish them. Then, I string it up, usually straighten the neck as much as possible, usually less than .003" relief, and I end up with a neck that I can drop the action to a pretty low setup without it sounding congested, and I can bend the high strings without a hitch. They all play better than a PLEK job.

 

rooster.

[cosmikdebriis]

I've not been happy with PLEK jobs, myself. On pretty much every guitar I have bought in the last 5 years or so (strange, but all 3 are Heritage H150CM's), I usually give them a fret job. First, I straighten the neck completely, using a notched ruler. Then, using a 12" radius block with 400 grit paper, I level the frets. Then, on the higher frets, usually starting at about the 14th fret or so, I lower them progressively, so by the time I get to the last fret, it's about 3 or 4 thousandths of an inch lower than the rest of the fretboard. I increase the radius on these frets a tad in the middle, so I end up with something like a 15"-16" radius on the 22nd fret. Then, I crown and polish them. Then, I string it up, usually straighten the neck as much as possible, usually less than .003" relief, and I end up with a neck that I can drop the action to a pretty low setup without it sounding congested, and I can bend the high strings without a hitch. They all play better than a PLEK job.

 

rooster.

 

Well done, not for the faint hearted that one

 

But... And I mean BUT... You shouldn't have to go through that on a $2000 instrument.  >

 

If I buy a new car, I don't expect to have to give it a re sparay

 

If Heritage, or indeed any other company, want to be taken seriously then they need to sort all this immediately, it's just not good enough >

 

I don't want to blow this out of proportion but frankly what sort of percentage of guitars produced with bad fret jobs is allowable???

[LPSlinger]

Hey, curious if you resolved this fretting issue yet?

 

Hey Charlie, thanks for asking. Well, it seems that after a couple of weeks or so in her new home; the fret issue has lessened to a point "I can live with".

Ren was great to talk to; he recommended I purchase a 5/16' hex truss rod wrench & give the neck some slight relief (was very concerned that there

might a bulge in the neck); well by the time I got the wrench from Stewmac, and was ready to try the adjustment I was surprised to find that the issue

had almost disappeared!  ???

 

I took my Goldtop for a fretdress, and she play great now! As I suspected, the frets needed some leveling. I'm a one happy camper now! ;D