Finally a great video on the HRF guitars, that goes shall we say much deeper than most. My 1st 1980 HRF was stolen from my home in 2014 I had owned that guitar since the mid 1980's still makes me sick to my stomach to this day and as of yet never recovered. I got lucky and found another 1980 HRF. It's such a sweet guitar and as you have said... so versatile. This one I have the Suhr Thornbuckers (Pete Thorn) pickups installed with the split coil capabilities and all's I can say is... Wow they took an already incredible guitar to a whole different realm. Thanks! BK
Sorry to hear about your first one but so glad you recovered and came back stronger with your HR. Thanks so much for checking out my video. I play the HRF ona . few tracks here on my channel so check the out. Was a labour of love. Surprisingly little out there on the Fusion so just doing my rock and roll duty. Cheers!
I'm a drummer from a Rush Tribute Band Right after " Exit Stage Left " We played so well that when my other drummer friend came over during us playing Natural Science, When we finished he entered my house and complimented us on the sound that mu Bose Stereo was putting out. Then we reassured him that we just finished playing that song. I had the black one back then and still do even though I was the drummer for that band. I still love it until this day as I do my 1957 Solid Mahogany Black Beauty Les Paul and my 1977 ES-355 Faded out to yellow Alex Lifeson guitar also.
Nice vid! I’m the original owner of a ‘92 Fusion lll/Sunburst. I’ve ran it through all its paces, over the last 30 years(Jazz, Rock, Funk, etc) and it currently sports Flatwounds/11s. I’m now keeping it my main Jazz guitar, especially session work, and take it out on nicer gigs. My forever axe!
Thanks! Glad you liked it! I absolutely love that guitar. I wish Gibson re-issued it. It doesn't get much chatter for some reason. It will just have to be our little secret! ;)
Very very cool When I was shopping for the coolest axe in 1993, I saw this in all its GLORY !!! Color choice? Black with Gold hear Love this axe so very much !!!
These are amazing guitars. My HRF3 is the one guitar I would never sell. However, the Gibson 490's were not quite what I wanted to hear, so I replaced them with Manlius humbuckers (a Hot Rod 59 at the bridge and a Fat Diane at the neck). Perfectamundo!
Hi There, Thanks for the great review. Can you tell me which knobs are which? Are the two knobs closest to the neck, the volume for the neck pickup, and below it the tone? And are the two knobs closest to the tailpiece the bridge volume and below it the tone? Hopefully, this makes sense. Thanks, and keep up the great reviews.
My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it. To clarify, the knobs are in rows with the volumes closer to the middle of the guitar and the tones closer to the outside of the guitar. The Bottom row is for the bridge pickup and the top row is for the neck pickup. Hope that makes sense!!
Please clarify: the 6-finger tailpies looks like it has small knobs at the very bottom... are those fine tuners or merely decrotive? If they are functional, I'd love to see more of an explanation on what and how they do what they do! I also noticed something similar on the tailpiece of the 1971 HRF (at the 2:15 mark) but am left wondering: if Gibson really developed a fine-tuning tail piece, why wasn't it commonly prolifereated across their solid tailpiece guitarts (SG, Les Paul, ...)?? Great video and Thanks in advance for the reply!
Thanks so much! I did this video quite some time ago but you can see it in action quite a bit in a lot of my videos up until today. Yes those are fine tuners. They are little screws and push down on each finger in the tail piece to create more tension. I generally use them to bring a string up to pitch rather than going down. It works but I think you get more stability tuning up with them. Likely not the best system which might be why they never developed it further. The guitar has great tuning stability overall but that bridge system is likely not very road worthy...but in the studio it has been a gem. Hope that helps!
I recently picked up a 1988 HRF -- that was the last year of the Lifeson-favored style before the HRFIII was introduced. I was lucky in that it seemed to have been treated as "case candy," and looked brand new. When this guitar came out in '88, I was more likely to buy a Charvel super-strat with flames all over it than a jazz-style guitar like this. I was more open to the style of this now, but having played a few Rush trib shows with the guitar I now endearingly call "Howie Bobby," I can say this guitar has more of a hard rock sting to it than any Charvel could muster! It is very hot sounding, and beefy in the low end. I love it.
That version of the HRF is high on my list. I so wanted Alex’s that was sold in auction for over 200k. They are great guitars. Sadly Gibson has ignored them. Enjoy yours! And thanks for sharing!
@@LonelyRocker Thanks Lonely! It's funny, but Alex removed the bridge on his and put a Khaler tremolo on it for about 10 mins (he must have been high!). Then he took that out put a tune-o-matic bridge in there and covered the routing with a metal plate! I certainly would have enjoyed having that guitar for historic value - it was amazing on Exit Stage Left. But I think even Alex would admit today that he should not combine the green leafy stuff with tremolo mods! 🙂
Awesome, run-down. Thank you. I too own a black HR iii. The switch has gone bad and I need to replace it. Any idea how you get the components out? F-hole or pickup hole? (Sorry, that sounds bad) Nice playing btw. Thanks!
Thanks so much. Glad to meet a fellow HR3 owner ;). I'd recommend letting someone who knows what they are doing. You do have to go through the F-Hole to replace stuff. Im sure there's a trick to it. Let em know what you find out!
You never know. Guitar manufacturers often borrow from themselves. I've never played a 137 so I can't say how similar they are. Would be a fun test if I could get a hold of one :)
Lonely Rocker I’ve looked for an earlier one... hard to find.. especially in Australia. I bought mine in San Fran. Played it on loads of sessions and couple of tours to Canada and Europe.
@@LonelyRocker I see you have a piece called VFR.. are you a pilot? I hold a commercial licence in Australia. Re the HRF, mine also has the stock 490 R and T pickups, and while they are hotter than I would normally use, they seem to work perfectly with this instrument. They clean up perfectly on the linear taper vol pots with the treble bleed caps. I can almost get fender sound from it.
Actually, my best friend is a pilot and I watched him from the beginning go through all of his training to become the pilot flying big jets today. So, I feel like I am an honorary pilot as I know many of the terms. I thought the VFR concept would make a nice theme for the song and video. Glad you checked it out!! As far as the HRF, I agree. It's an amazingly versatile guitar and is by far my main gtr in all of my recordings. Love it!
Thanks for putting this together. I've got the 345, 355, and the es-Artist... I'm on the prowl for a classic tobacco HRF. Just as an aside, have you ever used a Boss CE-20 chorus unit? You and your Howard would sound legit through that pedal!
Thanks for your thoughts. And my pleasure. You have quite the collection yourself. I'd love to get my hands on one of those older HRFs myself. Never tried a CE-20 but now you have me salivating!! ;)
@@LonelyRocker Hah yeah man! I think you would appreciate it. I took a dive into some Howard Roberts the guitarist history after watching your video, thanks for that too.
Sweet !!! some guitars are much easier to get those pinch harmonics my guess that one is so easy you almost have to concentrate on NOT digging in. Few years back (with bass around my neck in front of my keys) I set out to learn the Geddy part of Tom Sawyer - I think I needed to sequence the keys on the arpeggios (thinking that's what he's got to be doing - bass/keys playing simultaneously in spots). Had the perfect sounds though and almost could pull it off without sequencing - but damn that was just busy crazy.
Nothing like some Rush to push you to your limits!!! Pinch harmonics are my thing. I think I could get them on rubber bands wrapped around a shoe box... ;-))))))
I can't see past mine either. It's a Tobacco burst '89, did away with the gold hardware and the dumb ("won't stay in tune") tailpiece and went chrome with an ABR. Each to their own... The 490's suit this perfectly in my humble.. same as the Les Paul but I always wondered what it would be like with a set of P-90's... maybe one day....
If you really want the perfect combo guitar go to West Memphis, Tn, Gibson guitar plant and ask Jason Dawson to build you a Signature Alex Lifeson ES-Les Paul in white and that guitar will really blow you away for sound,,,wow..
Great video! I've loved Howard Roberts playing since I started listening to him in the sixties and I still listen to him all the time, just the most tasteful, melodic player - still my favorite guitarist. I own a HR Fusion III in sunburst - its a 1998, and I agree with all your comments about the versatility of these guitars, you can cover just about any style with it. For jazz, I love that sweet sound of the nck humbucker, it's rich, articulate and fat sounding. I just scored a 1976 Howard Roberts Custom which is also an outstanding instrument - all original with the original case. 1998 HRF III th-cam.com/video/jkOA2RS6otQ/w-d-xo.html 1976 HR Custom th-cam.com/video/vS57caTsLmc/w-d-xo.html
Glad you enjoyed it! Happy to share with my fellow HRF enthusiasts. We are a small but passionate group. I've always been curious about the HR Custom. Does it feel more like an acoustic or electric guitar?
@@LonelyRocker Well, it's definitely got a bit of an acoustic vibe when not plugged in, it's fairly loud thanks to the oval sound hole. Plugged in it has more of an archtop tone - it really nails the classic HR tone. It doesn't have the sustain that the Fusion has, mainly because it has a floating humbucker. The tone controls are interesting - one is basically a treble cut and the other is a midrange cut/boost. I really love both of my HR guitars, the Fusion is like a gem that few people seem to know about. I put flatwounds on the custom, it just seems right for that guitar. The neck is the classic Gibson C profile, it's little chunkier than the fusion. Cheers!
I've often felt Gibson should reissue this. If my channel ever gets big enough I'm going to make it a priority to push Gibson to do just that. I have some ideas for modern appointments. Wouldn't that be great?!! As for Rock??? It's the ultimate rock machine. Yes, it was designed for a jazz player but remember he was a fast player. And the form factor of this guitar is perfect for huge rock tones!!!!
@@LonelyRocker I believe the photo on the cover of an old Guitar Player magazine cover shows Howard with this model with what appears to be a more rounded cutaway. Thought it looked a bit better than the sharp point.
Played this guitar nearly exclusively in my band Uncle Sally. Owned and used both red and black... Also used this on many of our recordings. Thanks for making this video. Makes me want to own one again. Check out the lead guitar work at 3:40 th-cam.com/video/U-s9BBA-mm4/w-d-xo.html
Smokin' dude!!!!!! Love seeing that HR3 killing it up there. Thank you for sharing! Hope you find your way back to one. With playing like that you deserve it!!!
Not sure that's relevant to the features of the guitar. If you're interested, I use 10-52s on it. I generally use 10-46 but keep heavier bottom strings on this guitar. It developed a slight bow in the neck several years ago and this was recommended to me to straighten it out. It did the trick.
So do I! And the earlier ones had a heavy maple center block instead of the "chromyte"--aka balsa wood!--one. So they are heavier, but I think that they probably provide better sustain!
Finally a great video on the HRF guitars, that goes shall we say much deeper than most. My 1st 1980 HRF was stolen from my home in 2014 I had owned that guitar since the mid 1980's still makes me sick to my stomach to this day and as of yet never recovered. I got lucky and found another 1980 HRF. It's such a sweet guitar and as you have said... so versatile. This one I have the Suhr Thornbuckers (Pete Thorn) pickups installed with the split coil capabilities and all's I can say is... Wow they took an already incredible guitar to a whole different realm. Thanks! BK
Sorry to hear about your first one but so glad you recovered and came back stronger with your HR. Thanks so much for checking out my video. I play the HRF ona . few tracks here on my channel so check the out. Was a labour of love. Surprisingly little out there on the Fusion so just doing my rock and roll duty. Cheers!
Well if you ever do get to play one I recommend that custom ES137 the regular ones are OK 🤷🏾♂️
I’ll give it a go if I get my hands on one 😎🎸
This is FABULOUS. Thanks for taking the time to make this!
You are so welcome! Thrilled you enjoyed it!
I'm a drummer from a Rush Tribute Band Right after " Exit Stage Left " We played so well that when my other drummer friend came
over during us playing Natural Science, When we finished he entered my house and complimented us on the sound that mu Bose
Stereo was putting out. Then we reassured him that we just finished playing that song. I had the black one back then and still do even though I was the drummer for that band.
I still love it until this day as I do my 1957 Solid Mahogany Black Beauty Les Paul and my 1977 ES-355 Faded out to yellow Alex Lifeson guitar also.
Sounds awesome! Rush is a great influence in so many ways. I really miss that band.
Nice vid! I’m the original owner of a ‘92 Fusion lll/Sunburst. I’ve ran it through all its paces, over the last 30 years(Jazz, Rock, Funk, etc) and it currently sports Flatwounds/11s. I’m now keeping it my main Jazz guitar, especially session work, and take it out on nicer gigs. My forever axe!
Thanks! Glad you liked it! I absolutely love that guitar. I wish Gibson re-issued it. It doesn't get much chatter for some reason. It will just have to be our little secret! ;)
@@LonelyRocker , indeed! I never understood the “under the radar” status that’s been maintained for decades!
Wonderful guitars. I’ve had mine for 15 years... Always enjoyed playing it.
They really are. The HRF club is truly a special one 😁
Excellent!! I got this guitar on black, new in 1993! Still have it , love it, will always have it !!
Fantastic guitar!!!
We are in an exclusive club. I wish Gibson would re-issue this model. Great guitar.
Very very cool
When I was shopping for the coolest axe in 1993, I saw this in all its GLORY !!!
Color choice?
Black with Gold hear
Love this axe so very much !!!
You have great taste my friend!!!
Another great video from "I don't have a band". Keep them coming.
love this guitar !
It's my baby! I just got it plek'd. It's playing better than it ever has!
These are amazing guitars. My HRF3 is the one guitar I would never sell. However, the Gibson 490's were not quite what I wanted to hear, so I replaced them with Manlius humbuckers (a Hot Rod 59 at the bridge and a Fat Diane at the neck). Perfectamundo!
I'm with you. This baby is with me forever! Great to connect with another HRF3 brethren! Thanks for watching!
Hi There, Thanks for the great review. Can you tell me which knobs are which? Are the two knobs closest to the neck, the volume for the neck pickup, and below it the tone? And are the two knobs closest to the tailpiece the bridge volume and below it the tone? Hopefully, this makes sense. Thanks, and keep up the great reviews.
My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it. To clarify, the knobs are in rows with the volumes closer to the middle of the guitar and the tones closer to the outside of the guitar. The Bottom row is for the bridge pickup and the top row is for the neck pickup. Hope that makes sense!!
Thanks, LonelyRocker!
Please clarify: the 6-finger tailpies looks like it has small knobs at the very bottom... are those fine tuners or merely decrotive? If they are functional, I'd love to see more of an explanation on what and how they do what they do! I also noticed something similar on the tailpiece of the 1971 HRF (at the 2:15 mark) but am left wondering: if Gibson really developed a fine-tuning tail piece, why wasn't it commonly prolifereated across their solid tailpiece guitarts (SG, Les Paul, ...)?? Great video and Thanks in advance for the reply!
Thanks so much! I did this video quite some time ago but you can see it in action quite a bit in a lot of my videos up until today. Yes those are fine tuners. They are little screws and push down on each finger in the tail piece to create more tension. I generally use them to bring a string up to pitch rather than going down. It works but I think you get more stability tuning up with them. Likely not the best system which might be why they never developed it further. The guitar has great tuning stability overall but that bridge system is likely not very road worthy...but in the studio it has been a gem. Hope that helps!
@@LonelyRocker Great reply! Really appreciate the details and prompt reply! Cheers, Salud, Skål & Prrrrrrost!! 💪👍🍻
@mikevsbeer my pleasure! Always happy to talk about the Howard!
I recently picked up a 1988 HRF -- that was the last year of the Lifeson-favored style before the HRFIII was introduced. I was lucky in that it seemed to have been treated as "case candy," and looked brand new. When this guitar came out in '88, I was more likely to buy a Charvel super-strat with flames all over it than a jazz-style guitar like this. I was more open to the style of this now, but having played a few Rush trib shows with the guitar I now endearingly call "Howie Bobby," I can say this guitar has more of a hard rock sting to it than any Charvel could muster! It is very hot sounding, and beefy in the low end. I love it.
That version of the HRF is high on my list. I so wanted Alex’s that was sold in auction for over 200k. They are great guitars. Sadly Gibson has ignored them. Enjoy yours! And thanks for sharing!
@@LonelyRocker Thanks Lonely! It's funny, but Alex removed the bridge on his and put a Khaler tremolo on it for about 10 mins (he must have been high!). Then he took that out put a tune-o-matic bridge in there and covered the routing with a metal plate! I certainly would have enjoyed having that guitar for historic value - it was amazing on Exit Stage Left. But I think even Alex would admit today that he should not combine the green leafy stuff with tremolo mods! 🙂
Ha. That’s so true. I guess it came at a time when it didn’t matte4 to him. But in hindsight I’m sure he was like WTF was I thinking? 😂😂😂
I have a late 80's EPI HRF III.....very cool and versatile guitar.....it sports 2 single coils and a humbucker....spruce top, not laminated....
Sweet!!! You should join my FB group. I would love to see a pic of that beauty! facebook.com/groups/lonelyrocker
Awesome, run-down. Thank you. I too own a black HR iii. The switch has gone bad and I need to replace it. Any idea how you get the components out? F-hole or pickup hole? (Sorry, that sounds bad) Nice playing btw. Thanks!
Thanks so much. Glad to meet a fellow HR3 owner ;). I'd recommend letting someone who knows what they are doing. You do have to go through the F-Hole to replace stuff. Im sure there's a trick to it. Let em know what you find out!
Was this the Fort runner for the Gibson ES137???
You never know. Guitar manufacturers often borrow from themselves. I've never played a 137 so I can't say how similar they are. Would be a fun test if I could get a hold of one :)
I bought one in 2010 and it’s my go to fav from around 15 others... mine is from 2001. It’s not off centre either, like a lot of the III series HRFs.
Awesome...I've had thoughts of looking for another one. Really is a great guitar....
Lonely Rocker I’ve looked for an earlier one... hard to find.. especially in Australia. I bought mine in San Fran. Played it on loads of sessions and couple of tours to Canada and Europe.
Sounds awesome. I’d like to find an early 80s fusion. Perhaps one day 😁
@@LonelyRocker I see you have a piece called VFR.. are you a pilot? I hold a commercial licence in Australia. Re the HRF, mine also has the stock 490 R and T pickups, and while they are hotter than I would normally use, they seem to work perfectly with this instrument. They clean up perfectly on the linear taper vol pots with the treble bleed caps. I can almost get fender sound from it.
Actually, my best friend is a pilot and I watched him from the beginning go through all of his training to become the pilot flying big jets today. So, I feel like I am an honorary pilot as I know many of the terms. I thought the VFR concept would make a nice theme for the song and video. Glad you checked it out!! As far as the HRF, I agree. It's an amazingly versatile guitar and is by far my main gtr in all of my recordings. Love it!
Thanks for putting this together. I've got the 345, 355, and the es-Artist... I'm on the prowl for a classic tobacco HRF. Just as an aside, have you ever used a Boss CE-20 chorus unit? You and your Howard would sound legit through that pedal!
Thanks for your thoughts. And my pleasure. You have quite the collection yourself. I'd love to get my hands on one of those older HRFs myself. Never tried a CE-20 but now you have me salivating!! ;)
@@LonelyRocker Hah yeah man! I think you would appreciate it. I took a dive into some Howard Roberts the guitarist history after watching your video, thanks for that too.
My absolute pleasure 😎🤟🏼
Sweet !!! some guitars are much easier to get those pinch harmonics my guess that one is so easy you almost have to concentrate on NOT digging in. Few years back (with bass around my neck in front of my keys) I set out to learn the Geddy part of Tom Sawyer - I think I needed to sequence the keys on the arpeggios (thinking that's what he's got to be doing - bass/keys playing simultaneously in spots). Had the perfect sounds though and almost could pull it off without sequencing - but damn that was just busy crazy.
Nothing like some Rush to push you to your limits!!! Pinch harmonics are my thing. I think I could get them on rubber bands wrapped around a shoe box... ;-))))))
I can't see past mine either. It's a Tobacco burst '89, did away with the gold hardware and the dumb ("won't stay in tune") tailpiece and went chrome with an ABR. Each to their own... The 490's suit this perfectly in my humble.. same as the Les Paul but I always wondered what it would be like with a set of P-90's... maybe one day....
Wish you could post pics in the comments so I could see it.
@@LonelyRocker Check out Stringbenders on FB. Like-minded peeps with guitars, music and lots of guitar stuff. Join us !!
If you really want the perfect combo guitar go to West Memphis, Tn, Gibson guitar plant and ask Jason Dawson to build you a Signature Alex Lifeson ES-Les Paul in white and that guitar will really blow you away for sound,,,wow..
I’m sure it would. But the Memphis plant was shut down. They moved all of the hollow body production to Nashville.
Great video! I've loved Howard Roberts playing since I started listening to him in the sixties and I still listen to him all the time, just the most tasteful, melodic player - still my favorite guitarist. I own a HR Fusion III in sunburst - its a 1998, and I agree with all your comments about the versatility of these guitars, you can cover just about any style with it. For jazz, I love that sweet sound of the nck humbucker, it's rich, articulate and fat sounding. I just scored a 1976 Howard Roberts Custom which is also an outstanding instrument - all original with the original case.
1998 HRF III
th-cam.com/video/jkOA2RS6otQ/w-d-xo.html
1976 HR Custom
th-cam.com/video/vS57caTsLmc/w-d-xo.html
Glad you enjoyed it! Happy to share with my fellow HRF enthusiasts. We are a small but passionate group. I've always been curious about the HR Custom. Does it feel more like an acoustic or electric guitar?
@@LonelyRocker Well, it's definitely got a bit of an acoustic vibe when not plugged in, it's fairly loud thanks to the oval sound hole. Plugged in it has more of an archtop tone - it really nails the classic HR tone. It doesn't have the sustain that the Fusion has, mainly because it has a floating humbucker. The tone controls are interesting - one is basically a treble cut and the other is a midrange cut/boost. I really love both of my HR guitars, the Fusion is like a gem that few people seem to know about. I put flatwounds on the custom, it just seems right for that guitar. The neck is the classic Gibson C profile, it's little chunkier than the fusion. Cheers!
Awesome. They are both beautiful. Enjoy them!!
One of my all time favorite Gibsons....too bad it's not still being produced.
Playing rock on it is like putting a mustache on the Mona Lisa. IMHLO. 😁
I've often felt Gibson should reissue this. If my channel ever gets big enough I'm going to make it a priority to push Gibson to do just that. I have some ideas for modern appointments. Wouldn't that be great?!! As for Rock??? It's the ultimate rock machine. Yes, it was designed for a jazz player but remember he was a fast player. And the form factor of this guitar is perfect for huge rock tones!!!!
@@LonelyRocker I believe the photo on the cover of an old Guitar Player magazine cover shows Howard with this model with what appears to be a more rounded cutaway. Thought it looked a bit better than the sharp point.
Always wanted one, but they've never come out with one in lefthanded
Never thought of that. That’s too bad. I wish they would reissue these. Such great guitars.
Yeah lefties get the short end of the stick. I’ve had to skip owning guitars because they don’t make them in left-handed
Played this guitar nearly exclusively in my band Uncle Sally. Owned and used both red and black... Also used this on many of our recordings. Thanks for making this video. Makes me want to own one again. Check out the lead guitar work at 3:40 th-cam.com/video/U-s9BBA-mm4/w-d-xo.html
Smokin' dude!!!!!! Love seeing that HR3 killing it up there. Thank you for sharing! Hope you find your way back to one. With playing like that you deserve it!!!
Great tune! Enjoyed the guitar work on the HRF!
I am also here because of Alex lifeson.
Great reason to be here!!
Why no mention of string gauge?
Not sure that's relevant to the features of the guitar. If you're interested, I use 10-52s on it. I generally use 10-46 but keep heavier bottom strings on this guitar. It developed a slight bow in the neck several years ago and this was recommended to me to straighten it out. It did the trick.
@@LonelyRocker Not really interested in your string choices, just curious about what the instrument was strung with at the factory...
Ahhh. That would go back a lot of years. I can’t even remember what I had for breakfast today 😝😝😝
Lonely Rocker I hear ya, brother...
@@chromefree Hit that subscribe and hope to hear from you again :)
I PREFER THE HOWARD ROBERTS FUSION 1. REALLY DONT LIKE THESE ORGAN PIPES TAILPIECE...
Ouch! That’s my baby 😩😩
Lonely Rocker No worrys! One Man’s Meat is Another Man’s Poison ☝🏻
So do I! And the earlier ones had a heavy maple center block instead of the "chromyte"--aka balsa wood!--one. So they are heavier, but I think that they probably provide better sustain!
Couldn't hear the guitar above the very loud and very terrible bass playing.
Aren't you the Debbie Downer....