MartyGrass

The guitar and case survived intact. It came with a lot of documentation from 9 years ago that the guy I sold it to obtained. The guy I got it from obtained it from Don Dean, the king of 18" archtops (sorta). Heritage noted that they did only make two of these guitars. Both were made exactly the way they built them at Gibson except the size. I forgot how low the action will go without buzzing. It's very impressive. I put TI 12s Jazz. The guitar is pretty loud and sounds great. There is a signed label by Johnny Smith, and there is a second label handwritten saying it is an 18" Johnny Smith and is signed by the four original Heritage Company orders. I included some quick photos to show the impressive woods. The grain is tighter in the middle and widens at the side. So I had to research as to whether the opinion that tight grain is more responsive. The Heritage old timers and Aaron Cowles said it's a myth. A review of the Internet opinions by good luthiers say no tonal differences, probably because thickness and carving dwarfs any grain tightness factor. Anyway, I'm happy.

Do you mean the knobs are crowded? The H-150s with D-VIP electronics do have relatively less space for pots because of limited control cavity real estate.

About 10 years ago I bought this guitar from someone in Ohio. He wasn't a player, but a friend of his recommended he invest in a couple of new guitars at a guitar show in Cincinatti, if I recall right. This is a Heritage Johnny Smith with an 18" body. I'd like to tell you a good reason I sold it the next year. I think it was a matter of money. I'm not sure. I sold it to a great guy and a forum member. Later he bought a couple of other Heritages from me. Fortunately for me, he agreed to sell the HJS back. There were two 18" HJS made AFAIK. Both were in Cincinatti. Don Dean, of Scotty Moore and Elvis fame, ended up with one. That one is a natural and is 3 1/4" deep. The incoming is the traditional 3" deep. The natural finish one was owned by a friend of mine who had the Floating #3 pickup rebuilt by Kent Armstrong, making it a little hotter. You can hear a difference. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsM3VeXzpVw This is the incoming sister of the natural. It's a rose natural and has the standard Floating #3, which to me sounds warmer. I'm excited!

All you can do is test the water.

RhoadsScholar used to gig with that in Detroit. He used a Strat, H-170, and this H-150, mostly the H-150. He died during COVID, and of course there were no gigs then. I bought the guitar back from his trust and picked it up at his funeral months later.

This guitar is a little lighter than most because the control cavity expands for the mini-toggles. That's my recollection. The Schaller bridge and tailpiece were swapped out by Pete Moreno. The person Ren Wall built this for has too much back pain to play. This was his last guitar and the one he played the most since he got it.

Here's a flame back.

Heritage has some great maple!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozOCLj9OgFc&t=128s I'm a big fan of Fralin P-92s. They are hum free. They sound fuller than Strat and Tele single coils. I can't say they sound just like P-90s. They sound close enough for me though.

I agree with the Lollar Imperial Low Winds. This may be a shocker, but I also do like the Schallers. I'd happily swap them out if I didn't. I also think it was clever to be able to tilt the pickup for subtle tone changes.

I had a 1960s ES-330 that squealed like crazy. I don't know if had anything to do with the chrome covers.

Here's the process. You first find the ideal guitar. Next, you search for the optimal pickups. Once successful, you focus on the right strings. Then it's onward to the amp. Finally you can concentrate on the pedals. Then you're dead. The whole time the technology keeps changing and guitar pundits tell you why you're wrong about every opinion you have. And in those last breaths you remember why you picked up that first guitar and smile.

I may be wrong, but I think they are 2 3/4".

The guitar arrived yesterday. Shipping went from California to Michigan, but timing was right to avoid great temperature changes. The packing was excellent. It came in a large Reverb box. I owned this guitar once upon a time. I forgot how 3D the figuring is and how it really pops out. I also like how the maple back and neck are the same color. The mahogany color shift on a natural maple body is fine on other guitars. But the white (now yellowing) continuity from top to bottom is appealing. The action is ridiculously low without buzzing. Let's shift to shipping. This was $190 UPS ground. The UPS man told me how costs are going up. I'm sure part of it, probably a large part, is due to personnel. Another component is the cost of diesel. One barrel of crude oil only produces about 11-12 gallons of diesel, compared to 19-20 gallons of gasoline. Insurance costs may also be higher. I have a similar vintage H-555 that shows what Floyd Newton could do to create a tri-burst. The transitions in coloring and the symmetry are an artist's work. My observations over the years are that the old Heritage was very flexible in custom makes. Sometimes the quality was uneven, but usually they were great. Today there is more consistency in good quality but less flexibility in design. Yes, you can get custom builds but not so whimsically anymore. And guitars are expensive.

As I recall the pups are Schallers, not HRWs. They sounded good enough to leave them alone.