TalismanRich

Way to pour on the encouragement, coach! There are a bunch of videos on builds of the 5E3 kits on Youtube. Most are Mojotone, but I'm sure most of the kits are very similar.

If you go to the Harmony website and the Heritage website, you can see that they are very similar. The Harmony site is more just basic info. It doesn't seem that the guitars are in general release although some examples have been seen at NAMM. There don't seem to be any dealers. Many of the old names are making a "comeback". Airline guitars are made by Eastwood, Silvertones are now coming out of Samick, Supro is owned by Absara (who also owns Pigtronix), Key is owned by Fritz Bros. FWIW, in many cases, the guitars resemble the originals but can differ drastically in construction. Most are thoroughly moderized compared to the budget instruments of the 50s and 60s.

That one's nice and flamey! The shading of the cherry is more subtle than many. Tasteful. Enjoy!

A standard H535 is around $2800. I can't believe they quoted $4100 for just a color change. It would be proper to actually publish something with regards to their pricing. I can see a significant upcharge for things like different inlays, 3 or 5 piece necks, upgraded headstock and or 5 way binding), but $1300 for a finish upgrade seems pretty steep. I can see 1 or 200 as a reasonable charge. I guess that's another reason to attend PSP to talk to the folks at the factory and see what the story is. (and yes, Pressure is probably setting the standard for custom builds. "its stock except for the wood, hardware, finish, pickups and frets." )

So does that mean the Eagle Classic is June Cleaver? Elegance is wearing a pearl necklace while you fix the boys a snack!

The factory has done LOTS of different finishes. For the core guitars, they have narrowed the selection. You would have to contact the factory about options and pricing. If you look through the gallery you should get an idea as to what can be done. They have done some amazing work. I think Almond Sunburst and Vintage Wine Burst are great, and the 535 in a faded cherry is my favorite. The 535 is a wonderful guitar.

I really don't understand the change to the Gibson style pick guard. I like the way the Heritage guard follows the flow of the guitar. I really like the wooden guard on my 157 the best. But that's a personal preference. If I wanted everything to look like a Gibson, I would have bought a Gibson.

It could be that's the original set, just by looking at the depth of the hole in the neck cavity. SD59s have the long legs and on many earlier 150s, the route isn't deep enough to accommodate the full length legs. Schallers had short legs. I ran into that issue when I tried installing a set of Seth Lovers into my 157. I couldn't get the pickups low enough to clear the strings. My H140 had just enough room to fit a set of Alnico Pro IIs, but I can't adjust the neck pickup any lower.

That's a nice looking 150. I wonder what pickups are in that one. It looks to have the Schaller rings, but only one screw per side which may mean pickup change. As FredZepp said, check the inside of the pickup cavity as any factory pickup changes would be noted there. Next time you change the strings, it might be good to pull the pickups to see what it has.

I really like the Mille Pro. I picked around on one in the showroom on Parson Street and it felt fantastic. Its a shame that its not one of their core models. Maybe we need to put the bug in Pete Farmer's ear!

Looking back through some old postings about the Heritage tailpiece, it appears that it was a Schaller manufactured item, which Heritage then enhanced with the ebony accent. Check out post 11 on this page. https://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/builders-bench/37964-finger-style-tailpiece-questions.html Schaller dropped quite a few parts over the years, including the pickups and stoptail that Heritage used for years.

If the H137 was too heavy for you, then the H140 will probably be as well. It is slightly thinner on the rim at 1.5 vs 1.75 inches, but you also have the carved maple cap which can add some thickness in the middle. A lot will depend on the pieces of wood used. My H-140 ('87 model) is 3660 grams or 8.06 lbs. I just looked at a few 137s on Reverb and they were running from 7.7 to 8.5 lbs. I saw one review from Premier Guitar, and they said theirs was 9.5 lbs. That one seems to be unusual. What is the actual weight of yours? FYI, My H-535 was 21 grams heavier than the 140, but my Millennium was 225 grams lighter at 7.7 lbs. The H-530 might be the ticket here, still has P90s and with no center block it should be lighter than a 535. It won't be good for a loud, high gain environment though.

Thirty lashes with a used guitar string for you, young man! Now, go to your room!

Ok, you're talking about the tailpiece. Some were custom made for Heritage. You would have to find out from the factory if they still have any. They have had several styles over the years. Some are no longer available

I wasn't referring to the tourist portion of the building, just the manufacturing area. As for being too highly priced, a Fender Custom shop guitar starts at around $3000 for teles and strats. Gibson Custom shop guitars are $3500 and up. (those are street prices, not MSRP). Gibson sets the MSRP of a 59 VOS at around $10,000 and street priced is $6500. At that price, $2500 for a standard H150 isn't out of line. I don't know if that extra $4000 is getting me that much better of a guitar. That said, only you can say what value a guitar has. I spent about the same for my Melancon tele as I did for my H157. Both were hand made. Both are excellent guitars. For me, both are worth what I paid for them.