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1986 HFT 480 Spruce MOG questions...


guitarsouthbend

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Hi Folks!

 

Trying to trace down some info on a recent addition. The serial number on this guitar is C00101. A spruce flat top with a true carved mahogany back. This guitar is great and sounds even better. I aquired the guitar after the owner recently passed. Story included with the purchase goes somehting like this: the owner was a collector. He owned a big restaurant in Milwaukee. George Benson attempted to purchase the guitar for $3000, with a check, which I don't have yet, but the owners wife still has! He couldn't part with the guitar but Benson let him keep the check. What do you guys know about the 480 series? I am kind of curious if the serial number may be the first of the 480 lot. Thoughts? Sure be fun to trace down a better vision of the guitar's history, or correct what I think I know so far. I appreciate any info you may have! Thanks!

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Congrats .. those are a fine handcrafted instrument made at Heritage. Rare and very well made.

 

The serial tells the date made... (C00101) .. it says it was the first guitar completed on Dec 30, 1986. .. a Tuesday. I would have thought they would be closed on that date... but can't say.

You have to be careful with their stamped serial numbers, they are often blurry and could be mistaken for something else. I can't see in your photos.

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I heard the 445s were purchased as a body and Heritage made the necks. I thought that the 480s were made entirely in house. I can't imagine an acoustic guitar company making arched backed guitars in 1986.

 

Does anybody recall the conversations we've had at Parson's St.?

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I heard the 445s were purchased as a body and Heritage made the necks. I thought that the 480s were made entirely in house. I can't imagine an acoustic guitar company making arched backed guitars in 1986.

 

Does anybody recall the conversations we've had at Parson's St.?

yes... 445's are a solid spruce top with laminated body made in Canada with a Heritage neck and finish. HFT-480's were all solid woods entirely made at Parsons Street.

 

Both are quite nice, but the 480 is the higher end acoustic.

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That is a sweet rare score!

I remember the conversations I had with Marv while he was building my 357. I picked up a 480 during the time my 357 was being built, and I spoke to Marv a length about the 480.

I had a lot of questions about it, and when it was time to pick up the 357 he said "bring along that acoustic and I'll take a look at it".

The 480 was his design. He built "about ten" and he did the entire guitar by himself. The back is one piece carved mahogany, solid mahogany sides, solid spruce top and a Marv rolled neck.

 

 

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yes... 445's are a solid spruce top with laminated body made in Canada with a Heritage neck and finish. HFT-480's were all solid woods entirely made at Parsons Street.

 

Both are quite nice, but the 480 is the higher end acoustic.

 

Agreed. A tad rarer too.

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yes... 445's are a solid spruce top with laminated body made in Canada with a Heritage neck and finish. HFT-480's were all solid woods entirely made at Parsons Street.

 

Both are quite nice, but the 480 is the higher end acoustic.

 

Yeahbut, the 445 is more better, because... well, that's what "I" have..... :icon_rr:

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They also made the 475. It has the carved back too. It is an acoustic version of the 575. Not many of these were built either, Marv said 6 or 7. All Heritage guitars are kinda' rare. All of them I have heard have great tone.

 

I think Brent has one of these.

 

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Thanks for sharing some great info! I would not doubt the neck is a "Marv" neck one bit...it is fantastic..it is the very best neck I have on any of my Heritage guitars. The fingerboard has a wonderful roll on the edges adn the neck shape is to die for. I am shocked at how great it sounds...I think it surpasses any high end Taylor I've played and holds its own against any vintage Martin I've been able to play to this point. I think it sounds far better than two of the "tap tuned" golden eagles I've had in the past as well. Just a really cool piece of history.

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While the 445 is not the most elaborately decorated guitar like a higher end Martin, Taylor, or Gibson; the 445 is a simple, well built, quality acoustic meant for a working man in my opinion. It sounds great, plays really well, and holds up to time. I was tricked into trading off my first 445 by some fork-tongued, smooth talking, medical sales rep :rofl_mini: with his fancy wine red Epi Limited Edition Dot Deluxe with a fat neck.... Thankfully, I found another in Brent's backyard and snatched it before it saw it coming...

 

The 480 is a thing of beauty... But if George Benson wanted it for $3,000, I think I would of sold it to him....

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While the 445 is not the most elaborately decorated guitar like a higher end Martin, Taylor, or Gibson; the 445 is a simple, well built, quality acoustic meant for a working man in my opinion. It sounds great, plays really well, and holds up to time. I was tricked into trading off my first 445 by some fork-tongued, smooth talking, medical sales rep :rofl_mini: with his fancy wine red Epi Limited Edition Dot Deluxe with a fat neck.... Thankfully, I found another in Brent's backyard and snatched it before it saw it coming...

 

The 480 is a thing of beauty... But if George Benson wanted it for $3,000, I think I would of sold it to him....

 

.......Ah, the Dot AND a Traynor YCV40; but who's counting! Did KBP810 ever tell you the whole story about "MY" 445? He had just bought the other Heritage Acoustic he had for a while, and I PM'd him about the 445. He agreed to sell it to me, so I took something (who knows what, haha) to the pawn shop to cover the check I was going to send Brian. An hour later, he PMs me, very sheepishly telling me that you had seen his post and ran over to his cubicle (when you two used to work together) and said you wanted the 445, but you had to sell your Mexican Strat for $500 first. He told me that he didn't think you could do that by the next Monday, and that if you didn't sell it, he'd sell the acoustic to me. Well, I'll be damned if you didn't pull it off! No Heritage Acoustic for me.... Until about a year later, when I proposed the deal we made. It all worked out in the end, and I finally convinced you that a Chinese Epiphone Dot wasn't junk!

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.......Ah, the Dot AND a Traynor YCV40; but who's counting! Did KBP810 ever tell you the whole story about "MY" 445? He had just bought the other Heritage Acoustic he had for a while, and I PM'd him about the 445. He agreed to sell it to me, so I took something (who knows what, haha) to the pawn shop to cover the check I was going to send Brian. An hour later, he PMs me, very sheepishly telling me that you had seen his post and ran over to his cubicle (when you two used to work together) and said you wanted the 445, but you had to sell your Mexican Strat for $500 first. He told me that he didn't think you could do that by the next Monday, and that if you didn't sell it, he'd sell the acoustic to me. Well, I'll be damned if you didn't pull it off! No Heritage Acoustic for me.... Until about a year later, when I proposed the deal we made. It all worked out in the end, and I finally convinced you that a Chinese Epiphone Dot wasn't junk!

 

I knew it wasn't junk... I was just trying to sweeten the deal... Sold that Mexi Strat (It was a Lonestar/Roadhouse combination) to another guy in the office whose son still plays that guitar today.

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No stress on the hijack...all in good fun. Who knows about the tall tales that come with a guitar...maybe Elvis himself played this 1986 Heritage! If I can get ahold of that check, from Benson, then...maybe we will believe the story! Thanks for all the great info on the 480.

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They also made the 475. It has the carved back too. It is an acoustic version of the 575. Not many of these were built either, Marv said 6 or 7. All Heritage guitars are kinda' rare. All of them I have heard have great tone.

 

I think Brent has one of these.

 

img_7455_std.jpg

 

img_7461_std.jpg

That guitar plays like Butter!

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That guitar plays like Butter!

 

How do you get the grease off your hands???

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