Leduke Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 Hello. I was wondering if there is better years production than others for Heritage guitars, like Gibson Have ? I can't find Heritage Guitar close to me, the nearest guitar to try is at 400 miles away... So I have to buy without try... A friend of mine, tryed many many Gibson 335 to found the good one, because the production quality is not always the same. Is it also the same way with Heritage, or can I buy without try ? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TalismanRich Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 To me, the issue of the quality of manufacture hasn't really drifted a lot over the years, but there have more lapses in the quality of the setup Things like how well the frets are polished and leveled, or how well the nut is cut has varied over the years. Luckily things like that can be adjusted by a competent luthier, and with a used instrument, you can have issues like fret wear or poor adjustments. The guitars coming out of Parsons Street today all seem to be top notch. They are concentrating more on making sure setups are spot-on. Combine this with the typical good wood and construction and you end up with an superb guitar. I played a number of newer ES335s (standard models) and they did not impress me nearly as well as my 535. The closest thing was a late 60s 335. It had the same acoustic tone, and nice full body sound. The new ones sound somewhat "flat" or lifeless. Understand that the cherry red semi-hollow was my dream guitar some 50 years ago, and when I finally bought one, it was a Heritage. I can't say I've ever regretted the decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleLeroy Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 I'm still a Newbie compared to most of the people on this Forum, but I now own 7 Heritage guitars. All purchased over the internet, so I couldn't try 'em before buying. And every one is awesome. The guitars range from a 1992 to a 2016, a span of 24 years. I can detect no difference in build quality. I agree with Rich regarding adjustments and I have had to adjust the nut or bridge saddles on a couple of them. Because I use 42- 9 gauge string and they typically come with 46 - 10 gauge, I always have to make some adjustments and re-intonate them. But the basic integrity and playability of the guitars is consistently excellent. This has never happened with Gibson guitars I've had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Flying Bird Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 My first Heritage was a 1988 black H-150. The latest one I own is a 2010 custom H137. All of the Heritage guitars I or my friends have owned have been of a first rate manufacturer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leduke Posted October 30, 2017 Author Share Posted October 30, 2017 Ok ! Thank you so much for all your testimonies ! I think I'll could buy a Heritage remotely but never a Gibson ! A firend of Mine got a 335 Reissue 59', and another have a BB King Lucille, I'll compared with my futur Heritage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteraltongreen Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 I have 2 Heritages from the 1980's (140 &575) I bought them both at first play.I worked in the shop that stocked them,and I got to play many more.I never found a bad one structurally.I did have a couple of electrical issues with both guitars,which were purely personal to me,and I sorted them. Yes 30 years later I still have both,I still play both,and they still look new to the eye.magnificent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tulk1 Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 Except for maybe some extremely high end guitars, my thought is to expect to have it set up when you get it home. Doesn't matter who makes it. And most guitars with a proper set up can play quite nicely. It's mostly the fingerboard radius, neck radius, string gauge that will cause issues with playability. I started to add scale length, too. But for me, that has never really been an issue. Guess it could for some, tho'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElNumero Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 14 hours ago, TalismanRich said: To me, the issue of the quality of manufacture hasn't really drifted a lot over the years, but there have more lapses in the quality of the setup Things like how well the frets are polished and leveled, or how well the nut is cut has varied over the years. Luckily things like that can be adjusted by a competent luthier, and with a used instrument, you can have issues like fret wear or poor adjustments. The guitars coming out of Parsons Street today all seem to be top notch. They are concentrating more on making sure setups are spot-on. Combine this with the typical good wood and construction and you end up with an superb guitar. I played a number of newer ES335s (standard models) and they did not impress me nearly as well as my 535. The closest thing was a late 60s 335. It had the same acoustic tone, and nice full body sound. The new ones sound somewhat "flat" or lifeless. Understand that the cherry red semi-hollow was my dream guitar some 50 years ago, and when I finally bought one, it was a Heritage. I can't say I've ever regretted the decision. Yours is faded cherry young man. I had a trans cherry 535 and foolishly sold it to CJ Topes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steiner Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 8 hours ago, tulk1 said: Except for maybe some extremely high end guitars, my thought is to expect to have it set up when you get it home. Doesn't matter who makes it. And most guitars with a proper set up can play quite nicely. It's mostly the fingerboard radius, neck radius, string gauge that will cause issues with playability. I started to add scale length, too. But for me, that has never really been an issue. Guess it could for some, tho'. Have Heritages from '85 to '17. Via the above, they all play perfectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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