yoslate Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 Opening the case, I was taken aback in a good way. From the shop photos, I’d expected a rich darker-to-lighter tobacco, but the tobacco brown has, at certain angles, a beautiful red cast. I’d noticed in a lot of on-line pictures from Parsons Street (and the new spray booth) in the last couple of years that the colors and shooting of the bursts, the finishes, were exquisite, rivaling what you might see from Collings or PRS. This Custom Core bears that out in the flesh. The fade of the burst, rim to the center and lower to upper bouts, is really nice. The darker tobacco is a little heavier on the treble side of the lower bout than on the bass side, but finishes are a guitar’s fingerprint. Different, even a little asymmetry, is good. The color works beautifully to bring up the nicely ribboned top. The top speaks for itself. And, unlike the 20th Anniversary, the figure in the top doesn’t move much, and doesn’t disappear at certain angles. The solid red finish on the sides, back and neck is a slightly darker, richer, more subdued red than the usual found on earlier 150’s. All of this more “mature” coloration is matched in color value by the yellowed binding, again a more subdued color. The palette of the guitar looks very consciously executed because the values of all of the colors work so well together; no one color predominates. The effect is that of the entire instrument having a rich, lovely, organic patina. The very careful, conscious execution of “parts” relative to the organic whole of the guitar is going to be a consistent thread through my posts on this instrument. This takes me straight to the “artisan aging” in the next post. I guess I should be prepared to duck…. The photo on the left, below shows the colors on the back of the Custom Core (left) and the 2006 20th Anniversary. Photo below is...pretty obvious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoslate Posted June 29, 2021 Author Share Posted June 29, 2021 The binding: 20th Anniversary on the left, Aged Custom Core, left.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartyGrass Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 It is a masterful work of art, reflecting all the right ingredients. Normally I'm a fool for the visual presentation. In this case (sorta literally) I'm really excited how it feels. The light weight is retro and very appealing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoslate Posted June 29, 2021 Author Share Posted June 29, 2021 3 minutes ago, MartyGrass said: It is a masterful work of art, reflecting all the right ingredients. Normally I'm a fool for the visual presentation. In this case (sorta literally) I'm really excited how it feels. The light weight is retro and very appealing. Glad you dig, Marty! And the feel...I'm getting to that. The Artisan Aging has a bit to play in that, and I'm going there, but yes, the weight is important. There are some very unexpected surprises I've discovered, as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennyv4 Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 Very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ej150 Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 Awesome! I'd love to pick up an artisan aged custom core version to go with my dirty lemon, but that might be a while. I like the color palette on that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartyGrass Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 27 minutes ago, yoslate said: Glad you dig, Marty! And the feel...I'm getting to that. The Artisan Aging has a bit to play in that, and I'm going there, but yes, the weight is important. There are some very unexpected surprises I've discovered, as well. I'm very happy for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 Great review, Rob. As a partially color blind dude (who for some reason doesn't get to park in that special spot at the mall) I love your careful and considered description of how Heritage sprayed your H-150. And how the curl plays hide and seek in the top, is well, over the top. I've always preferred a slight tint in the bindings. It's a small detail, but it results in a very beautiful contrast to the top and back. Even if you hadn't provided the side-by-side comparisons, I knew exactly what you were describing. And thanks for triggering my previously controlled GAS. It may take a while, but I do see myself owning one of these new and improved Heritage gitfiddles. Looking forward to your next episode. Play it in good health. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoslate Posted June 29, 2021 Author Share Posted June 29, 2021 2 hours ago, yoslate said: The binding: 20th Anniversary on the left, Aged Custom Core, left.... Ooops! To clarify my obvious mistake, 20th Anniversary left, Custom Core, right.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LK155 Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 Beautiful guitar, Rob. Don't know if it needs the guard, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golferwave Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 A beautiful and finely detailed H-150. Just awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartyGrass Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 15 hours ago, yoslate said: Ooops! To clarify my obvious mistake, 20th Anniversary left, Custom Core, right.... A telltale sign is the binding scraping. In the old days binding was scraped to the "good enough" stage often. The new feller is done perfectly. That leads me to predict future throwback guitar designs- The Micro-Flaw Series: So You Know Humans Built It. Has a few fretboard file marks, a touch of overspray and a tasteful dash of finish residue on the binding. Requires a set up since we won't presume to know how you want it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoslate Posted June 29, 2021 Author Share Posted June 29, 2021 40 minutes ago, MartyGrass said: A telltale sign is the binding scraping. In the old days binding was scraped to the "good enough" stage often. The new feller is done perfectly. That leads me to predict future throwback guitar designs- The Micro-Flaw Series: So You Know Humans Built It. Has a few fretboard file marks, a touch of overspray and a tasteful dash of finish residue on the binding. Requires a set up since we won't presume to know how you want it. Well...on this one, if I must be objective by finding obvious flaws, it did come with the strings not well-wound on the posts of the tuning machines. Did consider returning it for a minute.... But then realized, nah, I'll eventually restring it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PunkKitty Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 Beautiful. Sorry about the nick in the first pic though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TalismanRich Posted July 2, 2021 Share Posted July 2, 2021 On 6/29/2021 at 4:07 PM, yoslate said: Well...on this one, if I must be objective by finding obvious flaws, it did come with the strings not well-wound on the posts of the tuning machines. Did consider returning it for a minute.... But then realized, nah, I'll eventually restring it. HA! for me that would mean playing it for a year or two before the strings get properly wound on the posts!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElNumero Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 Pics won’t load on my iPad for some reason Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 Looks pretty outstanding!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElNumero Posted July 9, 2021 Share Posted July 9, 2021 Nothing quite like dissecting every nuance of this new guitar, sharing all the details with inquiring minds...... Next chapter please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brentrocks Posted July 10, 2021 Share Posted July 10, 2021 I can see you rockin that baby!!! What a great axe!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsck1 Posted July 11, 2021 Share Posted July 11, 2021 Work of art! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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