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Post pick of them or tell me about the ones you have. I've been looking on Reverb etc and there aren't a lot out there. Im kinda curious. Cheers

Memory might be failing me now, it was a long time ago, but I think a Bill Lawrence pickup and passive are the only ones I have heard about.

Do 101s have an active pickup?

I'm fortunate. Back in the early 80's when I was studying guitar at the local community college, Joe Pass played 2 shows in one night. Prior to that, he hosted a student seminar. I met him. I sat in on the seminar, and watched 2 solo shows that night. It's a night that I won't ever forget. Joe was such a nice guy who went through a lot in his life. He was incredibly blunt, honest, and inspirational.

I would use tape.

After posting that I have owned a H101 since the eighties, and not used it much, I've decided it's taking up too much room. It's all original, but the grey suede type coating has fared well. It's seems to have just collected dirt for no obvious reason. Does anybody have any idea about how to clean it before it goes up for sale?

Beautiful!! I always wanted to try one of these.

I've had two Roy Clark models. The first one was fully hollow and a thinline. That was a one-off. I have a standard model now which is just fabulous. It's gorgeous and plays very, very nicely. It's basically a 555 single cutaway. The cutaway is deep.

First guitar I learned to play was my step-dad's old Kent,

My favorite movie

I suppose you’re correct Rich.

There's nothing like 1/4"+ action to build the strength in those 12 yr old fingers! (hey what's that adjustment thing at the base of the neck???? Could it have been a truss rod But look at all them PICKUPS! And it was a better guitar than the first one, made from the finest pressed paper tonewood. (masonite) I think I would take an Ascent H137 instead!

My dad, a failed guitar player, had a cheap Kent acoustic guitar that I learned my first few chords on, eventually the neck popped off of it from me tuning higher than it should have been Well then for christmas that year, my mom told my dad to buy me a guitar and amp. I got a Teisco Checkmate guitar with a matching little amplifier (in a plastic case). That was equally as bad as the Kent acoustic. The action on that guitar was so high I risked damage to my fingers everytime I tried to play a chord on it. After that, I took matters into my own hands. I saved up all the money that I could from my caddy job at the local golf course, and bought my first real guitar, a 1959 Fender Musicmaster in Desert Sand, and a Danelectro Cadet amp. I was off and running from there. But even in the early 70's, that little guitar and amp cost me $400. For nostalgia's sake, a few years back, I bought a 1960 Musicmaster that is pretty much identical to my old '59, and the same DanElectro Cadet amp just to see if I could make music with it, and here's a song I recorded with it. The Danelectro amp is a toy, but the Musicmaster is really a great sounding guitar, here it is through a proper amp, my Victoria Regal II...

I think Kent had a deal with parents. Buy your kid a Kent guitar and they'll never want to play guitar again, you can thank us later.

I had a Kent when I was a kid. They sucked.

MG, you're entirely correct. The Asian built guitars aren't targeting the guy who has 2 dozen guitars, 6 drum kits, 8 amplifiers and is playing in bars. Imagine you're 35, got 2 kids, a mortgage and a car payment. Your 12 yr old wants to learn to play guitar. For $270 you can get an Ascent H150 new or spend $2600 on a US H150. What are you going to choose? Or you could get a Jackson Dinky, Epiphone SG, Ibanez Gio, Squire, Yamaha Pacifica. All in the $2-300 range. Now 4 years later, the kid has actually taken to playing, even started playing with his friends. Wants a new guitar. Mexican Strat? Fancy Epiphone or Ascent+ for $6-800. Or hunt for a used Epi or Mexican Tele? There's a market for the mid and low tier stuff. In my day, it was a SIlvertone Dano, then a Guyatone built Kent, then a used Fender Jaguar. What it wasn't was a $400 ES335! $400 in 1965 was a lot more than $400 today. There's a lot more options now, and Heritage is just looking to fill that hole.

I see these in a different light. The guitar seems decent by this review. The price point is attractive to the begining and intermediate player due to the price. Those who can pay more and want "better", there are other places to go. I don't own anything in this series but have played a couple. I also recall one of my favorite rock players, Randy California of Spirit, played a Sears Silvertone in his early recording and performing days to great reviews. I have modded my H-150/157s over the years in some cases. The didn't "need" mods, but some fret work and slot cutting helped. If I were back in 6th grade, there's no way I could afford a new American built H-150 or H-535 from my paper route. If the Ascent+ was available, that may be within reach. I have an emotional bias though. I grew up in Kalamazoo. I'd take the temperature of the community since they are my audience. I don't think there would be resentment if I got the Asian version, especially as a kid. I can tell you that in Kalamazoo years ago, a lot of guys played Fenders and Gretsches. They never got any pushback for disloyalty. Rather, my friends liked trying them out. Quite a few were loyal Fender players. Some worked for Gibson. Brand loyalty has advantages. And if QC is solid, one advantage is you pretty much know what you're going to get before you open the case. If the Ascent series does have the quality and tight specs, those are strong positives. I don't own one, but I'm not allergic to them! A major reason I had a good early experience, 6th-10th grade, was a glut of Gibsons in my city. I got a Firebird V with a Kalamazoo amp from a neighbor for 6 weeks of paper route money. If I were not in Kalamazoo at the time, I'd probably would have had to go Asian! Let me mention that the Ascent line is still owned and managed by the Heritage company owners. If they can produce very good guitars with a significantly lower price in Asia, they likely have to strongly consider doing that for their investors. It is likely mandated. But it's our choice as to what we buy, and we buy for different reasons. My choice has been to buy locally. That's easy when the product is good and it supports your neighbors. If I were 13 again and had to earn the money for a guitar, amp and lessons, and a used Gibson or Heritage would cost more than a new Ascent, the lofty ideals of "buying American" may not be reachable. Lastly, the Ascent series idea came from somewhere. It may be what allowed the new Heritage owners the ability to maintain the original Kalamazoo site for the Heritage models. IDK. Recall that whatever the original Heritage factory owners were doing was not survivable, leading to its sale. Projecting from my youth when I'd stare at the Gibson catalogs, quite a few kids who get an Ascent will move up into a Heritage or Gibson or Fender or PRS. From what I see, the Ascent seems like it could work as an entry point for a kid into a lifetime of guitar.

thanks for that!

and props to Hank!

Wow what a joyful noise RIP both: masters, monsters

You have admire the guys who can pull this off, one just about nailing Terry's solo note for note, the other getting the "spirit" but not following the script exactly.

There's an album -- they play Hank Williams tunes...

That was great! I'm a huge Roy Clark fan, but I really LOVED Joe Pass's rhythm comping.

Awesome!! Thanks for sharing that video. 👍

Wow, thanks for posting this.