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Love me some green guitars!

Eyeeee Laddie…. ON THE BENCH…..1998 Heritage H170 in Emerald Green!!! Rare color. The owner wants… New pickups New bridge New tailpiece Fret polish Fretboard conditioning Cleaning and detailing Poker chip added New pickup rings New strings and full setup Should be a fun Saturday project.

I'm six hours from the location of this instrument; 15 hours from Michigan.

I have the Katana Go headphone amp. I bought it when it first hit the market and then they pulled them off the market and nobody knew if they were gonna come back but now they’re back with about a 15% price increased over the original. I have one of the original models. It’s a lot of fun when you’re in a hotel room you put on headphones that you can get all these cool guitar sounds that come from the Katana amplifier itself.

Do Fender Tonemaster amps fall into the category? I know you were impressed. Mine (Deluxe) continues to wow me. I recently downloaded the latest Firmware update to it (2025) which apparently removed the “virtual bright cap” from channel 2 among other things like adding more IR’s.

Job complete in 30 minutes or less. The most annoying part was the Reverb tank kept wanting to draw itself to the huge speaker magnet on my deluxe.

I have the same amp, a 2006 reissue, cover and all. Yes it’s heavy. I also have a Super reissue and a Deluxe reissue, as well as a Supersonic 60. I must be nuts!!!

A 6 hour drive with no guarantees you will be able to speak with Ren or even less likely, Jim. Might be easier to get in touch with Ren by email or phone. Those are basically the last of the original clan that you could potentially speak to. Notice I said “potentially”.

It would be nice to get the information directly from one of the owners. I'm sure there are interesting details in the build that the photos or sellers description do not capture. Pete F. may also have information on the build. It's only a six hour drive for me. That may quicker than asking for photos of the guitar's neck and back ;^)

Well after some time playing the Seth Lovers, I'm a bit on the fence. They're less aggressive than the SD59's, but perhaps a little more in the bright and clear direction than I was thinking. I like them pretty well for the most part, and that tinge of harsh the SD59's I didn't care for is gone. I play pretty simple rig, just amp on the edge of break up, run the volume up and down for dynamics and adjust the tone on the guitar as I'm playing. I was pleasantly surprised how well the bridge does with some gain going on the amp, while the neck cleans up easy with some volume roll off without getting too dark. (50's wiring in my guitar, so it doesn't get dark as the volume rolls off). I'm thinking about trying a magnet swap in the Custom Bucker III p'ups in the Custom Shop Gibson R0. I already have a pair of Alnico 2 magnets on hand. Just trying to decide if it is worth the trouble. On the other hand, got to play a Custom Shop Gibson R9 (59 reissue) that the owner put a set of ThroBaks in as well as hear him play it a bunch. Holy smokes, that guitar sounds good, and he's a great player to boot. I also played a Collings I35LC (335-ish) with factory-installed ThroBaks not too long ago, that was fantastic. My H535 is a 2001 with HRW's in it and I wouldn't change a thing on it.

The "description" is just the standard description for a generic H-150. It's not a "standard" 150, with the bound headstock, it's more like a Deluxe. The neck does appear to be korina with a strip of perhaps mahogany or maple. The pickups also look like aged pickups, perhaps SD Antiquities. Most likely not stock 59s. It's surprising to me that a "boutique guitar" dealer trying to sell a guitar as being unique doesn't put a bit more time into the research instead of just pulling junk off the web. As an AG serial number, it would date to 2016 which is a full year after JP passed away. I'm sure Jim, Marv or Ren could fill in the details. The obviously have the other 3. There's no reason that the owners couldn't have decided to commemorate the 4 original owners in guitars. It was still their company at that point, just when Plaza was buying into the company (spring of 2016).

Very nice! I question the description of the neck. It appears to be a three piece consisting of Korina and Maple. When I was at a PSP and picked out a neck blank, I chose a three piece Korina / maple they had lying around. Could be an employee build which IMO is better than a production with choice of wood and attention to detail. So there is that.

Yeah I got my Mk I in the wave of the first 25. Funny story… earlier that year I won an auction on eBay for 4 Greenbacks and asked if I could meet the guy in Saginaw. He sent me George’s address and told me to meet him there. That was Danny Ardouin and he introduced me to George and they sold me an amp by having me play his prototype and 12380. I made an order shortly thereafter and got #22. This was when it only had the 68 and modded 68 modes. He later did the 66 mode and offered free upgrades to anyone who wanted to send theirs in. So I drove back up and he happily ripped my amp apart to get it up to date lol. Last time I saw George in person was before my son was born in 2018. Took my amp up just to have it looked over and checked out and say hello. He gave it a clean bill of health but while he had it on the bench he let me try the clipping diode he was using for the DVL-1s. Offered to put it in too. We A/B’ed that a couple times against the stock and I stayed with the stock because I liked it better. More classic plexi chime in that one. I could have had a DVL-0.5 hahaha. George is a salt of the earth human being and I’m bummed his business went this way but I hope he’ll be back in some capacity. Why a company like Boutique Amp Design or someone else hasn’t offered to buy and produce his designs and have him on as a consultant is beyond me. Yeah, I know folks will say Dave Friedman’s stuff is already in their portfolio and I get that… but Dave’s stuff sounds like a recording of a perfected modded Marshall. George’s amps sound and feel like real 60s Marshalls. George’s amps capture the raspiness and raw edginess of the old Plexis.

That is a stunningly beautiful instrument.

https://reverb.com/item/92409180-heritage-standard-h-150-2010s-original-sunburst

Yes, that is the listing on Reverb. The shop quotes the standard specs from the Heritage website but also notes there were only 4 produced. The listing appears to show a 2 piece neck. I'm sure there may be other special features.

Never heard of this particular special run, but I spotted this 2025 listing on Facebook... https://www.facebook.com/shoalsguitarboutique/posts/just-arrived-like-new-heritage-h-150-one-of-four-built-by-heritage-in-the-origin/1424474409683848/

Billy T Never heard of that special issue.

Does anyone have information on this run of 4 with The Heritage owner's names (JP, Bill, Marv, and Jim) engraved on the head-stock? I am interested in any other distinguishing features. Based on the serial number the run occurred around 2016. Did a specific luthier oversee the builds? Thank you for any insight.

You have a MetroPlex? I bought the very last MK I. Took delivery in Dec of last year. It only took 2 years, but I completed the collection of all MK I & MK II models (MetroPlex, SuperPlex, GPM 45 and my desert isle DVL-1). George is a multi-faceted person. Deep sense of humor, curiosity, will to experiment and document the 60s Marshalls. He created the first master volume that, instead of coloring the tone like the rest, it behaves akin to a stereo’s volume; you get the same sound regardless of the volume. The only factor that changes is the drive of the speakers. He included a lossless loop that is the industry standard (designed by George’s friend Steve Miller - not the Fly Like an Eagle guy). They are the only amp I found that allow the player to stand in front of a 4x12 cranked to soak it all in. He obsessed with circuits that sound and react identically to his 1960s amps. As @greatmutah2112 can attest, switching back and forth between his and the original is undetectable. I believe he has a dozen or so pre-orders to fulfill and then he’s out. Those lucky people will find it worth the wait. As George said “Once you hear it, you’ll never unhear it.” I wish him the very best and still believe he will be back in, at least, a circuit designer position. You can’t turn off that level of curiosity and genius.

It’s been a massive bummer. I still read the Friday blurbs from George. I’m sad I wasn’t able to jump on one of the Mk IIs but my Mk I is going strong still. George loved building amps. When I took mine back in to have the free upgrade done to give it 3 modes instead of 2, George was so geeked to tear into mine just to make sure I had the latest updates and best sounds available. That amp is my desert island amp. It can do anything I want it to do. And I’ll always be thankful that I got to meet the man before I bought it which cemented me buying it. Playing the prototype alongside his 68 Superlead sealed it.

One thing I should mention... Most often the use of tone and volume controls really make a difference. Seldom do I now have my volume or tone control all the way up. On the occasion I find I'm not cutting through, I max the tone. I have a Red Rocks Alnico III in my H535's bridge position, Seth Lover in my H140's bridge position, and a SD '59 in my H150 bridge position. What I can tell you, with all three of them, I can dial them in, swap them out in a gig or a song, and they will sound very close to each other; especially in the context of a mix. And I have no idea what clean means, who plays clean unless you're in a Jazz trio? Even playing a slow tune, my amp gain is there, just with the volume rolled back to "clean" it up....

My 30-something yrs old H150 came with Schaller pup's, "Golden 50s" I think, which I swapped for Seymour Duncan Antiquities, the a SD '59 in the neck, then I put a first production Gibson '57+ (the Tom Holmes ones!) and it always sounded wonderful. Not for nothing it's called a pick-up, after all the acoustic sound of the guitar is what every pickup has as the basis for the sound it will eventually produce, unless one goes through extreme processing, then the guitar becomes "almost" irrelevant because 99% of what we hear is the effects: Anyway, few years ago I fitted a set of OX4 "Beano" pups on my H150 (I also have a set of OX4 "Jimmy Page" on my Gibson '58 Reissue) and oh my God, who ever said that perfection is not of this world has never tried this combo! It's just "that" sound and it has everything, sustain, thick while extremely dynamic, sensitive to the touch and changes in Volume or Tone controls on the guitar, a perfect EQ with just the right balance of bass - mids & treble....as I said perfect, and these are the only pups that hit me like that, love at first chord. I have to say that I tend to go for a very simple set up guitar - 1 or 2 pedals - Marshall on crunch, however I am a professional musicians hance at time I h=found myself playing though elaborate set up, both live and in the studio (I used this guitar straight to the console when laying down parts for a Netflix soundtrack...) nevertheless the results have never been short of impressive! That's my experience anyway...

Some BEAUTIFULLY figured tops too!