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I'm not sure if this is unusual or business as usual. When Marv wanted to show me how the figuring would look when my guitar was finished, he spit on the flame maple top and rubbed his spit in. Flamed maple top looked Fab, ha.

I read a ton of stuff about the newer ones having better quality control and from what I've seen I guess that is true. But like others have said on here, I just feel a real heart and soul connection to the guitars that were built pre-2015. There's just something about that group of guys that came out of Gibson building those, and it's just a whole different thing. I'm not saying the new ones are bad. They're incredible actually. I have played several and every one of them is top notch and stellar! But the old ones definitely have more of a "hands-on" feel, versus a "automated, quality controlled" feel in 2025. Again, I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but everything pre-2015 just feels like it was more of a "hands-on" kind of a thing, even if there are some bumps and bruises along the way on some of them. I guess I'm calling that character! LOL. Kind of a different topic, but I am still upset that the "Ascent" line came out and has the full-on Heritage logo on it, just like all of them have for years. I totally get creating a line made overseas to compete with that market, but I wish "Ascent" would have been at the top of the headstock in big letters and maybe just put "By Heritage" on the truss rod cover or something. But it is what it is at this point.....

My record is zero defects out of the five I've owned. Nothing whatsoever. All products of the previous management.

I've had many Heritages over the years, one had a twisted neck and one had a truss rod that was maxed out. But that is two out of about a dozen I've had.

True that. From the newer H guitars I’ve seen/played in the wild (full disclosure- i have not purchased one manufactured under new management), QC and consistency has improved with modern methods and technology. They are very good guitars. However…. Maybe I’ve just gotten lucky, but of the 10 or so Heritage models I’ve owned over time (i currently have three) and the dozens i have found in store or private hands and tried out of curiosity or thinking to buy, I have never played or owned a bad older one. Yes, even on the extra special ones and the keepers Ive spotted some inconsistencies or minor imperfections due to the nature of the process, or there might be a loose wire, faulty switch, or other fixable issue, but I’ll tolerate that (to a point) for the craftsmanship and overall human quality of the instrument. Maybe it is the appeal of the Heritage lore and history, maybe it is the community I’ve found with you all, but like most of us here at HOC there is something about the story and minor imperfections that come with the human artisan/craft touch that i love. I know it sounds romanticized, but It adds something, a warmth, a life quality, or some other better word descriptor that one might imagine. Besides, the more modern, slimmer necks are not for me. Maybe I’m just an old guy who prefers older styles. I have a Korean made Comins chambered/semi-hollow that is a superb instrument, flawless in many ways in terms of the fit and finish (Bill Comins does the final set up and QC check himself- a very good guy based on my interactions with him), consistency of the neck carve, binding, etc. but that one too has had problems with selector switch, tuners, and pickup wiring. Bottom line is that the H’s get the by far most play in my house and gigs. Plus i love telling the H story when people ask about the guitar - it happens at every gig. All of my Heritages are from decades gone by. None are made in the last 20 or so years. Just one person’s story…

Oh yeah, a bad customer service situation can lead to sore apples, but if I had to be limited to one brand of pickups I would say Throbak are the most consistently in line with what I want to hear. The guy just seems to have that low output PAF thing down. I have heard other brands of pickups that get there, but not as consistently as Throbak, especially the SLE101. With Lollar Imperials I thnk the low winds are the closest to what I like. And I'm also a fan of Wolfetone Legends. Speaking of bad customer service, Tyson Tone Lab pickups, especially his Precious and Grace pickups, are also fantastic, BUT, that guy consistently takes forever to get you your pickups, many people have complaints about him and have cancelled orders.

I think it’s a matter of poor customer service rather than tone.

Do be contrarian, I think throbak are consistently one of the best sounding pickups made. They are very similar to OG PAFs in the sense that are microphonic, and if you're going to use a high gain amp, they are going to be touchy. I've had to remove a cover and put a bid a silicone on one coild to tame a bridge pickup. But back in the 70's many people pulled real PAFs out of their guitars for the same reason. But I have never had a Lollar that sounds as good as a Throbak. And I have played way more examples than most people of Imperials and SLE101s. My number one Teye guitar has Imperials in it along with two other Teyes I've owned.

That is bullshit customer service. I have SLE-101's in a H157 & they sound fantastic. So those must have been defective. I have imperials in another H150 & they sound fantastic too. Can't go wrong with either. Sounds like yours were wrnog though!

Took my 535 in last week for a new pickup to be installed in the bridge position. The Railhammer Hyper Vintage was a nice sounding pickup, but really bright. I found myself constantly adjusting the tone controls. I've come to realize that pickup design works best for people who tune down a lot and use lots of gain. Not exactly the type of pickup commonly found in a semi-hollow body design. So I had a custom-made Red Rock Alnico III humbucker made for the H535. Since this is a semi-hollow body, I don't trust myself to install it. Instead I paid for an old tech of mine to do the work, to me, its worth the price paid. However, the point of this thread is not about Red Rock pickups but more about the old tech I used. This gentlemen ran a very popular music store in Royal Oak for a couple decades that provided guitar tech services, gear rentals, and even lessons in guitar, bass, and drums. (Fun fact, his drum instructor at the store was Chad Smith right up until he was recruited to join the Red Hot Chili Peppers). In those years, he has seen hundreds of Heritages guitars come through that front door. While he sold the business/building years ago, he continues to work out of his shop in his basement. He is rather amused how much I like Heritage. He kinda of shakes his head about it but ended up telling me he's seen a lot of bad ones come through his door. Recently had a 575 come through that had some weird pickups that were solid black (a lot like an EMG). What was not noticeable until he did a pickup swap with a normal pickup with pole pieces, did he notice the bridge pickup was so poorly misaligned. He said there was about a 1/4" offset to the pickup. He's never seen one that bad but mentioned how many of the Heritages he's serviced have terrible quality controls. I agreed with him to an extent. We all love our Heritages, but until they went under new management and manufacturing standards did Heritage's quality control improve. Heritage had its charms of being unique, custom, hand-made instruments from 1985 to 2015. However the uncontrolled environment and build methods would sometimes lead to a varying degree of quality. Just like Fender and Gibson in the 70's, Heritage also suffered from loose quality standards for many years. There are a lot of gems out there but also there are some dogs... So when people ask for the best years, its all subjective. For unique finishes, appointments, and typically slim, fast necks, go for the older stuff. For a consistent quality, choose newer stuff. Just my $.02.

This is a fairly small club. There are mics on the amps, but that's only for the video feed that they use for Facebook. It also appears that the Katana is the house amp along with the bass amp and drum kit. Some acts bring their own amps, but I was looking over a few videos of other groups and they all have the same bass and guitar amps.

Don't need to be big to be loud these days. Plus just about everyone mics their amps anyway...

I went with Farber, including the insert bushings. Super happy with the results, especially my 2001 H535 which came with the same Schaller roller bridge and top-load tail piece. I had to wait on getting the inserts for the H535, so I played for a while with just the Farber bridge. Once I pressed the much longer steel Farber bushings into the guitar, I was amazed at how much better it sounded. The go will into the maple center block, where as the original tailpiece bushing from Schaller was very short and just mostly contacted the upper shell. My 1998 H150, came with Gibson style zinc tailpiece and a "Nashville" bridge. The Farber hardware didn't make as much sound difference, but the lighter stop bar helped my goal of reducing weight of the guitar to under 9lbs, along with replacing the Grover tuners. I find the ABR-1 style bridge more comfortable to play.

A friend's band was playing a local club a few months back and I noticed that the harmonica amp was crapping out during the last half of the show. Last night, I saw he had replaced the old Fender with a new tweed Blues Jr. The guitar player also changed amps, going from an old Fender Deluxe to a Boss amp.

Can't deny some of these small solid state amps can get the job done. Never played anything from Hotone, but they have a lot of good stuff out there that is inexpensive but makes some great sounds. I personally have a Quilter Interblock 45 as an emergency backup amp for playing live. I've had to use it in the past and it worked fabolously. I would assume this little guy also packs a serious punch and can be a primary on-the-go lightweight amp or as a backup.

That's how it is with music, isn't it? Something that touches you inside - a memory, maybe something you liked, or even just something that has stuck with you - and the music can seem like an extension or a riff on that launching point... I'll have to check out Chris Whitley, thanks. (Oops, I was supposed to be talking about the H-535)

That's pretty cool. Like you, I love tube amps. I still play through them for the most part. However, I have done a couple of gigs on my Quad Cortex run through a Line 6 Powercab +. I hate to admit it but it is pretty damn good. While playing through tubes mostly, I have a back up system that I carry. I picked up one of those Carvin 100W stereo pedal amps a few years back. It seems similar to yours except this one is nothing but a power amp so I also carry a POD Express, so if amything goes wrong I have a complete amp and FX that fits in my hand. I actually had to use it at a gig once and it was a relief given that my recurring nightmare is one where I am on stage about to start and my amp isin't working. I fully accept that there my be a Freudian sexual interpretation to the dream about my equipment failing but I think it is about my amp.

Oh glad you listened, I can hear the The Chain element for sure, and maybe a bit of Black Water. But the musical well that I drink from, especially when playing my National Resonator, is more Chris Whitley. Andt's funny that you say this song has an onimous melody, as today someone told me it sounded sinister. When I wrote this melody I was just singing about the frustration of my situation with my exwife/lover, a dancing girl so to say

Your parents were happy keeping you kids off the streets steeling hubcaps and worse Rich.

I recently got a deal on one of these. The reviews were good, so I bought it. It's loud AF and has a lot of great tones. It models a Dual Rectifier and a Fender of one kind or another. It's lightweight, so all I need is this, my multi effects unit, and a speaker cabinet. I use my old ZT Lunchbox for that. The amp stopped working a while ago, so I made it into a cabinet. It has a 6 inch 100 watt speaker 8 ohm speaker in it. So most of my setup can fit into a backpack. I love tube amps, but at this stage in my life, portability is very important. I just don't want to carry a lot. Here's a link to the Amazon page for specs. https://a.co/d/aOcxqkO

I liked the song - echoes of Fleetwood Mac The Chain and Doobie Brothers Black Water - with a rather ominous melody!

aha, interesting!

Thanks! The first knob is a master volume and the second is a cut control. The master is post phase inverter. The amp is still two channels but with a single input per channel and they are side by side on the left side of the amp. No sound samples yet. I am currently recording with my band and I’m using this amp so there will be examples from that. I have a web domain but no web site yet. I will start working on that soon and then I’ll need dedicated samples and some much better pictures.

I would love to do that, get one right from the source, and have it setup perfectly to my liking while I was there!!! I play alot of acoustic guitar and resonator with my band, and because of that we have to keep our volumes approriate. I posted this in another thread, but in this song I doubled my Martin HD28 with my National M2 reso. Listen to the drums, you can tell that we aren't that loud. We record in my very small studio so anything really loud would overtake the room.

Did you get any sound samples of the app before you delivered it, it looks pretty cool.