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Congrats on the new guitar. Here's my H170 (I believe it's a 1990

Cool! You got yourself a Hillbilly Can opener!

If only. At least then I'd know who to beg to get it back.

Bigsby. Commonly reviled as "sucking the tone out of the guitar." Hence the moniker. I have no such qualms about Bigsbys and find them to be good at that thing they do, even if it is, ah, subtle.

Hello Nuke. Yes, Welcome. I'm a recent new member as well and have enjoyed the interactions with other members. Yes, the H535 is a little thinner then the ES335 so I would think the cases would be a bit different to fit each snuggly. Maybe do a post in the thread where folks sell items and see if anyone is selling one. Talk to Chris in customer service if you do call Heritage. He has been great with me. Enjoy your new guitar. I just recently got a H535 and can't put it down.

Thank you so much. Really appreciating every ones inputs.

Thank you, will do.

Welcome to the HOC. Excellent looking H535. They're great instruments.

@ElNumero...Congratulations, Will. I've always dug that model. With its two sharp cutaways it looks like its angry and ready to fight...or rock the house until it falls.

I’ll guess it’s a Schaller roller bridge?

Yes, you should have moved it on...to me. I'll never forget that one! That guitar had my number!

Thanks man. What’s a tone sucker?

I had an H170, once upon a time. Had a ToneSucker(tm) and everything. Never should have moved it on. Enjoy your new guitar!

Pulled the trigger on a 1988 H-170. Unfortunately the size of the photo exceeds the HOC limits so I can’t post it here. It’s OSB (seller listed it as Tobacco Burst but I don’t believe Heritage described it with that finish back then). All original, Schaller pickups are uncovered.

New (used) guitar day for me. Picked up a nice clean, 2001 H535 in natural, figured maple with HRW pickups. Very little wear on it front or back, frets in very good condition. I had an aluminum stop bar and Nashville tune-o-matic bridge, so I swapped off the Schaller bridge and tailpiece. The Schaller hardware is ok, but the rollers on that style tailpiece tend to work themselves loose over the years, and I had the parts in my parts drawer. At 7lbs, 12-ounces, it is a really nice light weight. The label doesn't say "HRW", but the black-dot on the switch and the dates match, no sign that it has ever been worked on before, so it looks all legit as shipped back then. I know HRW's are not everyone's cup of tea, but I'll give them a fair shot. So far, it sounds really good with them. Sadly, the Heritage case didn't come with it. It looks like they're out of stock at Heritage, maybe I'll call Monday and see about it. It did come with a cheap, poorly fitting generic case. It does fit pretty well in a Gibson ES335 case. But there's some disagreement as to the ES335 vs. H535 dimensions, and I don't know if the Heritage case is specifically-fitted or not. It does appear the 535 might be a little thinner than the 335. The 2002 H535 joins my 1998 H150 that I've had for over 20 years as my second Heritage. The H150 came factory with SD59's, Nashville bridge and heavy stop bar. It's been a great guitar all this time too. Photo of the H535 after cleanup, swapping the hardware and restringing. Temporarily occupying a Gibson case.

With what you described on the latest H150 CC the Wilson spec, will you say the new H150CC being different from the older H150 as being more of that "historically accurate Les paul" while the new era H150 remains neutral as to what the old Heritage were doing on their H150s back in the day...?

Wow. Congratulations my friend. Enjoy.

Yes! Yes! Although some of the coolest Heritages I've played have been old ones, a good percentage of the worst quality, I've seen were also from the early years, with many guitars having to be sent back to the factory! One of my close friends was a Heritage dealer in the so called good old days, and he relayed to me some stories of such guitars, and some newer dealers I've talked too have repeated these stories, so average at best is a fallacy. Also the factory in my opinion was very run down and in need of some good clean up, but these days it's looking great. And some of the new ones are in my opinion the best Heritages I've ever seen, heard, or played! Hands down, with the new guard, the nuts, frets, and binding on the on the standard models look great, and both of my older H150s needed work in all of those departments. The only thing I don't like with the new guard is the relic-ing, especially on the tuners and around the headstock. Another thing, on the custom cores, I think they should offer unpotted humbuckers, for what they are charging for CCs, I think they should cut a deal with Throbak! They should also use better bridges (Faber or ABM would be nice), and better tuners, like Japanese made Klusons (or upscale Gotohs). But all all in all, I think Heritage has upped their game. Things I love that went by the wayside... Schaller bridges, tailpieces, and pickups!, I never liked any of them.

I use plain Zippo lighter fluid, non-diluted, and it works great! My guitar not only smelled of smoke, but of of dank basement. And now it smells fine (like old nitro)! This is the guitar I'm referring to...

Yes stay away from flames!

Don't dilute the naphtha with anything. Nitrocellulose resins are totally insoluble in VM&P naphtha. The grades that are used by Heritage are dissolved in acetone and I think they might use a touch of alcohol. You don't want to soak the finish, but a dampened rag should be sufficient. It will evaporate quickly. Make sure you use it in a well ventilated area. Stay away from water heaters and furnaces.

When you used the naptha did you dilute it or did you use it straight? Was it VM&P naptha? Thanks so much for the reply.

Thank you all for the great ideas. Naptha, activated charcoal, a fan, and time sounds like a good game plan.