Leaderboard

OK, since the Parliamentarian spoke up...I'll admit it's fuzzy math. My oldest, most vintage Heritage is a '93 Golden Eagle...Old Style Burst. Even though 28 years old, she sounds a lot older.

I just found this pic. Here is me with my pre-Marvbird. Marv may have well built this. I'm guessing it's a 1968-69 build that my neighbor got used. He gave up on the guitar and I got it. It had a high action and heavy flatwounds on it. I didn't know anything about that stuff, but my fingers hurt yet I kept going. The guitar was plugged into a Kalamazoo Model 2 amp. There are song books, records and a record player on the bed. Yes, I was jamming with the Beatles. My guitar teacher on day told me I could lower the action if I wanted. Some guy in his music store did that fo

Hi everyone Recently I start using BlueChipPicks and I think they has very good chemistry. If you have time, please check it. https://youtu.be/2OnB8E81YB0

My H-537 came with a cream plastic pick guard. I sent Arnie over at Embers Guitar Station the pick guard and he going to make me a maple one and finish it in translucent orange to match the guitar.

Wow. It’s 2021 and I found this old post when my user name was Peerless. I was the coowner of Peerless Tone at the time I wouldn’t change a word. I would add that the 140 2nd Ed is still my #2 or often my #1 guitar. I am still using the original HRW pickups which sound amazing. I changed the tail piece to a nickel plated vintage steel bridge all the way down to the screws. I also am using a Tone Pros aluminum tail piece. At some point I replaced the nut with bone. It has some wear from tons of playing over the years. It has seen many different amps and other guitars come o

Just in case of interest. This is the original standard schematics for a H140guitar 1986. Backsides of covers from the same guitar. Seems to be a leftover from Gib...

So I'm older now and crazier. In the meantime I was able to talk with the lady who did the inlays and engraving, Maudie Moore. I had also talked with Marv Lamb and Pete Moreno about this model. Lastly, Aaron Cowles gave his side a few years earlier. The model was made to honor America at a low point. The Iran hostage crisis was only a few years in the rear view mirror. The Challenger crashed. The economy was difficult. This guitar was designed with tons of Americana on it. I believe there were 25 made. Marv told me there were about 100 hours spent building each one, so it was

I got this from Benny on HOC. He has been excellent to deal with. His description was completely honest and he's an excellent communicator. He shipped it promptly. This is a nearly 20 year old H-150 Ultra in a root beer finish. Here is his listing. The box was fairly badly damaged by FedEx when it arrived. Fortunately the case was liberally wrapped in bubble wrap and the guitar was well padded in the case. All's well that ends well. The guitar is as good as it looks in the pics. He said it weighs over 9 lbs. I measured it at 9 lbs. 10 oz. That's bad for He

The guitar has arrived and its spectacular

Bob is missed. I had talked to him shortly before he passed. Of course we talked about guitars and the Allman Brothers. He and his son's went and saw the Brothers 50th anniversary tribute in New York in 2020. He was very pumped up about it. He loved all of his guitars and especially his Heritage models he owned. RIP Brother.

IMHO I would wait to get your guitar and measure it. They can vary. Good luck and Congratulations!

Here are a few in process shots of my 357. I've told this story before, and I'll tell it again. It was the first one (of two?) with a wooden pick guard. Marv and I were going back and forth on the specs and I asked him if he could do a wood pick guard because it would look so much better than a big piece of plastic on that beautiful guitar. Marv agreed to try a prototype and called me a week or so later and after making a few prototypes, he decided he could make a wood guard work. We then moved on to the color. It's a korina build and as beautiful a natural korina finish looks, I did

Here's a link to one of the most comprehensive HOC threads about Fred Zepp's magnificent Heritage Centurion:

I only got the backs done and parts of the tops. I'll post some dirty pics then. You can see the build up on the finish for 25 or more years of storage. Some strings were broken on two from corrosion. I didn't want to restring them until they were cleaned. There will be more pics when I can finish.

The first Estwing hammer I got I spent a bit of time fuzzing up and smoothing out the leather handle so it didnt look new the next day on site. Didnt work, looked shiny with a defective leather handle. Actually took a bout 2months of flooring, framing and roofing before it started looking like a tradesmans hammer. After about 2yrs of sweat and hard use it looked right. I was at one with it and it hung in my nail bag like a pro. I dropped it down a 3meter brick cavity not long after and its still down there 39yrs later. The next one I got had a viny grip blue handle and I wore it smooth d

Here's my 555, now gone a lovely honey colour!

I love building pedal boards... Here's my board that I use for my National resonators with 2 pickups on board. I recently pulled the compressor pedal and replaced it with a Dazatronyx Tremolo. The Highlander box on top left powers the internal Highlander pickups in my Nationals! My "Get It Done Acoustic Board", and it has probably more gigs on it than the rest combined! ... My programmable board for original music acoustic shows so I can get close to the tones I recorded on my CDs. I've been using this for the last two months, and it's a pretty great board. All of th

HI Guys I have just purchased this guitar, it is my first serious Archtop. I have been scouring the images of Johnny Smiths and this one seems a little different. It has two controls on the pickguard, Gold Pickup, Not Black on the back of the headstock. has tap'd written inside. I don't have the guitar yet it is on its way to me but was wondering if anyone knew anything about it. Any help greatly appreciated.

Right with you SkyDog52. Bob stopped by the wood shop with one of these. I thought them gaudy in photos but once in-hand one quickly appreciates the level of craftsmanship in these creations. Congrats MG! Nice snatch.

Congratulations. Enjoy that beautiful instrument.

You definitely wouldn't want to cover up that beautiful wood with a black stinger. She looks super... a Rose by any other name!

AWESOME!!

Congratulations! Even better in person.

I talked to Marv today and told him about the Trini Lopez auction. He told me made two of those guitars and hand delivered one to him personally along with Bill Paige. He said he made arrangements to meet him at one of the shows in California. Marv was glad to hear it went for that price.

Here's an unusual one. Marv , in the prototype room, with a Heritage Trini Lopez....

This is a bittersweet incoming. Old Guitar Day. The back story is that long ago I got a H-170 2nd generation goldtop new from a shop in New York. It was gorgeous with a 59 neck but felt very light. It turned out that it was weight relieved. The Heritage dealer did not know. I believe Punk Kitty had that one for a while. I got a H-150 from Jimmy Wallace a few years after that. Again, it was weight relieved but they didn't know it. I kept that for about a year then sold it. I got another one, and that was no surprise. That came from Patrick, who was a Heritage distributor for New

SD52, he was a true friend of yours. He often brought you up. He liked your taste in guitars, to put it mildly. If he had his way, he'd be in the jazz program at Wayne State University. That started out as a "crazy dream" that looked very possible when death so ruthlessly claimed his life. He had the time and money worked out. Then poof. So sad. https://music.wayne.edu/jazz-studies/index.php

Certainly a Custom Shop Beauty. With the flame on that maple I'm glad there isn't a stinger on it. Enjoy!

Some of the Heritage Johnny Smiths were tap tuned by Mr. Marv Lamb.

Vintage smintage who cares as long as play well. Here's mine, a 1998 Mahogany Eagle an one off for somebody. I think I know who but can't prove it other than hearsay. She's a player and a keeper.

That's a very early H-147. Those are Schallers, and very likely from West Germany considering that the guitar was almost certainly made before the Berlin Wall came down! That guitar will be a joy for you to play the rest of your life. Schallers are excellent pickups. You'll appreciate the lightness of the instrument in another 40 years. Your brother's spirit will be with as you play.

That's an absolutely beautiful guitar. I have a Gibbons Memphis ES-330 with Bigsby B7 and humbuckers that I love. I also ordered an Antique Natural Heritage H-530 today. Can't wait to receive it and the first thing I'm going to do is order a similar pickguard ;-)!

Oh thank you! Now I'm completely healed!!

Good to see you posting my man, and that sounded great. My only complaint was that I wish the video would have went on longer! Looks like you're coming back from the cerebral infarction, and that's fantastic! Do you feel like you're back 100%? Also I use those Thomastik .012 Flats on my 6120 Grestch and their feel is sublime. Of all the flatwound sets I've tried they have the best tension and smoothest feel. I recently started playing more electric guitar, and I'm using the funniest pick, it looks like swiss cheese, but I love the way it makes high tones pop off of the string...

Thank you skydog52. Amp is Fender twin reverb furnished in studio. String is Thomastik 012- flat wounds.

I was just about to put a Stage IV on order, and begin the weight. Never got that far, because I noticed a “Demo” model for 200 off, with some small tear in the Rolex. So here it is, in my Rivera “Stack”. I took a picture of the tolex issue, which I later glued down so it doesn’t spread. This really is the ULTIMATE incarnation of a Fender Deluxe Reverb. It does EVERYTHING that a Deluxe does, and then goes so far beyond it. It's the original Rivera modded deluxe, but has none of the "downsides" that a modded deluxe would have. - True Channel Switching - Reverb and Tremolo available on

In truth this model deviates so many ways from 59 LP's. I believe the name was more of In the "Class" of the 59 (a top end guitar)... I personally think creating a reissue was nowhere in his mindset... Charging premium for premium features was! Korina, High output duncans, 3 piece necks, premium woods, bound and inlaid headstocks are all high end upgrades. As was his asking prices!

Ahhh... The good, old days. +1

😏

This one is not everyone's taste. I'd say it's not a lot of people's taste at all. Five or six years ago I picked up a quilted American Eagle. It's a long story. The gist of it is that someone in the music industry got it in 1992. Soon thereafter he died. His son, a folk player, ended up with it, didn't like archtops, and I got it. I eventually traded it for a very nice Heritage archtop that was made for the Heritage sales rep for New York. I'll show you those pics first.

beautiful congrats 🙂

Most were done by Aaron Cowles of Aaron’s music service!

https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/tools-by-job/tools-for-knob-and-bushing-pulling/schatten-knob-and-bushing-puller.html https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/tools-by-job/tools-for-knob-and-bushing-pulling/pullit-knob-puller.html I have the first one and it works really well on both knobs and posts.

That looks so much like the 574 that I once had. SUPER guitar. Last I knew it was still in the HOC. (I think it still is???) The one that got away....

That image is from the Dugain website. Click the link for details.

'Twas a gift from a good friend. I like the difference in sound. I've been treating it with kid's gloves so it doesn't wear out. It's good to know they are durable. Thank you busujiujitsu!

I love it when you post dirty pictures,

"shabby chic" treatment. Nothing in guitar land bothers me. Big neck, skinny neck, whatever, I will adapt. Switch, pick guard or pick up placement, doesnt matter, I will work around it. Body shape, I make them all look good. String gauge, string type, scale length, pffft, what ever. I dont obsess about the concept of bad/good tone, every guitar or amp sound works somewhere in some context. Short tenon vs long tenon, hot p/ups vs PAF style, locking tuners, floyds, 2 point trems vs 6 screws, none of it even on my radar as things to obsess or worry about. I can even live with the open book