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I hold a gathering of around 20 people every summer at my place in Ann Arbor for members of the Dr. Z Forum to come and try out my Dr. Z amps. I just might have the largest collection of Dr. Z amps in the country (according to Dr. Z). I've had several of members of the HOC that have attended prior get-togethers here. I'm making the same offer this year. We usually get started around 10 a.m. and shut down when the last person leaves (last year it was after midnight). Dr. Z (Mike Zaite) himself will be attending this year and bringing at least 2 of his new amps - the recently released Z-40 and the soon to be released "PHD" (a mash-up of vintage Fender Princeton, Fender Harvard and Dr. Z tones (hence "PHD"). It's a 10 watt KT66 single ended power tube, a 6SL7 octal pre-amp tube, and 5U4GB tube rectifier. I'll provide a lunch, snacks, and soft drinks/water. If you're a Heritage purist, you can either bring your own guitar or use one of my Heritages. If you're interested just drop me a note here and I'll send you more details.

I probably devote more time than I should to amplification. There’s something there that interests me deeply. Being at the MuZeum is a thrill to see the breadth and depth of Dr. Z’s creations and interact with the likeminded kind. The greatest pull is the volume of stories and background attached to each amp. As many times as I have visited, I continue to learn. There is a Lot going on; I truly enjoy both the information and the way you deliver the truth.

You're always welcome here Greg. Just let me know when you want to come back!

Unlike most people that have posted above, I have seen the quality issues on my own Heritages, and I've heard about many quality control issues wih pre bandlab Heritages. One of my good friends was a dealer for Heitage. and he told me some stories about how many bad ones came through his store. And of my 3 H150s that I own(ed), two of them had nut and fret issues that had to be addressed before I could get the action down low enough to where I like it. And I had to sand out more than a few file marks. When I see the term "Golden Age" referring to pre bandlab Heritages, I just roll my eyes. For the people that got good pre band lab ones, that's great, but for those us who have had to deal with the issues on the older ones, it was a pain. I originally got into Heritages, because I'm a serial modder with pretty good guitar repair skills, and I figured they were so cheap at the time, if I had to do a little work on one, it was worth it. And I really liked the wood on them, they sourced some nice Honduran mahogany, Eastern flamed maple, and Indian Rosewood. And if you were patient, you could find a good one with a decent low weight. But those low prices are history now, so if I was to buy an older Heritage, I would demand a return window. That said, the H150s I have now are good to go, and with the way I modded them, they are great guitars. And he H535 P90 that Kuz sold me was set up really great, and I knew it would be a good guitar, because it was Kuz, who's a straight shooter, and he would never sell me a guitar that was sub par.

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.....