Leaderboard

There may be an ethical argument there about the Firebird, but Aaron Cowles told me that much of the design was by committee, headed up by McCarty. Aaron had to keep reconfiguring the instrument and the Flying V. There was a channel where the pickups could go, not discreet routing. He was told to slide a pickup in a direction. They'd play it for a while. They then would give it back to him and have him reposition the pickup. The point is that there wasn't a single person who designed the guitar. That was true with the Les Paul, the SG, and the semi-hollows. Look at the odd pickup posit

I've gigged in some bars I wouldn't bring one of these into. Some of them I wasn't sure I should bring myself into. JP Moats did the wood sourcing, as I recall. He had good connections that preceded the birth of Heritage. Each year I have more respect for the original Heritage owners. What they did took guts and stamina. The majority of the guitar world had no interest in their success. I'm sure a lot of corporate types either paid them little attention or just thought they'd fold. Heritage was often up to some twist. The D'Angelico and Gretsch ghost builds, the flattops,

I can resist anything other than temptation.... https://larkguitars.com/collections/electrics-heritage-guitar-inc/products/heritage-custom-shop-core-collection-h-150-artisan-aged-tobacco-sunburst

...and these. Hope this'll take care of things until I can put the review together. And FYI, the color in these pics is dead on to the real thing, advertised as tobacco burst. In slightly less light, the red almost disappears into brown, a chameleon. Now that I have this sussed, I can take shots of specifics, if anyone has a request. But remember, a comprehensive review is forthcoming. I'll try to be as objective as I can, but I'm over the moon with this thing!

I just saw your post today Vicki and wanted to share with you that I also have a Heritage with the serial number starting with the letter "A"...mine is a 1984 model H-140 with signatures of all the owners on the tag on the back....it is dated 3/15/84..... I spoke with Heritage with respect to the "A", since the website drop down list starts with "B".... they told me that prior to incorporating on April 1, 1985 they used the letter "A" on the serial number and they signed all the guitars, however, after they incorporated, they began using the letter "B" to indicate the year made and o

Well said, sir.

I have been studying the Vietnam war for over 5 years. I mainly read books written by the people who were there. I am planning on having my wife help me make a few Viet Cong flags to give to people, to burn if they wish, and one to the local museum. I will age the hell out of these flags before giving them away. They are intended to be replicas. My taste in guitars doesn't lead me in this direction. Every time I get a senseless scratch on a guitar it bothers me. I sold my Marvbird because I was so uptight around it -especially when other people asked to play it. I hate when people gra

Ok, cannot let this one slide (yes, off topic 😉) This is my Grandfathers Estwing. He passed in the 1970's and was a general contractor in the 1930's in New Jersey. My kid, when he moved out of the nest recently, could not understand why I gave him the "new" hammer from Home Depot and kept the "old beat up" one... I still remember riding around in the back of Grampa Sam's baby-blue Ford Falcon pickup in the late 60's (in the bed, without a seatbelt - the horror! Hell, without a seat, lol) along with his tools while we drove to the local market for a pack of Lucky Strikes. Good times!

Well.... With a little help from Kuz, there are these....

I have the pics on my iMac now, and am waiting on instructions from the resident photo wiz (or anyone, actually) on how to resize them to post. They're too large. I've recently sent two Custom Shop Lesters packing in anticipation of this one. Saving my observations for a review that'll be too long, which I hope to post soon.

I wonder why Heritage and G i b s o n don't move their long standing trademark infringement issues to binding arbitration and bring the legal pissing contest to an end. Once that is done then maybe they could cease paying lawyers and focus their resources on making great guitars.

Well...it arrived yesterday. I have a lot of plates in the air, and I really don't want to give this instrument short shrift. Pictures will be a challenge, as this computer's iPhoto function is dead. I'll have to make other arrangements for that, I'm afraid. But I'm writing up a comprehensive review, which requires spending time I don't have right now with the guitar. Just imagine a little spinning beach ball here, for the time being. Doing the best I can....

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.

Thanks, Will. Actually, I've been downsizing. I've sold a McInturff, an R4, a Whitfill, a vintage Silvertone, and put a PRS DGT and an R7 on the block. Been very intrigued by the Custom Cores, and this one spoke to me. Wasn't exactly looking for it, but it kind of found me. Have yet to see one in the flesh, but the Heritage sponsored demos are really good and piqued my interest. Been a Lester guy forever, and have played a pile of vintage ones, but my "retirement wealth" doesn't include a disposable $300K to snag one. And as I've thought about all the stuff I have, the fact I don't gig

I have minty new guitars that I have played/gigged for years and babied. And I have new relic'd guitars that I have played/giged for years. I now prefer relic'd guitars. Why? Because I am not afraid to take out relic'd guitars to gigs/jams with without fear of a ding happening. AND I feel relic'd guitars feel better, lighter, and have less finish so they sound better. The BEST argument I heard for relic'd guitars was this comment; "Everyone talks about true, honest, player-wear on vintage guitars. So people like the played-in wear on vintage guitars. BUT if they think about it, it was

Amps schmamps, what about the tubes!

I'm loving the custom core headstock.

Have you ever seen us together?

If you find a used H-525, you can contact Wolfetone to build pickups. Wolfe is having a 25% off pandemic sale. https://www.wolfetone.com/product/dachswolff/

I don't really play jazz, but the P90s do really nice for rock and funk. I would think jazz would sound just as sweet.

I think this is a great idea. Several years Bill and Lance would stop here in Huntsville, AL on their way back to Florida from PSP. Lefty Alicia and Jim stopped by last September. I even had some hick from Indiana stop by with his family to visit the Space & Rocket center. This place isn't about guitars. It is about friendship. The guitars just give us an excuse. I looked at the park. I think it looks nice. Get a reservation as soon as you can. Do it!

This, yep.

most of the semi hollow and hollowbody lineups had matching wooden pickguards as a standard for a long time, i think until sometime in the mid 200's but i'm not entirely certain what year(s) my '94 550 and '87 535 both have matching wooden pickguards

I try not to have the neck too close to the strings because the magnets have a greater affect on them at the neck vs the bridge. I have an ES225 with the original set up from ‘57 and both pickups are pretty far from the strings. I raised the bridge poles until I felt like the volumes complimented each other between the neck and bridge. On my 150 the pick up is probably 1/4” when fretted at the 22nd fret. I have a special that is a bit closer but I cannot get it farther away. IMO if it sounds good then it is good. First raise the pole pieces then go from there. It’s easy to get a little overpo

I like bridge P90s as close as I can get 'em to the strings, then I balance the neck from there!

You can always get some P-90 shims to lift the pickup. Mojotone has a set of 3 (different thickness) for under $10.

Lol, I forgot to add "quotes" around the "Les Paul" - I only said it that way to say that it beats all the Les Pauls I've owned and played lol

Bring it down here next Thursday. Bring your new laptop as well. I know a place you can stay in that is very secluded. Take as much time as you want. There is an AC-15 and Blues Jr. here for you to use.

Can't wait.

Greetings to all here in the forum. I am a long time follower and first time poster here. Your experience and knowledge of all that is Heritage has been a great help to me as I search for my next guitar. My interests are in the Blues and Jazz styles. While there is no one guitar that fits both styles completely, I am looking for one that is a good choice for each. I do like the Heritage Millenium Eagle Limited Edition from 2000. Have also looked at the H-555 for its custom features and the H-575. The Heritage Millenium Eagle Limited Edition is harder to find. Any suggestions would be

He said he is hoping Saturday!

I've always been a big fan of the semihollow style. From the time I was an 11 yr old kid taking lessons, I wanted one. It took a long time before I got one, but I'm glad I did. If I had to pull out a guitar, my 535 or my Starfire IV would be my first choice. I have a 525, full hollow, laminated with P90s A full hollow is nice, and it has a distinctive sound. It is really nice unamplified. I don't find it as comfortable as the 535, but it's got a place. If I had to pick one, the 535 would be it.

Congratulations Rob. You're going to love it!

Just checked the serial number on this site, the guitar was manufactured on July 8th 1985, it has to be one of the first 575's? A well cared for beauty!!

Reminds me of Hondo.

Not true Mark. Not taking away anything the Marv builds, but the electronics in an original Trini were later PAF patent number pickups which, depending on the condition, could sell alone for the price of the Heritage. And if it was an early model Gibbons it had a brazilian rosewood fingerboard, and the correct period ABR bridge (also worth a ton of money) and there are other differences. Besides the fact is, Heritage guitars have very bad resale value.

First and last one I still have. Then there is the Centurion owned by FredZepp.

You make the decision; 😉 Orville Gibbons Big Bob

I've seen the photographic evidence! Although I was surprised to see that Orville's ghost was the spitting image of @big bob

That is how I modded mine.

i'm chuck aka motoputz, i like making motorcycles, making them run and playing my heritage 1993 - H150 and a new to me 2020 - H535 nothing sweeter than the sound of an electric guitar and a fine running motorcycle

Bought a new used amp today. Crate V18212 tube amp. Found it on OfferUp last night for $100. Picked it up this morning. Loud as hell. One of the last of Crates good amps.

I'll be! Will, as many chickens as you have choked I figured you had that down.

I don't know what happened with the text alignment. Can't change it. A few more pics. The Abalone is beautiful and has some green it for the win.

I didn't clean up the headstock, but you still get the idea.

Outside of the 1988 & 1989 H150s, I personally, would seek out 2009-2014 H150s. The necks are typically a nice 50s (close to 50s) thickness. Or a newer H150..they are really nice!

Houndhome, When I said ten guitars, that is just my ten Heritage guitars. I have plenty of others as well as other instruments. It truly is a disease.... A few years back I was lying in ICU at the hospital unsure if I would make it through the night. I realized that I could not take my guitars with me if things went south. However, I realized how nice it was to have had them here on earth. A good friend of mine who was the artists relations guy at the Gibbons plant here told a story of having an aneurysm and the last thing he saw and thought about was his guitars. As he was telling t