Leaderboard

Actually, it was about a week ago at PSP. The display room was filled with temptations and i succumbed. I've been thinking about a 530 for about a year but I hear first with my eyes, which so far has about a 90% success rate. I just didn't see one that I was willing to pull the trigger on. I was afraid if I tried one in a color I wasn't thrilled with, I would love the way it plays and wind up with a player not a stunner. I think I have bases covered on this one! I heard this one from across the room, and it was everything I was wanting. The neck is perfect for me as was the factory setup. Mike at Heritage told me this is one of two, River Blue, they did last year. The other one went to France. Anyway, I brought it home and am loving it. One other superficial feature I love on this one is the headstock inlay is white/ pearl and not amber. I can't wait to get home from this current work trip and do some more bonding.

I know we are supposed to be nice around here, but I feel this is truley the rant of a troll. This diatribe should have ended after sentence number five, right before where the second paragraph should have started. So in defense of Heritage, who I think has really stepped up their game, and is putting out some great guitars, I have something to say (In my best Utah Morman vernacular off course)... Fudge off Shizz head, get you own guitar company. With your new company, you can learn how to fix croooked archtop bridge posts and tuners. Then you can get back to playing your Heritages you love. Okay moderators. I probably deserve punishment for this post, but it was worth it. Gratuitous Heritage picture...

Yeah, it's the horn that's going to make or break a guitar. You simply can't play a guitar if the horn doesn't have the exact dimensions of that someone drew up 70 years ago and endorsed by a Youtube personality. Sorry, I don't get your point other than trying to start a pissing match. Oh yeah, that horn of which you speak has changed numerous times over the years at that "other company". Personally, I think it's the silly poker chip that is holding back the Les Paul player from being successful. Seriously, if the stupid guitar player has to stop, look down at the front of his guitar and decide if he's playing rhythm or "treble", he needs to find another occupation. Speaking of which, how exactly do you play "treble"? Does that mean you can only use the notes on the treble clef?

Me & the 3 amigos.

I know, this is a silly, maybe even sophomoric topic. But, that said, this is the Heritage Owners Club, right?! 🙂 And haven't we all thought about all of the many Heritage gitfiddles we've owned, played or lusted after? You know, that uber-flame-top H-(whatever) model that you never should have let go. Or maybe that sweet axe that you've worn down the frets on, and rubbed the finish off, due to its irresistible tone and feel? It doesn't matter if your favorite is an Ascent, Standard, Custom Shop, Core, Artisan-aged, Custom one-off, or an old school from the early days of Heritage. Bring it! And share a photo if you have one. No model is off limits as long as it is a Heritage Guitar. I'll kick things off with my all time favorite model...it's the no longer in production H525. I've been blessed to own two of these great instruments, but my all time favorite is the one-off custom that Marv built to my specs back when they built almost anything customers or dealers asked for. Here's a photo of Marv just after spraying it, taken by our dear friend, Ron (High Flying Bird) Warren. OK, YOUR TURN!! LET'S SEE YOUR FAVORITE HERITAGE!!

My 1996 H535 has been stellar since I bought it many years ago. It can do anything. Always easy to play, always sounds great. The only Heritage still in my personal cache today. However, my H150 20th Anniversary is the beauty of the family. And it happens to be the best playing, best sounding solid body I've ever owned. Excellent in all respects except one. I couldn't get used to the weight, and this one now resides with son Chris. I've had other Heritages over the years. Sold two of them (H155 Millie and H137) and bought them back shortly thereafter. Had Kuz's H525 for a while but couldn't get comfortable with its physical size and let it go to TalismanRich, who apparently is very happy with it. But the H535 and H150 are the standouts.

With some familiar faces for us old timers.

You are really out of touch with today's Heritage Guitars. This isn't 4 old Gibson employees anymore. Two are still alive, two have already passed. Does anyone expect that guys who started working in the late 50s should be building guitars today? These guys are in their 80s. Today, it's a different company. First point about giving them an F for not innovating.... Poppycock. By Jim Deurloo's own admission at PSP last month, when they opened they were making just about anything anyone thought of. Look back at catalogs from 1989 or 1993. Stat, Little One, H-110, SAE and SAE custom, HB1, HB2 and HB IV bass, H-140, Mandolins, banjos, Academy, Prospect, Mark Slaughter, H-574, H-480 acoustic, Parsons Street III and V, Millennium. They tried making unique guitars... they didn't sell. Guitarists wanted the traditional models, 150 and 535 are the bread and butter. The various jazz boxes were well received. I suspect Heritage sells more hollow bodies guitars today than Gibson, who don't even list a traditional jazz box in their current lineup. It's the same reason Fender sells a dozen Strats and a dozen Teles for every Jazzmaster or Jaguar. How many Coronados do you see them sell today? Gibson sells Les Paul, SG and 3xx variants by the truckload. How many Covus, Marauder, Victory or RDs do they sell? They're in the catalog. I don't see many on the Guitar Center wall. As for not having endorsed artists and heavy advertising, that costs money. They simply didn't have the budget to put full page ads in every guitar magazine every month. Perhaps if they had been charging exorbitant prices, they could have bought more ads, but they also might have sold fewer guitars. Gibson, Ibanez, Fender, probably spend more on their annual advertising budget that Heritage made in a year! As for nobody knowing Kenny Burrell, Mimi Fox, or Henry Johnson, you must be looking from a rock perspective. They are well known in the jazz world. Gary Moore had a signature, Alvin Lee did as well. David Paul had the blue jazz box. I've seen Buddy Whittington playing a stock H-140. Alex Skolnick? Having name on the guitar doesn't automatically mean that fans flock to buy them, especially when you have limited production capacity. How many variants of the Stratocaster do you need? Clapton, Beck, Eric Johnson, Jimi Hendrix, Yngwie Malmsteen, Jimmy Vaughn, Stevie Ray, Robert Cray, Cory Wong, Rory Gallagher. That's just part of the artist models. The same goes for Les Paul variants. Reinvent the wheel.. .over and over and over again. Finally, I think you are looking at past history. Today, you can find Heritage guitars at Wolfe, Daves, Eddies, Sweetwater, Chicago Music Exc, Cream City, Jimmy Wallace. That's just the bigger US dealers selling US made guitars. They have an import line, akin to Epiphone, Fender Mexico, Squire or PRS SE. It's not to everyone's liking, but its brand building. And having played samples of the Ascent+ guitars, they actually played quite well. I would have no problem walking on a stage with an Ascent+ 150 or 137. Heritage is doing just fine. They are shipping out guitars by the dozen, not 2 or 3 a week. It's a different company.

That is a beauty!

This is my 1999 H150 with ebony fretboard...

I currently own five Heritage guitars and recently sold my old 1992 H-535. Of all of them, though, I'd have to say that my all-time favorite is the Eagle Classic that I bought new from Jay Wolfe in 1996. At the time I just wanted to purchase a quality jazz box that would carry me well into my senior years. This one gets the least amount of play time than any of the others, but while I consider my others to be tools of the trade, I think of this one as being more like a collectible piece of art that also reflects the beautiful craftsmanship of electric hollow-body guitar building. It's just one of those guitars that will always remain with me.

I'll choose one focal point, the bridge base. Was it drilled at an angle, were the holes too large, or did the angle migrate over time due to factors like heavy strings with slight reduction in string tension due to storing? It's not expensive or difficult to replace the base or to fill the holes and redrill them. Tuner alignment seems to be much better these days. It was a common issue in the earlier days. That's a third world complaint since the tuners generally function when canted. But it is annoying to not line the tuners well. It's not that hard to get that right. This discussion is in part about what is the function of the electric guitar. Is it merely a tool that allows musical expression? Is it a tropy or work of art? Is it a blend? Is it an extension of our ego? The cost of perfection in the complex process of creating guitars is quite high. That includes wood sourcing, which can involve experience, expertise, traveling, patience, etc. The final step for the factory is shipping to the retailer. These acts may seem simple to the naive. They are not. Every step between can be complex. There is the business of maintaining employees, particularly skilled ones. The point is that there are a lot of things that have to go exactly right to get an excellent instrument. These steps each cost money, yet guitar sales is a very competitive area. So then what is the purpose of the instrument? A couple of days ago I saw a Beatles tribute band during its tour. A lot of finesse went into making the show excellent. The audience loved it. But I looked at the guitars they used. They had a Les Paul, a couple of J-160Es, some Ricks, a Hofner, a Fender and an Epiphone. The finish was worn off in the strummed areas. There were dings and scratches evident. These were superb musicians. They appeared to play effortlessly. The natural ease of playing and the resulting sound told me that their focus was primarily their performance, not their tools. We have all known people who have great pride in the appearance of their possessions. This can include their homes, their cars, and even the tools in their toolbox. With ownership comes responsibility. Some say this is a midwestern mentality: you own it, you maintain it. But I've lived in enough places to know that this thought is more universal and pretty much essential for a manageable life. Things have slipped through Heritage in the early days, back when the viability of the company was in question and the owners were pushed to their limits. Things are much better for years now. My advice based on the experience of decades is that you learn to take care of your stuff. And if you don't like something, don't buy it unless you can fix it.

Just back from a spending spree,and added a 1988 H535 to the herd,see Bay Watch in these forums under fat bottom guitars for pics.Nice instrument with 40 years honest wear.Takes me back up to 5 Heritages,and I think 80 guitars in total (surely this is not excessive !).I do like the earlier Heritage instruments.

DB, I won't quote your entire post here. But I'll say this: well said.

I cant be bothered reading the OP. It just looks like something I might've posted in the early days before I understood how to pace myself. Good luck though.

Paragraphs are your friend. Just saying.

I’m not sure I’m sold on the idea. Here’s the beauty of being in America: We all can form our own ideas AND we’re free to go out and start our own guitar company.

The early 150's had the same horn and Heritage was asked to change it. If your next post is about the headstock, it works better and Heritage was not sued over it. Most of us on the HOC appreciate function over form.

The 535 is laminate on the top and bottom. The sides are solid, which is different from the ES335 spec. On our tours of the factory, they have shown us how the actually make the laminates from thin sheets of wood, and then how they steam press the arch into the sheet vs how something like the 575 is carved. I can't remember wood layers they use for the laminate.

A t shirt at least!

This was from the 2018 tour. It's the same rope method we was this year.

Yes, they are making their version of a staple pickup. Square Alnico magnets, P90 size. The head winder was showing a couple of us how he is making them. That guy is like a chef in the kitchen when it comes to pickups!

My first Heritage was a blonde 576. It was a great guitar that lent itself to just about any style of music. Gigged it a bunch. Ultimately put a set of Duncan Phat Cats in it, a terrific marriage. I'll always have a soft spot for that guitar! And yikes, haven't seen this picture in ages. Must be from close to twenty years ago....

These are my favorites, A Heritage Johnny Smith and its Mini-Me The Heritage Millennium SuperLight.

lol

What change looks like: Me not posting the crazy guy maniacally typing gif.

That spray booth might have been a blast from the past, but as someone who dealt with safety in a hazardous business, it was a bit on the scary side. I know what nitrocellulose dust can do with the smallest of sparks! (as in BOOM!) Thankfully it didn't turn into a blast, although they did have a fire when they began dismantling that area of the building. I was really glad to see their new spray booth that first year they moved. Much improved dust and solvent fume controls are a good thing. The new dust collector is a great thing as well. Dust explosions can be nasty, and that includes wood dust!

I think this is one of the dumbest posts I've ever read not only that, there's a LEGAL reason they can't use the Gibson shaped horn

Eye roll. Anyway While Im here, check out Tori Slusher.

I love my gold top and it is the main guitar I gig with, it is an extension of me. It didn’t come to me without some issues though. The frets were in terrible shape from the factory, the ends looked like a child was let loose on them. The binding was also poorly scraped. There is also the dreaded hump after the 12th fret. Well the guitar is from 2011 and has lots of playing time on it. I’ve filed the frets 3 times now from player wear and there isn’t enough left to do it again so I just bought some new frets. When I pull the old ones I’ll sand down the hump and GT rid of the nibs and hopefully get another 15 years of gigs out of them. The tone of the guitar just can be beat. I think they did a great job on the neck shape and profile and the way it transmits vibrations I think the neck joint must be perfect. The issues were cosmetic and I can live with that since the guitar is the best sounding one I’ve ever owned and there are some lofty brands and models on that list. There is a reason I play it so much. Unfortunately those cosmetic issues, well, many people can’t get past that and assume the rest of the guitar is poorly constructed. Heritage suffered from those cosmetic issues. On the flip side, I bought my guitar in mint condition, just a baby yearling, for a song. Those cosmetic issues don’t payoff for the company but they did for me.

Oh yea…. Happy days for DNH. Play her in good health!

I the words of the immortal Mae West.... Why avoid temptation there is always more. Long mae she be played

Jason sent this concept. In MOP

Yeah, you were so much older then, you're younger than that now!!!! 😁

Even without jumping the channels the 5E3 volumes interact.

This is my Roy Clark. It's the size of a 535 with a deep single cutaway and a bit more bling.

Every time yuou post it, I want it more What a beauty!!!

The original post reads like AI that hasn't paid very close attention in an eighth grade English composition class....

Hey it's almost September.... JNEELY I'm glad you are concerned about Heritage, but you're about 20 years out of date? I'm pretty sure the new owners have the financial means & the business sense to keep it going. All their eggs aren't in one small basket

Regarding the bridge, I have a little experience in replacing a similar bridge on an Eagle Classic that I purchased in 1996. In my case, I found that the original bridge posts were simply placed in some drilled holes on the base of the bridge and were not anchored down in any way. I suspect that what we're seeing in the above image is likely the same scenario, for the posts will tend to wobble around a bit in the holes. Whether or not that's the fault of Heritage I won't venture to speculate, but I did replace the original rosewood bridge with a similar ebony model where I was able to screw the posts directly into the bridge base, which resulted in a solid anchoring of the posts. I haven't had a problem with it since. If by chance you're looking to repair your bridge, I would suggest replacing it.

I saw that on the wall just before you bought it and I was thinking. THAT IS A BEAUTIFUL GUITAR CONGRATS!!!

Chris, did you say Staple? No way!

I'm excited: Heritage is making their own staple P90's in house now

I bet that will catch a few "occasional" users. I had to check to see which of 5 emails was used.

Resistance would be futile

Thanks Mark