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Since it’s Friday again,

Just picked this up from Nick Hall. Looking forward to hearing those P Ralis! And the 'Heritage' of this guitar is impressive too. I'm surprised no one snapped it up before I did. I'm glad I have another Heritage H150 in the fold. It's been years! 😎

About 10 years ago I bought this guitar from someone in Ohio. He wasn't a player, but a friend of his recommended he invest in a couple of new guitars at a guitar show in Cincinatti, if I recall right. This is a Heritage Johnny Smith with an 18" body. I'd like to tell you a good reason I sold it the next year. I think it was a matter of money. I'm not sure. I sold it to a great guy and a forum member. Later he bought a couple of other Heritages from me. Fortunately for me, he agreed to sell the HJS back. There were two 18" HJS made AFAIK. Both were in Cincinatti. Don Dean, of Scotty Moore and Elvis fame, ended up with one. That one is a natural and is 3 1/4" deep. The incoming is the traditional 3" deep. The natural finish one was owned by a friend of mine who had the Floating #3 pickup rebuilt by Kent Armstrong, making it a little hotter. You can hear a difference. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsM3VeXzpVw This is the incoming sister of the natural. It's a rose natural and has the standard Floating #3, which to me sounds warmer. I'm excited!

The guitar and case survived intact. It came with a lot of documentation from 9 years ago that the guy I sold it to obtained. The guy I got it from obtained it from Don Dean, the king of 18" archtops (sorta). Heritage noted that they did only make two of these guitars. Both were made exactly the way they built them at Gibson except the size. I forgot how low the action will go without buzzing. It's very impressive. I put TI 12s Jazz. The guitar is pretty loud and sounds great. There is a signed label by Johnny Smith, and there is a second label handwritten saying it is an 18" Johnny Smith and is signed by the four original Heritage Company orders. I included some quick photos to show the impressive woods. The grain is tighter in the middle and widens at the side. So I had to research as to whether the opinion that tight grain is more responsive. The Heritage old timers and Aaron Cowles said it's a myth. A review of the Internet opinions by good luthiers say no tonal differences, probably because thickness and carving dwarfs any grain tightness factor. Anyway, I'm happy.

I don't know about going back to the old business model. It may have something to do with actually making a profit (silly concept, I know). I'm not privy to the financial status of the old company, but I had heard several times that things were indeed often on a "shoestring budget". There were times that I wondered if the owners even paid themselves. It seemed to be more a labor of love. This isn't Jim and Marv building a few guitars. I'm sure that they make a lot more guitars today than they did 15 years ago. Sweetwater alone has 65 guitars listed. CME has 22 listed. Jay Wolfe has 25. That's just 3 dealers. You didn't really see those numbers years ago. Have you visited the factory? The "big money" helped pay for a new dust collection system that makes the place safer, a humidity and temperature control system, a new spray booth where you don't really have to worry about dust contaminating your fresh lacquer, the Plek machine and more. The old factory, while quaint, was really pretty scary from a EHS standpoint. Lots of dust and wood laying around. The spray booth upstairs was open air, so dirt and dust was floating around. It was also quite dangerous, with nitrocellulose coating the entire booth. That stuff is a lot more flammable than some people realize. The business will need to pay for that upgraded equipment. It wasn't free! To their credit, Heritage is still making archtops (the 575 and Eagle Classic). Try to get a new archtop from Gibson. The last one listed was the Chuck Berry ES 350, but it's discontinued. There are a few dozen people making teles and strats. Fender, G&L, Suhr, LSR, PRS, and ton of low cost import versions.

Other than my 80s 357, my oldest is a "J" serial H150 I think. Don't have a lot of gtr pics but here's an old one.

Happy 'Flametop Friday'!

And here is my all time favorite guitar.... my H170 with a C serial number. It's not my go to guitar, but my favorite. I got this one and the afore H140cm at the same time back when nobody really cared about Heritage guitars except maybe you folks. There were in a mom and pop store. I traded a Greco Les Paul copy (which was actually pretty cool....) and $400 for both of them. Both sound great but there is something about the H170....feel and sound. I did take out the Schallers and put in some Dimarzio PAFs, probably anniversay series or something. Maye the 140 has Seth Lover's....I can't remember nor do I care as they both sound so great.

(IMO) I don’t really believe that any years of the “Pre-Plaza” era H-150s’ were any better or worse. You really have to take them on a case by case basis.

Thanks so much. Would love to chat with her about her guitars and previous PSP's. Can't wait for the one this year and an opportunity to meet you folks.

Welcome LL. The resident "expert" on lefty guitars would be Lefty Alicia. She has been at most of our PSPs with various guitars. Here's her Millennium.

Found another. A trans black H150 I got off Brent. Thanks again! Hard to see unless the lighting is bright enough: the black hides the flame. Which is kinda cool in a stealth way. That's a one piece top too.

My STAT

It's not Friday, but I'll put this up anyway....

Tim Pierce's CC was chambered also. At 7.5 lbs, that's an interesting guitar.

To bring back some classics? How about the H-357, Stat and H-140? It gets a little boring seeing the same shapes coming out of Kalamazoo. This is just my personal opinion but I feel that if you have seen one of these current H-150's, you have seen them all. They say that variety is the spice of life. Please Heritage, bring back some spice. y2kc

I think the fret wire is standard Jesco stuff. It's pretty much used industry wide, unless you go with stainless. I don't remember the number, though. The caps in most Heritages are Vishay MKT metalized film. They are yellow axial capacitors and are good caps. The pots can vary over the years, depending on availability. They use standard audio taper pots. I have tried changing pots and to be honest, sonically there was no change. I had one that was scratchy, so I replaced all 4 with CTS pots. The only difference was in the feel, as I used low torque CTS with a 15% taper which changes the rate of volume change as you turn the knob. They also made it easier to turn, which might be good or bad, depending on your style. Wire is wire... You can get nice cloth covered vintage style wire, but it won't change the sound. It's pretty and if you want it to look like 1959, then go for it. Jacks and switches are pretty much generic. If they are clean and work, they're good. If they get dirty and noisy, or cut out, then change them out. I've used Switchcraft and cheapos from China and as long as they are quiet and solid, they're fine. Depending on how you like to roll off volume, I added a treble bleed to my 157 for a while. I liked it's effect more than 50s wiring or standard wiring. Here's my 157 control cavity with treble bleeds and the stock pots and caps. As I had changed a noisy switch, I changed the cable running up to the switch with a shielded cable. (the grey stuff).

It would seem, to those paying even casual attention, that I did. Yes. You may refer to the first post in the thread if you're unsure.

That's All Folks!

94 H150 from practice this week. Dimarzio Super+Super2 installed pretty recently and faber hardware put on a year or two ago.

Here is my H140 with an F seriel number.

How fitting that this is right under Kuz’s pic..

I have owned 3 535s over the years. One I sold to Mike Novello. Another I sold to one of my best friends, Jim. When Jim passed away two years ago his sister said to take all of his gear and give it to friends. I sold the gold 535 to another friend, Joe. Originally I gave one guy a H-150, another a Gretcsh Les Paul style guitar and Joe got the Rick 12. I have the Ruby Rick. Where in Indiana do you hail from mate? I have people in Muncie. My cousin's daughter coaches the Daleville High boys basketball team.

Purely my own experience and anecdotes from others. I own a 98 H150 and a late 80s- early 90s 535. Both are incredible guitars and every person who has tried them comments on them, both will be on tour with me for a up coming project. Ive heard a lot of people say about this era being sought after as the best was incredible and the worst just average. However I have also heard of the inconsistency’s of this era but I’d argue that’s down to the hand made nature. Conversely, I’ve played several transition years heritages from across the range and they were all average at best and mediocre at worst. The shop I work for was a UK dealer at the time and could not shift them for this reason. Poor finishing such as bad fret work, poor woods, defects such as incorrect neck angle, electrical issues and just general poor QC when compared to the obvious comparatives. I have heard since the new take over quality has vastly improved again and they are once again the sort after guitars they were.

Flame On. Let us see them!

FWIW- I have a 1999 H150-CM that I absolutely love. (I did replace the pickups with Bare Knuckle Rebel Yells and put Sperzel Locking Tuners on it)...

I've never heard of the song, so I looked up the original on Youtube. I can see how it could get stuck in your head. Its one of those slightly silly tunes that are perfect for being an viral internet hit. Adding the cat video is perfect for the song, and as usual, your playing is impeccable. Nicely done.

H-357 is pretty labor intensive (IIRC). If they made them, I’m sure they’d cost a pretty penny. I wouldn’t mind the return of the H-157 though.

I find the PRails to be nice with this guitar. I'm not going to change a thing! I have a LP JR, but nothing with 2 P90s. I like it! I sold a H137 to someone here years ago. $1000. Always regretted.

Almond Burst. Label Identifies. I want to thank nicknickhall and martygrass. And everyone else who opined. This is a sweet guitar! Notice the work of Pete Moreno.

You're right, Rob. That looks a lot more like my Chestnut Burst Millie LE but with even more red in the middle..

I somehow missed that my friend.

Can’t remember a time when I only used one pedal ! the zinky overdrive channel and the deluxe memory man are all that’s required!

I think the Antiquity is more vintage output with a lower wind and A2 magnets. I wouldn't think it was close to the JB.

Duncan makes better pickups in my opinion. the JB is an A5 wound to 16.4K... Not a design from the Gibson line available similar. Enjoy your oxblood!

This guitar is a little lighter than most because the control cavity expands for the mini-toggles. That's my recollection. The Schaller bridge and tailpiece were swapped out by Pete Moreno. The person Ren Wall built this for has too much back pain to play. This was his last guitar and the one he played the most since he got it.

My H140 "C" date.

It's a 2003 btw...

Hey, For a simple but awesome sounding drum app for your phone, try LOOPZ. It was created by Paul Davids (guitar youtuber). It is not a drum machine but it is great for jamming. I run mine through my bluetooth speaker.

My buddy has the No 2 of D production year, he was wondering if it was the 2nd one ever made.

I still have the Anniversary Fulldrive that KUZ sold me. Amazing box.