DetroitBlues

Not much as they used to. HOC is miniscule to what social media like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube influencers do these days.

5 years ago, when I convinced Heritage to do the HOC Guitar, I had originally suggested a H140, they had already sold off the templates. I even talked about my H140 from 1985 to be the template of either an Anniversary model or a HOC guitar. My 140 was not a typical model, it had a bound ebony fretboard with mini-block inlays, inlaid "the Heritage" headstock, one piece flame maple top, and a belly carve. Between sourcing one-piece tops, one-off building of the fretboards, and the lack of templates, it would have been too cost prohibited to even bring up.

As much as I'd like one, the new Custom Core Line up makes feels like how Heritage was to me 15 years ago; beyond my financial means. $5k for a guitar is so steep, I'm sure definitely worth it though. I'd have to sell all four of my Heritages to get one of those; even then I wouldn't be happy because the design has a slim 60's neck profile. While I have gotten used to thinner necks, I rather enjoy the meatiness of my current lineup. Its a shame there was not a custom inlay to show its a 40th Anniversary model.

Nice shooting Tex! Great photos, look much better than my bar band shots I get once in awhile. Beautiful H150 and congratulations on the new album!

My H150 used a 3/8" wrench when I set it up last weekend.

Very very cool. Getting ahold of something vintage like that is amazing. Having the skill and tools to do it justice is even better!

What was in it?

Been a long time since we saw him last. Oddly enough, I believe he had a H127 he fully restored and it was a stunner. I had a few conversations with him at the Barn way back when. I remember the book as well as the guitar on the cover page. If anyone recalls, that H150 was on display at PSP on the final assembly work bench. Such a beautiful guitar.

Yes, if you go through the old catalogs, they were nothing but mahogany:

Unfortunately, there are a lot of stories about only Marv can make them and legal stuff with Gibson and so on. I'm sure there is truth in there somewhere, but we will never really know without any legal documents to pour through. But since the latest lawsuit against Gibson, the agreement back in the late 80's early 90's seems out the window. I'm only assuming because of the H137's are now coming with pickguards. When I helped the custom run of H137's, Heritage was legally not allowed to add a pickguard; now they do. I wonder if this opens up the possibility of the H-357 again? Even if they don't have the templates, modern technology can 3D scan and create a template to build from. I have faith that Pete has the skill needed to make it happen again. However, Marbirds if I recall were expensive for a Heritage at the time. I could not imagine what the price tag would be today... $5000? $10,000?

I've seen a lot of Marvbirds, played a few of them, even the very first prototype build H-357. I'm lucky enough to know some great people that own them over the years, just not lucky enough to own one. But it had me thinking, I don't believe all H-357's are Marvbirds. When the H-357 model was a regular production guitar, it was simple guitar compared to later versions; opaque finishes, unbound dot inlay necks, slim neck profiles, standard Schaller pickups and hardware. It wasn't as an aesthetically pleasing guitar like many that came out of the factory at that time. Essentially it was a very simple rock machine made out of neck through chunk of mahogany with glued-on wings. Just an exotic shape like the Terminator and Exterminator models. When the model was discontinued yet available via phone call to the Marv Lamb hotline at 225 Parsons Street did it seem the H-357 really come alive. Natural finishes, exotic woods like Korina, multi-laminated five-piece necks, unique finish options, pickup options, Bigsby's, stingers, huge fat necks; it all became fair game.... No two were alike after that. The HOC forum here was booming with activity and membership, almost every new Heritage post was a unique custom order, and people shared the experiences to really push the dream of owning a Marvbird. The HOC was arguably the biggest enabler of the resurgence of the H-357 design. But those later H-357's were vastly different than the original production line. I believe there is a distinct difference between them and what they originally factory runs started as. In my opinion, the only thing that binds them together was two things; only Mr. Lamb could make the rough assembly and the shape of the H-357 itself. From there, the original era's of H-357's depart to the later years in the 2000's. Maybe some historians on here can tell when the H-357 made its first and last appearance in the catalog, but I believe there were several years in-between the catalog and the highly customized orders. Please disagree with me if you like, but there really a difference between the H-357 and the Marvbird.

I also appreciate the functionality over function. First question I have to ask is how's the neck? Newer Heritages have a nice beefy neck these days. That's definitely nice one there, congratulations; hard to tell, is that ebony or oxblood? Sweetwater had a special run of Oxblood H150 which was a rather difficult paint to get right from what I was told. Hope you enjoy it!

Perfect combination, I'd imagine its glorious! At first when I read this, I was thinking it was from the same Chinese budget guitar maker, Firefly, that's sold on Amazon. This obviously is not the case.

Used market has definitely bottomed out. My 2016 Heritage with custom specs was about $1300 less than what a custom core model sells for new today. I wouldn't expect though I could get more than $1500 or so on the used market unless I want it to sit for a year or two waiting for prices to go up or the perfect buyer.

Looks like a great guitar, most likely has a slimmer neck that what you'll find on new Heritages. The crack is odd, but since its a 555, it has a centerblock meaning its pretty solidly built. I'd be surprised if its an actual crack too, since the laminated maple/poplar/maple construction would prevent any serious issues aside from someone stepping on it.

One heck of an upgrade, pickups, hardware, etc. Double Creams are definitely Brentrocks approved! Hopefully this one stays in the family. Congrats!

I can definitely relate to with my own past and present experiences with a band. Ultimately family comes first and if the thrill is gone.... Well, you know the rest. Best to move on, I bet there will be days you'll miss it. But I think when you're building memories of family, you'll find you don't miss it all.

Thank you all!

Good luck with the weight loss, I struggle myself. It's hard to stay the course. I find my Tele Style Guitar (Reverend Buckshot) is my favorite guitar, I think I'd rather have a Tele than a Strat. It just feels right.

So as a band, you're taking in 350 Euros or individually? Either way, live music must fare better over there than here... We'd wish to make that much. Most I ever made was $80. Least I made was $8. Average was maybe $20 for four hours... But the important thing is doing what you love.

Saturday I sold my Peavey Bandit to an older gentlemen that recently lost his job. He had been on the prowl for a Peavey Bandit USA Red Stripe model because they sound better than the older USA models. Couldn’t help but agree with him. As we sat there for nearly an hour talking about guitars, amps, and the thirst that can never be quenched for obtaining them, I told him something about my guitar buying. As I looked about the floor in the living room, I had a brand new Fender Stratocaster, a Reverend Six-Gun III, and a Martin MMV. I told him the longest I’ve had any of those was three weeks. But I said, my wife cannot complain about my buying guitars for one very good reason. In a way, they have provided for my family. And it has a lot to do with The Heritage and PSP. The week of PSP VI, I had a job for nearly eight years as a Senior Traffic Engineer with MetroPCS before they were “merged” with T-Mobile. I was called in the Human Resources Director’s office and with him was my boss and our Vice President of Network Operations. I thought it was really odd and found it immediately worrisome. And just like that it was over; I was told that T-Mobile has looked at all the markets and decided that Traffic Engineers weren’t needed. All the Traffic Engineers were to be laid off in 60 days. It didn’t matter what I really did for my job above and beyond my job title or how I was the senior engineer with the most knowledge and experience. What matter was my official job title. So for the second time in ten years, I was out of a job. Of course, that overshadowed my plans that week, the week of PSP VI. I packed my old HFT-445, loaded up my car, and headed off to PSP. I picked up Slammer from the airport on the way there and checked in the hotel for the night. Seeing all the guitars on display in the conference room that night and all the people I admire and consider friends really helped me to forget my own problems for a while. The next day, I was walking through the factory and saw so many unique instruments. Then there was the smell of the old wood dust, the sound of the machines sanding down necks and carving tops; it was just amazing. Undoubtedly, I had forgotten my problems, at least for now. I took my Heritage HFT-445 out of its case and held it proudly outside that factory for the group photo. 225 Parson Street, the birthplace of many guitars of rock stars. A place that should be a national monument. A place where it’s not the end of line, but just the beginning. I was in front of a factory who has seen its own end, its doors closed, people sent to Nashville or laid off, and left to rot. But a few people chose to stay; chose to open those doors again and start over. Marv, Ren, Jim and few others gave that old building and the equipment inside basically a reset button, a new lease of life. Perhaps there was some hope for me too. Perhaps, I’ll be able to restart my career and pick-up the pieces to begin again. The Saturday after PSP VI, I was still at the hotel when an ex co-worker from MetroPCS sent me a text message about his latest bass guitar purchase. He had quit on his own a few years ago, but he was happy with his decision. He asked how I was doing and I told him what happened. He demanded I talk to his wife immediately. He gave me her cell number and said I have to call her right now. She, of course, was a HR manager at General Motors. It never dawned on me to call her since I knew nothing about cars nor was I an electrical or mechanical engineer. I called her, she asked about my bachelor’s degree and my knowledge of Microsoft Office. She had me look up a specific job on the GM website and how to adjust my resume to highlight certain skill sets. That following Friday, I had a job interview. Less than a week later, I had a job offer. When my time was up with T-Mobile, I left on a Friday and started my new job at General Motors the following Monday. That was just about two years ago now. Last December sparked a heated conversation that banned members and damaged relationships to other members of the forum. The site shut down for several weeks and when the lights turned back on, things changed. One of those things was PSP. There was a looming question of will there be another PSP again. One could only hope. I decided to step up and see what I could do. I didn’t know if I would fail or not, but it wouldn’t hurt to try. I called the VFW Hall to see if we could play there. Thankfully, they were excited to hear from us and not have to pay a band. We were able to play live music again and entertain some veterans at the same time. It was a win-win for everyone. I had help from Pressure to get a PSP VIII Logo setup. Called a friend from church about having shirts made with the logo. Obtained a guest list of all those who were going to be there. Guy was able to get the Factory to participate again. I received lots of help from a lot of people to make PSP a success. I cannot take credit for it all. PSP VIII came and went like a whirlwind. It was over just like that. As I woke up still tired and exhausted on Saturday, I checked my email and found someone wanted my Peavey, so I had to pack up and head home quickly. My family had left a few hours before to head out east on a vacation with my mother-in-law; so I had the house to myself and enjoyed the quiet stillness of home that night. No amps, no guitars, no beer, no sound; just peacefulness. I could have died a happy man knowing how much everyone enjoyed PSP this year. As I look back, I will always remember the great times I had at this PSP and the ones before. Someone asked why I did all this; it’s very simple really. The Heritage brought us all together. It’s the people who bring us back. That's PSP. Enjoy those beautiful Heritages everyone. There is a lot of history in your hands.

Great news. I need to get my chops up to par so I can one day do as you are doing.