MartyGrass

I'm glad your pickups don't hum. Mine do. They are reverse wound, so when both are on and the volumes are similar, there's no hum. I use a pedal to eliminate the hum otherwise.

To put this politely, reasonable people have different opinions. I have no quarrel with someone whose preferences differ from mine. I would appreciate a certain humility that precludes stating an opinion as a universal fact though. I do understand that love of guitars is a certain manifestation of mental illness that I suffered with most of my life. I am confident of this much on the topic: weight relieved H-150s weigh less.

Classic!

In my life I have witnessed in myself and others the same feeling of an instrument not fitting well. I have also seen looks of disbelief. A friend of mine was asigned the upright bass in high school. I had a cello. It didn't matter how we liked it. I had a Howard Roberts as a kid. It was big. My teacher said after a while I'd get used to it. He was right. But we are grown men. We don't have to put up with that anymore. One of my guitar teachers was Joe Fava. We were in his small teaching room, and he would smoke. He focused on technique and stopped me everytime my fingers didn't move correctly. It was constant criticism with occasional "good". I practiced this uncomfortable technique two hours a day. Eventually it became natural. Violin players told me the same thing. I wouldn't dare to complain. He'd say play your instrument properly or quit. Eventually it because okay. I went through the same with a bass clarinet. I have a H-575, two actually since I'm borrowing one, but like the feel of the H-530 a bit better. To get sentimental, I enjoyed the days being a kid and having a strong teacher who told me exactly what I'm supposed to do. It cut out a lot of noise from the other voices. Then Hendrix came along.

This is so odd. As mentioned, there was an uproar when Gibson did this. There was this argument that heavy guitars sound better and have more sustain. I have owned two weight relieved H-150s, one I got by accident since I ordered it. The Heritage dealer didn't even know it was weight relieved. He would have charged more. I very much approve of this design. If it adversely affects sustain or tone, I don't notice.

Well, that happens!

I've owned a few over the years. They are big guitars. It's obvious looking at the specs. It'd more obvious playing one. They are striking with beauty because of the great woods used, their finishes, and their size. Most people can get comfortable with them if they put the hours in. I'll state this anecdote once again. I was at Heritage talking to Marv Lamb with Ren Wall and Bill Paige. I asked what it cost to order a SKB in a certain finish. Marv asked me why I would want to pay all that extra for a SKB when I could order a Super Eagle with a Florentine cutaway and get the same thing for hundreds less. The point he was making is that the artist models cost more because money goes to the artist for each guitar built. In the end I got a SKB used for less than either model new. I have found that used ones came up occasionally and were generally minty. It seemed back then that those who bought them either kept them in excellent shape while playing them or just didn't play them. Now they are collectible. I have a few big ass guitars, Super Eagle size. I found that you will eventually get comfortable with the size. Beware the feedback. You'll learn to sort that out too.

I don't think so. I can check. One of them has a serial number with an H.

We did a deal in which he got one of the Heritage built Gretsch Synchromatics, which are Super Eagle bodies with Gretsch appointments. The two 555s should land at my home shortly. He is a jazz player and has already setup the Gretsch. He has had Super Eagles before but in a way forgot that they are big ass guitars. He's happy with the playability, the sound, and the wow factor!

I don't know why stingers are put on good looking guitars. It must be to hide something.

Yes, the heels are different. For most it won't make much difference. I like the smaller heel for a little better high fret access. OTOH, some great blues players do fine with the larger heel. The stinger is a different story. It improves tone right off the charts! Actually I don't know what the point of the stinger is except to hide the wood beneath it. Also, sometimes the stinger is off center, which makes it worse than not being there.

These are not quite identical twins and are old-school H-555s. One of them was made for Vince Lewis. That one I once owned and can tell you it plays perfectly. I'm told the other one is about the same. I'm trading one of my Heritage ghost built Gretsch Synchromatics plus some dough for these two with a long-standing friend and trading partner. Heritage wasn't run as tightly back in the days these were made, but the Vince one is perfect. I believe the other one is as well based on my friend's experience. The Vince build has Schallers, which I wouldn't change. The other one is stated to have HRWs, but I'm not sure. I recently got a newer build H-535 that has PRS pickups. It is extremely nice. I like the general formal of the semi-hollow.

I had my share of those issues in the early days. There were also quite a few great ones. Often there were a few flaws like overspray, binding scraping and excessive filing marks. I had one with a neck twist. The company struggled at times with their hires. The profit margin for the company had to be low, creating staff turnover.

Speechless.

He still keeps the HRW secret!

What I'd specifically say about the Roy Clark model is that there are several. There are single and double cutaways. Even with these two categories there are variants. The one I have is a single cutaway with block inlays in chestnut sunburst. What I particularly like about this design is how deep the cutaway is. I don't have a Marvbird but my first guitar was a Firebird. The Marvbird looks like a fine instrument.

Great catch!!

There are a few collector's items. 1. The Little One 2. Marvbird 3. Roy Clark first edition 4. Johnny Smith 5. David Paul 6. Millennium Eagle 2000 What's difficult about Heritage is that they did a ton of one offs. No one can own the who group of collectibles. And I wish I could get my Millenium Eagle 2000 back.

Here is what I know about the famous HRWs. I have discussed them and other inventions attributed to Ren with Ren. Some things he's very open about. The HRWs he's not. He had a hand in the tailpiece with fine tuners on it. I'm not sure if he just liked it or he influenced it. He did explain that using it is a more precise way to tune. Another project of his is the balanced string sets. He took several commercials sets and noticed the pull for the string to be in tune required varying poundage for each spring. He showed me how he tested this by hanging weights on each string until it achieved pitch. He worried that the unbalanced strings would cause neck twists. The string maker in Battle Creek, GHS, created "balanced sets" for Heritage and may have begun this for Gibson since Ren was innovative at Gibson also. Yet another project is the 4 mount pickup bezel. This lifted the mount off the wood by small washers under the corner screws. That purportedly freed the top to vibrate more freely. The HRW remains shrouded in secrecy. It does sound different than the parent Schaller pickup. The best explanation is that a Schaller coil and magnet is emptied from the casing and placed in liquid nitrogen. It then is put back in its case and soldered. If true, the HRW is not the first cryo treated pickup. The toggle switch is drilled with the same bit used for neck side holes, and the same dot is put in place. The dot is sanded down and buffed. That I have watched being made. AFAIK, there is not patenting to cryo treatment. https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/articles/features/is_it_cool_or_not_cryogenically_frozen_gear_explained-108422 https://www.guitar-list.com/guitar-science/cryogenic-pickups

I have a H-530 that is just great. Part of it is how it feels. It's very light. Acoustically it's louder with resonance I can literally feel. Mine has humbuckers, which is fine with me. The H-576 is a very nice model. They tend to be stunning and have a nice feel to them.

Thanks so much for the answer, Rich. I purchased their Ascent+ model earlier this year, and the playability of that guitar, especially considering the price, is so good, I now want to upgrade to a Standard as a Christmas present to myself. You sound like me. My wife would say that since I like the Ascent+ so much, I should stick with it and shut up!

I recall the classics had Seth Lovers and a stop tailpiece and ABR bridge. That was Jay Wolf's baby. In another few decades the HRWs may approach the value of the PAF. HRWs do sound different than the SD 59s and Seths. Some really like them. I have a set on a H-555 with a Bigsby. I've had several other sets over the years. The bridge pickup seems bright but can be managed. The neck pickup is very nice in an archtop. I do recommend that anyone who is in the guitar sales world get a scope. They are not expensive. It can make a big difference, especially with archtops and flattops. You can see things that are hard to capture with a mirror plus pics are a cinch. I recently got a Heritage Johnny Smith from a reputable dealer. I scoped it and found a cleat for a minor crack. The dealer didn't know about it. The guitar is so great that I accepted a discount to keep it. In semihollows you can usually find a way to the back of the pickups through the f hole. You'll see the HRW sticker easily if it's there. Sellers/buyers can also see the electronics.

That means it left the factory with HRWs usually. I've put HRWs into guitars and had the switch tips drilled and and sidemarker dot glued in, which is what Heritage did in the factory. Bob is right that the dot is a good indicator.

I wonder how much free publicity and advertising they get from the existence of HOC.

Well, one thing is that they do sound different than the Schallers they once were. It's hard to put that difference into words. The bridge pickup seems brighter. You can get a dental mirror for a few bucks if you don't want to pull the pickup. The truth is that it is faster to loosen the strings and look for the sticker on the back than it is to get a mirror and futz around with it and a flashlight. I recommend getting a fiberoptic scope. It comes in handy for all sorts of things. https://www.amazon.com/Endoscope-Borescope-Semi-Rigid-Smartphones-KEEMIKA/dp/B0F2PQTT1G/ref=sxin_16_pa_sp_search_thematic_sspa?content-id=amzn1.sym.2da95b6c-f59a-4699-bc43-d0ff036c6388%3Aamzn1.sym.2da95b6c-f59a-4699-bc43-d0ff036c6388&cv_ct_cx=Fiber%2BOptic%2BEndoscope&keywords=Fiber%2BOptic%2BEndoscope&pd_rd_i=B0F2PQTT1G&pd_rd_r=ebd8a8ea-c575-4304-8839-bbacb633b3ed&pd_rd_w=t4eyH&pd_rd_wg=jWuCz&pf_rd_p=2da95b6c-f59a-4699-bc43-d0ff036c6388&pf_rd_r=YFHZAEV3BGXF2SCBWR0E&qid=1749560793&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sr=1-4-6024b2a3-78e4-4fed-8fed-e1613be3bcce-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0aWM&th=1