brentrocks

I heard from a reputable source that the P 90 pick ups are being wound in Kalamazoo, but I cannot a 100% confirm that

I contacted my guy at Sweetwater already to put one on hold. Lol.

Sweet

Nice!

Yes

Body. Neck. Fretboard. Pots. Jack. Toggle. Poker chip. Pick guard. Paint on back of the body and rim. Cavity plates. Truss rod cover.

Thank you! I bought that 71 from a repair shop in Grand Rapids Michigan about 2.5 years ago. I traded it off for a 20th anniversary H150 about a year ago. And then I just bought it back from that guy a few weeks back.

I met up with Brian @kbp810today. It was great to see him again, it had been a lonnggggg time!! We did a little horse trading. And I took home one of Brian’s awesome amps!!! It is a 50 watt Dumble Overdrive Special clone. 1x12 combo. EL34 power section (although it will take 6L6s too) Its am absolute beast!!! Incredible sounding amp!!!!

Probably as much as the only GOLD non reverse headstock H357

I didn’t include resale values, simply because, it’s a given. I realize this wasn’t the best comparison in the world but I hope it was somewhat informative to most.

I have been wanting to get an R9 so that I could compare and contrast the differences between it and the Heritage Custom Core H150. Here are my findings/opinions between the two… CASES: Heritage Yes, I’m comparing the cases. Lol. The cases that the Heritage CS are using are built like a tank. Plush green crushed velvet. Very heavy. Very solid. The replica Lifton cases are nice. Not as solid and heavy duty. I realize they are trying to replicate the old ones. WEIGHT: Heritage Between these two guitars, it was very close. The Gibson weighs 8 lbs. 10 oz. The Heritage weighs 8 lbs. 5 oz. So between these two particular guitars, it’s pretty close, but nevertheless, the Heritage does weigh less. PICKUPS: Neither I’m not impressed with either set of stock pickups. Gibson. These pickups squeal like stuck hog. Heritage. These were an alnico III. They were very bright and lacking bottom end. TUNERS: Gibson The tuners that Gibson uses are far superior. Heritage used sone cheap Gotoh tuners that really suck. BRIDGE/TAILPIECE: Heritage They both use lightweight aluminum. The one thing that tipped the scale for me, was the Pinnacle locking bridge that Heritage uses. FIT AND FINISH: Tie Both of these guitars are EXTREMELY GOOD QUALITY!!! Neck pitch is perfect on both. Setup is perfect on both. (Both PLEKed). They both feature a VOS style finish. The paint itself, both bursts are spectacular!!!! ELECTRONICS: Gibson I’m basing this basically on the pots. Both used Switchcraft toggles and jacks. Both used vintage style braided wire. But the posts that Gibson used have a much better taper. And Gibson used much better capacitors than Heritage did. Heritage only used orange drops, while Gibson used bumblebees. WOODS: Tie The quality of woods used in these guitars are incredible. I mean, look at those fretboards and tops!! Both feature lightweight mahogany. Both have a holly head veneer. NECK CARVE: Heritage I realize this category is purely opinion driven. But I do prefer the neck on the Heritage. My reason is that the Heritage neck is a bit fuller and fills my hand better. It has a tad more shoulder. The Gibson neck is not terrible. I do like it. TONE: Tie Both of these guitars, with pickups of my choice, sound incredible!!! Pickups are SO IMPORTANT when you get into this tier of instrument!! My initial reaction is that the Gibson is a tad brighter. But that could vary from guitar to guitar. You can’t go wrong with either as far as the sound!!! PLAYABILITY: Heritage This is really close for me. What it really came down to was the height of action achieved, how much relief was necessary in the neck to achieve a low action and the nut cut. Also the overall finished fretwork. The Heritage just feels better to me when cranking out a tune. Not that the R9 is terrible, it’s also very good. PRICE AS TESTED: Heritage Gibson CS R9 new….$6699 Heritage CC H150 new….$4199 In conclusion, these are both great guitars. I’m giving the Heritage the nod. Mainly because of price and playability. The main reason that I did this comparison is because I have been getting asked a lot lately, hey man, how old do the Heritage Custom Cores compare to the Gibson R9? You would not believe how many times I have been asked this in the past year. I don’t want this to turn into a Gibson or Heritage, bashing thread! That is not my intention, my intention is to do an honest unbiased comparison of two high-end single cut, solid body electric guitars.

Trade in offer???

Thanks for all the positive vibes everyone!! Im thoroughly enjoying this 357!! I never thought I would like a 357 with “Firebird” pickups. But this one, I do.

CJ bought a 1990 black 357 from me many many years ago

I have a locking tail piece on it and I just ordered a Tonepros locking bridge for it

That is a great shop! Probably the most diverse selection of guitar gear in a shop that I have ever seen in many years. So the question of the day is, is this the only gold H357 in existence?

Thanks guys!!! Gotta love the stinger on the gold!!!

Thanks John!! This is one to get into, for sure!! I replaced the Schaller roller bridge and top loader tailpiece.

Thanks dude! Do you frequent that shop?

Thanks bro. My schedule was really tight. 5 hours of driving time…uuhhhggggg!!!!