TalismanRich

Guitgamer, Download Irfanview, and you can put the picture in there, resize it to something reasonable (like 1280 horz res), and save as a jpeg file which will easily fit in the 1.5MB limit. With cameras and phones having 10 and 12M pixel cameras, the file size is just too large to fit the space. You really don't need a 4300x2400 pic for posting on a forum.

The switches control the Var-i-phase VIP system. You have both a phase adjustment and coil tap. They work like this: The 2 Lower Knobs (Looking down at Controls from playing position) Left:Master Volume Right: Master Tone Upper Knob is the Vari-Phase Control - On 10: In Phase, On Zero: Out of Phase. Note: Vari-Phase only works when Mini-Toggles 2 and 3 are Down Again Looking Down from Playing Position Mini-Toggles are #1 #2 and #3 #1 Toggle Up: Is Neck Pick-up Coil Tap Down: Tap Off # 2 and #3 Toggles Down is Vari-pHASE for Bridge PU #2 and #3 Toggles Opposite each other 1-up 1-down is "Stand by Dead" or Both Coils #2 and #3 Toggles Both Up is Coil Tap Bridge Pick-up! If you pull the wiring harness, you'll want to carefully map out the switches. It's not anywhere close to the standard 4 knob / Vol-Vol Tone-Tone with 3way selector setup. The nut should be standard Gibson style. The Heritage guys were all ex-Gibson people, and as such, that's how they designed their guitars. A V serial number indicates a 2005 build. The Serial number scheme is explained here: Date Your Heritage

Mark, good to hear from you again. Glad to hear you're enjoying your time. I missed reading your tales (sometimes good, sometimes tales of woe). Should there come a day that you get the bug, you'll surely find some like-minded mates to scratch the itch. Don't stay away so long next time.

Blog is a four letter word!

Welcome aboard, UnkyHarv. Glad to hear you're enjoying your H-530. What type of stuff do you and your mates play? I'm guessing if you're into the Johnny Smith sound, some jazz must be involved.

Delirium, she's a looker. I think you chose well.

I don't think anyone has ever actually seen a counterfeit Heritage. That's the one in Philly, right? From the pics, it looks totally legit. The tailpiece is spot on, and the back of the headstock looks exactly right. Heritage isn't a great candidate for faking. Its much easier (and probably more profitable) to make Gibby and Fender fakes. The market is probably 100x as big. If it's local, I would ride over and check it out.

SaintPatrick, welcome to the HOC. Looking at the picture, it appears to have standard Schaller humbuckers. The giveaway is the dual adjustment screws on either side. HRW pickups are Ren's modified Schallers, but whenever they installed them, they put a special switch tip with a dot on top, just to make it apparent. Your selector switch is plain. Schallers are good Alnico5 PAF based pickups, I find them to be more scooped in the mids, like a blackface Fender, rather than midrange focused like a tweed.

Nice pickin' Exp! There is a nice looking 2016 Lemon Burst that SlappaDon has posted at a nice price. Its up the coast near Jacksonville. I think a road trip is in order.

George, You've got one of the largest Heritage dealers around about 20 miles south of you in Jupiter Fla. When all this has passed, you should plan a short road trip down there.

Welcome aboard, Paul. I left you a message on your post about the mandolin. I hope its helpful. There are a few guys here that play mandolins. I know nothing about them, except that my fat fingers have trouble with those skinny necks!

Welcome aboard, Chinzilla. Nice H150, very distinctive wood patterns on that one.

FWIW, I replaced the Schallers with Alnico Pro IIs. Pickups are the easiest way to change the flavor of your guitar.

Wow, for an 86 that one looks to be in remarkable condition. The H140 is an excellent guitar. You made a good choice. Welcome aboard.

SSAKURAI, welcome. That's a lovely color. When I ordered my first Heritage, it was an ALSB H157. The 535 is a great playing guitar. Enjoy!

Gryllus, welcome to the HOC. I hope you like your 575. They're really nice guitars. Are you planning to refret with standard wire, or go to stainless steel or the new Jescar Evo wire? I like stainless steel, and it will be the last time you have to do it. Evo wire is supposed to last a long time, but has a bit of a golden color which might be an issue for some people. No problems with your English. Its so much better than my French, in spite of the 2 years of classes 50 years ago.

Lordy Mark, Do you have a black cloud floating somewhere over your head? I remember what it was like when my leg was in a cast for 6 weeks. UGH! Hope you heal up quickly!

Hi Dave. Welcome aboard. The 120s are somewhat rare. I have seen a few among members. On the H140, if the pickups have twin adjustment screws on each side of the mounting bracket, they are probably the standard Schaller pickups. Unless someone custom ordered the guitar, thats what they were putting in most everything until relatively recently. If you have a "dot" on the end of the selector switch, that might mean it has HRWs which were Rendall Wall's proprietary pickup. RE a hard shell case for the H140, a standard Les Paul case should work. My 140 and 157 have the same case. The 140 is a bit loose inside where the 157 is snug. I just checked out the Gator case that I use for my Guild S100 which is an SG type, and it fits and would be pretty secure. It doesn't hug the horn or upper bout but it does hold the bottom snugly. The headstock is fine with clearance all around. Its the Gator GWSGBrown case. You can probably find an SG case a Guitar Center. I got my from Sweetwater. I had Dontae check out the fit for the S100 and it was perfect. They are good about checking that kind of stuff if they can. A tele/strat case probably won't work because there isn't clearance for the angled headstock. Fender types have flat headstocks and are thinner cases. Here's the Gator case with the 140 in it.

Welcome Geno. Nice 535 you have there. Interesting comment on moving to the Helix. I am hearing more and more about people going the modeling route for gigs because it's lighter and easier, plus you can cover a lot more ground. I'm sure in a crowded, noisy bar, you probably can get close enough that 99% of the people couldn't tell the difference.

Welcome, BJ. That's a great story about digging out your dad's records of Steppenwolf, Stones, etc. I grew up on that stuff and it still holds its own today. As for SRV, grab his El Macambo DVD if you haven't seen it. The man could PLAY! The 535 is a great choice, classic design, a wonderful sound and they cover a lot of sonic territory. Heritage does still conduct tours and if you've never seen guitars being built, its gives you a good appreciation of what goes into making these wonderful instruments. The original 4 owners are moving on, after building guitars for about 60 years but I think Jim Deurloo is still around some. If you can spend some time talking with Rendal Wall, be prepared for some good stories. The man is a legend.

Welcome aboard, Steve. You've got a fine looking pair of guitars there!

I'm loving that story, Mike! Its always good when you start to find the passion again for something you have loved doing in the past. The guitar looks to be in IMPECCABLE condition.

Wow, you were looking to replace a guitar player, and you end up with a rotation of drummers! That stinks that your man had to bow out because of arthritis. This aging stuff just sneaks up and bites us when we're just having fun. Hopefully the days of drama and drunken spouses are far behind you. Perhaps you can grace us with some videos of the new band.

Welcome aboard, FF. Ah, the classic red semi-hollow. It doesn't get any more iconic than that! I like your choice.

Welcome Phil. Nice score on the 357. They aren't all that common, so you've got a real gem there.