TalismanRich

AE definitely means that it's a 2014 not a 2006. In 06 they were stamping the serial number and they started with W ( have a 2006. On mine, the W is above the number. I think they had to get a new stamp as the old one was wearing out). They didn't start hand writing numbers until later. It's hard to say what the '06 designates, and don't know they'll have any special info regarding it's specs. Sometimes Ren or Jim would remember special orders, but if you built a few thousand guitars over 25 years, you wouldn't remember every one. I don't know that they kept a computer database, although by 2015 they may have well converted. If I remember the first two numbers are the days working backwards from Dec 31, and the last two is the number of the guitar issued that day. That would make it the second guitar of Monday Oct 27th 2014. The Seth Lovers could easily been owner changed, or factory installed. It's also possible that the paper label either wasn't installed or came loose. Still, they are of a close date to the guitar serial. I don't think it would be worth the time to pull the pots just to look at date codes.

For what they were selling the Standard I guitars for a while back you could buy a couple of Ascent 137 or 150s. The prices on the Standard II line has risen back to the original Standard l pricing.... $2600 for the H-150 and $3000 for the H-535 and 530. The Ascents that were in Ren's Picking Parlor felt like pretty decent guitars. Even our own Yoslate seemed impressed with the one he was picking on. I don't know if it was an Ascent or Ascent+. He might remember.

All the original P90 Heritages that I'm aware of have Jason Lollar pickups. Unless it was a custom order, or the pickups were changed, those would likely be the stock ones. The control cover may even say the pickups. Check there.

It's the same reason that G&L and now Fender are still showing pictures of Leo Fender, and Gibson is still touting their latest "59 Les Paul". It's about lineage, history, a familial connection. Guitar people are enamored with the past, whether it is reality or not. Otherwise nobody would be trying to recreate the past!

How many of the folks in the video have we met? Ren, Pete, Curly, Marv, Arnie, Bill. There are several that I've seen through the years but didn't get names. The rack from the prototype room should have been donated to the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. Here's an article I ran across a while back. I never saw the "passing of the torch" headstock before. https://the-guitar.com/a-heritage-of-guitar-making/

Agreed! I think the standard Les Paul guard looks clunky.

They are currently listing the guitars as Custom Shop Core Collection, which is the "high end" spec (lighter weight mahogany, 225 pickups, 50s C shape neck). Guitars that are "Custom Shop" exclusives like Sweetwaters, appear to be dealer spec'd guitars, much as Wildwood does with Fender and Gibson. If you want to buy enough guitars, I'm sure they'll happily make 25 or 50 with your choice of pickup, color, etc.

It wouldn't matter what Heritage put in the guitars, SOMEBODY would complain and change them. I've seen HRWs panned, and then see them sell for $350 a set, and 225s were listed for the same, when you can get Seth Lovers for $200 a set.

Great tune. I'll gladly join in for it at PSP next year.

If you check mine, it doesn't have a fixed bridge!

There's nothing inside except air!

CVS, This is mine. I picked this up one night at Brents house. LK155 had it at PSP one year and I really liked the guitar. When it became available, I jumped.

Yes, the 525 IS a nice guitar! It surprises me that it wasn't more popular. I actually preferred it to the 575, which for some, is probably sacrilege.

Here's an old video of them building a semihollow. It appears that the main block is maple. You would want a strong wood, since you need to put your neck joint in there, just like a solid body. Its definitely not mahogany, it's way too light colored. You can see the color difference of the mahogany kerfing below. From what I have read, an ES335 will have a maple block and the filler piece is spruce which is kerfed to bend more easily. If you listen closely, I think that he says they use a basswood insert for the filler section that goes between the top and the block. It's about 3:30 into the video. He also explains about doing floating blocks (top is fixed, back is not).

Lets see..... I had an original Fuzz Face. Got stolen around '72. I didn't think it was great, but it was one of the few pedals that you had back then. You didn't have 247 different fuzz pedals! Replaced it with a Jordan Boss Tone that plugged into the front of the Jaguar. Great for doing Satisfaction and Inna Gadda Da Vita. I eventully traded that for an EEPROM burner many years later. The knobs were broken where the whammy bar would swing around and hit the plastic. I covered it up later with a piece of Erector set with electrical tape on it to protect it. Got a Fender Blender. Very fizzy. It did fuzz and octave. I don't know where that pedal went. I probably left it at the bass players house. All told those 3 would probably fetch you 2 or 3 grand today. At the time, I was out about $100 total. Pedals back then were much cheaper! Most of the time, I simply turned my Guild Thunderbird amp to 10 and if you toggled the 3 way tone switch between two settings, it was almost like doing the jumper on a Marshall. The amp was only about 35 watts, so it would really distort when full up. Today, I don't use fuzz, I prefer the OD. Klon style and Tube Screamer have been my mainstays, although I really like the Blues Driver that Pete Farmer lent me at PSP. It wasn't so midrangy like a TS. Haven't bought one yet but it will happen. I haven't decided if I'll get the standard or WazaCraft model. I have a Soul Food, but I replaced it with a NotaKlon. It sounded smoother to me, and was less noisy. My preference is for a smoother, creamy overdrive, not a harsh biting sound. I like the sustain for soloing.

Sorry to hear this. RIP LedZef.

That's funny, micing the floor to hear your tapping. I once read an interview with Paul McCartney, and he said there's one thing EVERYONE does wrong when they play Blackbird. He said that nobody ever taps their foot, and that was something he did on purpose! Nice pickin', Daniel.

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.

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!

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.

I can't think of a more eloquent way of putting the HOC and PSP in perspective. Yes, this is a hobby for most of us, but the friendships are what make it all worthwhile. Well said!

You mention the neck/body junction, but I don't see a photo of that joint. Perhaps I am not understanding the nature of the problem. Is the problem only with the binding, or is there a more structural issue with the neck joint? While I personally would not have an issue with the offcenter dots, it clearly is a fault. Your best recourse is to deal with the seller. If he is an authorized dealer, he should act as the bridge between you and the factory. Having modified the guitar with the Bigsby may present a problem. Changing the binding on the neck would be one way to remedy the situation, and I fear that it could result in more visible flaws. The dots are knocked in by hand, so the dot could be drilled out by hand, filled and redrilled for the new dot.