Gitfiddler

At a minimum, they could have had a 40th Anniversary truss rod cover to set them apart...

And it has a flame maple pickguard like the originals! 😍

@rockabilly69...Very cool thread and great playing, as usual. You rung out that old rig. Here's another historical reference to Leo Fender (and many other heros of electric guitar and amp fame) that is a great read. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Birth_of_Loud/VDxqDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover

While surfing the inter-web, I found this ad for a Heritage Guitars coffee table book by Victor H. Dvorak. It was published in 2012! I never knew this existed! I didn't order one ($82.00 is a bit hefty) but wanted to pass the info along to ya'll. Click on the link below for a page-by-page preview: https://www.blurb.com/b/3614926-the-heritage-guitar-inc The Heritage Guitar, Inc. of 225 Parsons Street Kalamazoo, Michigan by Victor H. Dvorak

@Teaky...Congratulations on your beautiful H555!!!

Then there are some guys like Tower Of Power guitarist Bruce Conte, who are SO badass, that they even wear out the pickguard! 🙂

I know ya'll have seen this pic before, but in the spirit of this thread I'll share once again. Marv built and sprayed my #1 (H-525 Custom) that includes his 50's stye thick neck carve. Man, I love this beast of a guitar!

When I had an H550 I used nothing but flatwound 12's, and it sounded great. Since 550's are plywood/laminate top guitars, shouldn't they be durable enough for 13's or 14's? I miss this big blonde gitfiddle.

Now that's a gorgeous archtop! And Henry Johnson is the perfect player to endorse it. Unfortunately it's priced over my pay grade at $12,999. https://heritageguitars.com/products/custom-shop-core-collection-h-717-archtop-guitar-honey-burst

@TamiGuitar...Awesome CC H535!! <<Congratulations>>

These latest Ascent models remind me of Chinese-made Sire guitars.

If Heritage is currently unable or unwilling to take 'bespoke' custom orders, then they should take down that section of their website. They did offer a few custom builds for NAMM a while back, but I've not seen any customer ordered one-offs in years.

That looks like a one-off "Heritage SAE Custom" model. https://bluebookofguitarvalues.com/products/heritage-sae-custom

Sexy!!!

Since the original founders made MANY custom order guitars back in the early days of Heritage, there should be some Heritage archtops with thick necks. My former H550 and Sweet 16 both had medium neck profiles. And my Golden Eagle has a thin-medium neck. The only Heritage archtop I own with a thick 50's neck is my custom ordered H525.

Sweet rig!

@MartyGrass...Awesome collection! 😍

Awesome! I pulled my 2007 H555 out for a quick comparison In addition to the new larger headstock shape, these new H555's have 5-ply binding around the body (one more than previous models), and 3-ply around the headstock (2 more than before). Interestingly, the f-holes are now unbound. Still, I'm glad to see Heritage bring back its blingy triple nickel semi-hollow. Here's my '07...

Excellent analysis. For me, my first choice will always be a tube amp, with a few pedals. That said, the closest I'll get to a modeler, is my DV Mark Eric Gales Raw Dawg 250. Connected to a 2x12 speaker cab, that tiny box can fill a small auditorium with great tone.

Tad, I think you'd love an 80's Rivera-era Fender Princeton Reverb II. Only 22 watts and 6V6 tubes, but it sounds like a much bigger rig. 🙂

New and used H530's are available from a variety of sellers, and are a great hollow body option. Another option is the much more rare H525. It's tone is a bit thicker due to its 2 1/4""body depth. I believe there is one currently for sale by an HOC member on this board as well as on Reverb.

Awesome Marty! What a thoughtful and generous gift.