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Heritage Owners Club

H-555 Owners...Opinions Please!


Gitfiddler

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OK, yes, I love Heritage archtops and solid body gits.  But if you want the absolute best of both worlds from Heritage, is it their glamorous semi-hollow H-555?

 

For those of you who are lucky enough to own one of these beauties, please tell us what you think about Heritage's top dog in the semi-hollow kennel.  :)

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:uwp:

 

;D

 

Don't know the first thing about the 555, I'll have to go and look at the specs.  Congrats on the grab, now post some pr0n!

Like a fancy 535.  Maple neck, ebony board, gold plated parts, bound peg head and f holes (?), fancy in-lays.

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I promise photos as soon as it arrives.  It will blow your minds!!  Unfortunately that may take a few weeks. 

 

One feature that made me take this big leap was the mahogany neck.  H555's usually come with multiple lam., flamey maple necks, but now you can order mahogany, a much warmer sounding tone-wood.  I was leaning towards a solid body Heritage, but this one stole my heart...and emptied my wallet.

 

Photos and a full review coming...stay tuned.

 

But what do other H555 owners have to say about this model??

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To answer you question...I LOVE MINE! Very responsive guitar, looks fabulous (sorry no pics, no camera), and the gold hardware sets it way above the rest. Mine is in Burnt Amber which really compliments the gold hardware. My H-555 was actually the first Heritage I owned, bought it from Jay, who else! I became so in love with it it caused me to buy three more Heritages, and I'm looking for another. The guitar has a very warm sound but can also scream, really songs on jazz, blues and my favorite for playing "Black Magic Woman" on through my Fender Concert Reverb. Hope that helps, enjoy.

 

Graham

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Like a fancy 535.  Maple neck, ebony board, gold plated parts, bound peg head and f holes (?), fancy in-lays.

 

You forgot to mention that it has a great ebony fret board.  I love mine it has a variety of great tones that it can achieve.  My favorite is to play it through my Tweed Princeton at a volume where it just starts to over drive.  It gives me such a nice raw bluesy sound.

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So, I got the guitar yesterday and love it.

 

I'm comparing to my Epiphone Dot, both ES335 type guitars.

 

The fit/finish/QC of the Heritage is good. There is room for improvement - a couple dust specs in the binding, fretboard binding not cut 100% perfect. Those are it's only issues. The few Heritages that I have had in my hands have had similar issues, so it's to be expected with this brand.

 

The fit and finish is quite comparable to my Epiphone at 1/6th of the price. That is not a knock against Heritage. It's just to say that when you get your hands on a good Epi, they can compare to the big boys.

 

The Heritage plays better than the Epi. I like the neck much more on the Heritage. The Epi's neck is quite thick.

 

At first, when I plugged in the Heritage, I thought that the two guitars sounded the same but after playing until 3am last night, there is a difference. The Heritage wins out, it's much more dynamic than the Epi. New strings on both. HRW pickups on the Heritage.

 

It's sounds excellent!

 

lightcolorcontrast.com - click on "Guitar" for some family pics.

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OK...I'll fess up.

 

I just made a deal on an H-555...and I'm trolling for justification from my other Heritage enablers!  8)

 

I CAN'T STAND WAITING FOR A NEW GUITAR!!!!!!!!!  :'(

 

:uwp:

 

 

OK fellow Heritage enablers, here's a few glamor shots of the forthcoming H-555 from Mr. Wolfe.  What cha think?

 

 

http://www.gbase.com/Stores/Gear/GearDetai...px?Item=1654761

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Hi all.  I had to join this club, because I am lucky enough to be the proud owner of an H555. The guitar is so nice I can't bring myself to put a strap on it. I took the pickguard off so I wouldn't scratch it! Gitfiddler, you won't be disappointed. I'm converted to Heritage. It's not just a fantastic instrument - they keep the price down so it's an unbeatable value. Ebony, maple, abalone, mother-of-pearl, PLEKed, hand-bound, etc. The H555 is one nice axe!  The pics don't do it justice. Nice to meet you all.

mine 027.jpg

mine 027.jpg_thumb

mine 009.jpg

mine 009.jpg_thumb

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And that is an outrageous H575! I just pulled the neck pickup to check it, as I bought the guitar on ebay. The sticker on the pickup says " Heritage Guitar Pickup By: Rendal Wall". And the letters HRW are scratched onto the baseplate. Hmm. Think I know what HRW might stand for. From what I've read HRW's are a good thing to have. Your 555 has more flame to it. Why's it taking so long to get delivered, Gitfiddler?

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IT ARRIVED...IT ARRIVED...IT ARRIVED!!!

 

What a beautiful instrument in person.  Much more rich looking in person than in photos.  The flame on the top and back is intense.  My wife immediately named it 'Palamino'.

 

The guitar is flawless.  Smooth and straight Mahogany Neck.  Pleked Frets:  Perfect.  Intonation:  Perfect.  White Binding:  Perfect.  Electronics:  HRW's sound great with sweet overtones when pushed, and tone pots are very musical and have a smooth taper.  Great sustainnnnnnnnnn.

 

Most importantly, the tone is to die for.  I tested it out on my Mark IV for '6L6' cleans for jazz, slight overdriven blues and over the top overdrive for rockin.  This baby can do it all with no sweat.    It can do jazz and funk better than most.  It sounds like an archtop...but with a clarity most big bodies do not have.

 

HRW's are all that and a bag of chips!!!!  I want another set for my H575!!  They are never muddy.  They sound to me like a the best attributes of Classic 57's and Seth Lovers.

 

I took it to band rehearsal and played it through a Peavey Delta Blues 15.  Oh my that was good stuff.  The band kept staring at it like a naked nymph was in their midst.  I found myself checking her out in one of the full sized wall mirrors.  Man, what a site.

 

Thanks Jay and Graham for a great deal on an even greater guitar.

 

Tim

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Congratulations, Gitfiddler. It comforts me to know there's someone out there who knows just how fine the H555 is. Sure hope they keep making 'em cause I wouldn't mind getting another one. Superior to the vast majority of semi-hollows, don't you think ?

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