unikh550 Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Ordered my 1st and only, a H-550, in '98, through an Akron, OH dealer who was at a guitar show in IL. Had called Gibson and other companies to see if they would make a guitar as close to Barney Kessel's 350 as possible. Already had a CC pickup off of a ES-175CC. Heritage agreed to make the H-550 so that there was extra support in the top to support the 1 lb. weight of the CC. Is at Pete Moreno's getting a refinish and minor repairs. Was a well-played gamble since I knew nothing about Heritage before then. On a recent visit, Marv Lamb held it and said that he remembered having played a part in its build.Amazing how they would have remembered making it. They must have made at least 20,000 guitars by now.- Charley Bevell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpuma Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 I bought my 88 Stat Deluxe back in 1989 in Rome (Italy) with the money I saved working as an encyclopedia salesman during my first year of college. Back then, Heritage Guitars was not very well known and I was very inexperienced and a lousy player (I still am both). However the owner of the store was a good friend of my first teacher and he really pushed me to buy it. He did not really need to push that hard, the guitar was (and still is) really awesome. We now spent 23 years together and it's funny that I ended up living in Chicago, so close to her home. I still can't play her the way she deserves to be played but I still love her like day 1! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffB Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Because it was the only single cut, maple cap, mahogany body, two humbucker, stop tail guitar that seemed to be worth buying during the 3mnths I was looking for a guitar like that. Played right, sounded right, felt right. Love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretless Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Brent's House of Heritage . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredZepp Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Brent's House of Heritage . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yavuz Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 I have seen my 575 @ online shop of Ed Roman guitars. Bought w/o playing. So glad I did. I now have a millie as well. My first Heritage ( a 575 ): Recently custom ordered a millie: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeljames Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 I remember when dealers just started carrying them. They looked alot like Gibsons! Beautiful! I asked about them. Was told how Heritage came about. Took a couple of years, but thats how it happened for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AP515 Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 I learned about H a few years ago when I traded for a H535. Fate was against me though as I was down on my luck and had to sell it. This time around I was looking for a good LP (they can be hard to find). Found a H150CM GT and I really like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
campcookie Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 I thought I was looking for a Gibson ES335 when I saw a pic of the Heritage 555 on Craigslist. Thats when I learned all about Heritage. I have a soft spot for these type of stories and guitar builders, being a proud owner of a Stuart L Mossman Great Plains acoustic. And the more I thought about it the more it seemed like pure karma.... I just had to have it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoslate Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Sam told me to. Sam was never wrong about guitars.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HRB853370 Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 While researching guitar companies, I actually came across the history of the company first. That persuaded me to buy one brand new from Wolfe Guitars. I was looking at Les Pauls at the time, and when I found out how much (how little?) my 150 would cost compared to the cost of a LP, and all the other intangibles that we love about how they are made, it was a pure no brainer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuz Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 To answer the original question why did I first buy a Heritage Guitar.... To play Rock & Roll and thus pick up chicks (yea, so I got my first one around 8 years ago when I was 37.....), Yea to learn to play Rock & Roll and dream about chicks! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWALKER Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Like others have said, from researching guitar makers, Heritage seemed to be about the best choice out there for a hollow body or semi hollow body guitar. I have never really liked LP's, so my interest is in all the Heritage HB's and SHB's. I have owned a H-555, and a H-575, and I liked both. At the time I had these, I was gassing hard for Strat and Tele style guitars, so I sold them. Now, i have a great Strat, and I still want a Tele, but Tele's are everywhere, so I have really missed having a hollow body. I have auditioned two Eagles, and I really liked them. I am slated to get my first Sweet 16 on Wednesday 05-23-12, and as luck would have it, I will be out of town that day and the next. I will hopefully have her when I come back though, as I have made arrangements for my 18 year old to get her. I have said all that to finally say this, that in all my searching for a great archtop or a 335 type guitar, so far, it has been a Heritage guitar that has been the best. I have tried Gibson ,Ibanez, and PRS, but nothing has been the equal of a Heritage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 For me it is all about the local connection. I first learned about these great guitars because they were made here locally in Kalamazoo. I had a few friends who were old-timers at the Gibson plant and knew of a few that had worked at Heritage. I walked over to the factory on my lunch hour one day and popped in and by chance talked to Ren. That was all that was needed for me to know I had to figure out a way to one day own one of those masterpieces. I played one at a friends house a short time later then started plotting. One came up on the market that was owned by a friend that was more of an acoustic player... we struck up a deal and I've been happy ever since. It did take me a little while to get use to how responsive it was - and less forgiving - as compared to what I had been playing. Now I wouldn't have it any other way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 To answer the original question why did I first buy a Heritage Guitar.... To play Rock & Roll and thus pick up chicks (yea, so I got my first one around 8 years ago when I was 37.....), Yea to learn to play Rock & Roll and dream about chicks! LOL Why does anyone want to play guitar, really? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuz Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 To answer the original question why did I first buy a Heritage Guitar.... To play Rock & Roll and thus pick up chicks (yea, so I got my first one around 8 years ago when I was 37.....), Yea to learn to play Rock & Roll and dream about chicks! LOL OK I was joking. the main reason for me was Heritage was the original Gibsons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big bob Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Im am so ashamed to say this but I just can't keep it inside any more. The big kids made me do it! they said if I did not buy a Heritage guitar they would beat me up. They also said if I ever told anyone they would come back and beat me up. Now I'm just gonna sit here and wait for them! At least I told someone. But seriously, I wanted an archtop, and had wanted one for quite sometime. I drove to elderly in Lansing and played every last one they had. There were two that stood out to me. 1. the 575 that I bought, if I remember correctly I paid 1650.00 for it brand spanking new in 1999. 2. was a steve Andersen emerald city, what a great guitar, however it did not sound or play any better than the 575 and the sticker was like 5K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ned Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 My teacher has a spruce topped 575 with a floating pickup that is not for sale. I tried. I was playing an old Kay that is remarkable in its own right, but it does not chime like a bell or have overtones standing on top of overtones like that 575. I had no choice but to drive 800 miles round trip one day to buy an old Sweet 16. Wow. Then came Lance's 575.... it can sound like a piano. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big bob Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 My teacher has a spruce topped 575 with a floating pickup that is not for sale. I tried. I was playing an old Kay that is remarkable in its own right, but it does not chime like a bell or have overtones standing on top of overtones like that 575. I had no choice but to drive 800 miles round trip one day to buy an old Sweet 16. Wow. Then came Lance's 575.... it can sound like a piano. Not my 575, your 575 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ned Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 quite right. just wanted to be sure that everyone envisioned the great picture you took of her on the grass. She has spent many happy hours in my house. In fact, haven't played much else in the last month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffmatz Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 I wanted a top quality, great sounding, beautiful archtop at a working man's price. I got that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 Old thread resurrection... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unikh550 Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 Wanted a guitar as much like Barney Kessel's 350 as possible. Bought a Gibson Charlie Christian pickup from Island Guitars in HI by mail, found out about Heritage at a guitar show... and, bingo!- Charley Bevell, Bloomington, IN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredZepp Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 I was trying to find a large archtop with a mandolin styled headstock and it led me here..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barrymclark Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Zombie thread! I posted on this one a couple of years ago! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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