brentrocks Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Living close to Kalamazoo, I see a lot of odd-duck Heritages come around. Somebody sold this prototype H 150 to GC 2 weeks ago and i just had to have it!!! It was an experiment using a laminate for the neck. Heritage used this material for many of the Heritage Gerry Gessie "little one" signature models in the late 90s, early 2000s. The body is a normal H 150...one piece mahogany back with a bookmatched flame maple top....but the neck is a tasty palate of colors within the laminate. I heard from some of the people at Heritage that this material was very dangerous to work with and very difficult to manipulate....probably the reason these models never made it into production. I took it home today and immediately dissasembled the guitar down to the naked wood. The previous owner must have worn a ring, because there was a ton of scratches and scrapes near the pots and the toggle. So i buffed all the fine scratches out, front and back....it turned out great!!!! Next, it was upgrade and re-assembly......I took out the old, cheap mexican pots that Heritage used to used in the late 90s. Installed new CTS 500k pots and Russian PIO .022 caps and locking Grovers. Then put in the stock Schaller pickups.... Then i finished putting the guitar back together.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 It's the luck of the Brentster at it once again!! Is that a slim taper, multi-lam, multi-color, multi-mojo neck profile? No serial number, etc. on the back of the headstock. What does the control panel interior label indicate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davesultra Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Freaky, yet cool looking neck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoslate Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Helluva top!! Bet that neck is really stable, as the weather changes. Don't know why, but, intuitively, seems that guitar might be a little neck-heavy. Is that a matte finish on the neck, Brent? Interesting piece! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredZepp Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Nice job detailing this one. Man... that neck is a trip... that one will be straight until the end of time. I was expecting the red/white/ blue laminate.. That one is unusual for sure, but you'd only know from the back.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brentrocks Posted June 14, 2012 Author Share Posted June 14, 2012 It's the luck of the Brentster at it once again!! Is that a slim taper, multi-lam, multi-color, multi-mojo neck profile? No serial number, etc. on the back of the headstock. What does the control panel interior label indicate? it is a slim taper. the back plate says serial #001 prototype, one of a kind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fxdx99 Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Like the way that looks. Yeh, nice detailing/update on it, Brent. I've always suspected that much of a guitar's voicing comes from the neck, but haven't validated it myself (someday wanna get a few teles and design an experiment around that). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brentrocks Posted June 14, 2012 Author Share Posted June 14, 2012 Helluva top!! Bet that neck is really stable, as the weather changes. Don't know why, but, intuitively, seems that guitar might be a little neck-heavy. Is that a matte finish on the neck, Brent? Interesting piece! it is a matte finish on the neck. its not very neck heavy though. its not as stable as i thought it would be...de-tuning and retuning while i was doing all the setup stuff, it did move a little. but ill have to see in the next few days how it does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 A conversation piece! An historical item with looks good enough to make it an everyday player too. Nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 I forgot to ask: what is dangerous about the laminate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brentrocks Posted June 14, 2012 Author Share Posted June 14, 2012 I forgot to ask: what is dangerous about the laminate? it splinters really bad, i guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big bob Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 My goodness, where do you get these things!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Flying Bird Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 That's a wild looking one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredZepp Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 I found this description of the laminated wood used in the Little One... The wood is the amazing part of this story. It is similar to maple in density but more water resistant. It is used in high end firearm stocks, archery bows, and for some military applications. Thin slices were soaked in vats of dye until the color filled the wood. The slices were then glued together. The laminate block was then cut at an angle to give the striped appearance. The neck itself consists of over 30 laminates. Note in the control cavity that the dye is completely through the wood. There is no finish on the wood. It is impervious to water. Heritage recommends applying furniture polish to it twice a year. The neck is stronger than maple and should never crack.The tone is bright and is full spectrum with great lows and highs. The sound is amazingly good and is NOT a compromise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandownunder Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 wow..... what an awesome looking neck... love it!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HANGAR18 Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 An awesome find! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trouble Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 So if you decide to sell it I would love a shot at that one Brent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Wow, that is cool. Reminds me of Martain's X series. Very cool guitar. Congrats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GASguy Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 That is a very beautiful top on that one of a kind Heritage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golferwave Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 I've never seen one of those Brent...Really cool!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schundog Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 The Master strikes again! Very cool, brother. As cool as the neck is, I'm digging the top even more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brentrocks Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 thanks so much guys! i really miss the Schallers...i was going to put a set of SD Alnico IIs in it, but im not so sure now? I have a set of HRWs i could drop in, but i think i will stick with the Schallers for now? The neck seems to be settling in...it is really hot n humid here and all of my guitars are going sharp. I think you are right Rob...this is a really stable neck material, after 4 hours of the initial setup, it was still in tune. I had to get a off brand case for it because it was sold without a case...i found one on GC.com for $50...its not a SKB, but it will do the trick. I keep looking at this top and wondering why they used shch a great top on a prototype? and its thick too! when i had the pups out, it was all of 3/4 thick!! It was peppered with scratches and the back had a huge discolored spot, which i thought was from a stand or something like that. I was amazed at how well everything buffed out, its not factory perfect, but its 200% better than it was....the spot on the back buffed out completely! and 90% of the scuffs and scrapes on that beautiful top came out! I think the oddness of the neck paired with the scratches and minor improfections, made this one a great, wallet friendly DIY project! It did have a Schaller tailpiece, but i decided to go with a nashville style tail to match the existing bridge....and a new set of Rotometric locking Grovers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hfan Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Nice Brent, great top, what finish is that? Give the Schallers a shot, I like them in my 157.The neck looks like the one on my mini Martin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbp810 Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Well it certainly went to the right home to get her back to optimal health! That is interesting on how/why they put such a great top on it... but it really sort of turns an otherwise odd bird into one helluva a great looking guit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brentrocks Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 Nice Brent, great top, what finish is that? Give the Schallers a shot, I like them in my 157.The neck looks like the one on my mini Martin. i think it was going to be burnt amber...but it is more rootbeer-ish....i love it!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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