TalismanRich
New member
Welcome aboard, DrFred.
Lets see some pics of that Johnny Smith. There aren't that many of them out there.
Lets see some pics of that Johnny Smith. There aren't that many of them out there.
Special Invitation To New Members
- Thread starter Gitfiddler
- Start date
Hello, my name is Rick. Proud owner of a '97 GE and '06 custom 575. Recently retired at 69 I picked up guitar again after a 40yr absence. Ive lurked around here for a while and picked up some pretty good intel so I thought Id join up and mabey be part of the coversation.
Thanks
Thanks
Happy New Year all! Another newb to the family here. I had been away from playing for many years and picked back up last year. Was gifted the chance to get a new guitar at the holidays and went for a new H-535. When it arrived and was taken out of the case my first thought was, now this is an instrument! Made my Fender Strat Pro seem like a toy, (which is saying something really). Am blown away by the feel, fit, and quality of the 535. Playing it, for me, is an experience. Happy to post the thoughts and glad to be here.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Hello my name is Ray.
I have some guitars.
I like guitars.
I wish I could play well.
I have a H-150 Deluxe Limited in Cherry Sunburst. I like it a lot.
I want a Kai Hansen H-157 (or 150?) pinkish/red one that may have only been made for him. ?
Thank you all for having me and Hello All!
I have some guitars.
I like guitars.
I wish I could play well.
I have a H-150 Deluxe Limited in Cherry Sunburst. I like it a lot.
I want a Kai Hansen H-157 (or 150?) pinkish/red one that may have only been made for him. ?
Thank you all for having me and Hello All!
Gitfiddler
Charter Member
To ALL of the newest members......................Welcome to the HOC!!! :wave:
I'm hada535. Like my name says "had a" beautiful 535 that I regret selling. My wife arranged a tour of the Heritage factory about 15-20 years ago. It was a great experience seeing all the old equipment like side bending forms, etc., and talking to the guys working. Before I left I got to go in the office and play the big fancy archtop that they took to shows. I believe it was the American Eagle that was on the front of the catalog. I was given a color catalog signed by Ren and also some picks. I immediately drove to Elderly and bought a used 535 for $800. I enjoyed that guitar for several years. I don't remember what the financial emergency was at the time I sold it. While in the tour, I also saw an archtop with Gretsch on the headstock. I'm not sure what the deal was with that, maybe a one-off or maybe Heritage also made guitars for other companies. It was interesting to see where my old Gibson mandolins and guitars were made. I no longer have those, unfortunately. Seems there was another factory upstairs at the time. Been awhile. Highly recommended if they still give tours.
Scatterbrain
New member
Hello everyone. Just bought my first Heritage tonight. Thought I would introduce myself. Been playing since I was 8 years old. I've been through a lot of guitars over the years. I am down to 5, now 6, I guess.
I did a lot of investigating before I bought this guitar but I'm hoping for the best. H150 custom core artisan aged dirty lemon. Couldn't find the top I wanted without the aging, oh well.
Just thought I would say hello and introduce myself. This is my virgin run please be gentle! LOL
I did a lot of investigating before I bought this guitar but I'm hoping for the best. H150 custom core artisan aged dirty lemon. Couldn't find the top I wanted without the aging, oh well.
Just thought I would say hello and introduce myself. This is my virgin run please be gentle! LOL
Last edited by a moderator:
skydog52
Well-known member
Hi All!
New member, and proud owner of an H535 I was very fortunate to find (used, see pic!). This guitar has a bit of sentimental value as well. Kalamazoo is just a short drive down the street! I am completely in awe of how amazing it is. It's loaded with the Seth lover pickups, and could not be more impressed with them.
New member, and proud owner of an H535 I was very fortunate to find (used, see pic!). This guitar has a bit of sentimental value as well. Kalamazoo is just a short drive down the street! I am completely in awe of how amazing it is. It's loaded with the Seth lover pickups, and could not be more impressed with them.
groovedoggie
New member
Much as Scatterbrain mentioned above, I've been playing a long time and have had just over 100 guitars that I can remember. Lately, it's been more about the quality rather than the number of guitars. I had around 14 a couple of months ago and started paring them down through some trades. At a local shop (Bet on Vets in the DFW area - great guys!) I traded three lower-priced guitars for a PRS S2 24 Standard that I love. Through a trade with a local guy I took in a PRS SE Silver Sky which I wasn't expecting to love, but it is a phenomenal guitar! I still had my JV Modified Strat and Tele, but there were three others that I just never bonded with.
Went to the Dallas International Guitar Festival a couple of weekends ago and was browsing the amazing inventory of Jimmy Wallace Guitars (located nearby in Garland, TX). It was there that I saw a rack of Heritage guitars. I was always interested in the Heritage story and loved Marty Shwartz's 535 (I think) on his early videos. I had no intention of buying, but my lovely fiance wiped the drool from the corners of my mouth and one of the builders from the Heritage factory asked if I wanted to test drive any. I spent about half an hour with a 535, but it just wasn't me. Then he handed me a 530. Love at first strum!
I didn't have the scratch to buy right then and there, but my amazing fiance (wife in 5 days!) said she'd buy as an early 60th birthday present (on May 27). I didn't feel right having her plunk down that much money, so on the next Tuesday morning, I contacted the shop and asked if they took in trades. This past Saturday I brought in a G&L Fullerton Deluxe S-500, a MIM FSR Strat (tastefully modified), and a Squier 40th Anniversary Jazzmaster. My soon-to-be wife ponied up the balance and I came home with this beauty! I'm having a hard time putting it down - it's an absolutely stellar guitar!!!
View attachment 30818
Went to the Dallas International Guitar Festival a couple of weekends ago and was browsing the amazing inventory of Jimmy Wallace Guitars (located nearby in Garland, TX). It was there that I saw a rack of Heritage guitars. I was always interested in the Heritage story and loved Marty Shwartz's 535 (I think) on his early videos. I had no intention of buying, but my lovely fiance wiped the drool from the corners of my mouth and one of the builders from the Heritage factory asked if I wanted to test drive any. I spent about half an hour with a 535, but it just wasn't me. Then he handed me a 530. Love at first strum!
I didn't have the scratch to buy right then and there, but my amazing fiance (wife in 5 days!) said she'd buy as an early 60th birthday present (on May 27). I didn't feel right having her plunk down that much money, so on the next Tuesday morning, I contacted the shop and asked if they took in trades. This past Saturday I brought in a G&L Fullerton Deluxe S-500, a MIM FSR Strat (tastefully modified), and a Squier 40th Anniversary Jazzmaster. My soon-to-be wife ponied up the balance and I came home with this beauty! I'm having a hard time putting it down - it's an absolutely stellar guitar!!!
View attachment 30818
TalismanRich
New member
Groovedoggie,
Isn't it great when you pick up a guitar and it sings to you? Nice choice on the 530.
Isn't it great when you pick up a guitar and it sings to you? Nice choice on the 530.
groovedoggie
New member
I still can't get over this one. I've had enough guitars to have become quite proficient at setting them up. This one required nothing - there's nothing to improve upon! Well... I may try some flatwound strings...
Thanks for the warm welcome!
Hello,
I've owned a Heritage guitar since the early 2000s that I bought on ebay. I'd not picked up a guitar in a lot of years until recently, but I've been playing as much as I can fit into my schedule for the last couple months and my go-to is this heritage and it's gotten me to want to know more about it, as it's a bit of an enigma. I can't find the exact date, or the details around the purchase because I don't have access to the college email address I used in those days, alas. The story the seller told then was that the guitar was a prototype that an endorsee was given as a gift, which I was dubious of then and remain skeptical today. I've recently started playing again and this guitar really thrills me so I'd like to try to unearth it's past.It has no serial number, and I can't see any physical reason to think a number was removed (I assume that would leave a sign, or discoloration of some sort?), although the idea that that might be the case scares me since it probably wouldn't have been removed for good reasons.It doesn't match the specs of an h140, but I think it must have been some variation of that? It's a light (7.8 lb), thin bodied Les Paul style guitar with covered pickups and wasn't ever drilled for a pickguard. The pickups are Schallers, the tuners are Grovers, and the bridge is stamped Made in Germany. I can't find any marking in the pickup or electronic cavities that would indicate a date or anything else of that sort to me.
This guitar is a real beauty. I struggle to find a burst that compares (to my humble tastes, I'm not all that attracted to the excessively flamed ones), and it plays great (to my limited ability's ability to judge these things).
I've attached a picture of the body- I've got tons more (and can take anything you'd like) of pictures if anything would help.
Thank you for your time.
I've owned a Heritage guitar since the early 2000s that I bought on ebay. I'd not picked up a guitar in a lot of years until recently, but I've been playing as much as I can fit into my schedule for the last couple months and my go-to is this heritage and it's gotten me to want to know more about it, as it's a bit of an enigma. I can't find the exact date, or the details around the purchase because I don't have access to the college email address I used in those days, alas. The story the seller told then was that the guitar was a prototype that an endorsee was given as a gift, which I was dubious of then and remain skeptical today. I've recently started playing again and this guitar really thrills me so I'd like to try to unearth it's past.It has no serial number, and I can't see any physical reason to think a number was removed (I assume that would leave a sign, or discoloration of some sort?), although the idea that that might be the case scares me since it probably wouldn't have been removed for good reasons.It doesn't match the specs of an h140, but I think it must have been some variation of that? It's a light (7.8 lb), thin bodied Les Paul style guitar with covered pickups and wasn't ever drilled for a pickguard. The pickups are Schallers, the tuners are Grovers, and the bridge is stamped Made in Germany. I can't find any marking in the pickup or electronic cavities that would indicate a date or anything else of that sort to me.
This guitar is a real beauty. I struggle to find a burst that compares (to my humble tastes, I'm not all that attracted to the excessively flamed ones), and it plays great (to my limited ability's ability to judge these things).
I've attached a picture of the body- I've got tons more (and can take anything you'd like) of pictures if anything would help.
Thank you for your time.
kbp810
New member
The story does sound a little fishy; but it is certainly plausible. They've let a few enigmas out the door there over the years.
If it was indeed a prototype build (or perhaps it was an employee build), then could make sense that it would have some mismatched specs. I'd also think this would likely put it's build date in the very early years of Heritage, 85/86. Just a wild guess though.
I assume no markings inside the control cavity either? Usually they'd leave a sticker on the plate, but I'm sure you would have seen that since it's sounds like you've had it opened up.
Maybe post a picture of the front of the headstock and inside the control cavity? Just thinking of anything that might help provide some additional clues.
Either way, welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing!
If it was indeed a prototype build (or perhaps it was an employee build), then could make sense that it would have some mismatched specs. I'd also think this would likely put it's build date in the very early years of Heritage, 85/86. Just a wild guess though.
I assume no markings inside the control cavity either? Usually they'd leave a sticker on the plate, but I'm sure you would have seen that since it's sounds like you've had it opened up.
Maybe post a picture of the front of the headstock and inside the control cavity? Just thinking of anything that might help provide some additional clues.
Either way, welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing!