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Hi, I play autumn leaves with Heritage's archtop guitar. If you have time, please listen to it. Thank you.

I talk to Marv regularly. He is doing well. Enjoying his daughters and grand and great grandchildren. Always fun to talk to him. He has so much knowledge.

Marv's granddaughter posted this on Facebook. Rare Bird Sighting! A few weeks ago, I posted looking for leads on a MarvBird—a special guitar made by luthier Marvin Lamb, who also happens to be my grandfather. My husband became obsessed with the hunt and started digging everywhere. And thanks to one of YOU, we were blessed with the opportunity to bring one home to the family! Thank you for all the love you continue to show for Marvin’s craft and legacy—it means the world to us.

Hello! I picked up an early piece of Heritage history this week. It is a 1985 H-140 finished in May. I’ve never owned one so early. It has suffered a headstock break and repair, but it was done properly and feels like glass running my hand over it. It came with black plastics and cheap generic Chinese humbuckers. I put a set of Gibson Burstbucker 1 and 2 I had laying around in and it sounds so much better. The only downside is that I had to over pay a bit for it. The seller was tough but the fact that it was built so early on plus it plays so well and has a stunningly gorgeous top means I had to get it. Enjoy the pictures!

They made 40 of these.

Rich Severson with Pete Farmer. Interview starts around 1:53. It's a good one.

Remember when ordering a custom from Jay Wolfe, Graham asked my opinion on CNC vs hand carved / cut. All I had was a gut response based on internet chatter. We the end user /consumer of fine guitars know little about building vs manufacturing. We purchase and play. Pete's "wood therapy" displays the vast knowledge gap between the people who visit and work at 225 Parsons. RESPECT

Staying on the history of Marv at Gibson and Heritage. Marv sent me this picture last night. He made this one off when Gibson was still at Parsons St. He called it his Bo Diddley guitar. There is a lot more story behind it. He told me it has the original strings on it from around 1980. I told him it's time for a string change. We had a chuckle about that.

I talked to Marv last night. He sounds good and said he is feeling well. He told me he will be turning 86 this year. He is enjoying life and his offspring that is getting extensive. We were talking about H-357s and the one he is holding. That is one of the Korina models he did. Came from California. He brought up Ron Warren and he hadn't heard he passed. He loved the picture Ron did for him.

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!

Here’s my new Heritage Custom Core H-535.

What an excellent segment: I watched the whole thing Hell of an introduction pretty funny great interview! Rich said something that has resonated with me for some time about guitars: "functional art" Much of a guitar's beauty is based on functional design. It's true: they are objects to be admired. But they go beyond drawings, paintings or most sculptures etc. A musical instrument is a creative tool to be used, to be inspired by, to play, and to generate new ideas. Or just rehash "hang on sloopy" to your hearts content. It's all good.

You mean gorgeous wood like this? I specified no pickguard on this build, but every time I put my right ring finger on that lovely top to anchor my hand, I feel guilty. That's a habit I need to break. (The finger placement, not the guilt.)

I have just lately got back into playing my electric guitars. I went on a 3+ year bender of ONLY playing my acoustics. I did a lot of experimenting with strings and gauges on my acoustics. My conclusion was that most bigger body acoustics(dreadnoughts) thrive with 13s and most smaller body acoustics (small jumbos and OMs) like 12s. But there are some exceptions.... and thus the reason for this reply. I have a beautiful 1957 J-200 Reissue acoustic that you would think based on it's large size would love heavier (13s) strings. But I read many acoustic forums that the heavier strings can "choke" the top and sacrifice tone on a J-200. Well, I didn't believe it until I tried it. Heavier strings (13s) took all the projection and life out of the J-200, so I immediately put 12s back on. So I think string gauges and even brands, can vary from guitar to guitar based on the design and the brand producing the guitar.

Since we are sharing H550 pics....My 550.

Wowzers. Fab new guitar from Heritage.

No. Eagles were Classic, Golden and Super. Never a number that I saw.

well what is sound & volume? air pressure more speakers = more air pressure I'm not sure who downvoted my post, lol, but I thought it was informative. I apologise if I offended somebodies sensitivities.

New New Old Stock Tube Day Looking forward to trying out these JAN 6L6WGBs. Got them second hand. Look to be in good shape.

I've had the chance to play the prototype a little while ago. The guitar is very light and resonant. Compared to the Benedetto next to it, it's a toss up. The bracing is carefully shaved. I don't know if it's tap tuned, but the plate was carefully carved and is thin. It takes significantly more time by the best luthiers at Heritage to make this. That was the goal, sort of like the Citation. Another reason the price may be higher than you expect is that there was quite a bit of time put into creating the design and execution of the first guitar. I'll bet Heritage makes 5-10 of these per year max. I would have to be in a much higher tax bracket to get one of these. The first reason is that I would be fearful of the first ding. The second reason is that the tone caters to those with exquisite tonal taste when in the hands of a master. That's not me. The design, and yes, the headstock, is elegant. When you see and hold it, you'll know you are in the presence of something special. I wish Heritage all the luck with this. It brings the company to a notch higher in the acoustic jazz world, for sure. Personally I'd like inlays for appearance sake. I don't know if that's guilding the lilly though.

You never know... Someone did pay $6.2 million for a banana duct taped to a wall. I have 3 bananas on the kitchen counter, a roll to tape in the garage, and several walls available. For $6M, I'll tape each to a wall, and throw in the house that has the walls attached for free!

I will STRONGLY second this statement about the Heritage CC tuners being complete crap, compared to how amazing the guitar is. I was able to find some aged nickel Gotoh tuners on Ebay for my aged 150 CC. They look better and are lighter than the originals, are drop-in no mods, and are rock-steady in tuning.

This is a photo taken for a story by a local paper in 2013. It just so happens that Marv was working on a couple of 357s. The one on the bench is mine and the one Marv is holding is Bolero's. I know mine is the one on the bench as it was running a few weeks behind waiting on my custom fret board, "From them boys down in Tennessee". Marv sent me several in process shots of the build, but it's nice to have an action shot of the build. https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2013/02/love_where_you_live_photos_by.html

here is the headstock

If it has a belly cut it is probably a H-150 Deluxe. They were numbered.

I complained about his tone. It made me look like a beginner.

I was told that when Heritage used to make Archtops, they only tap-tuned the one with floating pickups.... so maybe these are tap-tuned. Personally, I prefer the tone of humbucker archtops. Vince Lewis told me to my face that floating pickup archtops are fine for "solo jazz", but he said if you are going to be playing with other instruments/musicians then floater archtops are near impossible to use. He said the feedback is awful on floater archtops when you play with a band, their volume is too low, and they won't cut through a mix for solos. I respect Vince's opinions.

Every Heritage that I have owned (over 12 of them) I replaced with Faber locking ABR1 bridge and locking stoptail. On Faber's website, it says, "Bridges for Heritage guitars".

I have it on good authority that the caterers provide those free dinners for the exposure....

Third party validation is good. Last night at the gig, someone who had seen us play before asked me if the guitar was new. She said it sounded different and really good. Nice to hear that the improvement wasn't just in my head. It feels like a fuller tone with more gravity, if that makes sense. Definitely no bends though. It is limiting in that way. Slides, hammer-ons, and pull-offs only.

A couple years ago, I bought a used Collings 290 wraptail from Willcutt Guitars and got a KILLER deal on it. Before I bought it, I asked the store manager (Eric, who is also a good pal of mine) what P-90s are in the guitar. He said that he thought they were Lollar P90s but wasn't exactly sure because it was a used guitar, but he said that what ever P90s are in it I won't want to change them because they sound incredible. The guitar was mint and it was such a good price that I didn't push the issue. I got it home and played it, and they did sound incredible! Well, I changed the stings and looked under the covers.... the guitar came with Throbak '52/'54 P90s!!! My killer deal got EVAN BETTER!!! So yes, I have Throbaks in my Collings 290 wraptail.

Ha! It’s all the free dinners at the gigs that really helps to put the big bills in the pocket.

This one does not have a huge neck. Very comfortable medium C.

I have found Lollar's P-90s to vary from set to set and also to sound better in different guitars. I loved the Lollar P-90s in the 535 P90 guitar I sold to Daniel Rockabilly and the Lollar p-90s that came in my Collings gold top City Limits. I tried a couple different sets of P-90s in the Collings, and to my surprise the Lollars sounded the best. My personal favorite P-90s are the Throbak '52/'54 P-90s with plenty of grit and growl. But Throbak's prices have really increased since the pandemic and they are quite an investment now.

And he continued on to answer such a basic question. Every guitar player I interact with consider your query fundamental. It has been addressed here multiple times which is precisely why I wholeheartedly agree with bolero’s frustrations. Sit back, take a deep breath and consider thanking him for sharing his knowledge and experiences. You got far more than you paid for.

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.

I had the privilege to have custom Heritage guitars built for me. Here are a few. This is the first Millie they built for me. Marv, me and Jim with the unfinished Millie.

I know he was involved in the H-157 staple single coil model. I think they made a few dozen.

I have no doubt that the build qualify is top notch, my beef is only with the cosmetics. My 575 and my Florentine Golden Eagle were (to my eyes) GORGEOUS. Again, my only beef with the H 717 is the cosmetics. I am sure it is an amazing built and exceptional sounding guitar. To me, this is what a classy jazz box should look like.....

Nice Tele Kitty! I've never tried the BG1400 with a P90 because I record alot around computer monitors so I like noiseless Teles, but I bet that combo sounds great! My main Tele, which I built, has a Tyson Tone Lab Precious and Grace humbucker in the neck, and the BG`1400 in the bridge. The body is an Allen Eden Body made from Paulownia wood, and it's light as a feather. It's the best Tele that I've ever owned and one the best Teles I've ever heard. It's the one that really got me into the BG1400...

wow that's a beauty! B serial & a stinger drool

why do 4x12 cabs sound louder than what? a 1x12? seriously? more speaker surface area also improves bass response. That's why bass cabs can use a bunch of 10" or 8" ( or even smaller ) speakers. smaller speaker cones are also faster, so a big 15" speaker may have more bass than a 10", but is slower & less responsive. usually. Throw a bunch of 10" speakers in & they're faster, and have the same low end as a 15" speaker cabinet design is a whole other can of worms: ported, not ported, direct radiator, passive radiator, horn loaded, diimensions & size, shape etc all factor in

It definitely is reasonably priced for what it is, and now that Gibson has pretty much pulled out of that market entirely, it was time for Heritage to get back into it. Still, I'd think you'd at least be able to specify a color for that price. Then again, compared to flat top acoustics, archtops are definitely a much higher end and more limited market item. I was always amazed at how Heritage was able to offer different types of archtops at a relatively low price compared to G-brands. I wonder how it compares to the archtops that Heritage used to make like the Sweet 16. Which of them were tap tuned? I admit I never paid nearly as much attention to the Jazz Box side of things.

I'm still in mourning over the closure of the "The Tube Shop", which is where I got a lot of ANOS (As New Old Stock Used) preamp tubes, as well as some NOS rectifier tubes. Yes it was all order by email and they would get back to you, but I got some great tubes at nice prices. There's still KCA Nos Tubes out there, which has some good deals on the ANOS tubes. JJ Tubes, unfortunately are now the tube of choice for a lot of amp companies, as they can withstand high cathode follower voltages, and are rugged. My Mesa Mark V was full of them when I got it, and I think my Friedman JEL-50 probably is as well. When I get some time I've gotta get rollin' rollin' rollin'. Keep those tubes a rollin'.

I am 100% in favor of spending the money on NOS PREAMP tubes. They sound great (better than current production preamp tubes) and last at least 10-12-15 years with regular use. As far as paying top dollar for NOS power tubes, no thanks. I never heard a difference and I really like the Tungsol RI, TAD, and other reissue power tubes. The main preamp and power tubes that I (personally) can't stand are JJ tubes. To me they are sterile and lifeless. Yea, they work, but that's about all they do well. I had two sets of JJ power tubes redline and have a major failure, nearly ruined a Carr Rambler amp that I used to have. No other power tubes failed on me like the JJs did.

Pulled the trigger on this one. Nice fit and finish. Played it a little bit and pickups are a hotter than the 535 type. Here is an honest review on them. I agree with everything he said.