Leaderboard

With some familiar faces for us old timers.

You are really out of touch with today's Heritage Guitars. This isn't 4 old Gibson employees anymore. Two are still alive, two have already passed. Does anyone expect that guys who started working in the late 50s should be building guitars today? These guys are in their 80s. Today, it's a different company. First point about giving them an F for not innovating.... Poppycock. By Jim Deurloo's own admission at PSP last month, when they opened they were making just about anything anyone thought of. Look back at catalogs from 1989 or 1993. Stat, Little One, H-110, SAE and SAE custom, HB1, HB2 and HB IV bass, H-140, Mandolins, banjos, Academy, Prospect, Mark Slaughter, H-574, H-480 acoustic, Parsons Street III and V, Millennium. They tried making unique guitars... they didn't sell. Guitarists wanted the traditional models, 150 and 535 are the bread and butter. The various jazz boxes were well received. I suspect Heritage sells more hollow bodies guitars today than Gibson, who don't even list a traditional jazz box in their current lineup. It's the same reason Fender sells a dozen Strats and a dozen Teles for every Jazzmaster or Jaguar. How many Coronados do you see them sell today? Gibson sells Les Paul, SG and 3xx variants by the truckload. How many Covus, Marauder, Victory or RDs do they sell? They're in the catalog. I don't see many on the Guitar Center wall. As for not having endorsed artists and heavy advertising, that costs money. They simply didn't have the budget to put full page ads in every guitar magazine every month. Perhaps if they had been charging exorbitant prices, they could have bought more ads, but they also might have sold fewer guitars. Gibson, Ibanez, Fender, probably spend more on their annual advertising budget that Heritage made in a year! As for nobody knowing Kenny Burrell, Mimi Fox, or Henry Johnson, you must be looking from a rock perspective. They are well known in the jazz world. Gary Moore had a signature, Alvin Lee did as well. David Paul had the blue jazz box. I've seen Buddy Whittington playing a stock H-140. Alex Skolnick? Having name on the guitar doesn't automatically mean that fans flock to buy them, especially when you have limited production capacity. How many variants of the Stratocaster do you need? Clapton, Beck, Eric Johnson, Jimi Hendrix, Yngwie Malmsteen, Jimmy Vaughn, Stevie Ray, Robert Cray, Cory Wong, Rory Gallagher. That's just part of the artist models. The same goes for Les Paul variants. Reinvent the wheel.. .over and over and over again. Finally, I think you are looking at past history. Today, you can find Heritage guitars at Wolfe, Daves, Eddies, Sweetwater, Chicago Music Exc, Cream City, Jimmy Wallace. That's just the bigger US dealers selling US made guitars. They have an import line, akin to Epiphone, Fender Mexico, Squire or PRS SE. It's not to everyone's liking, but its brand building. And having played samples of the Ascent+ guitars, they actually played quite well. I would have no problem walking on a stage with an Ascent+ 150 or 137. Heritage is doing just fine. They are shipping out guitars by the dozen, not 2 or 3 a week. It's a different company.

Yeah, it's the horn that's going to make or break a guitar. You simply can't play a guitar if the horn doesn't have the exact dimensions of that someone drew up 70 years ago and endorsed by a Youtube personality. Sorry, I don't get your point other than trying to start a pissing match. Oh yeah, that horn of which you speak has changed numerous times over the years at that "other company". Personally, I think it's the silly poker chip that is holding back the Les Paul player from being successful. Seriously, if the stupid guitar player has to stop, look down at the front of his guitar and decide if he's playing rhythm or "treble", he needs to find another occupation. Speaking of which, how exactly do you play "treble"? Does that mean you can only use the notes on the treble clef?

DB, I won't quote your entire post here. But I'll say this: well said.

I cant be bothered reading the OP. It just looks like something I might've posted in the early days before I understood how to pace myself. Good luck though.

I’m not sure I’m sold on the idea. Here’s the beauty of being in America: We all can form our own ideas AND we’re free to go out and start our own guitar company.

The early 150's had the same horn and Heritage was asked to change it. If your next post is about the headstock, it works better and Heritage was not sued over it. Most of us on the HOC appreciate function over form.

The 535 is laminate on the top and bottom. The sides are solid, which is different from the ES335 spec. On our tours of the factory, they have shown us how the actually make the laminates from thin sheets of wood, and then how they steam press the arch into the sheet vs how something like the 575 is carved. I can't remember wood layers they use for the laminate.

What change looks like: Me not posting the crazy guy maniacally typing gif.

That spray booth might have been a blast from the past, but as someone who dealt with safety in a hazardous business, it was a bit on the scary side. I know what nitrocellulose dust can do with the smallest of sparks! (as in BOOM!) Thankfully it didn't turn into a blast, although they did have a fire when they began dismantling that area of the building. I was really glad to see their new spray booth that first year they moved. Much improved dust and solvent fume controls are a good thing. The new dust collector is a great thing as well. Dust explosions can be nasty, and that includes wood dust!

I think this is one of the dumbest posts I've ever read not only that, there's a LEGAL reason they can't use the Gibson shaped horn

Eye roll. Anyway While Im here, check out Tori Slusher.

I love my gold top and it is the main guitar I gig with, it is an extension of me. It didn’t come to me without some issues though. The frets were in terrible shape from the factory, the ends looked like a child was let loose on them. The binding was also poorly scraped. There is also the dreaded hump after the 12th fret. Well the guitar is from 2011 and has lots of playing time on it. I’ve filed the frets 3 times now from player wear and there isn’t enough left to do it again so I just bought some new frets. When I pull the old ones I’ll sand down the hump and GT rid of the nibs and hopefully get another 15 years of gigs out of them. The tone of the guitar just can be beat. I think they did a great job on the neck shape and profile and the way it transmits vibrations I think the neck joint must be perfect. The issues were cosmetic and I can live with that since the guitar is the best sounding one I’ve ever owned and there are some lofty brands and models on that list. There is a reason I play it so much. Unfortunately those cosmetic issues, well, many people can’t get past that and assume the rest of the guitar is poorly constructed. Heritage suffered from those cosmetic issues. On the flip side, I bought my guitar in mint condition, just a baby yearling, for a song. Those cosmetic issues don’t payoff for the company but they did for me.

Paragraphs are your friend. Just saying.

That is a beauty!

No, it's laminate Semi Hollow.

Welcome back.

Love that video!

I always loved poking through the proto rack. Good to see Arnie and Ted. That spray booth was a blast from the past. Thanks for posting.

Arnie! cool beans DNH. Thanks.

Thanks for that Dave. Good times, very good times.

Hey it's almost September.... JNEELY I'm glad you are concerned about Heritage, but you're about 20 years out of date? I'm pretty sure the new owners have the financial means & the business sense to keep it going. All their eggs aren't in one small basket

Regarding the bridge, I have a little experience in replacing a similar bridge on an Eagle Classic that I purchased in 1996. In my case, I found that the original bridge posts were simply placed in some drilled holes on the base of the bridge and were not anchored down in any way. I suspect that what we're seeing in the above image is likely the same scenario, for the posts will tend to wobble around a bit in the holes. Whether or not that's the fault of Heritage I won't venture to speculate, but I did replace the original rosewood bridge with a similar ebony model where I was able to screw the posts directly into the bridge base, which resulted in a solid anchoring of the posts. I haven't had a problem with it since. If by chance you're looking to repair your bridge, I would suggest replacing it.

Not my thing but, total respect earned. That’s a very talented guitarist.

I had that same issue on my 575 and that was on an aftermarket saddle and bridge. It was resolved with a second curly washer bottoming out on each of the studs. What is happening in that photo is "rocking torque" That is not a good thing. It needs to be corrected.

Looks like a setup problem.

Well now........this post seems to have the potential to stir up a hornet's nest. Popcorn anyone?

If you listen to the second video I posted, Pete clearly says that they prefer to use Maple/Basswood/Maple for their laminate, although sometimes they use Poplar for the inner sheet. FWIW, the H-525 is a full hollow body, but uses a laminate top and back. While thicker than the H530 (also hollow and laminate), at 2 1/4" it is thinner than the H-575.

Youre being Awfully generous bolero.

how about $3.50 and a pack of smokes?

I was thinking, a T-shirt, a hat, and a couple of petals! lol

A t shirt at least!

that is outstanding!!! and congratulations!

Me & the 3 amigos.

Looks like 2019

Welcome aboard. Love the guitars and the special pickups!

Resistance would be futile

And THAT is how you introduce yourself. i adore the 157s. Love the fawn. Welcome, you will be assimilated.

The H-157 3 pickups guitar has H.R.W.s and it is a 2002. The 2 pickups H-157 is a 1999 with the Schaller golden 50s.

I'll keep this really brief. What's electric guitar really about? Well, it's a male dominated genre of musical instrument that delivers POWER and FORM to ALL types of popular music. Yes, it has a few really talented female artist do come to mind. For instance, Jess Greenberg. She is really exceptional! An amazing talent. But 6 string wizards like her, are few and far between. So, the world of lead electric guitar giants is dominated by dudes. Dudes. Sling a a guitar around some guy's neck and he will likely wear it down low with the neck somewhat pointing skyward. That's what dudes do. So, please share your honest opinions. Of the these two horn shapes, which one looks like it's ready for business? I think you know I am getting at. Dear Heritage, you have, and always have had, a HORN problem. Do you see the issue? It's rock thing mainly. Most of the rock guys out there like to rock hard, not semi-hard. End of story. Don't take me word for it though, reach out to Jess and ask her which one she prefers.