Leaderboard

And here's the guitar. I like it with the guard off.

This bad boy joined the herd over the weekend . . . I'm not normally one for factory aging but the one in this thread

I found this on Reefeeverb. The Heritage H525 is a full hollow thin line guitar with a Florentine cutaway. Maple Laminate top and back with a solid maple rim. Mahogany neck with a rosewood fretboard. 2 Lollar dog ear P90s. The H525 is loosely based off of the vintage Gibson ES125. These H525s RARELY come up for sale. But this one was dramatically different. The body was finished in a matte black. Originally is was a VSB (vintage sunburst) kind of a light tangerine burst. The H525s had a cult following among Heritage enthusiasts. But not many were ever made. When I first saw it, I wasn’t a fan of the refin. But after stalking the ad for a couple of days, I decided to pull the trigger. I figured, worst case scenario, I could always get the top refinished at some point if I don’t like it. But it’s actually pretty cool. The seller also upgraded the bridge to a Faber ABR1. I believe everything else is stock. He currently has it setup for 11s. I will be putting 9s on it, so there will be some extensive setup work to be done. I had one of these 525s many years ago and they are such a joy to play. Lightweight and full of warm creamy goodness!!! This is a pic from the seller. I will have pics and a full report after setup.

Congrats. I still have the one you sold me. Love it!

CVS, This is mine. I picked this up one night at Brents house. LK155 had it at PSP one year and I really liked the guitar. When it became available, I jumped.

referencing this thread: https://www.heritageownersclub.com/forums/topic/38369-used-530-incoming-inspired-by-trich/ finally got the wolftone dr. vintage humbuckers disguised as P-90s installed in the subject guitar . . . i chose the cream color pickup surrounds and glad that i did . . . tone is a little less "focused" than a 535 but certainly soft and round . . . scratched the itch! thanks for looking!

Hard to answer. I've ordered solid blocks on floating block guitars and floating blocks on solid block guitars in the past. The good old days. Glad I was involved in the Golden Years with Custom Shop Service.

So I wasn’t really happy with the poorly modded Schaller bridge. It wouldn’t intonate very good. So I decided to put a set of locking Tonepros on it. And I took the covers off the pickups (which did help with the squealing, a little). The bridge Lollar still squeals when I step on the RAT…but with the OCD it is fine. The neck Seth is great now. The intonation is perfect now.

I got PTSD doing harness work on Heritage semis. You'd think there would be no significant difference between a Gibson and a 535. There is more swearing involved!

I think I'd have this in his hands right away. The rattle can black really wrecks the vibe for me. A nice gloss black would be attractive, but I've always been a fan of finishes that highlight the wood. I'd be hoping the black is laying on top of the original finish so it didn't seep into the pores of the wood.

There's nothing inside except air!

Yeah, no. I resisted. The only black Friday shopping I did was the weed dispensary. Serious deals going on there, too. 🤣

I like it better with the guard on too, but I personally prefer the shape on the Heritage H150 guards. They just go with the flow of the body shape. And I think whatever guard is on it would need to be aged to match the body. It's not a '59, it's a Heritage.

Here's an old video of them building a semihollow. It appears that the main block is maple. You would want a strong wood, since you need to put your neck joint in there, just like a solid body. Its definitely not mahogany, it's way too light colored. You can see the color difference of the mahogany kerfing below. From what I have read, an ES335 will have a maple block and the filler piece is spruce which is kerfed to bend more easily. If you listen closely, I think that he says they use a basswood insert for the filler section that goes between the top and the block. It's about 3:30 into the video. He also explains about doing floating blocks (top is fixed, back is not).

1987 HERITAGE H170… 1st generation H170 double cut. Honduran mahogany body and neck Bound and Carved flame maple top Bound Indian rosewood fretboard Bound and inlaid headstock This one has seen some action in its life. It suffered a headstock break/repair some years ago. It currently has a Lollar Imperial pickup in the bridge and a SD Seth Lover in the neck. Volume/Volume/Tone with a 3 way toggle. It’s a great playing and great sounding Heritage from their Golden Age!!!

That's rock and roll being made right there!

I have one of these but mine does not have the bound headstock. Other than that it is pretty much a clone of yours. Mine is a D serial number also. It was my first Heritage. I bought an H-140 of the same vintage along with the H-170 and fell in love. The music store didn't know anything about Heritage and I traded a japanese LP and maybe $400 for both. The H-170 is my favorite guitar. Period. I have a few Heritage's as well as the usual suspects (Gibsons, Fenders, etc) but the 170 just feels and sounds right to me in every way possible. The Schallers were not awful but I put a set of Dimarzio Anniversary PAFs and it just opened it up. Same with the H-140. Everyone who has played it instantly falls in love with it and wants to buy it. Enjoy it Brent!

I'm pretty sure Brent sold it to him. I almost bought it from Brent. DOH! Just started the video, it was Brent's.

The Silverburst is a good solution. Would you have the body and neck prepped and shot gloss black first? For me, the matte aspect of the paint is the most off putting.

Hey Brent, George Thorogood played the original Gibson (ES-125) version of your cool H525 (see below). But if you ever decide to put a set of flatwounds on it, that 525 can become a sweet little jazz box. What a versatile gitfiddle!

That guy knows his **** I was talking to him at a PSP

So…. After getting this baby setup for 9s, and getting it all dialed in, I have come to the conclusion that…. This H525 is friggin awesome!!! Holds tune like a champ!! The 2 Lollar p90s sound absolutely amazing!!! I’ve never had a Faber bridge on a guitar before. I really like it. It’s a locking bridge. The neck is a very comfortable medium C carve. Sets up with a medium/low action. Frets show minor wear. The guitar is nice and light. It has a slight bit of neck dive, but it’s hardly noticeable. Overall, a very nice playing Heritage guitar with great tone!!!!

I remember talking to Bill Paige about them, it must have been when they first came out: I was telling him about my Gibson ES-135 & saying they should make a thinner H-575 style, as it is more manageable to play & doesn't feed back so easily Bill said " have you heard about our H-525? " and pointed to one on a rack Well there ya go!! Congrats Brent, that looks really nice!

Well, PSP got a little spendy for me . . . bought the pictured 535 standard (with same OSB finish as TRich's new 530). Point 1: I'm trying to recreate the tone as heard on a couple of Doobie Brothers songs, South City Midnight Lady and Another Park, Another Sunday. My best guess is that the guitar played on those songs is a G 335. Can anyone confirm this? Point 2: If the guitar is a 335, how can I get my new 535 to sound like this? SD 59s are in the new axe and I haven't been able to get the tone I seek. I see mixed reviews of the 59s here on HOC and I wonder if Seth Lovers would get me closer? Or, just change the magnets in the 59s to alnico 2 or 3? Or . . . ? Comments and insights most appreciated! Thanks, eljay

Awesome score, Brent! H525's are my all time favorite Heritage model.

Very nice, enjoy.

Did I do that? 😁 For sure, that's a one-of-a-kind! So now he's got to buy ANOTHER guitar!

If you are shopping for deals on Heritage guitars for black Friday, check out Sweetwater. Huge discounts going on. I wasn't in the market for an ebony H-150 Standard, but for $1600, I may be now.

a black gtr on black friday. Do it, it was meant to be!! 😆

Good point! In my defense I was only 8 years old and there was no internet at the time.

So it’s a 2002? I had a 2005 looked so close in finish. I sold it to #DavesNotHere

I'm also a fan of Wolfetones. I've got Legends in one Zemaitis, Legend and a Fenris in another, Dr V and a Marshallhead in a PRS Custom 22, and a Mean and Meaner P90 set in my SG Special!

Honestly, I have never been a fig fuzz fan for my playing. I'm much more distortion and overdrive most of the time. I just find them more musical, though with Fuzz there is also a HUGE variety of different designs / sounds / textures. JHS pedals "Legends of Fuzz" series had SEVEN different pedals, and I know many who bought every single one, because in many ways it was far cheaper than tracking down the originals. Still, I dunno, I just can't bring myself to love fuzz. I love some songs made using fuzz, but part of my brain always goes "this would sound better with overdrive". Maybe I'm just not using the fuzz pedals right.

That is a sweet H150! nice top

Amazing put me in the guard off camp

Yeah, a English old fashion rump roast

Saw him play in ‘78. Until that point I had no idea there were only 3 dudes making all that sound! Good times…

Yeah, I'm a big fan. I have a USA Geddy Lee signature model. I really love it too! And a Rick 4003. Black, of course. (couldn't live with the old Rick bridge - neither did Geddy, as he put a BaddAss bridge on it.

I have no idea about the answer to your two questions, but I always love the questions you ask and the insights you provide. And that’s a beautiful Guitar by the way.

It’s green! 🤯

Both the Stones and the Faces in their prime played through Ampeg SVTs on their arena tours. And in the studio Ampeg VT22 and VT40 amps. Ron Wood used to slave a little Fender Princeton in to an Ampeg SVT. What a tone!!!

Growing up in Jersey all we had were Ampeg and Silvertons only our cars had fenders.Can't beat the OG bass amp.

Yeah Brent was the one who originally discovered this one again, after it left Mark Slaughter's hands. He's mentioned a lot in the video, and there's a great clip of him and Mark talking about the guitar too. Great story!

I'm with you about the block inlays. I think they rock!

Just as Curly Howard says at the end of an episode. "come on in boys"

Feels like an old friend!

There's a cool little blue pedal that you can plug into and get a really nice "woman tone". Pete Farmer loaned me his pedal for PSP.