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I read a ton of stuff about the newer ones having better quality control and from what I've seen I guess that is true. But like others have said on here, I just feel a real heart and soul connection to the guitars that were built pre-2015. There's just something about that group of guys that came out of Gibson building those, and it's just a whole different thing. I'm not saying the new ones are bad. They're incredible actually. I have played several and every one of them is top notch and stellar! But the old ones definitely have more of a "hands-on" feel, versus a "automated, quality controlled" feel in 2025. Again, I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but everything pre-2015 just feels like it was more of a "hands-on" kind of a thing, even if there are some bumps and bruises along the way on some of them. I guess I'm calling that character! LOL. Kind of a different topic, but I am still upset that the "Ascent" line came out and has the full-on Heritage logo on it, just like all of them have for years. I totally get creating a line made overseas to compete with that market, but I wish "Ascent" would have been at the top of the headstock in big letters and maybe just put "By Heritage" on the truss rod cover or something. But it is what it is at this point.....

True that. From the newer H guitars I’ve seen/played in the wild (full disclosure- i have not purchased one manufactured under new management), QC and consistency has improved with modern methods and technology. They are very good guitars. However…. Maybe I’ve just gotten lucky, but of the 10 or so Heritage models I’ve owned over time (i currently have three) and the dozens i have found in store or private hands and tried out of curiosity or thinking to buy, I have never played or owned a bad older one. Yes, even on the extra special ones and the keepers Ive spotted some inconsistencies or minor imperfections due to the nature of the process, or there might be a loose wire, faulty switch, or other fixable issue, but I’ll tolerate that (to a point) for the craftsmanship and overall human quality of the instrument. Maybe it is the appeal of the Heritage lore and history, maybe it is the community I’ve found with you all, but like most of us here at HOC there is something about the story and minor imperfections that come with the human artisan/craft touch that i love. I know it sounds romanticized, but It adds something, a warmth, a life quality, or some other better word descriptor that one might imagine. Besides, the more modern, slimmer necks are not for me. Maybe I’m just an old guy who prefers older styles. I have a Korean made Comins chambered/semi-hollow that is a superb instrument, flawless in many ways in terms of the fit and finish (Bill Comins does the final set up and QC check himself- a very good guy based on my interactions with him), consistency of the neck carve, binding, etc. but that one too has had problems with selector switch, tuners, and pickup wiring. Bottom line is that the H’s get the by far most play in my house and gigs. Plus i love telling the H story when people ask about the guitar - it happens at every gig. All of my Heritages are from decades gone by. None are made in the last 20 or so years. Just one person’s story…

I'm not sure if this is unusual or business as usual. When Marv wanted to show me how the figuring would look when my guitar was finished, he spit on the flame maple top and rubbed his spit in. Flamed maple top looked Fab, ha.

My record is zero defects out of the five I've owned. Nothing whatsoever. All products of the previous management.

Oh yeah, a bad customer service situation can lead to sore apples, but if I had to be limited to one brand of pickups I would say Throbak are the most consistently in line with what I want to hear. The guy just seems to have that low output PAF thing down. I have heard other brands of pickups that get there, but not as consistently as Throbak, especially the SLE101. With Lollar Imperials I thnk the low winds are the closest to what I like. And I'm also a fan of Wolfetone Legends. Speaking of bad customer service, Tyson Tone Lab pickups, especially his Precious and Grace pickups, are also fantastic, BUT, that guy consistently takes forever to get you your pickups, many people have complaints about him and have cancelled orders.

I hold a gathering of around 20 people every summer at my place in Ann Arbor for members of the Dr. Z Forum to come and try out my Dr. Z amps. I just might have the largest collection of Dr. Z amps in the country (according to Dr. Z). I've had several of members of the HOC that have attended prior get-togethers here. I'm making the same offer this year. We usually get started around 10 a.m. and shut down when the last person leaves (last year it was after midnight). Dr. Z (Mike Zaite) himself will be attending this year and bringing at least 2 of his new amps - the recently released Z-40 and the soon to be released "PHD" (a mash-up of vintage Fender Princeton, Fender Harvard and Dr. Z tones (hence "PHD"). It's a 10 watt KT66 single ended power tube, a 6SL7 octal pre-amp tube, and 5U4GB tube rectifier. I'll provide a lunch, snacks, and soft drinks/water. If you're a Heritage purist, you can either bring your own guitar or use one of my Heritages. If you're interested just drop me a note here and I'll send you more details.

I have a 2001 H535, with HRW's. The switch tip has a black dot (and black tips have a white or cream dot). The pickups have the double height adjust screws, as do the regular Schaller humbuckers. (HRW's are made with the same hardware from Schaller). They are also marked on the back of the pickups as HRW in ink.

That says it all!

Do be contrarian, I think throbak are consistently one of the best sounding pickups made. They are very similar to OG PAFs in the sense that are microphonic, and if you're going to use a high gain amp, they are going to be touchy. I've had to remove a cover and put a bid a silicone on one coild to tame a bridge pickup. But back in the 70's many people pulled real PAFs out of their guitars for the same reason. But I have never had a Lollar that sounds as good as a Throbak. And I have played way more examples than most people of Imperials and SLE101s. My number one Teye guitar has Imperials in it along with two other Teyes I've owned.

I went with Farber, including the insert bushings. Super happy with the results, especially my 2001 H535 which came with the same Schaller roller bridge and top-load tail piece. I had to wait on getting the inserts for the H535, so I played for a while with just the Farber bridge. Once I pressed the much longer steel Farber bushings into the guitar, I was amazed at how much better it sounded. The go will into the maple center block, where as the original tailpiece bushing from Schaller was very short and just mostly contacted the upper shell. My 1998 H150, came with Gibson style zinc tailpiece and a "Nashville" bridge. The Farber hardware didn't make as much sound difference, but the lighter stop bar helped my goal of reducing weight of the guitar to under 9lbs, along with replacing the Grover tuners. I find the ABR-1 style bridge more comfortable to play.

Stock market has been good to me lately, solved the "dilemma" and purchased both! Time for a cold 🍺

I've changed a few Schaller bridges/tailpieces and I can confirm that both the Schaller and Nashville bridge posts are 5mm thread, so you don't need to change the inserts if you're replacing the Schaller bridge with a Nashville bridge. Same with the tailpiece studs, thought the thread is 5/16" rather than metric. On my H150 VSB I'd replaced the Schaller with a Nashville setup, and decided to replace the Nashville with the Faber ABR-1 conversion. This involved using a 5mm bolt to gently extract the bushings. I needed to make the hole slightly deeper, but aside from that the process was pretty straightforward. Some photos of the procedure...

Suggest using an additional thumb screw to lock it to the top to prevent more rocking that could gubber the threads. Rocking torque will mess up your intonation. Best solution, replace both screws with a Faber steel studs and bridge and lock it down tight.

I believe mine is ash.

Get a piece of wood !

YouTube suggested 'Bangles Frank Zappa, Tonight Show - 1986'. Hoping that FZ was actually sitting in the Bangles (of course not to be), I watched it. The Bangles played their hits of that year, Walk Like an Egyptian and the Prince-penned Manic Monday, both of which sounded pretty good live. Nice vocals. On Manic Monday, spotted what I think is an H-170 being played by Vicki Peterson, which may make the Bangles an early (first?) 'famous user' of Heritage guitars.