Heritage1970

Yours too! Great to see these two in pictures one after the other- love the look of these Ultras!

Beautiful guitar! Here's it's Sister- a 2005 Ultra. Thanks for posting- great read! As you mention, I think Heritage started off using Schaller as Gibson was using Schaller hardware, etc in the late 70's/early 80's. So when Heritage opened, I'm sure it was easy to just stick with things that were already being used. I have never had a problem with Schaller pickups. I know so many do, but they've always worked just fine for me. And at the end of the day, it's all opinion. One person thinks Schallers sound terrible, then the next person has found their dream tone. There really is no "one sound fits all" in the guitar world, and thank God for that!

I've made my living with music as a full time musician for 30+ years now, and I'll be lugging out my tube amps till the very end. I get the convenience factor, but as with most things I've found: when you try cutting corners, something else ends up suffering. In this case, the tone IMO. Just can't beat feeling that wave of sound blowing out of an amplifier. To me, there's no substitute for the real thing.

That's always great to see. Rare. But definitely great and makes me want to get behind them 110%.

Very cool to read stories like this about great, hands on companies that really care about their products and those that use them. Hopefully they can maintain things how they currently are. Definitely makes me think though: is it possible for a company to expand and grow and still keep that "down to Earth-Mom & Pop" vibe? History leads me to say no. It's understandable that businesses want to grow and expand. That's the whole point right? I've seen numerous companies in this exact position through the years that claim they'll maintain that down home feel, but once you start getting bigger and bigger and bigger, it just seems like it's impossible to do. More employees come in, more offices, bigger facilities, etc, etc, and that all just eventually seems to squash out the "people next door to you doing business" vibe. Sad but almost unavoidable I guess....

Hope everyone has a great Holiday!

Oh wow! It does! They're definitely Sisters! Not too many of these made. Yours looks great!

SWEET!! Great picture! Thanks for posting. Happy Holidays!

NICE!! 👍 👍

Still have my 1993 H-475. Incredible guitar!

BEAUTIFUL!! Great score Brent! Really love this one

I agree. That being said- great looking guitars and to each their own. They're your guitars, so do whatever you feel like to make them right for you and how you like them. Personally, if I want something to be like a Gibson, I'll get a Gibson. A Heritage is a Heritage and I think it's cool that they have their own things- hardware, etc, that set them apart from Gibson. I've just never been big on swapping out anything, period. I had a big conversation with Warren Haynes about this and he's the same way. We both agreed: if he picks up a guitar and it's not doing it for him, he just goes for a different guitar- no thought about swapping pickups, etc. Just moves on. I've always been the same. I just have this weird feeling of "that's what the guitar was born with" - you either like it or you don't. But I know I'm in the minority. And again- that's just me- everyone should do what makes them happy if it's your guitar.

^^^ Yep- agree 100%.

Everyone has their opinion on this and I respect that. My opinion though, is that the Heritage name should not be on anything except a guitar that's coming right out of Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA. If they wanted to do a cheaper, more affordable line, similar to Epiphone or something along those lines, that's fine, but they should have called it something else and not had the Heritage name on it at all. Again, just my opinion. I just don't like to see any kind of name that has a rich history tarnished all for the sake of money. I guess I'm a dreamer. In 2024 that's pretty much how things roll. Again though, just my opinion...

What's the case like for this one? So many I've seen never have the original

Love these!! Very cool Brent!

Try this:

NICE one Brent! Congrats on a great find!

Exactly! I personally feel that way about life in general. Music, food, cars. It's all subjective. Nothing really sucks and nothing's really great. One person's garbage is another person's masterpiece.

True. I play music for a living and have for many years now. So I use my guitars for tools to make a living as well as collect, etc. For me personally, I just like keeping things stock. I had a big conversation with Warren Haynes about this a few years back and he agreed. He said he's not a big swapper of hardware either. If he grabs a guitar and it's not doing it for him, he just grabs a different one. He's not a big fan of swapping out pickups etc. But again, it's a personal thing. Nothing is really right or wrong. Some people like chocolate ice cream, some people don't. That doesn't really mean it's good or bad. It's just a personal opinion. And for me personally, I've never had a problem with tone or anything with Schaller hardware.

I know I'm in the minority as I always leave Schaller hardware on when that's what the guitar originally came with. I'm all about whatever works best for each individual player. Speaking for myself, I just like to keep guitars stock spec. All my old Heritage models I leave Schaller hardware on and have even gone back and swapped out replacements previous owners put on, and I put the proper period correct Schaller hardware back in place. I really don't understand the dislike for the roller bridge and quick change tailpiece. I think they work great and have never had a problem with either one. But again- to each their own. Do what makes you play the best.