MartyGrass

We visit this topic from time to time, but it is always a joy. One of my favorite finishes is the chestnut sunburst. One nice feature is that the color difference between maple and mahogany isn't stark. Here are two older instruments. Note how the artists spraying them went for a slightly different result.

I recently saw a long documentary on the Challenger explosion. That inspired this addition to the American Eagle pickguard. I talked to Maudie Moore about a year before she died. She told me how they decided to put this image on the pickguard very soon before a national guitar show in Chicago. I think the symbol loses something if made in China. The idea of the symbol was to show the perserverence of the American spirit despite tragic setbacks. Wouldn't want to outsource that.

Thanks. They sound good to me.

The reflectors do look good. The stock pickups are these: https://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/guitar-amps-gizmos/97937-new-gibson-t-type-calibrated-pickup.html Some love them and some hate them. Go figure. I don't know what "calibrated" means really. Phat Cats sound close enough to P-90s for my purposes. They may not be as warm. I'm not sure.

So I weighed the 2022 ES-345. It is 7# 14 oz. My H-535 from 2016 is 3 oz heavier despite being slightly thinner. The neck on the Gibson is slightly thinner. I wonder if there is a difference in the density of the center blocks.

I remember Johnny Rivers. I didn't understand what he meant by secret Asian man! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBHcWvqXUQI Here's the classic ES-345 video. The trouble is that this was supposed to occur in 1955, which is four years before Gibson introduced the guitar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_WSXXPQYeY Michael J. Fox is, or was, a guitarist. You can tell by how he does this video. The center block is a combination of spruce and maple. Heritage may do the same but with a slightly thinner depth.

You're on a tonequest! This may be incurable. SD 59s are decent pickups. Schallers are as well. If I could only have one pickup, it would be Fralin P-92s. That is not to say they are the best. I just like the single coil-like sound. The same is true with the Z-coils from G&L. There are innumerable variables in the signal chain and output. Strings, picks, technique, harness, control settings, cable (maybe), amp and its settings, speakers, position of speakers to the ears, and room or hall environment. Then there are pedals. The electric guitar has been around close to a century. It is funny that one of the great choices in pickups with jazz players is the very old Dearmonds. https://dearmondpickups.com/ If pickups were cheap, I'd like the idea of popping in a different set with string changes. There could be mini-toggle switches to change the circuits internally. Heritage semi-hollows are not so easy to change harnesses on. And pickups are not cheap. And your ears and brain are different than mine. So this could be a terminal journey, worth every step. Enjoy it.

I did get a replacement for my 1960s Gibson ES-345 with a 2022 version. I've now played it enough to have an opinion. First, the Varitone and the stereo features I didn't ever need. Gibson stopped putting them into the ES-345. The new version has a fuller neck than the '60s and is built to be at least as good as the earlier builds. The finish and woods look the same. Thumbs up. The guitar has Phat Cats in it, which really sound fine. I have the original pickups as well, which I haven't tried. The reports on them are generally very positive. I have a fairly recent H-535. The build quality between the two are comparable. Most "the guitar that got away" stories don't have a happy ending. This one does.

What music store were you talking about? That's like a fire sale. I had inside information on wholesale prices on Heritage, which was similar to Gibson. Large buyers paid 50-55% of retail price for their stores. One high volume shop bought at 45%, as I recall. A BOLO would indicate a liquidation attempt.

The most consistent thing about earlier Heritages is the inconsistency. Most but not all had labels. They may have run out of stickers, time, or motivation to pen in the information. It usually only says the model number, finish (usually), and serial number (often). Sometimes some of the builders sign it. If it's a lemon burst sort of thing they may have called it a vintage sunburst (VSB). That's yellow that transitions toward orange-red.

I pull a lot of knobs. (keep your mind out of the gutter!) This tools works well without damaging anything.

You can buy a plastic tool just for that purpose. https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/tools-by-job/tools-for-maintenance/pullit-knob-puller/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwveK4BhD4ARIsAKy6pMJIfmFmjq6MnC4aAyn_inONG2uOfo7vxJvsJvhZ5rpTUtFUawOzskYaAhwHEALw_wcB

I wouldn't bet that anything was swapped out, but it's possible. Maudie was there at the inception of Heritage while also doing Gibson work. The hardware is not Schaller, although the pickups may be. The pickguard is not the typical H-140 type. The inlays of course are unique. And there's the poker chip. There's a good chance that this was put together this way. It's unique.

I recall that well. The Bigsby factory once was next door to Gibson. The Bigsby among us was considered an upgrade. I don't think tone had a thing to do with that attitude. Also, doing three sets with a 12 lb. instrument was not a concern at all decades ago. This is a side issue. My guess is that having a Bigsby on a solid body didn't affect tone much, if at all. It may be a different story on a Golden Eagle.

There's a few I'd want. 1. My 1968 ES-345 for sentimental reasons 2. Gibson SG custom in walnut (sentimental) (maybe) 3. 1968 Epiphone Howard Roberts 4. 2002 Chestnut or OSB Millenium Eagle 2000