Jump to content
Heritage Owners Club

How Did This Happen?


Halowords

Recommended Posts

Posted

This is strange . . . I ended up buying two Heritage guitars almost by accident.

 

I have a Heritage Prospect Custom coming that I got off of eBay. It's one of those "Blues Deluxe" models but it's a pretty standard Prospect with a full center block (hence the "Custom" if I have my terminology correct). I'm really looking forward to that. I think it's an Amber finish, feel free to take a looksy and let me know what you think.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D4%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D5135716238927657481&_trksid=p5197.m7&category=33034&item=160509238488&nma=true&rt=nc&si=B864UvTavDcy1KvwM0uIPbUuziE%253D

 

I also just got word that an H-535 is mine. I thought it was taken as there was a guy who was supposed to bring his amp over to check it out. It's a Vintage Sunburst, apparently near-mint, w/ DiMarzio PAFs, a jumbo fret job, gunstock oil finished neck, graphite nut, and upgraded Gotoh tuners. It was posted here:

http://www.heritageownersclub.com/forums/index.php?/topic/11122-535-on-craigslist/

At any rate, the guy who was supposed to check it out never made it (his wife allegedly had to have emergency surgery on Sunday, then Monday he never showed up to check it out and there is apparently "a long story" behind it). So I'm next in line.

 

I'm not intending to flip either or anything. I'm not really sure how I let that happen. I really wasn't intending to get two guitars or anything (both yellow ones to boot!), but now I'm getting really excited about both of them. So I guess I just tripled my electric guitar collection. I was interested in both models and they both seemed like pretty good deals (the H-535 in particular).

 

Anyway, I'll get pics of them both next to my Dark Almondburst H-150 (and maybe my cheap-but-still-decent Yamaha acoustic) once they get here.

Posted

Very nice... it sounds like a really great upgraded 535.

post-1051-062800300 1291135790_thumb.jpgpost-1051-085118600 1291135810_thumb.jpg

Upgrades include:$100 Gotoh 18:1 tuners, $200 Dimarzio PAF pickups, Graphite nut, and (this is the best) $350 Professionally refretted and dressed with jumbo frets. The guitar was $1600 to start with. If you like bending and vibrato it's as smooth and easy as it gets. The neck pickup is clean and smooth. (very Blues/Jazz), the in between pickup sound is very Steve Howe/Jimi Page, the bridge pickup ROCKS. You have to play this one to really appreciate it!

 

And the Prospect/ Blues Deluxe looks awesome. Man that is a sweet top on it.

post-1051-025086200 1291136012_thumb.jpg

Posted

It's kind of funny how it worked out though. The Prospect came up, a fellow HOC member emailed it to me almost instantaneously, and it seemed like exactly what I was looking for. Then I saw the H-535, thought the glare was dings, but he didn't mention it. Anyway, I thought it seemed like a real nice price and thought I'd at least ask. With all of the mods it seemed like something I'd enjoy playing.

 

So really I thought I was going to pass on the Prospect because the H-535 was so finished, but I kept getting drawn to it while meanwhile I thought I had lost out on the H-535 as I'm bidding on the Prospect.

 

So how I go from just looking for a Prospect Custom to having two guitars shipping in over the next few days is kind of beyond me. But that's how it happened.

 

About the H-535, I feel good about the buyer too. I know it's not tangible or anything, but he seems like a really nice guy who didn't sound like a salesperson and seemed to genuinely want to place the guitar with somebody who'd really appreciate it. It was also kind of nice for him to let the guy have a chance to come the next day after the emergency surgery incident and whatever the "long story" ends up being. Not sure if it adds "mojo" or anything, but you can never really have too many cool stories. Anyway, I hit it off with the guy and feel good dealing with him after our phone call. Actually both sellers were pretty good to deal with for that matter.

Posted

But Honey....

 

It's not my fault. I went to the grocery store like you asked, but when I got back to the car there were these two guitars sitting in the back seat. They said they were orphans, so bringing them home seemed like the only humane option. I'm sure they won't cause you any problems, and look.. they're already getting along so well with the other kids (- read guitars.. -). We couldn't possibly send them away now..

Posted

But Honey....

 

It's not my fault. I went to the grocery store like you asked, but when I got back to the car there were these two guitars sitting in the back seat. They said they were orphans, so bringing them home seemed like the only humane option. I'm sure they won't cause you any problems, and look.. they're already getting along so well with the other kids (- read guitars.. -). We couldn't possibly send them away now..

 

LOL!!!

 

Congrats on your purchases!

Posted

The 535 guy seems to have put a lot of thought into the upgrades..

Beautiful/U.S.A made. A Blues/Rock/Country dream guitar. I've done a lot perfecting this thing. I have just over $2000 into it.

 

I was curious as to why he's selling it after all of that effort, but it doesn't really matter.

Posted

The 535 guy seems to have put a lot of thought into the upgrades..

 

 

I was curious as to why he's selling it after all of that effort, but it doesn't really matter.

 

He's a Strat guy. From what he said, he got it set up how he wanted it then realized he was really just into Stratocasters and that was pretty much his niche. I know another guy who had the same thing happen to him. Used to have a LP, ended up with mine, loved it, but still found himself wanting to play his Strat more. He ended up scoring his dream Strat (and a Tele) by trading in the LP.

 

Granted, he didn't first blow a ton on upgraded pickups, frets, nut, and tuners. But hey, it might just work out pretty nicely for me in this instance so who am I to complain!

Posted

David, you really got the bug, didn't you? I'm glad you picked up on that Prospect. It looks to be a real piece right there. Even with it's lineage. :icon_thumright:

 

And a 535? It looks like a cool one, too. Altho', I really have issues with people that modify their guitars then call them "upgrades". Mods, yes. Not necessarily upgrades. Still, that is one gorgeous guitar. Pics of the family when you get them both settled!

Posted

He's a Strat guy. From what he said, he got it set up how he wanted it then realized he was really just into Stratocasters and that was pretty much his niche. I know another guy who had the same thing happen to him. Used to have a LP, ended up with mine, loved it, but still found himself wanting to play his Strat more. He ended up scoring his dream Strat (and a Tele) by trading in the LP.

 

Granted, he didn't first blow a ton on upgraded pickups, frets, nut, and tuners. But hey, it might just work out pretty nicely for me in this instance so who am I to complain!

It's funny but it really seems to be true..Most people are either a Strat/Tele person, or they Favor the Heritage/Gibson lineage..I've played a lot of Telecasters..But I could never bond with a Strat.. Then about 30 years ago I played a beat up Les Paul junior..Looked like hell, but what tone!! (A P-90 of course) So now I have a 535 with Seths, and a LP Special with P-90's and I'm in Sonic Nirvana!! YMMV

Posted

Multiple Heritage purchases are due to the mysterious power of the cult. :icon_rr:

Yes!! You ARE brainwashed..You know that, right? :icon_cyclops:

Posted

David, you really got the bug, didn't you? I'm glad you picked up on that Prospect. It looks to be a real piece right there. Even with it's lineage. :icon_thumright:

 

And a 535? It looks like a cool one, too. Altho', I really have issues with people that modify their guitars then call them "upgrades". Mods, yes. Not necessarily upgrades. Still, that is one gorgeous guitar. Pics of the family when you get them both settled!

 

Hey Kenny,

 

The Prospect will probably be the one I am the sweetest on. I think I'll like the size a bit better and the finish & figuring have really grown on me. I'm interested in it because it should be a bit thicker-necked than my H-150 (and from the sounds of it, the 535), should be really comfortable, looks great and different than my other guitars, and being a bit smaller might eventually fit my daughter better than the 535 would.

 

The 535 . . . It was just too good a deal to pass up. Worst case scenario, I don't like it and have to sell it. I can't imagine I'd lose money on it, it's very pretty, has some nice mods, and the setup is different enough where the two should play somewhat differently (due to neck size, frets, pickups, etc.). I'm not intending to flip it for a profit or anything though. It was one of those where it seems worth taking a chance on. Plus, it should come out to about what one new one would cost for the both of them (give or take) and satisfy my curiosity about both models.

 

But both are nice, and I think I'll enjoy them both.

Posted

I would like to publicly thank Kenny (tulk1) for talking me through my questions on the Prospect, and sending me the link to the Prospect that's in the mail as we speak. It's because of him I can proudly(?) say "I've got an Ed Roman guitar!" :icon_thumright: I'll just tell people it's a Heritage though, if'n it's all the same. I credit them more than the dealer of ill repute who happened to sell the thing.

 

Anyway, all joking aside, big thanks to him, as well as some of the rest of you who helped answer my questions about them.

 

Also, my next decision is, presuming I like and keep both of them, if I should set them up differently. I have some ideas (possibly throwing some humbucker-sized P90's from Bill Lawrence, Phat Cats, or something like that into one, maybe set one up w/ really thick jazzy strings, etc.) but I don't want to get too far ahead of myself.

Posted

Very nice day's work! I particularly like the 535 in VSB. That's the first pic I've seen of one. I can imagine that sitting next to my 150 VSB :)

Posted

Halowords,

Congratulations.

You're going to enjoy that 535.

And likely the Prospect too.

 

Some would say that having two semi's is redundantly duplicative.

But not me.

Posted

This is strange . . . I ended up buying two Heritage guitars almost by accident.

 

 

 

"by accident" ... not the first time that line has been used on the HOC, but previously it was only a single guitar. You've got it bad.

 

btw it's called GAS, and believe me I know 'cos I got's it too !

Posted

I would like to publicly thank Kenny (tulk1) for talking me through my questions on the Prospect, and sending me the link to the Prospect that's in the mail as we speak.

Awwww. shucks! :icon_biggrin:

Posted

The Prospect "Blues Deluxe" came in. I need to clean off the dust and polish up the chrome, but other than that and maybe a couple pick marks the thing seems to be mint. There WAS a substantial amount of dust though, almost a comical amount. The finish is a VSB according to the label. It also says it's a "Blues Deluxe"; I was hoping it would say "Prospect 'Blues Deluxe'" or something and NOT have ER's name on it, but so be it. It's an awesome guitar. The "'59" neck is either skinnier than I thought it would be, or it just feels that way after a couple of weeks just playing my clunky necked acoustic.

 

Anyway, it was a pleasant surprise; it seems just as comfortable ergonomically as my H-150, weighs less, sounds great, looks awesome. Not that I didn't expect all that, but I think it exceeded my expectations particularly how comfortable it was. All I want to do is play it. Well, that and clean it up.

 

And yes, I'll get pics up, just not tonight.

Posted

Congratulations on those great scores! The Craigslist add was down before I saw it; I'm curious how great a deal you got on the 535, but it's not really any of my business if you don't wish to share. Semi's are my favorite body style, and I've been very curious about Gibson's ES-339 since it came out; it seems that the ER Blues Deluxe would be similar, only better built than the Gibson, and, as your photos show, the Heritage is much more stunning!! Again, congratulations.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...