Going Forward

[Jim Gus]

Heritage Guitars are well made and a better value than Gibson, although Gibson will always be highly prized by the guitar world, much like Martin, even though there are better guitar companies in both electric & acoustic worlds. Having owned seven Heritage Guitars, from 1998 thru 2006, I can tell you one thing: every one has had something wrong with it. From separated cream binding on a black trans finish to an archtop bridge where you could slide a quarter under.

How they could send out guitars with these flaws--and I'm not talking about their fret and finger boards which were horrible? If the new owner keeps Marvin Lamb and crew on staff staff, he should really pay attention to quality, much like PRS, Hamer, Taylor, Collings, the latter two now fully engaged in the electric market. How about Eastman, which is racking up sales in the archtop

world. Which guitar maker has said the difference between a so, so guitar and a great guitar is the last 5 per cent of the work. Heritage's historic grade on that part has been real poor. Good luck, I'm pulling for them. Only have two Heritage guitars left.

[GuitArtMan]

I would have to agree, and I think I already did!  ;D

http://www.heritageownersclub.com/forums/i...topic,50.0.html

[Thundersteel]

I somewhat agree. I have yet to see a Heritage that doesn't have some sort of a flaw. But there is still something about them that makes me pick up my Heritage before my Gibsons...

 

Yes, I said the "G" word!!

[Dick Seacup]

I don't know that anyone would say Heritage couldn't use some attention to detail in the final quality check.  But, I'm with Thundersteel...even with their flaws, when I pick up my Heritage guitars, they *feel* like that old 50's LP Custom I once looked down my nose at.  They feel right to me, and I can overlook (some) cosmetics.  That being said, yes, I'd like them all that much more if they'd step up the quality.

[Heritage525]

I own 5 heritage models, 137, 150, 525, 535 & 550 (and have owned 4 others) and not one of them had a flaw.  Not one cosmetic or mechinical or electrical flaw.

[Guest maj13th]

A FRIEND OF MINE WANTED TO PURCHASE A LES PAUL. WENT TO G C AND LOOKED AT FIVE IN THE $2,000.00 AND UP RANGE, OF COURSE THEY WERE G'S. WHILE HE PLAYED , I LOOKED THEM OVER. THEY ALL HAD SOME MINOR DEFECTS IN THE FINISH AND IN SOME CASES ON THE EDGE OF MAJOR. POINT: G IS JUST AS BAD WITH THEIR FINAL QC ( IF THEY HAVE ONE). I'LL LIVE WITH A MINOR DEFECT AND AN EXTRA GRAND IN MY POCKET AND JUST AS GOOD SOUNDING AND PLAYING GUITAR. THANK YOU HERITAGE.

[cod65]

All this talk about flaws made me look over my h158 tonight. I can't really find anything that bothers me ... a file mark here and there ...  I think it took them about 3 months to crank my custom order out ... Iwa prepared for much more ..... go figure. I guess i got lucky.

[clmazza]

I've only had my H-150 for a couple of days, but I was able to pour over her yesterday afternoon and do a complete setup.  Maybe I'm one of the lucky ones as well because I was unable to find any flaws at all from a playability standpoint.  As a matter of fact, IMHO, the guitar is extremely well made with great attention to detail.

 

The leading edge of the binding near the butt of the guitar did show some fleks of saw dust that were sealed into the binding (barely noticeable but there)  Do they pour their binding?

 

Fret work is superb... not a high fret to be found or file chatter marks.  I find these on all of my Gibsons including the custom shops.

 

Neck angle is perfect and intonation is spot on.

 

If you want to nit pick.... I suppose the headstock could have used a better buffing out prior to shipping.

[Jim Gus]

Heritage is much like the Detroit Auto industry: they are living in the past and companies like Honda and Toyota are killing them because they do not make quality job one. That is Gibson's main problem but they are pricing their customers to death because some Harvard know it all knows nothing about guitar making and quality. If you have a Heritage guitar and you think nothing is wrong, take it to Elderly in E. Lansing. They will. They charged me to fix a bowed fret board on my custom Eagle. Now I couldn't see it. Neither could Jay. Sending out defective instruments is a sign of disrespect to the consumer. Unless the makers can't see or don't know any better. Doesn't make a difference what the price is. Take a tour inside the factory and see the "neatness." Remember: "If you think your Heritage is spot on perfect, chances are it's not."

[Thundersteel]

They charged me to fix a bowed fret board on my custom Eagle. Now I couldn't see it. Neither could Jay.

 

I've been to Elderly a number of times and continue to receive their catalogs. They want the customer to perceive their store as somewhat "old fashioned" in the way they do business. Nevertheless, it IS a business, and some businesses may charge for things that aren't necessary.

 

Maybe they charged you for something that didn't need fixed? Just a thought... :-

 

[dblazer]

All of mine have had a "beauty" mark or two, none have been mechanically defective, all have had good setups and played well.

 

I've had four, still have two that I wouldn't part with, the H-137 I got last week has a "mystery ding".

 

Part of the Heritage freight to pay I guess.

[jacques]

Can't judge what was wrong with those guitars, but I do know some people see all kinds of flaws EVERYWHERE. To me this all sounds rather over the top considering the overwhelmingly positive comments from all those people all over the world that can be read on the internet. Where were those guitars bought? In the Netherlands we have a luthier who imports the Heritage guitars and inspects them before they go to the local shops. My local shop is run by a luthier and he inspected my Heritages again. So, what could be wrong with them then? And don't you inspect them yourself when you buy one??? Strange story...

[PacerX]

Maybe they charged you for something that didn't need fixed? Just a thought... :-

 

 

Yeah...

 

I'm kinda struggling with the concept that a fretboard/neck is "bowed" so bad it's a build issue, but it can't be seen nor noticed in playability.

 

Furthermore, that's what a truss rod is for.  So I have this vision of the guy needing a 1/4 turn on the truss rod and Elderly charging him $100 for it...

 

My guitar tech does setups for $30.  This obviously includes the tweaking the truss rod, which pretty much needs to be done every 6 months (once for summer and once for winter) in Michigan anayway.

[Dick Seacup]

...This obviously includes the tweaking the truss rod, which pretty much needs to be done every 6 months (once for summer and once for winter) in Michigan anayway.

 

:-[  Uh, I have a couple of guitars that I've never tweaked the truss rod on. 

[GuitArtMan]

This obviously includes the tweaking the truss rod, which pretty much needs to be done every 6 months (once for summer and once for winter) in Michigan anayway.

My old PRS custom 24 that I bought new in 1988 never needed a truss rod adjustment in the 8 years I owned it.

My Tom Anderson Hollow Drop Top Classic that I bought in 2000 or 2001 has never needed a truss rod adjustment.

I've never touched the truss rod on my Taylor 314 that I bought new in 1999.

[Thundersteel]

My guitar tech does setups for $30.

 

I adjust the truss rods myself for free!

[PacerX]

:-[  Uh, I have a couple of guitars that I've never tweaked the truss rod on.   

 

I hit 'em religiously, and notice a difference (even on Fenders, which are built like tanks... more robust than any set neck I know of...) between the seasons.

 

Are you guys in the "set the action as low as possible" camp?

 

I have mine set low enough that any bend greater than 1 and a half steps causes them to fret out.  The only way to get this is with a dead flat neck and a top-notch fret job.

 

If I can bend it further than 1 and a half steps, it's too high.  If I can't bend it 1 and a half steps, it's too low.  The only variable in that is the way the neck reacts through the seasons.

[Dick Seacup]

...Are you guys in the "set the action as low as possible" camp?...

 

Well, I'm firmly in the "set the action where it feels good" camp.  Some of them are higher than others, but for the most part my 'string height' gauge is whatever business card happens to be closest to hand at restringing/setup time.  If I have problems with buzzing, I'm more apt to raise the saddles than to tweak the truss rod.  Maybe I should revisit my setup technique.

[PacerX]

I adjust the truss rods myself for free!

 

A setup is a bit more than a truss rod adjustment for me.

 

Pickups and electronics are checked out, intonation is checked and reset if necessary (I don't own a strobe tuner - and doing it on a guitar with a Floyd will drive you positively bonkers), and frets that need it are cleaned up... basically every aspect of the instrument is gone over by a luthier (Charley Coen - great guy, btw...).

[GuitArtMan]

I hit 'em religiously, and notice a difference (even on Fenders, which are built like tanks... more robust than any set neck I know of...) between the seasons.

 

Are you guys in the "set the action as low as possible" camp?

 

I have mine set low enough that any bend greater than 1 and a half steps causes them to fret out.  The only way to get this is with a dead flat neck and a top-notch fret job.

 

If I can bend it further than 1 and a half steps, it's too high.  If I can't bend it 1 and a half steps, it's too low.  The only variable in that is the way the neck reacts through the seasons.

I take mine down just to where they start fretting out, and then back it up some as I have a moderately heavy right hand attack.  Bends have as much to do with fingerboard radius as they do with action height.  A guitar with a 12" radius will allow for greater bends before fretting out than a guitar with a 7 1/2" raidus will - all other things equall.  I didn't adjust the truss rods on the guitars I had listed because they didn't need it. 

 

PS  I find with a dead straight neck I will get excessive buzzing off of the nut and the lower frets - maybe frets 1 - 9 or so. 

[Thundersteel]

A setup is a bit more than a truss rod adjustment for me.

It is for me, too; I was just saying that I do my own set-ups.

[Gitfiddler]

After reading posts over at the LP Forum for quite a long time, it is clear that Gibson has had a reputation for poor QC for years, even on their Custom Art and Historic models.  I've owned a few Gibbies with flaws very similar to those mentioned about Heritage.  And for the higher 'G' price, man, I expect damn near perfection.  They've had to improve and get their act together...especially as prices have skyrocketed.

 

Considering Heritage puts out pretty much hand made, custom instruments, built by a few good luthiers, I really do not complain too much about the little stuff...especially set-ups and truss rod adjustments.  The big 'issues' I've had with 'G' got sent back.  I've had two new Gibsons replaced in three years under warranty!!  (USA & Custom Shop) 

 

My first BRAND NEW Heritage is on a brown truck speeding to my home as we speak...er, um write.  I hope it NEVER leaves me to go back to Kalamazoo for repairs or replacement.  If it does have issues, my bet is that it will be minor and Heritage will take good care of me, if repairs become necessary.           

That is...after they crank up the factory again.