So how did Y'all coming to own a Heritage Guitar?

[StevenTari]

O.K. I told you mine so I sure would like to hear yours.

[eljay]

pretty simple for me:

 

when i got back into guitars in 2009, i quickly learned about ron kirn, who builds custom f-style guitars.

 

internet searching for g-style custom builders turned up Heritage

 

subsequent guitar forum discussion comments about H were favorable so i pulled the trigger on my h530 and joined HOC even before the 530 arrived.

 

 

[kbp810]

Well, my introduction started about 15 years ago....

 

I had a guitar that was passed down to me from my grandfather, and there was one shop in particular that we always took it to for work; which was Flint Guitar. The lady that worked there always liked to chat about LP's and Heritages while waiting for, who I think was her husband but don't remember for sure, to work his magic. So that first planted the seed...

 

Fast forward a few years, while I was in my A School in the Navy down in Pensacola, one day while I was at class someone stole that very same guitar from my room... I was devistated. A super cheap used import guitar w/ a floyd rose style bridge was the only replacement I could afford at the time... and I hated that guitar, with a passion. So much, that I basically gave it away before leaving A school, and stopped playing the guitar for many years...

 

Fast forward again to 2006'ish and my wife picked me up a Gibby LP Studio for my birthday to try and get me to start playing again... I never could really bond with that guitar though, and sadly it spent the majority of it's life in it's case. Then a little later on, I found out a few co-workers played guitar (one of which being fellow member Detroit Blues) - and we soon started a regular after-work warehouse jam sessions. It didn't take long after that and the guitar spark was back in full swing and the G.A.S. bug bit. Started looking around and ended up falling in love with a used Heritage H535 at Elderly Instruments in Lansing. - been hooked on Heritage ever since.

[schundog]

I'm a basement/church player, with an occasional block party thrown in for good measure. I'd been a hobbyist for about 10 years, and had an assortment of Strats, Teles, an Epi Dot and Epi LP, a Gibson LP Classic, and my most expensive purchase, a Gibson ES-335 Memphis reissue. I'd been on the Fender Discussion Page forum for a few years, got bored, went to the Gear Page for a little while (still do sometimes when things are quiet around here) and BrentRocks posted a question over there, "How many Heritage owners are on the Gear Page?" or something like that. I had seen some Heritages in a store and played one, but I was in a Gibson mindset at the time, and frankly didn't have enough experience to be able to see what a great instrument the Heritage was back then. I got curious, and started looking around for a used 335 style Heritage. I didn't even know the model # at that time. I found this forum, and got MORE interested, and bought my 535 off of the Gear page, quite anxiously, as I'd never spent that much on a guitar without playing it. It showed up, and I was blown away by the quality and feel of the guitar. By the time I committed to and went to PSPIII, I had also picked up a used Millenium H-155 from a member here. After visiting 225 Parsons Street and the ensuing jam/party at the Henderson's barn, I was hooked for sure. I've acquired 4 more Heritages since then, and love them all. The people of Heritage and the HOC are some of the finest people I've had the pleasure of meeting.

[DetroitBlues]

KBP turned me toward Heritages a couple years ago. I was a Strat and Les Paul fan previously. I really loved Gibsons, but knew I couldn't afford one. About 3 1/2 years ago, I bought a brand new Epi LP Standard. After a ton of upgrades, I spent nearly the cost of a used Gibson LP Standard. But sold it because I was more of a strat player. When KBP brought his 535 in, my curiosity began for Heritage. I still wasn't sold on Heritages because I wasn't a hollow-body or semi-hollow body fan at the time. Then late last year when KBP invited me over to Steiner's house, everything changed. I played Steiner's 150 custom and a 137. After spending a few hours on those guitars, I was sold. I needed to get my own Heritage. Earlier this year, KBP had a used 140 he had bought from Smurph1 a few months earlier. KBP wanted a custom 157, so I bought the 140 from him to help toward the 157 order. Shortly afterwords (maybe a week), I took the 140 in to be refinished. It spent the next four months in an extreme make over. I've since acquired a HFT-445 from KBP as well. While there are others I want to have, chances are this will be the only two Heritages I own. Family and other responsibilities come first.

[tbonesullivan]

I had heard of Heritage guitars some years back when looking for guitars, but never ended up getting one. Then I got into Carvin guitars for a while, and had about 6 of them at my height of carvin fandom. Then, I started wanting guitars that weren't neck-through, so I think I first got a Hamer Special, and then I was looking for a semi-hollow body.

 

I came down to two options: Heritage H-535, or a Hamer Newport. So, I went to stalking ebay, and found a 535 listed at $1300. I made an offer of $1200, and she came home. Loved the look of the guitar, the feel, the tone, everything. So, I started posting here, and then Got my H150CM, and later H-158 Millennium and Kahuna. And now, I think I'm pretty much set for heritage guitars. The jazz boxes don't really interest me.

[kidsmoke]

being pre-disposed to off brand excellence (believing that "the" name brands are typically over priced - wether we're talking guitars or otherwise) I owned good quality Washburns and was always perusing guitar shops, increasing my knowledge of guitars in general. I happened into a dedicated guitar/amp resale shop in Chicago which always has a few vintage finds that I'd enjoy noodling with, and there was this "335 ish" guitar with the most amazing flame and a fricking matching flame maple pickguard. I immediately pulled it off the wall and sat down. The neck was thicker than any guitar I owned and felt damn near perfect. The brand was one I'd heard of, but knew nothing about. That evening I did a shout out on my favorite non brand centric guitar forum, "the fret", and a couple of guys gushed about the guitars, and one guy directed me here. I started asking questions and trolling here, and quickly realized that, depending on price, this guitar was one worth making concessions to acquire. I went back to the shop, the owner, who is the coolest dude youi'll ever meet, and genuinely WANTS to help guys get that guitar that has them hyperventilating, immediately quoted me a VERY good price, and took it off the wall for a mere 10% deposit. (I wasn't in the premium guitar buying budget zone at that time)

 

Went home, through a couple items on craigslist, brought the same guy an old bass and some pedals, which he gave me excellent prices on, and after a couple weeks and a couple CL exchanges, I brought home the guitar you see in my sig. I basically traded up, getting rid of unused gear and a good 335 for a great 335, that is my daily player. I essentially haven't touched my other guitars since. I absolutely love it

[pressure]

My first guitar was a Gibson SG Les Paul with the sideways vibrato that I bought used in 1963. From then on I was a Parsons street lover.

My first Heritage was a sunburst Johnny Smith that I bought new from a small guitar shop in Island Lake Illinois in 1991. I like to drive around and

go to guitar shops in small towns and I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. This guitar shop was going out of business

and had all their guitars on sale. They had 2 Johnny Smiths and 2 Gary Moore 150s. I had always wanted a Johnny Smith even though I am not

a jazz player. I went home and told my wife about the guitars that were on sale and she said go ahead and buy it. It doesn't get any better than that.

[rjsanders]

about 10-11 yrs ago i was looking for some strings and went riding around the Bay Area in search. stopped by C.B. Perkins, which intro'd me to Heritage, then went in search of a semi-hollow, which led me to Blue Note Music in Berkeley. ordered one of the first Millenniums (Ltd. Ed.) and loved it.

 

[barrymclark]

Seems that about every year or so, one of these threads comes up. At least these are more enjoyable than the usual yearly threads. I never get tired of hearing people's stories.

 

Here's mine...again. haha.

 

First heard about Heritage working for a mom & pop shop in my early twenties. I will admit, I thought it was one of Gibson's other brands. The manager on duty set me straight and explained the history. Certainly a cool story but guitars with those price tags or anything near it were just out of the question for me.

 

Fast forward to working in big-box guitar retailers. I'd see used Heritage's come in that just blew the doors off the similar Gibsons. The sound. The playability. Just awesome. Add to this my frustation of havnig to deal with Gibson's rather painful QC problem. Yes, every company has them... but I gotta say... NEVER had a problem with an Ibanez, Fender, Yamaha, Washburn, ESP, Martin, PRS, Taylor..... you get the idea. In some cases, we had as many if not more of the other brands on the wall than Gibson and that should give you an idea of how the problem percentages worked out. From NEVER with more guitars to fairly frequent with the Gibsons. That being the case, when we had a used Heritage come in, there was no going through the wall looking for the guitar they wanted that played worth a flip... and I don't mean action set up. I mean tear off the neck and start over bad. They'd only sit with it a minute and I'd tell them the story and they'd leave with it.

 

Still hadn't been able to pony up the cash for a Heritage... a divorce strikes. That pretty much meant a Heritage would DEFINITELY be out of the plans.

 

I enter the dating scene. Start dating a lady I had a lot in common with. As we started to get away from the superficial dating stuff and more into our daily lives, she learned that I played guitar.

 

She thought that was really cool and that she had an uncle that makes guitars. I said, "Cool. So do I". I wasn't being smart. I really did. He made acoustics in his workshop. She then asks, "You ever heard of Heritage guitars?" Taken aback that a non-player had even heard of Heritage, I instantly, like a reflex, dumped the rant of how Heritage is what Gibson should be and so on.

 

She said, "That's my uncle. Marvin Lamb. He was one of the founders. My dad's got one of the early ones and I remember him coming by the house to say he was going to start his own company."

 

So.... what could I do? I married her. haha.

[H]

My nickname is H. I was looking for a hollowbody to attempt a little jazz and came across an H-516 in OSB with the beautiful Heritage 'H' tailpiece. It mesmerised me.

 

That one has gone now but I replaced it (and a few top line marque guitars) with three more Heritages.

 

I like my other guitars a lot but I feel an affinity with my Heritages, the brand and all that the people in 225 Parsons St stand for. Long may they continue.

[Guest HRB853370]

- been hooked on Heritage ever since.

 

You should consider a "custom order" !!!

[kbp810]

 

You should consider a "custom order" !!!

You're right, maybe one day I should... something with triple mini's, split block inlays, quilted top, five piece flamed maple neck... and maybe even get away with a cupids bow if Barry's wife's uncle is in a really good mood when I order it

 

[DetroitBlues]

You're right, maybe one day I should... something with triple mini's, split block inlays, quilted top, five piece flamed maple neck... and maybe even get away with a cupids bow if Barry's wife's uncle is in a really good mood when I order it

 

 

Great photo shop, can't even tell that's not a real guitar....

[mars_hall]

Not that much of a fan of bolt-on necks, though I own two Strats, I went looking for a setneck or neck-through Strat along the lines of a Showmaster and found a Stat in Texas.

[pegleg32]

Bot a cherry red Gibson 335 in 1968, later quit playing and sold everything. Flash forward 40 or so years and I decided to play again. Had a couple of cheap guitars and kept thinking about that old 335. Started watching Ebay and along came an ad that read something like this: "Heritage H535 (Gibson 335)" and of course my search picked it up and and I thought "what in sam hill is that?" Did my research and bot it. About a year later I sold it and bot my matched set 150/535 and then the goldtop from Brent. Now I have 3 of em and I love em.

[Guest HRB853370]

I do not remember how I heard of Heritage, a true attestation of the advance stages of my CRS disease. But what I do remember is, I heard of them somehow, visited their website, located Jay Wolfe as a dealer, picked out a model and a color, the guitar was built and shipped to me directly from Heritage. When I got it I was blown away. Here it is.

[TalismanRich]

Back when I was a young lad of 49, my son started to show some interest in playing the guitar. I took him to a local shop run by a fellow St X alumni that I had known from high school. Got him a black Washburn strat to see if he would take to playing or if it was a passing phase. Jimmy is also a Heritage dealer. He starts showing me a few of the guitars, hands me one of their brochures.

 

Later that year, I stop in and ask.. How long to make one of these H157, in the Almond Sunburst. I think they said 3 months. So I plopped down the money for the order. Its my 50th birthday present to myself. Still got it.

 

Of course, a guitar that I wanted when I was a kid was a red ES335. Never got one. Started looking at 535s and before you know it I've snagged one off the 'bay.

 

 

Then there was the Mille, then the 140. Hopefully I'll figure out what my next one will be.

[Spectrum13]

2007 I got the urge play guitar again and was looking for a replacement 68 Goldtop. Search online reviews @ Harmony Central had a few guys that liked their Heritage 150s. I knew something about the company's history and took a chance.

 

 

 

LJ, since 2009? really that's like one a month.... just saying.

[mtpatty]

saw TSO with Alex Skolnick and got interested in his guitars etc...read the story of Heritage (and having always been a Gibson fan) decided to try it out...I have 2 now and love them both!

[Trouble]

Well, my introduction started about 15 years ago....

 

I had a guitar that was passed down to me from my grandfather, and there was one shop in particular that we always took it to for work; which was Flint Guitar. The lady that worked there always liked to chat about LP's and Heritages while waiting for, who I think was her husband but don't remember for sure, to work his magic. So that first planted the seed...

 

Fast forward a few years, while I was in my A School in the Navy down in Pensacola, one day while I was at class someone stole that very same guitar from my room... I was devistated. A super cheap used import guitar w/ a floyd rose style bridge was the only replacement I could afford at the time... and I hated that guitar, with a passion. So much, that I basically gave it away before leaving A school, and stopped playing the guitar for many years...

 

Fast forward again to 2006'ish and my wife picked me up a Gibby LP Studio for my birthday to try and get me to start playing again... I never could really bond with that guitar though, and sadly it spent the majority of it's life in it's case. Then a little later on, I found out a few co-workers played guitar (one of which being fellow member Detroit Blues) - and we soon started a regular after-work warehouse jam sessions. It didn't take long after that and the guitar spark was back in full swing and the G.A.S. bug bit. Started looking around and ended up falling in love with a used Heritage H535 at Elderly Instruments in Lansing. - been hooked on Heritage ever since.

My grand father was a Navy man, firefighter on a battleship for awhile then Chief on a couple different Naval bases, one out West where a lot of prototype testing was done. Don't ask about that though!

[Trouble]

Sorry for the above sidetrack. I remember when The big G moved its operations in the 80's I was already trying to get ahold of a guitar and learn to play back then. When I did start playing a few years later The first guitar I wanted was a tuxedo strat like Clapton played, I played several Strats and super strat styled guitars, but a few lears ago my musical taste changed and and I began to want simpler, smoother and more traditional sounds. I switched to the mahogony body and 2 humbucker setup, and eventually setlled on an SG standard for my main guitar. I began looking for a simialiar backup and really wanted more of an LP stle and found a used Heritage on Ebay. It instantly become my main guitar and I've been hooked every since.

[Gitfiddler]

Around 1996 a buddy of mine showed me his brand new NAMM purchase...a Heritage Academy Custom. I lusted in my heart for that gitfiddle!

 

The next year I found a used Sweet 16 on Ebay being sold by a CocaCola executive and had to have her. It's been Heritage after Heritage ever since.

 

It is an addiction!!!!!! LOL!

[rockabilly69]

Brent sold me mine. I was going to buy a historic LP, but I got in a car wreck (hit by a deer), and I needed money

for the repair deductible so I had to back out of buying the LP, it was then that Brent dangled my H-150 in front

of my face. And like they say, the rest is history:)

 

 

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=11053966

[schundog]

Rockabilly, your H-150 looks exactly like the one on the back of the tshirts for PSPIV! Beautiful.