when will it arrive???

[jazzalicious]

okay, so I've been waiting now for my 575 since January 2007! It seems that whenever I contact the dealer or Heritage I'm told "should be a few more weeks". I know there was the whole restructuring last summer, where we all lost a few months waiting for our orders, but......isn't this getting ridiculous? Or is it just me? ANyone else waiting on a guitar as long or longer than me?

Jazzalicious

[guitarjump]

January 2007!?  ???  Did you put money down on this? I think you are well within your rights to get either a refund and/or a damned good explanation.

 

On a related note, one of the big local music stores in my area used to be a Heritage dealer. In fact, they're still listed as a dealer on the  Heritage website . The sales manager said they dropped Heritage after many attempts to get a client's custom order done correctly. This dealer isn't a small Mom and Pop outfit, either. The sales manager said they were just awful. I don't think I'd personally ever go the route of a custom order, myself. I am sure there are good and bad experiences; but for a company to blow off an account like that is not a good sign. I'll shop the used - and if I have to - retail outlets - until I hear better reports.

[GuitArtMan]

Have you contacted Heritage directly?  What's the delay?  I've custom orderd two Heritages from Jay Wolfe, both had some delays in the completion but the communication was good.  I could call Jay and/or Heritage and get an update.  I'm with guitarjump, you should either get some concrete info or a refund. 

[guitarjump]

sorry...double post.

[yoslate]

I had a feeling there was someone who'd been waiting longer than I, and that would be you!!  Sorry for this, jazz; I know what I've been through since May 5, 2007.  I heard nothing from my dealer (Jay Wolfe) until one year to the day from the time I'd ordered my Super Eagle.  The news then was that it was coming along...whatever that meant.  Things didn't start moving for me until Kuz began pushing me (not in my character) to get some information and movement on the instrument.  At about the same time, brentrocks began going to Parsons Street and actually looking for my instrument, along with ingeneri's Groovemaster.  We eventually had a sighting of mine in mid-June, which eased my mind for a bit and encouraged me to email Ren Wall at Heritage with inquiry, which I did.  Ren would send me brief responses which indicated progress, and I had sightings from both Kuz and Brent.  Kuz, Brent, and a number of others on the HOC contributed to threads and kept my guitar on the radar, for which I'm very grateful.  

 

Word has it that Jay and Graham (at Wolfe Guitars) and Vince at Heritage are very aware of the HOC and much of the conversation which transpires here.  Whether or not the traffic regarding mine got their attention or not, I couldn't say, but once things began to move, they began to move, but it wasn't without some prodding from me and some of the really good cats here on the HOC.  So consider this posting my bid to help your situation a bit...if anyone of influence has his ear to the rail.  You've waited long enough and deserve no small consideration from the good folks at Heritage and, certainly, your dealer!  It's a given that things don't move quickly at Heritage, and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.  But it's high time someone began vetting your guitar, and you should advocate actively for that.  Mine will be here Friday...finally!  Best of luck!

 

Rob

[brentrocks]

call Rendal at Heritage next monday...they are off this week

[jazzalicious]

I have down payment of $750.00, and I don't want a refund, I want this guitar. I have missed lots of nice used Eagles on GBASE.COM and Ebay while waiting for answers as to what stage of completion this thing was in.

Once in a while I contemplated getting my money back, but decided I would wait.

I talked in March with Vince, and he told me it was 5 weeks to completion.

Last heard about 3 1/2 weeks ago that they were waiting for the hardware.

I know the boys will deliver, but....when?

Also, for those of you who didn't know, apparently they are discontinuing Eagles and 575 mahogany models (which is what I ordered).

The mahogany is too timely to work with.

Anyway, wish me luck.

Jazzalicious

[yoslate]

Last heard about 3 1/2 weeks ago that they were waiting for the hardware.

I know the boys will deliverAnyway, wish me luck.

Jazzalicious

 

That hardware has been in nearly two weeks.  My Super was waiting for a bail.  And yes, the boys will deliver!  Keep the faith!

[Gitfiddler]

Jazz~ If your forthcoming Mahogany bodied H575 is anything like the Gibby model I played years ago, it should be one mean machine!!

 

Of course, it should be much better if it is solid vs. lam. 8)

[snacker]

i've had a H576 on order since march 2007, so i'm not much ahead of you - i was originally told 10-12 weeks since it was a discontinued model - i think i'll try calling them directly once they re-open

[JeffB]

If its any consolation at all to you or anyone else, I have seen people wait similar times for prs guitars.

No consolation in that at all I guess, but shows that custom ordered guitars from other manufacturers have similar turn around time and Heritage are not alone in this.

[Dick Seacup]

When we went through the Hamer/Ovation tour last year, Jol was saying that they had sold out production for a year and a half, and that the wait time for a customer order was whatever it was on a case-by-case basis.  I think he said to expect about a year, though. 

[Mikenov]

It seems to me that whenever we hear about these delays its always the Archtops/ jazz boxes . That is interesting info on the Mahogony models going disco'd. Sort of sad. They probably lose money on every one they make b/c they take so much time. Why put a couple of guys to work on that guitar for weeks when they can pump out a ton of H535s and H150s  in the same time period and they will sell without being custom.

Looks like people won't have to wait in ther future, they just won't be able to get them.

[ingeneri]

Also, for those of you who didn't know, apparently they are discontinuing Eagles and 575 mahogany models (which is what I ordered).

The mahogany is too timely to work with.

Anyway, wish me luck.

Jazzalicious

 

The "Eagles" are being discontinued along with the mahogany 575s?  Has anyone else heard this?  If it's true, does it apply to all Eagles or just certain models.  I can see the Super's being a low seller (and replaced by the KB signature) but I thought the regular and Golden Eagles were very popular.

 

As Super Eagle owner, this would boost the value of my guitar.  But it also makes me even more guilty about the scratch on the lower bout I got this weekend! > :'( :'( >

[Dick Seacup]

But it also makes me even more guilty about the scratch on the lower bout I got this weekend! > :'( :'( >

 

Honest play wear (i.e., not abuse)makes a guitar more attractive to me.  I look at the pick scratches in the tops and wonder how many times it was picked up and played as opposed to one with no scratches that has spent its life unloved, hidden in a case under someone's bed.  I run my hand down the neck and marvel that I cannot, in fact, feel the divot (or two) on the back that clearly came from leaning it up against something, and I wonder which bar that happened in.  I marvel at the (natural) greyish-brown stain in the top of one of my guitars and wonder what the luthier thought as he was building and finishing it.  Did he think, "That's the way it came out of the tree, who am I to fight the wood?"  Or, did he think, "Huh, that's not right, but we need to get this thing out the door"?  Either way, the guitar still resonates well, sounds great and plays easily, so the presence of the discoloration doesn't detract from the instrument.  It does, however, give me something to ponder while I'm studiously avoiding working on scales. :wink:

 

Pardon my waxing philosophic, but I am on a one-man mission to rid the world of this notion that every guitar has to remain in factory fresh condition for its entire life. :police: :laugh:

[jazzalicious]

I was told all mahogany body arcthops (not Golden Eagles, or Supers, but the regular mahogany body Eagle, as well as the 575 mh)

would be discontinued.

Sorry for those who thought that that meant any other Eagle models.

Jazzalicious

[jazzalicious]

So....after 19 months wait....it arrived 3 weeks ago. I was excited, though there was a lot going on at the time (my mother was released from hospital the day before, and I was looking after her. AS well, my 2 year old was home from daycare that week, so...I was looking after the 2 of them).

So, it's a beautiful 575 mahogany. Not quite as I asked for:

--  (I asked for split blocks a week after originally ordering regular blocks, and they only put on the regular blocks.)

I plug in to play, and....BUZZZZZZ. All over the place. First, they put the pickup so high that the 6th and 5th strings touch it when they are picked. No problem, just lower pickup. But....the upper strings buzz as well.

So....I have to get my luthier to look at it.

1st thing he notices.....F-holes differ in terms of thickness. A LOT. So, now I'm worried...is it structurally sound? Will it cave in?

2nd - buzzing is due to radius of bridge not matching radius of fingerboard. But also, the groove in the bridge for the B string is cut too deep, so it is the main culprit when it buzzes. Other string grooves will have to be cut to balance out.

3rd - bridge is not flush with body

4th - bridge top leans backwards towards tailpiece????

5th - when pickup was mounted into top, it was cut into some of the X-bracing. Again....structurally sound?????

6th- and VERY IMPORTANT....hex nut of truss rod is all crooked, and has scores from a truss rod wrench all over it. Obviously, whoever put in the truss rod had trouble adjusting it, because it is crooked. This implies that the truss rod may be crooked! OR, the wood around the hex nut and unde the truss rod cover is crooked. My luthier tried putting a truss rod wrench on the hex nut, and said that it only goes on about half way, and at that is at a very bad angle. He didn't even want to try to adjust it. He says that Heritage should know about this.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

I know from picking it up that the feel, and size are EXACTLY what I want. I have a  Golden Eagle, as well as an Ibanez George Benson model. But this one....the body size and neck are great!!

Also, the wood combination of mahogany body and rosewood board for me, are the sound that I dig. I prefer it over the typical maple body/ebony board.

So.....WHAT DO I DO? I waited 19 months for this, and there some major issues. I don't want my money back, I want a guitar that is solid, plays well, adjusts properly, and sounds great.

I am going to have my luthier takes pics of all the issues, which I will forward to Heritage. I am going to call Tuesday to address this.

Please wish me luck. Right now, I am more than a little worried, and quite disappointed.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Jazzalicious

[Mikenov]

Not sure what I would do. I wouldn't be happy though thats for sure. I would definitely send it back. Its not right and it shouldn't have left their doors that way. The pics are a good idea and I don't think you are nit picking. This isn't a crooked binding. These are long term instrument issues that affect playability.

If the truss is jacked, then its going to need a new neck . That might be enough to fix the radius issue but there are other issues to cure here too. Good luck.. I wish you the best on this one.