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Pickin' it up from Pete Friday

unikh550

By unikh550
in Heritage Guitars

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unikh550 Contributor

unikh550

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Am driving up to Kalamazoo to pick up my H-550 from Pete Moreno this Friday. He finished it a month ago, but the money I had in the spring somehow vanished. He took payments, so all's great. Hard to sleep, knowing that she's no longer a redhead, but light osb. Will show pics if I can get a friend to do it.= Charley Bevell

brentrocks Rookie Copy

brentrocks

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ohhh...thats yours??? i remeber seeing that guitar when it had its cherry sunburst finish....it looks great now too!!!

brentrocks Rookie Copy

brentrocks

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How much does it cost to get the color changed? Is it easier/cheaper than buying another Heritage in a better color?

 

Brad

 

i think a lot depends on the luthier

unikh550 Contributor

unikh550

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Hi, Noon, Made the change because almond burst, for one, was not available in '98, and antique burst varies so widely. Didn't want the asb to be too subdued. However, the dealer, among many others, told me that the stop sign red would become more of a darker cherry over time, or at least not so bright. That WAS correct with the finishes that they used on Les Pauls in the late '50's-early '60's. However, both Gibson and Heritage now make durable finishes that don't change much over time. This guitar sounds so much like Barney Kessel's 350 that it's scary. That CC pickup is strident, very biting, and exciting to play bop, standards, or anything. The bass is not its strength... but oh, well. Barney liked it when I brought it to his SD home in '99.

 

I think that Pete was given a baptismal under fire. Mr. French (not the Family Affair butler) had given a great pitch that they'd be glad to do the job, CC pickup and all. However, in April, when I brought it to the factory, Ren and Marv were not fans of the job. They called Pete at his home on a Monday, a day his shop is closed. He happened to be there, and they all encouraged me to go to his house. I almost didn't because I could NOT believe that Heritage had refused to fix my redhead's hairdo to blond, foremost, a brunette second. Confused, I made it to Pete's, a 20-minute drive from Heritage. I gave him pics of different finishes, and he calmly showed me around and gave me a 2-3 month window. That, with a $600 finish charge, which he DEFINITELY earned, with his attempts to remove the red, sold me. He also charged me an additional $30 to fill in pegholes so that he could replace the Imperials with new Gotoh copies of Schaller M-6's which I had given him, sealing two small pinsized holes in the top (Who knows how they happened?), and, most importantly, putting inside wooden curved support for the jackhole that the installer of the CC had not thought of putting in (Heritage uses these).

 

Took five months, and has taken me another month to regain the money to pay him. He was cool with it, and took half of the balance over the last few weeks. Not sure if he'd ever give anyone else this kind of deal because he really met some challenges with my guitar. I DO vouch for his honesty and abilities. Just don't expect to see it for awhile. Dave Baas, of Roadworthy Guitars, in Bloomington, IN, loaned me a very good Epi Joe Pass II with a laminated spruce top for $10/week. Thus, I've been well taken care of, by everyone. Wish I could skip tomorrow, and go straight to Friday.- Charley Bevell

tulk1 Experienced

tulk1

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Yeah, baby!! :thumbsup: Can't wait to see that puppy. It should be gorgeous. Pete seems to be THE MAN for aftermarket Heritage refins. Sure know Brently has had enough Silverbursts done there. Good to hear you were well taken care of.

yoslate Proficient

yoslate

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That is a GREAT story.

 

 

Really is, Charley! Love to read about that sort of episode. Pete Moreno's name has always been uttered with a sort of reverence, here. Brent speaks highly of him. I dig this sort of tale, since I've been apprenticing with a luthier, and love imagining all the work a job like this entails...and it is a bunch of work! Looking forward to seeing some pics (before and after?), and hearing of your response to the "new" instrument. I know you're excited, and thanks for sharing that.

Ned Contributor

Ned

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Please stop playing for a few minutes and snap some pictures. It has been Friday for almost 16 hours in Michigan. We want to see the face lift.

unikh550 Contributor

unikh550

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Am getting a friend to do the picture takin' and transfer to this site, and all of that wichy-goo that goes with it. Bought a gold h tailpiece from Pete to replace the chrome one. Was going to get an ES-175 trapeze, but it looked so good that I had to buy it. I'd recommend Pete for major work because the results are so fantastic. However, for small to medium repairs, I'd probably go to someone local because he sure is a deliberate worker, not to be rushed. - Charley

unikh550 Contributor

unikh550

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Yep, Schundog, that's Red. Now, she looks exactly like that guitar in that pic that was finished by Marv Lamb in Light Old Style burst. It's very close to almond burst, but Pete put a more muted yellow burst than is shown in that pic of the other H-550. Pete finished mine by looking at that pic when I gave it to him a couple of months ago. The other 8 pics were of colors that would have allowed the red to bleed through over time. Yes, the bowtie inlay and Ibanez amber knobs prove that I'm crazy, but in a good way. My friend said that he's still trying to send the finished pics. If nothing else, he's going to design a web page for me that will allow people to click on an arrow in the photo, like in youtube, and watch and hear me play this 15 y.o. brunette. Will post when that happens. or, best yet, as many of you as possible come down to Bloomington, IN, to Player's Pub, Thurs., 10/25, or any fourth Thursday, after 10p. Have a co-worker, a Latin percussionist, to accompany me. They usually give us five tunes. I'll buy the first two drinks for HOC'ers.- Charley Bevell

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