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Heritage Owners Club

1986 custom shop h-140?


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Posted

OK so, when I was 14 years old, by step dad bought this guitar from a local player and gave it to me. He said he bought it for $500 and that it was a very nice guitar, however I saw nothing but a knock off gibson!

 

Now, I am 29 years old, have quite a collection of guitars to my name and know now that The Heritage was no knock off. However I am looking for some clarification still on this instrument.

 

The guitar is a 1986 goldtop with push pull pots and a kahler trem bridge. It has a sharp cutaway horn so I "think" its the h140 but im not certain. I always assumed that it was bought for only $500 because of the Kahler... what with the giant routed hole in the body... But a few months ago I decided to start playing it again so I ditched the Kahler for a tunomatic but to my surprise saw gold paint inside the routed hole...

 

The routing appears to be machine done, the paint in the rout and the humbucker splitting push pull pots beg the question; is this a custom shop model?

 

It is missing the pickguard, Kahler locking nut and has a ton of dings and scratches, but if it is a custom shop model, what is it really worth?

 

 

pics here:

http://doublejumprecords.imgur.com/all/

 

Posted

Welcome to the forum.

 

I'm having problems viewing the pictures but it sounds like a custom job to me.

 

That being said, it's value is probably more sentimental than anything else. I imagine that pulling the Kahler left a big whole in the top of the guitar. But it's hard to tell without seeing pictures.

Posted

DJR,

 

Welcome to the HOC. Thats an old one, alright! 2nd year of manufacture. Heritage is at heart a custom shop. They don't really have a separate CS department. The custom part generally comes in when you get something made to order that is off the norm. So, yeah, yours is probably a custom ordered guitar. Nice that they sprayed the trem cavity for you! :thumbsup: Looks great with the traditional stop tail piece. Value? Well, it's not collectable, if thats what you're asking. Not on the lines of a '50s/60s era Gibs. Still, a nice treasure if you like Heritage Guitars.

Posted

I dont plan on selling it! It was my second guitar and the first one I loved, I just was shocked to see the paint inside the cavity. I have been playing ever since and really only plan on giving it to my son when he is ready, I just wanted to know more about it.

 

This thing through some overdrive is thick and sharp but warm and easy at the same time. Ive played it for jazz gigs, indie rock, metal... and with a pull of the knobs it can pass for a single coiled twanger. It is a beautiful sounding and playing instrument and one that I have always been fairly ignorant about.

 

I remember when I was a kid and asking my guitar teacher if I should put p90's in it and he said to me, "Dont fuck with it, its been fucked with enough." And now It seems maybe he was wrong!

Posted

I dont plan on selling it! It was my second guitar and the first one I loved, I just was shocked to see the paint inside the cavity. I have been playing ever since and really only plan on giving it to my son when he is ready, I just wanted to know more about it.

 

This thing through some overdrive is thick and sharp but warm and easy at the same time. Ive played it for jazz gigs, indie rock, metal... and with a pull of the knobs it can pass for a single coiled twanger. It is a beautiful sounding and playing instrument and one that I have always been fairly ignorant about.

 

I remember when I was a kid and asking my guitar teacher if I should put p90's in it and he said to me, "Dont fuck with it, its been fucked with enough." And now It seems maybe he was wrong!

I remember asking my jazz and theory guitar teacher once if we were learning a sad song. He grabbed my guitar and said "the only thing sad about it is the way you're playing it!". He wasn't wrong ..... :laughing9:

Posted

Yeah man... 140's are awesome. They were some of the first instruments to come out of Kalamazoo after Heritage took over the old Parsons Street plant.

 

The push/pull pots are an awesome feature and the rout for a Kahler makes it unusual.

 

You've probably already done this... but be sure to check the label in the control cavity for any more clues....

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