Pricing out a new Heritage custom order

[brentrocks]

The best looking 137 pickguards to me were the ones made by HOC'er, Cryoman.

VERY TRUE

[rockabilly69]

Ah, one very important, highly over looked part of a 137 that is missing from Heritage....

 

Put a Pickguard on it!!!!!!

 

\m/

I totally agree with Josh. The H137 to me seems like a workingman's guitar, and to me, that means get a pickguard on it. (I like Gibson's Pickguard the on my Historic Special). As for Dogears as opposed to Soapbars. I think a single Dogear looks right in the bridge position, and it's a more solid mount drilled right into the wood. I especially like them with a spacer so that the pickup gets right up under the strings where a P90 belongs!!! For the 2 pickup model I like the Soapbars, butI don't like them mounted with springs. I have wood shims made for the right height and angle for both pickups. The improvement that made in my last LP Special was amazing!

 

The pickguard shown with a wraptail...

 

 

How the shims worked on the Soapbar loaded Special...

 

 

 

 

[rockabilly69]

And for P90's these pickups should both be more real P90 sounding then the Lollars. I have installed Lollars many times

for other people and they do NOT sound like vintage Gibbos to me. They sound good but not like the real deal! And Brent

now that you have a vintage Gibson you should KNOW that Lollars don't sound like that!

 

Gibson replacement pickups are actually pretty good, but these are the two that I would install.

 

I have two sets of these and like them alot!!!

 

Sheds... http://www.shedpickups.com/viewpickup.asp?puid=74 and my Demo of Sheds... http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=8291529

 

And this guy has an ear for vintages Gibson P90 tone...

 

Throbak... http://www.throbak.com/2013/01/throbak-p-90-pickups.html

[brentrocks]

now that you mention it...the Throbaks would prob be a good way to go for this guitar!!!

[tulk1]

And for P90's these pickups should both be more real P90 sounding then the Lollars. I have installed Lollars many times

for other people and they do NOT sound like vintage Gibbos to me. They sound good but not like the real deal! And Brent

now that you have a vintage Gibson you should KNOW that Lollars don't sound like that!

 

Gibson replacement pickups are actually pretty good, but these are the two that I would install.

 

I have two sets of these and like them alot!!!

 

Sheds... http://www.shedpickups.com/viewpickup.asp?puid=74 and my Demo of Sheds... http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=8291529

 

And this guy has an ear for vintages Gibson P90 tone...

 

Throbak... http://www.throbak.com/2013/01/throbak-p-90-pickups.html

Well, Jon ought to be able to wind some vintage sounding pups, considering he got all his winders from the Heritage plant.

[rockabilly69]

Well, Jon ought to be able to wind some vintage sounding pups, considering he got all his winders from the Heritage plant.

That's the Humbucker winder Ken, I think he got his P90 winder right from the guy who built the originals...

 

http://www.throbak.com/2013/01/throbak-p-90-pickups.html

[Spectrum13]

I'll take a shot at the soap & dog issue. Soap bars require a deeper route. A 137 - 140 or 147 is just 1 5/8" or even 1 1/2" thick. I remember reading Marv said when they went to the long tennon a couple of year back they did not go long with soap bars.

 

And there is at least one Throbak P90 at 225 Parsons Street. So Marv and Bill know Jon winds a P90.

[Guest HRB853370]

Don't worry I'm not getting special treatment they do at the same for everybody. Lol

 

The 137 is the most simple guitar that heritage makes there's no binding no carving it is the quickest build in the shop

Quickest build next to the bass!!

[rockabilly69]

I'll take a shot at the soap & dog issue. Soap bars require a deeper route. A 137 - 140 or 147 is just 1 5/8" or even 1 1/2" thick. I remember reading Marv said when they went to the long tennon a couple of year back they did not go long with soap bars.

 

And there is at least one Throbak P90 at 225 Parsons Street. So Marv and Bill know Jon winds a P90.

What is the difference in thickness between a modern Historic LP Special and a 137

[HANGAR18]

The 137 is the most simple guitar that heritage makes there's no binding no carving it is the quickest build in the shop

No maple top either. Yet I've wondered for a long time why there isn't much of a price difference for a 137 as there is for a 150 or even a 157.

As I type this, Wolfe has all of the above available for almost $1800.00. Any speculation as to why a 137 costs so much?

If I had $1800.00 and I could have any guitar I wanted (of those just mentioned) I would go with a 157 because I know they are the most time consuming/expensive to make.

The 137 might be a fantastic guitar, but (IMHO) not for the same price as a 157.

[tulk1]

That's the Humbucker winder Ken, I think he got his P90 winder right from the guy who built the originals...

 

http://www.throbak.com/2013/01/throbak-p-90-pickups.html

I did not know that. I thought all of Jon's winders were from the Heritage stash. Either way, he does seem to know how to wind a pickup. A bit too expensive for me, but the ones I've heard and played have sounded pretty dandy!!

[pressure]

Your killin' me with this build Brently.
Someone you know might be building a Heritage with soapbar Throbak p90s. Throbak will do reverse wound to cancel hum in the middle position or so I have been told.

[DetroitBlues]

No maple top either. Yet I've wondered for a long time why there isn't much of a price difference for a 137 as there is for a 150 or even a 157.

As I type this, Wolfe has all of the above available for almost $1800.00. Any speculation as to why a 137 costs so much?

If I had $1800.00 and I could have any guitar I wanted (of those just mentioned) I would go with a 157 because I know they are the most time consuming/expensive to make.

The 137 might be a fantastic guitar, but (IMHO) not for the same price as a 157.

I've had the same argument myself because the guitar doesn't seem to be nearly the same labor and effort as any other Heritage model...

[schundog]

While I can understand the befuddlement as to why the easier to build, less-blingy/beautiful 137 should cost as much as a 150 or 157, I'm not letting mine go anytime soon. I'll have to take Rockabilly's word for what a "true" P-90 should sound like; I dig the Lollars that came in my 137. Maybe ignorance is bliss. To me, the guitar sounds like a Telecaster with bigger balls. While the 137 is the least ornate Heritage I own, to me, it's beauty is in it's simplicity, and the surprised look people get when they hear how good it sounds. Don't underestimate them. Oh, and I dig both the "naked" look and the pickguard look. I'm pretty committed at this point, however, unless I want a lot of holes showing. This is my buddy playing my 137 with a Cryoman pickguard. He bought my second 137 a couple months after this jam session!

 

[rockabilly69]

While I can understand the befuddlement as to why the easier to build, less-blingy/beautiful 137 should cost as much as a 150 or 157, I'm not letting mine go anytime soon. I'll have to take Rockabilly's word for what a "true" P-90 should sound like; I dig the Lollars that came in my 137. Maybe ignorance is bliss. To me, the guitar sounds like a Telecaster with bigger balls. While the 137 is the least ornate Heritage I own, to me, it's beauty is in it's simplicity, and the surprised look people get when they hear how good it sounds. Don't underestimate them. Oh, and I dig both the "naked" look and the pickguard look. I'm pretty committed at this point, however, unless I want a lot of holes showing. This is my buddy playing my 137 with a Cryoman pickguard. He bought my second 137 a couple months after this jam session!

 

 

That pickguard looks great on that guitar! An Lollars have their own sound, which are loved by alot of people and sound like just like you describe, just not the bark of a vintage gibson!

[Guest HRB853370]

No maple top either. Yet I've wondered for a long time why there isn't much of a price difference for a 137 as there is for a 150 or even a 157.

As I type this, Wolfe has all of the above available for almost $1800.00. Any speculation as to why a 137 costs so much?

If I had $1800.00 and I could have any guitar I wanted (of those just mentioned) I would go with a 157 because I know they are the most time consuming/expensive to make.

The 137 might be a fantastic guitar, but (IMHO) not for the same price as a 157.

Any speculation as to why their basses are so pricey?

[Guest HRB853370]

Ah, one very important, highly over looked part of a 137 that is missing from Heritage....

 

Put a Pickguard on it!!!!!!

 

\m/

Not needed. It only clutters the ungarnished look of the 137.

[Kuz]

Any speculation as to why their basses are so pricey?

It's bigger than a guitar.

It's handmade.

They only make a few, it's not listed in the catalog or website, so essentially it is a custom order.

 

FWIW, I don't think charging the same amount for a Heritage Bass as a 150 is overpriced, I think that is priced correctly. Why do you think it is over priced? Do you know how much Custom Shop Fender guitars & Basses are? A Masterbuilt Fender (essentially a guitar or bass made by one of their luthiers) is $4500, I think Jim is making the basses so for the price of a 150 might be a great deal one of those 4 stringers.

[Guest HRB853370]

It's bigger than a guitar.

It's handmade.

They only make a few, it's not listed in the catalog or website, so essentially it is a custom order.

 

FWIW, I don't think charging the same amount for a Heritage Bass as a 150 is overpriced, I think that is priced correctly. Why do you think it is over priced? Do you know how much Custom Shop Fender guitars & Basses are? A Masterbuilt Fender (essentially a guitar or bass made by one of their luthiers) is $4500, I think Jim is making the basses so for the price of a 150 might be a great deal one of those 4 stringers.

Its bigger than a guitar? They carve out the body with a jig. There is no carved maple cap. They bolt the neck on. They finish it, install hardware and electronics. Not nearly as much labor. Reality check Kuz.

[Kuz]

Its bigger than a guitar? They carve out the body with a jig. There is no carved maple cap. They bolt the neck on. They finish it, install hardware and electronics. Not nearly as much labor. Reality check Kuz.

 

They carve out all the guitars witha jig.

There is no maple top on a black beauty solid mahogany guitar or 137

They use MORE wood on bass, only a few made, only 1 or a couple people work on them

Gluing or bolt on necks, the labor is in making the neck pocket correctly. Slapping on glue & clamping it is not that big a deal if the neck the neck pocket is correct. So the same amount of time is required (if not more) to insure a bass neck pocket is correct.

Different neck, different frets need to be installed.... More work than a guitar.

 

Your logic is flawed. This is not a massed produce bass. It is handmade, requires a different skill set to produce, using more materials, and different materials that aren't just lying around. Plus it is a custom order.

[Gitfiddler]

Will, just get a handmade G&L for Pete's sake!

[schundog]

Will, has it been 6 months yet since you SOLD your Heritage Bass?! Haha

[Guest HRB853370]

Will, just get a handmade G&L for Pete's sake!

I have 3 G&L USA basses Tim, not sure if they are handmade, but I love all of them.

 

Will, has it been 6 months yet since you SOLD your Heritage Bass?! Haha

Yes, more than 6 Brian!

[Redsand]

How's this build coming along?

[skydog]

How's this build coming along?

+1