Info for a new guy

[jeffreykloss]

I Bought My First Heritage!

 

I went into a shop and it leapt out at me.

 

Sort scuffed, black 157.

17 years old. it's a 2nd. And I love it! Haven't felt this excited abouta guitar in a long time.

 

When I took it into my hands, I had to try mustering my best poker face so I could at least have some position to try and talk the store owner down a little bit. As luck had it, the owner was busy, and I was able to put the Black Beauty down and run outta the store and go internet learn ALL I Could about the unknown guitar.

 

That was 10 days ago. Now I own the guitar, have read everything I could on the Heritage and have joined this great site!

Glad to be here.

 

Guys will you take time to tell me the hierarchy of the guitars? this link shows thumbnails from the Heritage site http://www.heritageguitar.com/Thumbs/index.htm

Y'know how epiphone is one level, gibson, another and les paul custom shop gibson another level yet?

 

140, 150, 157 where do these rank? Not to mention Special, Delux and Ultra!

 

I really want to learn all I can-- when you fall in love, y'wanna know everything!

 

thanks for sharing with me...

 

jeff

[Dick Seacup]

Here's what I know:

 

H137 - Slabtop, single cut, two P90s

H140 - Thin, carved top, bound body, dots

H150 - Regular thickness, carved top, bound body, bound neck, dots

H157 - Regular thickness, carved top, double bound body, bound neck, bound headstock, trapezoids

 

I apologize that it isn't more, but, well, I've just started my infatuation with Heritage as well!

[wingnut1]

My H150 has trapezoids and my H157 has Block inlays.

[Thundersteel]

The H150 is similar to a Gibson Les Paul Standard (rosewood neck/crown inlays), whereas the H157 is like the Les Paul Custom (ebony fretboard/block inlay).

 

I think the Ultra has an AAAAA flamed maple top.

[Dick Seacup]

My H150 has trapezoids and my H157 has Block inlays.

 

Well, that shows how much I know.  And how much I have to learn!  :-[

[modRod]

H140 - Thin, carved top, bound body, dots

 

they come now (second edition) with the hrw pickups. i can only speak for the one i got, but this one is very light. great if you´re back is about 50 years old and you want to play a "paula" on stage.

 

arndt

[wingnut1]

I think you can get the H140 with a contoured back carve which will add to the guitar being lighter.

[jeffreykloss]

Waking this morning, having a coffee, it was so nice to read your inpt-- thanks guys!

 

I will be making this a morning read.

 

thanks again, the insight is helpful.

 

Like I said in my first post, i quickly ried reading, learning all i could when i was deciding to buy my 157. and i came across this http://www.edromanguitars.com/newsite/guitars/heritage.htm

 

It really raised my eyebrow. It seems evenhanded, he praises AND blames. Like I said, it raised a question ,but since i was buying a used older one, this opinion didn't sway me. But it does make me want to learn before I'd buy a NEW one.

 

What are your opinions? More expierenced guys, have you seen a decline in any way?

[modRod]

hi

 

i never met mr.roman personally, but if you do a search on any guitar related forum on this planet, you´ll find out that he has a very doubtful reputation ( to say it in kind words).

if you need the opinion of someone, who sells heritage guitars, ask this man :  http://www.heritageownersclub.com/forums/i...topic,19.0.html

 

regards

arndt

[jeffreykloss]

Wow ModRod,

 

Not to get too far off topic, but that Roman is a scoundrel, huh?

 

Why do you think there are so few retailers for Heritage?

There is a shop in town (I live in Milwaukee) that i really like (North Star Music, for any of you guys here...) and the next time I pop in I'll love talking with the owner, Joe, about Heritage. He works hard to find cool, lesser known brands, and just cos Heritage is new to me, I can't believe it'll be to him. He knows guitars.

SO that makes me want to know WHY I'm not finding TONs of info on-line, not TONS of dealers etc.

[modRod]

i don´t think they make a lot of guitars. 

 

cheers

arndt

[wingnut1]

I think that one oe Ed Roman's customers had an issue because he was having trouble getting a custom order from Heritage, so in order for Ed to save face he is now bashing Heritage.  I haven't seen any problems with the quality of their guitars, but I've only seen a limited number of them.  I've seen some films of the Heritage plan, I toured it several times while it was still Gibson, and I don't think they are geared up to mass produce guitars.  This limits their ability to have a large number of dealers.  I got some prety good deals on two of my guitars and one for my brother because the local mom and pop couldn't move them.  My brother's Millenium DC sat in their store for a year and my H157 and H150 were there for 18 months.

[GuitArtMan]

Wow ModRod,

 

Not to get too far off topic, but that Roman is a scoundrel, huh?

 

Why do you think there are so few retailers for Heritage?

There is a shop in town (I live in Milwaukee) that i really like (North Star Music, for any of you guys here...) and the next time I pop in I'll love talking with the owner, Joe, about Heritage. He works hard to find cool, lesser known brands, and just cos Heritage is new to me, I can't believe it'll be to him. He knows guitars.

SO that makes me want to know WHY I'm not finding TONs of info on-line, not TONS of dealers etc.

Well one has to take everything Ed Roman says with a grain of salt.  I suspect Ed lost the Heritage line due to customer complaints about Ed, and not their Heritage Guitars.  Here's my Ed Roman story.  I may have some of the dates wrong as this was years ago but the story is true:

 

I had been looking for a 335 style guitar for a number of years, but didn’t care for the current G word offerings: expensive, poor QA, we all know the story.  Well a local shop owner let me play his 535 and I was hooked!  Problem was, no local dealer. 

 

In November of 1998 (I believe that was the date) I notice a beautiful, 535 in amber up at Ed Romans website.  It has select flame maple, a $100 upgrade at the time, and the Amber finish was also a $100 upgrade at the time.  I called and spoke with Ed, the guitar was still available so I ordered it.  I decided to send a cashiers check.  I sent it Certified Mail – the post office miss places it, no joke.  It took 3 ½ weeks to get from California to Connecticut (isn’t that where he used to be located?).  Anyway, I’m in contact with Ed saying “the check is in the mail” as it was.  Well he sells the guitar anyway – can’t blame him really as I’m sure he got that story lots of times.

 

Anyway, he assures me he has another 535 coming in from Heritage any day now that is identical to the one I thought I had purchased.  I say if it’s like the one I ordered (I paid extra for the upgraded maple and the amber finish) then I’ll take it.  He replies “I always order amber in select flame maple.  I ask him to please contact before he ships the guitar as we were going on Christmas Vacation and I didn’t want the guitar left on my door step while we were gone. 

 

Well I call on the Friday before we left for vacation (we left either Saturday or Sunday) and he asks “Did you get the guitar yet?”  I was shocked.  I replied that I asked him to contact me before shipping as I was going on vacation.  Needles to say, it was a nervous vacation with me worrying about my guitar sitting on the door step.

 

Well, we arrive home late one evening after vacation and I find the guitar around the side of the house – it had been delivered earlier that day.  I take it in and crack the case and the fist thing I notice is “This isn’t select flame maple”.  In fact it was pretty darn Plain Jane.  I’d seen standard Heritages with better flame.  The second thing I notice is that the finish is more orange than amber.  The guitar did play and sound nice however.  Very nice.

 

Well I call Ed the next morning to tell him about the guitar.  I mentioned that it didn’t have select flame maple, in fact it was pretty darn plane looking.  He asks “Did you pay extra for select flame maple?”  Well duh.  And didn’t he say he always orders amber in select flame maple?  This is where it gets good.

 

Ed then tells me to call UPS, tell them the guitar was stolen off of my doorstep, when UPS pays the insurance claim to call him up and order a second 535 from him!  He wanted me to commit insurance fraud.  Well at the point I decided I want nothing to do with the guitar or Ed Roman so I inform him I’ll be sending the guitar back.

 

Well I box it back up and ship it off, inform Ed and ask him to please inform me when it arrives.  Well I watch the tracking info and see that it was delivered, no message from Ed.  I give him a few more days and still no message so I call.  This is now early January.  He says yes the guitar arrived, but he can’t cut me a refund check as his accountant has the check books to do taxes.  He then tries to sell me another guitar.  I say no, I just want my refund.  To make a long story short, a few more calls, a few more lame excuses from Ed, I finally get my refund check in mid February. 

 

Also, every time I would call Ed (and it must have been about a dozen or more times during this whole process) I would identify myself “Hi Ed this is Bob Faulkner.”  His standard response was “Bob Who?”  I would then remind him amber 535, lost check, etc.  The guy always acted as if he didn’t know me from Adam.

 

Also keep in mind that the original 535 that “baited” me in was still pictured on his website.  In fact I watched and the same photo was still there nearly a year later.  When I asked Ed about this he said “I can’t change the picture every time a guitar sells”.  Buyer beware – what’s pictured on his website may or may not be the actual guitar you are getting. 

 

That’s when I decided the deal with Jay.  Every time I called Jay up he was pleasant, remembered who I was, and what I was calling about.  I got a better deal from Jay as well and top notch customer service.  I’ve been a Wolfe Guitars customer ever since. 

[GuitArtMan]

Wow ModRod,

 

Not to get too far off topic, but that Roman is a scoundrel, huh?

 

Why do you think there are so few retailers for Heritage?

There is a shop in town (I live in Milwaukee) that i really like (North Star Music, for any of you guys here...) and the next time I pop in I'll love talking with the owner, Joe, about Heritage. He works hard to find cool, lesser known brands, and just cos Heritage is new to me, I can't believe it'll be to him. He knows guitars.

SO that makes me want to know WHY I'm not finding TONs of info on-line, not TONS of dealers etc.

Heritage is a small company.  Much smaller than the G word.  I would immagine their total outpus is less than the G words Custom Shop, but I'm not sure.  Also, they aren't a "name" brand.  It's kinda like G&L - most playes will tell you their quality is equall to or better than Fender's, but how many G&Ls do you see out there?

[Dick Seacup]

Wow, one whole week and we already have our first Ed Roman thread! 

 

That is a crazy story, Jeffrey.  I can't believe he would ask you to participate in a scam like that.  I once called out there to buy a pickguard for a Steinberger GP I had (another one I should never have sold)...his prices were a little stiff, but like the man said, he has truckloads of OEM/NOS Steinberger parts and you can't find them anywhere else.  What are you going to do? 

 

Looking at the other posts, maybe we should have the board setup to automagically convert any instance of Gibson into "the G Word" as that seems to be a popular substitution. 

[wingnut1]

Why can't we just say "Gibson"?

[Dick Seacup]

Why can't we just say "Gibson"?

 

I don't know.  Let me try:

 

"The G Word" "The G Word" "The G Word" "The G Word" "The G Word"

 

Huh, it just keeps coming out "The G Word"!

 

Seriously, I don't know why not.  Maybe it's a psychological thing, like the guys on the TDPRI not saying Fender.  They seem to replace it with Fedner, F*nd*r or other variations.  That sometimes happens on the G&L board, as well.  I wonder if the guys on the Les Paul Forum post things like H3r17ag3. 

 

Heh.

[GuitArtMan]

Wow, one whole week and we already have our first Ed Roman thread!   

It was bound to happen...  :'(

[GuitArtMan]

Why can't we just say "Gibson"?

I was just having fun and hoping it caught on.  Besides, the G word gets enough publicity already - we don't need to give them any more here.  This is a Heritage forum, not a G word forum!!!  >

;D

[jacques]

I remember finding Heritage through Ed Roman's site! A couple of years ago he was extremely positive about our guitars and even had a comparison list with a Les Paul, a 150 and a PRS. Heritage was the clear winner. (maybe it is still there, since he can't keep updating his web site, remember?) I also recall him being so happy to get real people on the phone when he contacted Heritage and being rather negative about the G-word firm in that respect. I think he got in trouble with Heritage, probably about money, so now he's putting them down - rather childish I would say.

 

On the Seymour Duncan forum you can read more horror stories about our Ed. He must be an agressive salesman, which in the end will not work for him, as we all know. Nobody in his right mind will do business with him anymore.

[Thundersteel]

I have yet to hear any good things about Mr. Roman. I read on another forum that his Las Vegas store was closing.

[Dick Seacup]

I don't remember where I read it, probably on TGP or maybe on the G&L page, but I recall someone suggesting that Ed was re-topping guitars, significantly upcharging the customers and not disclosing it.  I could be way wrong, but I thought Heritage was one of the brands mentioned, and that they had pulled the dealership from him for it.  Or, it could all just be internet rumor. 

 

As to his store closing, the story I got from someone (who lives in Vegas and) who knows someone, is that he brought in investors.  Sold them 51%, then turned around and told the vendors that he wasn't responsible for any of the debts because they owned the joint now.  He got kicked out and said he plans on opening another store in Vegas.  Should be interesting to see how it all plays out. 

 

One thing is for certain, any publicity is good publicity.