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NHGD 2002 H150 (Custom?)


tsp17

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Posted

2002 Heritage H150 Trans Cherry, Ebony Fretboard, Seth Lovers, Locking Grover Tuners. I think I am the third owner. I assume it was a custom order as I've not seen this configuration before. I don't usually go for such a bright top, or gold hardware, but this one is a very sweet guitar. As a package (red top, ebony board, cream binding/pickguard, black speed knobs and gold hardware) the overall look is very cool.The Seths sound fantastic as usual. It doesn't replace the ALSB 150 I reluctantly sold a while back, it's different. Happily, it is a little lighter than a lot of H150s I've played, weighing in at a manageable 8.8 lbs.

 

I'd describe this one as highly musical.

 

My jazz guitars are strung with 12's, so after a good cleaning and a needed fretboard conditioning, i put a new set of TI BeBop round-wound 11's on it and it really sounds great. A little bigger and more "Hi-Fi" with these strings than what was on it. Sounds truly exceptional through my Princeton Reverb Reissue. Even through my solid state jazz amps it sounds great, but it took some tweaking to bring it to life there. It could easily be a jazz guitar, the tones are warm and full through the neck pickup, so i'll use it as backup for my jazz gigs (or even sneak it into the lineup for the right setting). With pedals the neck gets big and dirty and the bridge pickup can sing or sting depending on how you set it. It is an absolutely awesome fusion guitar and delivers on classic rock sounds too. Super versatile in what it can do. Neck is medium-slim. Just right for me.

 

I'm pretty happy with this one.

 

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Photography by my daughter Amalia.

Posted

Looks great, although I'd still swap out the gold hardware.

crossed my mind, but i'll let this sit for a while. i like it a lot more than i though i would. taken in all together it works.

Posted

Whoa, baby! You did good, brother...real good!

 

In your capable hands, I'm certain it sounds fantastic. Now go and throw down your best DiMeola impersonation. :icon_salut:

Posted

I don't know if that qualifies as a "custom" or not but I can tell you that it is nearly identical in appearance to a Heritage guitar that I started to spec out for a special order one particular day when I was at the factory talking to Ren Wall.

 

I like it!!

Posted

Beauty, I'd call that Transred or something like that. Those MOP markers pop in that picture. Any time I play a Heritage I appreciate the MOP markers and anytime I play other (cough cough Gibson) brands I appreciate them more. Great weight as well. Enjoy and Congrats.

Posted

Beauty, I'd call that Transred or something like that. Those MOP markers pop in that picture. Any time I play a Heritage I appreciate the MOP markers and anytime I play other (cough cough Gibson) brands I appreciate them more. Great weight as well. Enjoy and Congrats.

Thanks all...

 

yes - the ebony board really sets off the MOP trap markers, and definitely the reasonable weight was part of the attraction to this one.

Posted

Whoa, baby! You did good, brother...real good!

 

In your capable hands, I'm certain it sounds fantastic. Now go and throw down your best DiMeola impersonation. :icon_salut:

LOL- I'll do my best! I've started reaching out to friends to see if I can get a new project going...

Posted

I'd say it's a custom simply because the Trans color, gold hardware and ebony board.

 

Regardless, Nice Snatch! She's a beauty ;)

Posted

I'd say it's a custom simply because the Trans color, gold hardware and ebony board.

 

Regardless, Nice Snatch! She's a beauty ;)

Thanks! i popped the cavity open to look at the label and it does not say "Custom" but it must have been a special order given this configuration.

Posted

Thanks! i popped the cavity open to look at the label and it does not say "Custom" but it must have been a special order given this configuration.

What would be the difference between a special order and a custom? I've ordered 2 H's to my specs. One came in with a "Custom" decal, the other just the plain 'ol generic everyday label. :( Either way, they are both Custom guitars. Agree with the Stein, you have a Custom build regardless of what the label says. You have to remember, these things aren't as important to the boys as they are to us. "We're out of Custom Labels, use the ones' we've got". I can hear it now!

Posted

"Custom" is a pretty loose term with Heritage. For the most part, Heritage builds guitars according to how you (the customer) specs one out or how the dealer who is ordering the guitar for stock specifies. Heritage doesn't have their specs locked in stone like Gibson does and will build the guitar however you like it, so long as you don't get carried away with asking for really weird stuff. They don't care what color hardware you want or what pickups you want etc.

 

But Gibson on the other hand, has all that locked down, so if you want a Les Paul (for example) with features which don't exist on the assembly line guitars, then you have to to to their "Custom Shop" and pay a whole lot more money. So, what Gibson calls Custom is what Heritage does every day.

 

For a Heritage guitar to be truly CUSTOM, you would have to sweet talk them into doing something that they don't usually do, like, putting one of those really fancy headstocks on a guitar instead of the normal headstock, or installing a string-through body stop bar instead of a regular stop bar. Or simply building a model 357. Stuff like that.

Posted

My Sunset Burst H-525 was upgraded with many custom options, but the label reads "H-525 SSB".

 

What is most important to me is the finished product, and I could not be happier.

 

That's how the boys at Heritage run things.

 

That TransRed 150 is one cool looking git.

Posted

Thanks all.

 

I certainly agree with all of the above. It doesn't matter whether the label says "custom", I've just never seen one with these specs before so i figured it must have been a "custom" or "special order". I raised the question in this thread to see if that was the general consensus- whether it was a "standard" build or built to customer specs.

 

It is indeed a cool guitar. It has been played and has a couple of cosmetic blemishes to show for it, but nothing major or on the face of it. I dig it.

 

 

Posted

I dig it.

 

 

 

 

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