Kuz Posted December 20, 2015 Posted December 20, 2015 Bottom line is if it weighs more than 9.15lbs, I am not buying one. Quality wood is light wood. All the higher end guitars are lighter, including custom shop solid-body Gibsons. I had ordered 4 custom Heritages all with weight limits. A heavy guitar (over 9.25 lbs) is a deal breaker for most serious guitarist and a heavy guitar just oozes "cheap". Go to Wildwood guitars and try to find an R4-R0 that weighs over 9.20lbs...... My case is made.
buzzy Posted December 20, 2015 Posted December 20, 2015 Let's not get our undies in a bundle here. I'll bet the motivation must be, first and foremost, a love of the craft. Now I'm even more excited to budget savings for a new guitar. All the best of luck, eh. I like the high quality / limited numbers strategy. If every guitar leaving the shop looks good and plays well out of the box, then there will be fewer opportunities for those drama queen internet trolls to create bad pub. A product that sells itself IF you can get it into players' hands. And, the hand painted serial numbers are nice touch.
bolero Posted December 21, 2015 Posted December 21, 2015 I would make this a standard production model Everyone who sees this guitar loves it ( including the headstock haters ). So I bet it would be a seller It has similarities to the Les Paul Custom....as the LPC has a headstock from a Super 400, which is larger than the standard LP headstock And this has the headstock from a Super Eagle you could make it an upgrade option, as it's more blinged out? At some point I want to order one with P90's too! +1 to no CNC and keeping the 100% handmade heritage at Heritage.
bolero Posted December 21, 2015 Posted December 21, 2015 I call it the "Bolero signature H157" but maybe that is a bit presumptuous
Kuz Posted December 21, 2015 Posted December 21, 2015 Let's not get our undies in a bundle here. I'll bet the motivation must be, first and foremost, a love of the craft. Now I'm even more excited to budget savings for a new guitar. All the best of luck, eh. I like the high quality / limited numbers strategy. If every guitar leaving the shop looks good and plays well out of the box, then there will be fewer opportunities for those drama queen internet trolls to create bad pub. A product that sells itself IF you can get it into players' hands. And, the hand painted serial numbers are nice touch. The motivation in buying any company is to make money. Let's hope love of the craft is included.
Gitfiddler Posted December 21, 2015 Posted December 21, 2015 I call it the "Bolero signature H157" but maybe that is a bit presumptuous That is TERRIBLY presumptuous! And the only way you will earn forgiveness is to sell me that gitfiddle! Merry Christmas!
JeffB Posted December 21, 2015 Posted December 21, 2015 Bottom line is if it weighs more than 9.15lbs, I am not buying one. Quality wood is light wood. All the higher end guitars are lighter, including custom shop solid-body Gibsons. I had ordered 4 custom Heritages all with weight limits. A heavy guitar (over 9.25 lbs) is a deal breaker for most serious guitarist and a heavy guitar just oozes "cheap". Go to Wildwood guitars and try to find an R4-R0 that weighs over 9.20lbs...... My case is made. Its because old men with bad backs and limp wrists buy R4's thru R0's. They arent expecting to sell a boat load of them to strapping young lads who have 2.5 kids and a brand new mortgage, or, who are trying to find a partner so they can go through that whole insane thing. Heavy vs light guitar can only ever be opinion just like almost everything else. All of my guitars without exception are heavy. I dont go looking for heavy guitars but its what I end up with. I spent a decade surrounded by guitars every work day. Never in that time did I bond with a light weight guitar. Im not alone. During that time I dealt with many guys that had read the internet and found out light weight guitars were better. I would line them up with a selection of same model guitars at different weights and let them play through them. Often over the coarse of the time it takes for an idea to take root and then the wallet to finally spring open, the heavier guitars, not the lighter guitars were triumphant in separating man from cash. I spent a lot of time playing a lot of R8's before I bought my H150 and I spent a lot of time afterwards directly comparing R's to my H150. I still have my H150. I have the means to buy anything I want and have had the opportunity to pay very little for usually expensive items. The heavier H150 hasnt been replaced. I know my way around guitars, I know whats good and bad, I have heavy guitars. Interestingly, my heavy guitars have become lighter since I have returned to my trade and engaged in some physical activity.
Steiner Posted December 21, 2015 Posted December 21, 2015 Denser materials transfer sound waves far more efficiently. It's physics.
JeffB Posted December 21, 2015 Posted December 21, 2015 Eliminate the dealers and have direct sales from the factory to the customer. Heres my rambling line of thought occasionally on topic with your statement. Mightve worked for Carvin but theyve been at it since the 40's and really the 70's. They always advertised largely in Guitar Player and Guitar World and placed their guitars in the hands of alot of the 80's shredder guys and who ever else they could be associated with. They did all this well before the internet and even long before I had even touched a Carvin I knew all about them. Similarly with Hamer. There was no store over here that stocked them but I was very aware of them through their many and large glossy ads in Guitar Player and Guitar world. So aware of them through advertising that as soon as I found a second hand one that was bought over from the States by a local guy I bought it based only on my knowledge of them through advertisements in magazines. It didnt disappoint. But again this was all before the internet. Heritage has never advertised to any large extent. They will have to do a lot in a short period of time to catch up. Their website suits me fine but I already have a good amount of awareness about them and their products. For someone who knows little about them and stumbles on the Heritage website it may seem lacking. I think EB MM website is right up there as visually one of the crappiest but it still works fine. Working in stores I have seen products die regardless of quality due to lack of exposure. My feeling is that when a product is placed in two or more large local stores it is more likely to succeed and be a long term stocked product. When one store has exclusive distribution the products seem to fizzle out. This was certainly the case for Heritage for us and also Duesenberg and Tom Anderson. It wasnt until Duesenberg distribution changed and it was placed in other stores also that it became more successful and worth stocking. It didnt mean we sold less by having other stores also selling them, it meant we sold more and more consistently Other products that only started doing well once there were more stores stocking them were Hughes and Kettner, Bad Cat, Mesa, Cole Clark, Ernie Ball MusicMan and PRS. Its the exposure to the product and the impression that they arent some wiggy foreign thing that only one store is having a go at. I think it may be the customer mindset "More stores selling so it must be a good/common/well regarded/plenty of back up thing". I think if Heritage Guitars were more available and seen to be everywhere they would sell a lot more. There were some problems with stocking Heritage and Gibson. Nothing that couldnt be worked out but unforeseen and a little surprising at the out set. On the other side of the coin, when we were stocking Heritage I "think" the guys at Heritage were operating the company exactly as they wanted to and a massive growth in sales might not have been what they were looking for or what they were all about. Same with Tom Anderson at the time. Im sure they wouldve been happy for a modest to manageable increase in sales. thats my wandering and grammatically incorrect .02c
High Flying Bird Posted December 21, 2015 Posted December 21, 2015 Denser materials transfer sound waves far more efficiently. It's physics. That's right. You can't change physics. My first Heritage, a Black H-150 was close to 11lbs. (5 Kilos to my mate from the bottom half) That guitar had the sustain of a piano. Acoustically it sang and vibrated like crazy. But.... it was too heavy for me. I played basketball at the time but playing that anchor was killing me. The Bigsby on the back end of my 535 pulls at my back too but not as bad. I can get good sustain from my amp and the guitar like God intended. ;^)
Kuz Posted December 21, 2015 Posted December 21, 2015 My last take on this weight issue.... -Certainly there are great sounding heavy guitars -the original Bursts varied in weight but averaged a little over 9lbs -the public now, in the US, want lighter guitars and want guitars that are like the golden Gibson era -there is a reason now why most guitar stores post online the weight of guitars Just my opinion, but it will be considerably harder to sell a >9.5lb guitar vs <9.5lb guitar. This has shown to happen many times here in the for sale section.... Does this look familiar, "Good luck with the sale, but 10 plus lbs is just to heavy for me"?
big bob Posted December 21, 2015 Posted December 21, 2015 Denser materials transfer sound waves far more efficiently. It's physics. So sound travels more efficiently throug me?
Kuz Posted December 21, 2015 Posted December 21, 2015 Sure, John, but how's the neck?? Now that was funny!!! Interestly, I used to be selective of only fat necks but in the last 6 years or so any size will work except shedder thin necks. But on weight over 9.5lbs is a deal breaker.
SteveinToulouse Posted December 21, 2015 Posted December 21, 2015 What drew me to buying a Heritage rather than a Gibson was primarily my preference (perceived idea) of owning a guitar built by the team of Gibson's original craftsmen. Gibson for me meant Kalamazoo. Heritage guitars today offer an unequalled standard of craftsmanship. A point I would not like to see change. I bought my H575 "blind" over the internet through the one and only outlet in France. The internet has killed off many local music stores unable to compete. I would have preferred to have been able to put my hands on the guitars before buying, so future marketing strategy must make Heritage guitars more available. Not only does the Heritage website need a serious facelift but dealer access must become easier. Jeff B's comment - "I think if Heritage Guitars were more available and seen to be everywhere they would sell a lot more" is relevant. Maybe the most important thing Heritage must retain is the quality of their instruments. My personal experience is that over the years the quality of Gibson has deteriorated, the "standard" product has declined in quality. If the future of Heritage is to be the use of CNC machines then great care must be taken to retain quality. I would like to see more models avaiblable, that choice limited to the original models produced at Kalamazoo. When changes come I hope that it means more of a choice of top quality instruments available over a widespread network.
Kuz Posted December 21, 2015 Posted December 21, 2015 Denser materials transfer sound waves far more efficiently. It's physics. I am not so sure this is accurate. I believe certain frequencies may travel better defined by the weight of a guitar, but I am not sure there is better overall sustain with heavier guitars
AP515 Posted December 21, 2015 Posted December 21, 2015 Denser materials transfer sound waves far more efficiently. It's physics. That's right. You can't change physics. My first Heritage, a Black H-150 was close to 11lbs. (5 Kilos to my mate from the bottom half) That guitar had the sustain of a piano. Acoustically it sang and vibrated like crazy. But.... it was too heavy for me. I played basketball at the time but playing that anchor was killing me. The Bigsby on the back end of my 535 pulls at my back too but not as bad. I can get good sustain from my amp and the guitar like God intended. ;^) My experience has been that a lighter guitar can sustain as long, but will not have that big bottom end and full booming sound. That said, 10 lbs. is just too heavy. A good 8.5 lbs. and I've got the right mix of tone and utility. If it means sacrificing a tiny bit of bottom end, it's still worth it.
RJLII Posted December 21, 2015 Posted December 21, 2015 Some things I might suggest....... - Invest in CNC for processes that would benefit from it, i.e. operations requiring high accuracy and repeatability. - Update the website so it send the right message and projects quality. - Decide if you want the company to actually grow, or die with the founders when their time comes.
kidsmoke Posted December 21, 2015 Posted December 21, 2015 as to weight. Few people have spent as many hours as Jerry Garcia standing up for hours at a time playing a guitar. here's to 13.5# of tonal bliss, ya pussies... heck, to do what he did, you'd think you'd have to be on painkillers all the time. oh...wait...
Kuz Posted December 21, 2015 Posted December 21, 2015 as to weight. Few people have spent as many hours as Jerry Garcia standing up for hours at a time playing a guitar. here's to 13.5# of tonal bliss, ya pussies... heck, to do what he did, you'd think you'd have to be on painkillers all the time. oh...wait... Wow, I didn't realize his guitar was that heavy!!! I know it had a bunch of coil tapping options, but for a heavy guitar Jerry wasn't known for a big deep sustaining tone. His sound was more an SG meets a Tele to my ears.
bolero Posted December 21, 2015 Posted December 21, 2015 That is TERRIBLY presumptuous! And the only way you will earn forgiveness is to sell me that gitfiddle! Merry Christmas! hahaha....how are you doing? thanks & a Merry Christmas to you too!!
brentrocks Posted December 21, 2015 Posted December 21, 2015 I notice that a lot of these things that are being mentioned, Vince wanted to do with Heritage. But was met with constant denial by a certain individual. JUST SAYING....
barrymclark Posted December 21, 2015 Posted December 21, 2015 I notice that a lot of these things that are being mentioned, Vince wanted to do with Heritage. But was met with constant denial by a certain individual. JUST SAYING.... It would seem to me that if the original owners are being bought out, then none of them, Marv included, would not longer have final say. Just me though.
ironmike Posted December 21, 2015 Posted December 21, 2015 don'y hire brent! i did a major frett shaping on all four of my heritage guitars, i don''t mind,as i am built a few guitars are enjoy dressing any guitar out, however, i recently bought a g&l thatbwas built with the computerized fret dressing system,and man oh man!, it is the best fretboard there is..so thats my 2 cents for quality enhancement..anyway!
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