Heritage Custom Shop Timeframe

[IFMusic]

Hello Everyone!

 

New to the forums here at Heritage Owners Club, and soon to be a first time 535 owner!

 

I just placed a custom shop order at my local dealer this past week with my specs as far as neck dimensions, etc. Very excited to get my new jazz box!

 

One thing I haven't been able to find any info about is the approximate wait time that the custom shop guitars come with... I was wondering if you guys (and ladies!) would be able to share their experiences and give me some idea of the time frame from their custom shop. I fully realize that every guitar is different, and due to the custom nature of the neck dimensions I ordered, maybe mine will take a bit longer than others, but I would still like a ball park figure so I can ease my mind a bit. The last custom shop Suhr I bought took over 4 months for delivery- I'm prepared for the wait, I just hope I will be pleasantly surprised!

 

Also, I'm very sorry if this question has already been answered a million times (as I'm sure it has), but I used the search function on both this forum and on google and couldn't find any relevant information.

 

Any info is appreciated, thanks!

 

-IF

[Spectrum13]

3-4 months if nothing gets messed up. Every neck gets rolled to custom specs. Communications to Arnie or Marv prior to rolling would be critical. A 535 would not have a problem sourcing the woods... so my guess is 8-12 weeks.

 

What color and options?

[yoslate]

Welcome to the forum, IF.... You'll get a variety of answers, anecdotes and experiences to this one. The variables are myriad. I did a custom order nine years ago that, due to extenuating circumstances, took thirteen months. A long, long time, yes, but let me say it was worth the wait, every bit of it. The good news is that deer season is over...no kidding. And the 535 may be, guitar for guitar, the best build Parsons Street does. One of my three Heritages is a 535, and it is one of the best instruments I've ever played, hands down!

[Vanschoyck]

I've had 3 builds, 3 - 4 months when things go smoothly. My third build took longer, they had to start over again near the end so it was about double. Good luck - you'll love the guitar I'm thinking. And it's not unusual for a boutique builder to take a year or more so by comparison it's not bad.

[High Flying Bird]

I ordered my Firebird the first week of August 2010 and got it October 22, 2010. They had a massive power breakdown during the process. I also talked to Marv several times about the build. Half of the time he called me asking questions.

 

Coming from his home town he loved to hear my voice and talk about the area. Don't expect to get this service on a regular basis. For his service I sent him one of these in 16X20. He grew up just down the road from this old depot.

 

 

[tulk1]

30 days for my first one. ........ Seriously. My guess is they already has something that was nearly it in the works. So, don't expect that time frame

 

Care to share your specs? And congrats.

[IFMusic]

Thanks for your answers guys!

 

I'm hoping I will have the guitar at some point this spring or early summer. As a graduate student and working player/teacher I would really like to see this come in sooner rather than later (who wouldn't!). I gig weekly but I've got some bigger performances coming up at the end of this semester and it would be really nice to have a month or so to play this guitar to get used to it.

 

I know enough about guitars to get by and tell someone what I want as far as basic specs, but to speak to a master builder about neck rolling specs... I'm lost. I just play the damn things lol. What questions can I expect from the shop as the time gets closer to rolling the neck?

 

Should I try and get some measurements of the neck shape I am basing this guitar off? The neck dimensions I ordered are from a 1968 Gibson 335 that is one of my mentor's main guitars, and I loved the neck so I had my dealer use his micrometer to check all the dimensions, and that's what we sent to Heritage. But as far as checking the profile, I wouldn't know what to say beyond "medium C" or "asymmetrical C" (one of my Suhr strats has an asymmetrical profile and I really dig it, but I wouldn't know how to measure it).

 

Can anyone offer any insight?

 

As far as specs go, this is what I ordered:

 

H535:

-Vintage Wine Burst

-Cream Binding

-Vintage Style Small Block Inlays

-Stop tailpiece with TOM bridge

-Custom neck profile based off of a 1968 Gibson 335 (the neck was snapped in half in the 80's, and a master luthier replaced the top half of the neck with a Guild neck, and shaped the headstock so you can't even tell. I don't have the paper with the dimensions with me now, but my dealer used a micrometer to measure the nut width, width at 12th fret, neck depth, etc)

-SD 59's (I don't like the Seth Lovers, I figured I'd try these and if I hate them I have a set of Kent Armstrong custom wounds that aren't being used that I will have my tech swap in)

-Golden Eagle inlay on the headstock

-To be set up with my favorite strings, D'Addario EPN21, pure nickel wound, gauges as follows: .12, .16, .23w, .31, .41, .51

-Standard 535 fret wire

-Standard options for tuners, chrome hardware

-My initials are going to be engraved on the truss rod cover, I saw the option on their custom shop web page and I couldn't resist lol

 

I think that's it, to be honest I don't really know too many hardcore details, like I said I'm just a musician lol.

 

But any insight as far as what I can do to prepare myself for some phone calls from the builders throughout the construction would be very helpful, especially if anyone has any experience in measuring neck profiles (or at least how to describe it so I don't sound like a 1st grader!)

 

Thanks again guys

 

-IF

[Millennium Maestro]

H535:

-Vintage Wine Burst

-Cream Binding

-Vintage Style Small Block Inlays

-Stop tailpiece with TOM bridge

-Custom neck profile based off of a 1968 Gibson 335 (the neck was snapped in half in the 80's, and a master luthier replaced the top half of the neck with a Guild neck, and shaped the headstock so you can't even tell. I don't have the paper with the dimensions with me now, but my dealer used a micrometer to measure the nut width, width at 12th fret, neck depth, etc)

-SD 59's (I don't like the Seth Lovers, I figured I'd try these and if I hate them I have a set of Kent Armstrong custom wounds that aren't being used that I will have my tech swap in)

-Golden Eagle inlay on the headstock

-To be set up with my favorite strings, D'Addario EPN21, pure nickel wound, gauges as follows: .12, .16, .23w, .31, .41, .51

-Standard 535 fret wire

-Standard options for tuners, chrome hardware

-My initials are going to be engraved on the truss rod cover,

I would say the Head Veneer will provide you with a delay, Some guitars move fast others may not. If a small imperfection is found at QC the guitar will go back into the system to have the imperfection removed. The are really putting out really nice guitars, sometimes my updates state a guitar is really close to find the guitar has gone back into the finish system. Unexpected delays happen all the time at Parsons St.

 

I am going to tell my clients not to expect a certain timeline.