H157 neck thickness and profile

[Polo]

Bullseye!

All the QC improvements in the world won't change the fact that Heritage Guitar is no longer a special company building special instruments in a special place.

It's now just another Boutique Guitar company that's owned by a couple of Canadian real estate developers and the son of a Chinese billionaire.

Has anyone actually delivered the ladder narrative without receiving a look of spoiled milk upon the recipients face?

I have not.

 

[jaywolfe]

25 minutes ago, deytookerjaabs said:

"It would appear, from a distance, to some the "These are the best Heritage guitars ever" mantra doesn't seem to be addressing said grievances if not rubbing a little salt in the wounds?"

But when it's so obviously "true" I don't agree with the salted wound thing. Seems some just want the facts to just go away so they can continue to hate on the saviors of the brand.  I have a unique perspective since I buy, inspect and handle more Heritage Guitars than anyone on earth. Believe me when I say the improvements are very obvious. Heritage always made a solid, fine sounding instrument- with shoddy fit & finish and typically poor fret/nut and setup. I have struggled with that for 3 decades. BTW- Heritage never actually had "dealer contracts."  In my opinion, Heritage are still making special Guitars in a special place. They're just doing a better job of it. The Guitars still look much the same from a distance- they are just more shiny, play much better right from the carton (a Heritage first), and have the same awesome vintage tone. Look at it this way- they haven't gotten worse, and that should not be considered a bad thing.

 

25 minutes ago, deytookerjaabs said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[deytookerjaabs]

17 minutes ago, jaywolfe said:

But when it's so obviously "true" I don't agree with the salted wound thing. Seems some just want the facts to just go away so they can continue to hate on the saviors of the brand.  I have a unique perspective since I buy, inspect and handle more Heritage Guitars than anyone on earth. Believe me when I say the improvements are very obvious. Heritage always made a solid, fine sounding instrument- with shoddy fit & finish and typically poor fret/nut and setup. I have struggled with that for 3 decades. BTW- Heritage never actually had "dealer contracts."  In my opinion, Heritage are still making special Guitars in a special place. They're just doing a better job of it. The Guitars still look much the same from a distance- they are just more shiny, play much better right from the carton (a Heritage first), and have the same awesome vintage tone. Look at it this way- they haven't gotten worse, and that should not be considered a bad thing.

 

 

 

 

I'm not doubting your personal observations regarding the issues, for the record, that's great news. 

 

 

But, you know, it's a consumer base and not unlike Starbucks versus the Hippie House on the corner, different appearances attract different types. I think certain types attracted to that Parson's old fellas not giving a rat's ass mojo certainly might be taken aback at how things have been handled...even when certainly for the betterment of the business as a whole. 

 

I worked at a former vintage dealer, starting back when you'd walk up a creaky flight of stairs up to a 2nd floor unit then behold scores of old Fender Amps & Guitars, old Gibsons, crazy old lutes/mandolins, etc etc, all hanging in front of oriental rugs with a slightly wooden musty smell, just cool as hell, a very eclectic hole in the wall compared to everything else around. Owner died, kids sold off the old gear, sold the building, and moved into a mini mall unit then signed up with Fender & others to become a mini guitar center.....mojo..all of it...GONE. But, business is fine last I heard, yet their OLD consumer base pretty much moved on beyond a few die hards.

 

But, hey, I'm not some blue blood. It'd be fun to speculate which directions others would've in gone though. 

[buzzy]

I was going to add a "not this crap again" comment

but, personal attacks are kinda new so my comment is less relevant 

 

oh well, just chalking another up to post count

carry on!

[HANGAR18]

I like Jay's input.

 

[JRL]

13 hours ago, jaywolfe said:

 

First off, I own 3 heritage guitars and absolutely love them all.  I had issues with all 3 of them.  I bought my first 150 brand new from the factory in may of 2017 after touring and seeing the operation for myself.  My girlfriend's brother is one of Archie Leach's very best friends, which is how I was invited to tour the joint in the first place.  Archie is a good guy and he's very successful because he's worked hard from childhood to get to where he is.  He knows nothing about guitars, which is by no means a knock.   Back to the guitar, I had to have the low E bridge slot re-cut because it was cut too close to the A slot and it was very noticeable.  I was kind of taken aback by this because Pete Farmer told me by text message that he was "personally setting up the guitar" prior to me picking it up, and the issue was very obvious without even playing the guitar.  No big deal, as it's fixed and I absolutely love the guitar.  My second heritage is an H-137.  I bought it recently used but in "like new" condition from the first owner.  He bought the guitar from wolfe guitars.  The guitar would not stay in tune.  You could actually hear it slip out of tune when playing it unplugged.  Also, the nut spacing was uneven...very noticeably uneven just by looking at it.  I'm not sure how it even got out of Wolfe guitar's store unless they don't even look at them.  The paperwork/certificate inside the case is mass produced and has the names of all of the Heritage guys on it.  It is also  signed/added to in ink pen by Jay Wolfe.   Again, the nut issue was visually noticeable.  I had a new, properly cut nut put on the guitar.  It now stays in tune and I absolutely love it.  My latest is an H-150 goldtop that I bought used from the first owner, who bought it from Wolfe guitars.  This nut was cut even worse yet and very noticeable.  Though I've never had any finish issues with any of these guitars, I agree with Jay as far as the sub-par set-up issues go.  I'm not certain how the final set-up guy(s) ever let some of these guitars get out of the factory.  What I wonder about more so is how these guitar ever got out of Jay Wolfe's shop.  There has been a new nut put on the guitar and there are absolutely no issues.  I love it as much as my other Heritage guitars.  Bottom line, I'm new to this forum.  I'm not a hater of anyone or anything and don't like to argue but people need to be held accountable for what they say or what they type in these forums.   If Jay's shop was "forced to correct many QC issues" I can attest to two of them that they overlooked.  shit happens.  They should have never gotten out of the factory the way they were.  I'm not a fan of where I've been told things are going (and I heard it straight from Archie) but if they can get someone in there that can evenly cut nut and bridge slots that would certainly be a big plus.   Hopefully all of these issues can be resolved.  My advice to anyone buying a Heritage sight unseen is to ask the seller/dealer if the nut and bridge slots are cut evenly prior to buying.   I have my eye on  a 535 in Jay's shop.  If things work out to where I can make the purchase that will likely be the lone question I ask before buying.  It's funny how the question of 157 neck thickness has gotten to this point.   That being said, I love these guitars and I'm looking forward to the PSP event if it happens this year.

 

Josh

 

 

[Gitfiddler]

2 hours ago, JRL said:

First off, I own 3 heritage guitars and absolutely love them all.  I had issues with all 3 of them.  I bought my first 150 brand new from the factory in may of 2017 after touring and seeing the operation for myself.  My girlfriend's brother is one of Archie Leach's very best friends, which is how I was invited to tour the joint in the first place.  Archie is a good guy and he's very successful because he's worked hard from childhood to get to where he is.  He knows nothing about guitars, which is by no means a knock.   Back to the guitar, I had to have the low E bridge slot re-cut because it was cut too close to the A slot and it was very noticeable.  I was kind of taken aback by this because Pete Farmer told me by text message that he was "personally setting up the guitar" prior to me picking it up, and the issue was very obvious without even playing the guitar.  No big deal, as it's fixed and I absolutely love the guitar.  My second heritage is an H-137.  I bought it recently used but in "like new" condition from the first owner.  He bought the guitar from wolfe guitars.  The guitar would not stay in tune.  You could actually hear it slip out of tune when playing it unplugged.  Also, the nut spacing was uneven...very noticeably uneven just by looking at it.  I'm not sure how it even got out of Wolfe guitar's store unless they don't even look at them.  The paperwork/certificate inside the case is mass produced and has the names of all of the Heritage guys on it.  It is also  signed/added to in ink pen by Jay Wolfe.   Again, the nut issue was visually noticeable.  I had a new, properly cut nut put on the guitar.  It now stays in tune and I absolutely love it.  My latest is an H-150 goldtop that I bought used from the first owner, who bought it from Wolfe guitars.  This nut was cut even worse yet and very noticeable.  Though I've never had any finish issues with any of these guitars, I agree with Jay as far as the sub-par set-up issues go.  I'm not certain how the final set-up guy(s) ever let some of these guitars get out of the factory.  What I wonder about more so is how these guitar ever got out of Jay Wolfe's shop.  There has been a new nut put on the guitar and there are absolutely no issues.  I love it as much as my other Heritage guitars.  Bottom line, I'm new to this forum.  I'm not a hater of anyone or anything and don't like to argue but people need to be held accountable for what they say or what they type in these forums.   If Jay's shop was "forced to correct many QC issues" I can attest to two of them that they overlooked.  shit happens.  They should have never gotten out of the factory the way they were.  I'm not a fan of where I've been told things are going (and I heard it straight from Archie) but if they can get someone in there that can evenly cut nut and bridge slots that would certainly be a big plus.   Hopefully all of these issues can be resolved.  My advice to anyone buying a Heritage sight unseen is to ask the seller/dealer if the nut and bridge slots are cut evenly prior to buying.   I have my eye on  a 535 in Jay's shop.  If things work out to where I can make the purchase that will likely be the lone question I ask before buying.  It's funny how the question of 157 neck thickness has gotten to this point.   That being said, I love these guitars and I'm looking forward to the PSP event if it happens this year.

 

Josh

 

 

Awesome post, Josh.

Welcome to the HOC.

[hopkinwfg]

Sorry guys....but i guess there is a pure distinction between badly QC off from Heritage to dealers and having dealers themselves to quell with the setup... 

Well i am indeed eyeing on a H157 black beauty and maybe buying such expensive guitars from overseas without first trying it out would be a risk...  am hoping JW will help me in any case and to obtain a truely piece of mastercraft instrument 

[JRL]

2 hours ago, hopkinwfg said:

Sorry guys....but i guess there is a pure distinction between badly QC off from Heritage to dealers and having dealers themselves to quell with the setup... 

Well i am indeed eyeing on a H157 black beauty and maybe buying such expensive guitars from overseas without first trying it out would be a risk...  am hoping JW will help me in any case and to obtain a truely piece of mastercraft instrument 

If it doesn't absolutely have to be a black beauty, there is a black transparent 157 on reverb that looks great.  Good luck in your search.

 

Josh

[yoslate]

Used to be a fairly frequent poster.  Not here as much anymore.  Used to go to the zoo in Asheboro, one of those open, natural habitat places.  Quickly learned to avoid the chimpanzee habitat, until they put up the roof and plexi-glass.  Much of this thread deserves a roof...and plexi-glass.  I'll be back boys, after your arms get tired, and you wash up.

[JeffB]

Jay, dude, you shouldve stopped posting in this style awhile back.

 

[HANGAR18]

3 hours ago, jaywolfe said:

Please consider this "1" disgusting scam that I've yet to get over, before you continue to condemn me- Original Heritage owners are broke, as usual- they scheme to get more $$ in advance from me- they convince their sales rep to ask me to pre-pay for my next 40 gtrs on order, and they'll give me an additional discount. I have been asked to do this many times & it always was a problem- because they'd NEVER delivered the gtrs. anywhere near on time-BUT this time they on a conference call "promised" that if I'd do it they'd deliver within 30 days without fail. They further assured me that I was the "only" dealer being asked to do this (lie). I foolishly wired the funds and they then proceeded to close the next day - out of biz, factory locked up- and wouldn't return my calls! So- I have been "conned" and am now out tens of thousands. The entire scheme was a dishonest, fraudulent scam, and they also scammed two of their distributers too both of whom contacted me.

I hope I am never tested in this life in such a manner. There are those in this world who would just go Sons of Anarchy on whoever screwed them like that. I think you handled it the right way, through legal means and negotiation.

[bolero]

as far as I can see, Jay is just defending his position & explaining stuff that happened, that most people probably are not even aware of

can't say I blame him really: he's being slagged off, left right and center

I had some issues with an order that Jay straightened out. he's done good by me

 

[mars_hall]

The topic is 157 neck thickness. 

 

Stay on topic and quit poking at the damn neighbor's dog.  It doesn't know any better and just wants to defend its territory

 

You guys should all be practicing your licks instead of forgetting why you're here.  Music/Guitars not Us/Them