Where to buy NEW heritage h150

[wheretobuy]

Where are you guys buying your new heritage guitars from? Who has the best prices and service? I see on heritageguitars.com that you can buy direct. Is that the best option?

[kennyv4]

If you want to play the guitar before buying it, I have been to two guitar shops that are Heritage dealers.  Wolfe Guitars located in Jupiter, Florida is the largest Heritage dealer in the country.  In Cleveland there is Guitar Riot.  Both shops are top shelf with knowledgeable owners and employees.  I have purchased guitars from both places and I was not disappointed.  Sweetwater and Musicians Friend also sell Heritage guitars. Happy hunting and welcome to the Forum.

[PunkKitty]

Chicago Music Exchange is another great option.

[ESchmidt]

+1 for sweetwater

[houndhome]

As far as I know there are currently no dealers in the U.K.  !!

[skydog52]

Is this thread real? 

[Steiner]

34 minutes ago, skydog52 said:

Is this thread real? 

no.

[JeffB]

54 minutes ago, skydog52 said:

Is this thread real? 

 

18 minutes ago, Steiner said:

no.

Damn. Just when I thought I was getting better.

[wheretobuy]

Don't be rude. I'm interested in buying a Heritage. Of course this thread is real.

 

[skydog52]

3 minutes ago, wheretobuy said:

Don't be rude. I'm interested in buying a Heritage. Of course this thread is real.

 

Where are you located. Could probably give you a better answer with more information. 

[wheretobuy]

I'm in New Jersey. If I can buy direct from Heritage, why go through a distributor?

[bobmeyrick]

On 10/11/2020 at 2:06 PM, houndhome said:

As far as I know there are currently no dealers in the U.K.  !!

Westside in London's Denmark Street appear to be the UK distributors, and MusicStreet in Huntingdon stock them. Guitar Guitar have them too.

[Gitfiddler]

20 hours ago, wheretobuy said:

I'm in New Jersey. If I can buy direct from Heritage, why go through a distributor?

Welcome to the HOC.

You ask a very good question.  Check each source for their customer service, shipping fees and return policies and you'll be able to decide which seller is best for you.

Good hunting.

[houndhome]

Thanks for the U.K. information,although currently I'm happy with the 5 that I've got.It's been

a while since I've seen anyone in this country advertising them.I must confess all of mine were

bought S/H,an H575,H555,Golden Eagle and Super Eagle in the U.K. and H150 Ultra imported 

from the U.S.

[bobmeyrick]

35 minutes ago, houndhome said:

Thanks for the U.K. information,although currently I'm happy with the 5 that I've got.It's been

a while since I've seen anyone in this country advertising them.I must confess all of mine were

bought S/H,an H575,H555,Golden Eagle and Super Eagle in the U.K. and H150 Ultra imported 

from the U.S.

They're not exactly readily available, I grant you! My H535 was bought new from High End Guitars in 2009, who I found were only about 15 miles from Nottingham. They've subsequently ceased trading, while the H150 Special Gold Top and H150 Trans Black were new old stock from a guitar shop in West Bridgford - they'd been sitting unsold in the store room for around ten years and were available at a very reasonable price...

My favourite, the H150 VSB, was from eBay - I took out the SD59s and put in some Bare Knuckle Stormy Mondays. A bit of trading with a mate of mine landed me an H150 ASB and an H575 Natural, which are both stock - the SD59s in the ASB provide a nice contrast to the Bare Knuckles in the VSB, while the Schallers in the 575 sound fine.

[houndhome]

My H575 came from Musical Exchanges in Birmingham 30 years ago for £550 with Schallers with the black plastic ccvers,

the H555 from Guitars4You for £1900 (I'm told the owner of High End Guitars picked it out when new on a visit to the factory),

The Golden Eagle,no.103 of the first 1000,sunburst,acoustic but with a K&K pickup underthe top,and the Super Eagle,blonde with schallers

came as a deal from GAK at £3200 for the pair,and the H150 Ultra blond came from a dealer in Connecticut for $1425 which worked out

at about £1350 on my doorstep after shipping cost and taxes (the pound was stronger against the dollar then,shipping and taxes added

about 25% to the bill.

 

 

[DetroitBlues]

Sweetwater, Chicago Music Exchange, Green Oak Guitars.... I recommend any of them.  Buying direct has its benefits but usually dealers have inventory ready to ship.  Buying direct, you have to wait for them to add your order to the cue.  May take weeks or months to fill your order.

[Steiner]

1 hour ago, DetroitBlues said:

Sweetwater, Chicago Music Exchange, Green Oak Guitars.... I recommend any of them.  Buying direct has its benefits but usually dealers have inventory ready to ship.  Buying direct, you have to wait for them to add your order to the cue.  May take weeks or months to fill your order.

I totally concur with Green Oak guitars.  The proprietor is EXTREMELY knowledgeable about Heritage and is great to buy from.

Don't forget about Private Stock Guitars; the dealer where I purchased my most recent new Heritage; yet, another stellar dealer.

[OldStan]

+1 Sweetwater.

[MartyGrass]

I harken back to the spirit of the origin of Heritage guitars.  Four guys broke off from the Gibbons corporate establishment and decided to use what Gibbons left behind to make old school, hand built guitars.  That was a decision to swim against the current.  They had financial problems and difficulties with the administrative parts of the business, yet they survived for decades.  A large part of what they did was "custom work", meaning it was normal to configure a neck, finished, and adornments to what the customer or dealer wanted.  The guitars were built one at a time with tags on them as to how it would be built.

Dealers were not chains.  They had shops or even sold out of their home.

Now it's different.  The business model of Heritage is approaching other larger guitar manufacturers.  Not only are the guitars generally consistent in a product line, but the retail sales is shifting to a network, high quantity model.  The result is that the "little guys" are squeezed out of custom orders (the players), the art of the build (the craftsmen), and the sales (small sellers).

The good news is that these efforts create consistency and tend to eliminate low performers.  The bad news is that the soul of Heritage is more commercialized.

It's your money and your choice.  I recommend though that we try to buy from the members of the forum.

 

[bolero]

Amen!

[DetroitBlues]

3 hours ago, MartyGrass said:

I harken back to the spirit of the origin of Heritage guitars.  Four guys broke off from the Gibbons corporate establishment and decided to use what Gibbons left behind to make old school, hand built guitars.  That was a decision to swim against the current.  They had financial problems and difficulties with the administrative parts of the business, yet they survived for decades.  A large part of what they did was "custom work", meaning it was normal to configure a neck, finished, and adornments to what the customer or dealer wanted.  The guitars were built one at a time with tags on them as to how it would be built.

Dealers were not chains.  They had shops or even sold out of their home.

Now it's different.  The business model of Heritage is approaching other larger guitar manufacturers.  Not only are the guitars generally consistent in a product line, but the retail sales is shifting to a network, high quantity model.  The result is that the "little guys" are squeezed out of custom orders (the players), the art of the build (the craftsmen), and the sales (small sellers).

The good news is that these efforts create consistency and tend to eliminate low performers.  The bad news is that the soul of Heritage is more commercialized.

It's your money and your choice.  I recommend though that we try to buy from the members of the forum.

 

Oh yes, the good ol' days!

HOC was a big part of the factory as we were nearly the only advertising arm of Heritage guitars.  

Nothing more satisfying then giving the history of Heritage and the custom build specifications Heritage used to be known for.

They are a company looking to maintain the quality and consistency today but more in terms of market rate in getting what you ask for.

[Gitfiddler]

As usual, words of wisdom from MartyGrass!

I will add one more thought.  Seek out and buy a custom Heritage...new if one can afford it...used if one can find one.  The used market is wonky these days, but great deals are out there.  Many of the former custom ordered guitars have features that would cost a small fortune if ordered from the new Heritage Guitar Company. 

[DetroitBlues]

On 10/22/2020 at 8:16 AM, MartyGrass said:

I harken back to the spirit of the origin of Heritage guitars.  Four guys broke off from the Gibbons corporate establishment and decided to use what Gibbons left behind to make old school, hand built guitars.  That was a decision to swim against the current.  They had financial problems and difficulties with the administrative parts of the business, yet they survived for decades.  A large part of what they did was "custom work", meaning it was normal to configure a neck, finished, and adornments to what the customer or dealer wanted.  The guitars were built one at a time with tags on them as to how it would be built.

Dealers were not chains.  They had shops or even sold out of their home.

Now it's different.  The business model of Heritage is approaching other larger guitar manufacturers.  Not only are the guitars generally consistent in a product line, but the retail sales is shifting to a network, high quantity model.  The result is that the "little guys" are squeezed out of custom orders (the players), the art of the build (the craftsmen), and the sales (small sellers).

The good news is that these efforts create consistency and tend to eliminate low performers.  The bad news is that the soul of Heritage is more commercialized.

It's your money and your choice.  I recommend though that we try to buy from the members of the forum.

 

There were a lot of small mom and pop shop dealers I used to seek out to try a new Heritage.  Most either didn't have any i stock or had floor models that hung around for years covered in dust and with dead, rusty strings.  Not a good impression.

One of the biggest problems Heritage had was zero advertising.  No one outside some small circles knew about Heritage guitars.  You'll read story after story of newcomers here that never heard of Heritage until they ran across it one day, usually at a second hand store for cheap.

When they finally stumble upon the Heritage Owners Club or one of the several Facebook channels, we are so over-joyed to share the Heritage back story and history.

At one point, the largest advocates for Heritage guitars was this forum.  It was great because we knew of a beautiful guitars being manufactured that made guitars we loved and typically cheaper, even on custom orders, over the similar big 3 guitar companies.

But, Heritage was slowly wilting on the vine, nearly closing shop several times over.  The owners were guitar builders not businessmen.  Word of mouth was all they felt they needed.  But there were not a lot outside this group who were listening.  No big endorsements, no mainstream celebrities playing Heritages.

Then a just over four years ago, Heritage was sold to new owners, Plaza Corp, who wanted to revive the company and in-turn, make a profit from their investment.  With these new owners came an influx of cash flow to produce more guitars, hire more people, and advertise like crazy.  They tried too hard at first and we all remember what happened on a dark day a few years ago after a flop of a Winter NAMM event.  Many hearts were broken and many here were upset to say the least.  Long time employees left the company and the HOC itself has never been the same.

But Heritage has recovered, selling more guitars than ever.  They partnered with Bandlab Technologies to help rebuild and grow, making Heritage guitars better than ever (some will argue that point).  Advertising has been fantastic.  The push to bring Heritage back into the fold has been nothing short of amazing.

Sadly, the next generation of Heritage Owners do not know about our HOC forum here.  Many of us feel, the HOC helped keep Heritage's doors open with our enthusiasm, support, and purchasing of guitars.  New Heritage owners follow Heritage through social media channels.

Parson Street Pilgrimage is all we have left that makes us an exclusive membership with ties to Heritage.  I love PSP because the guitars brought all of us together, but the fellowship brings us back every year.  

Is Heritage commercialized?  Well, Heritage advertises now.  Its nice to see them in catalogs and see more demo's from upcoming guitarists showing new generation of guitar players another option in an amazing guitar.  Social Media is king.  So, yes it probably is. 

But is the soul of Heritage gone?  Not a chance.  It lives and breathes at 225 Parsons Street, Kalamazoo.  The processes in making guitars hasn't changed.  Tools have not changed.  The spirit, the soul, of Heritage is still there, thriving more than ever.  Has it evolved?  Yes, only constant in life is change.  Heritage has changed, for better or worse depending on your view, but all of it was necessary for the soul to remain alive.

 

 

[skydog52]

Did he ever get a H-150?