1999 Heritage Johnny Smith

[Tigerpaus]

When was the last year that this model was produced by the "gang" in Kalamazoo?  I have my eyes on one.  

[MartyGrass]

I'm guessing around 2002 but am not sure.  Johnny became dissatisfied with Gibson and spent time with Heritage on exact specs.  Eventually he was unhappy with Heritage.  I suspect he didn't like the weird customizations Heritage sometimes did for customers. He jumped to Guild with Benedetto overseeing the builds.  Few of the were made, maybe 15.  The Guilds were good but my least favorite. 

The Heritage JS is my favorite.  

 

[pressure]

I had a conversation with Mr. Ren Wall years ago about why all the hardware on Heritage Johnny Smiths was black. He said "that's the way Johnny wanted it".

[Tigerpaus]

Thanks Marty.  I guess that I'm am now a  "seasoned player".  I have a 1999 coming my way for approval.  I played one with for 10 yrs + with one of the service bands in D.C.  Alas, when I retired I had to pass it on as it was owned by the Band.  It was ordered with a built-in humbucker and was the most versatile player that I ever experienced.  It quickly became my go-to axe.  These are hard to find.  Thank for the info.

[pressure]

Congrats. Check for a top crack under the volume control. When the pickguard gets pushed down, the back of the control hits the spruce top by the f hole and can cause the spruce to split. Don't worry it's a very repairable crack.

[MartyGrass]

I read Johnny's biography some years ago.  It is very much worth the read.

The major lesson I got from this is that he worked his butt off.  The hours and pressures were very high.  I'm sure there were many fine moments that brought a smile to him, but he had a tight and demanding schedule for years.

https://www.amazon.com/Moonlight-Vermont-Official-Biography-Johnny/dp/1574243225

 

[MartyGrass]

When I was a teenager I had a guitar teacher who had a Gibson Johnny Smith with a natural finish.  He was a jazz major at Western Michigan University.  He let me hold his GJS and I was in awe.  I think at that time I had a Kalamazoo made Epiphone Howard Roberts Artist, which I now know is an amazing instrument.  I got it cheap from a Gibson employee and wish I still had it.

I now have a Heritage Johnny Smith in blonde.  It is from a set of two made with the 3 1/8" depth and 18" width.  It has a long "heritage" to it.  I drove to Kentucky to get it from someone who got it from someone who toured as a guitarist with Scotty Moore for Elvis.  His name was Don, but I don't recall his last name.  Anyway, Don had a couple of guitars made by Heritage.  He died later.  Mine was kept under his bed.  His pedal steel guitarist sold the guy's guitars.  I picked up the HJS from the seller, spent the afternoon with his wife and him, and had a good deal of fun hearing about touring with Elvis.

I drove to Kentucky to buy the guitar for a friend of mine.  When I got back to Michigan I found out he bought a HJS the night before.  Later I sold or traded what I got, so he ended up with the HJS from Kentucky eventually.  He had the pickup rebuilt by Ken Armstrong (very nice) and he had the setup done and the frets filled.

Now years have passed.  I have had the guitar back for about two years.  It is certainly among my favorites, if not the favorite.

I have a nice collection of Heritage instruments.  But this one has strong sentimental value.

Here is my friend playing it, much better than I could.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhiaJ1XPpBQ&list=PLZKJqrSIMuspiR9CbV8ztncKUecx6o1Qu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5KsEXa2dzs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsM3VeXzpVw  

[MartyGrass]

Here's a Johnny Smith model story.

 

https://www.vintageguitar.com/3569/gibson-johnny-smith/

[rockabilly69]

18 hours ago, MartyGrass said:

When I was a teenager I had a guitar teacher who had a Gibson Johnny Smith with a natural finish.  He was a jazz major at Western Michigan University.  He let me hold his GJS and I was in awe.  I think at that time I had a Kalamazoo made Epiphone Howard Roberts Artist, which I now know is an amazing instrument.  I got it cheap from a Gibson employee and wish I still had it.

I now have a Heritage Johnny Smith in blonde.  It is from a set of two made with the 3 1/8" depth and 18" width.  It has a long "heritage" to it.  I drove to Kentucky to get it from someone who got it from someone who toured as a guitarist with Scotty Moore for Elvis.  His name was Don, but I don't recall his last name.  Anyway, Don had a couple of guitars made by Heritage.  He died later.  Mine was kept under his bed.  His pedal steel guitarist sold the guy's guitars.  I picked up the HJS from the seller, spent the afternoon with his wife and him, and had a good deal of fun hearing about touring with Elvis.

I drove to Kentucky to buy the guitar for a friend of mine.  When I got back to Michigan I found out he bought a HJS the night before.  Later I sold or traded what I got, so he ended up with the HJS from Kentucky eventually.  He had the pickup rebuilt by Ken Armstrong (very nice) and he had the setup done and the frets filled.

Now years have passed.  I have had the guitar back for about two years.  It is certainly among my favorites, if not the favorite.

I have a nice collection of Heritage instruments.  But this one has strong sentimental value.

Here is my friend playing it, much better than I could.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhiaJ1XPpBQ&list=PLZKJqrSIMuspiR9CbV8ztncKUecx6o1Qu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5KsEXa2dzs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsM3VeXzpVw  

I know very little about jazz music, but I do know that guitar sure has a great sound to it!

[bolero]

Wow Martygrass that was a good read. I wasn't aware of the history behind the Johnny Smith models.

Or that he wrote "walk, don't run"!!