Heritage Custom Core H150 VS Gibson R9

[brentrocks]

I have been wanting to get an R9 so that I could compare and contrast the differences between it and the Heritage Custom Core H150.  

 

Here are my findings/opinions between the two…

 

CASES: Heritage 

 

Yes, I’m comparing the cases.  Lol.   The cases that the Heritage CS are using are built like a tank.  Plush green crushed velvet.  Very heavy.  Very solid.    

 

The replica Lifton cases are nice.  Not as solid and heavy duty.  I realize they are trying to replicate the old ones.  

 

 

WEIGHT:   Heritage

 

Between these two guitars, it was very close. The Gibson weighs 8 lbs. 10 oz. The Heritage weighs 8 lbs. 5 oz.  So between these two particular guitars, it’s pretty close, but nevertheless, the Heritage does weigh less.

 

 

PICKUPS: Neither

 

I’m not impressed with either set of stock pickups.  

 

Gibson.   These pickups squeal like stuck hog.  

 

Heritage.   These were an alnico III.  They were very bright and lacking bottom end. 

 

 

TUNERS: Gibson

 

The tuners that Gibson uses are far superior.   Heritage used sone cheap Gotoh tuners that really suck.  

 

 

BRIDGE/TAILPIECE:   Heritage

 

They both use lightweight aluminum.  The one thing that tipped the scale for me, was the Pinnacle locking bridge that Heritage uses.  

 

 

FIT AND FINISH:  Tie

 

Both of these guitars are EXTREMELY GOOD QUALITY!!!   Neck pitch is perfect on both.  Setup is perfect on both.  (Both PLEKed).   They both feature a VOS style finish.  The paint itself, both bursts are spectacular!!!!   

 

 

ELECTRONICS:  Gibson

 

I’m basing this basically on the pots.  Both used Switchcraft toggles and jacks.  Both used vintage style braided wire.  But the posts that Gibson used have a much better taper.  And Gibson used much better capacitors than Heritage did. Heritage only used orange drops, while Gibson used bumblebees.

 

 

WOODS:   Tie

 

The quality of woods used in these guitars are incredible.   I mean, look at those fretboards and tops!!   Both feature lightweight mahogany.   Both have a holly head veneer.  

 

NECK CARVE:  Heritage

 

I realize this category is purely opinion driven.  But I do prefer the neck on the Heritage.  My reason is that the Heritage neck is a bit fuller and fills my hand better.  It has a tad more shoulder.  The Gibson neck is not terrible.  I do like it.    

 

TONE:   Tie

 

Both of these guitars, with pickups of my choice, sound incredible!!!   Pickups are SO IMPORTANT when you get into this tier of instrument!!   My initial reaction is that the Gibson is a tad brighter.   But that could vary from guitar to guitar.   You can’t go wrong with either as far as the sound!!!

 

 

PLAYABILITY:   Heritage

 

This is really close for me.   What it really came down to was the height of action achieved, how much relief was necessary in the neck to achieve a low action and the nut cut.   Also the overall finished fretwork.  The Heritage just feels better to me when cranking out a tune.  Not that the R9 is terrible, it’s also very good.  

 

PRICE AS TESTED:   Heritage

 

Gibson CS R9 new….$6699

Heritage CC H150 new….$4199

 

 

In conclusion, these are both great guitars.  I’m giving the Heritage the nod.   Mainly because of price and playability.  The main reason that I did this comparison is because I have been getting asked a lot lately, hey man, how old do the Heritage Custom Cores compare to the Gibson R9? You would not believe how many times I have been asked this in the past year.   I don’t want this to turn into a Gibson or Heritage, bashing thread! That is not my intention, my intention is to do an honest unbiased comparison of two high-end single cut, solid body electric guitars.
 

 

[yoslate]

Well...there ya are.  From our resident "Been There; Owned That," Joe Friday.  "Just the facts, ma'am."  Good simple A/B, Brent!  Nicely done. 

[bolero]

I don't know what they were thinking with the tuners: the Grovers they used for years were the best. I suppose they saved some weight?

Aren't the Gibson bumblebees fake? Afaik nobody makes those caps anymore?

[bolero]

I guess they do

 

https://www.mojotone.com/Luxe-.022uF-Bumblebee-Capacitor

[davesultra]

Nice comparison Brent. Do you know of any good quality tuning gears the fit the CC models that don’t require drilling holes?

[PunkKitty]

36 minutes ago, davesultra said:

Nice comparison Brent. Do you know of any good quality tuning gears the fit the CC models that don’t require drilling holes?

Kluson makes some. I used one of their locking sets. I think I ordered them from Sport Hitech. 

[PunkKitty]

38 minutes ago, davesultra said:

Nice comparison Brent. Do you know of any good quality tuning gears the fit the CC models that don’t require drilling holes?

I used Mod PIO caps from tubesandmore.com. 

[PunkKitty]

The Heritage stock tuners are MIC. I spoke with Pete about these at PSP. He said they have a high failure rate and are looking for better tuners. 

[kbp810]

Great comparison! 

I'm a fan of Gotoh tuners, so I always tend to jump in to defend here... but Heritage stock tuners are not Gotoh. They are very similar, probably a direct knockoff (shape/style wise); but as PK said, Heritage stock tuners are MIC and poorly made. Gotoh's are MIJ and high quality. 

[TalismanRich]

Is Gibson really using PIO capacitors these days.   The original ones were totally fake.     They were selling $3 capacitors for well over $100 because they put them inside a bakelite case and painted some stripes on it.  It was a classic PT Barnum scam.

There are only a couple of folks making PIO caps these days.   Luxe and Emerson are the two that come to mind.   Others are doing oil filled caps, but they are usually polypropylene/foil inside.  The caps from 70 years ago used castor oil.   I think a lot today are using mineral oil.   I wonder if anyone had done a study to see which oil sounds the best.   ?

I was also of the impression that Gotoh tuners were very good.  I do like the look of the plastic keystone buttons on Klusons.   I tried to change the buttons on my 535, but the plastic ones weren't solid, so I took them off and put the originals back on.

Are both using CTS pots?   Do they have the standard CTS nomenclature on the back?   I wonder what taper they are each using..  15%,  25%,  30%?

 

[rockabilly69]

9 hours ago, bolero said:

I don't know what they were thinking with the tuners: the Grovers they used for years were the best. I suppose they saved some weight?

Aren't the Gibson bumblebees fake? Afaik nobody makes those caps anymore?

No the Gibson Bumblebees changed a few years ago to true PIO.

[maplepine]

Well my custom core is only a week old but I have some thoughts.  I will probably still get an R0 eventually.   never considered or played an R9 and can't compare.  

First and foremost I got the CC for about $2600 so the r0 is that much more expensive to me.  I realize the off-sale CC price is ~4k, but still a $4000 price difference between what I bought and the next option I was considering is absolutely bonkers.  

I've been enjoying the pickups on it so far, the taper is odd though, I noticed that a whole lot happens between 9 and 10 on the volume knobs compared to my factory LP.  But has been workable for me so far.  

I haven't noticed anything off about the tuners, but I'm also not terribly particular about tuners.

I'm definitely going to keep the heritage as my R9, as it has done nothing but impress me, and there's no way I will ever buy two RI Gibsons yet I do like having both necks around.   

I think what I love most about it is the weight.  8.5 lb.  I've never liked the weight of normal LPs.  hard to find that in a Gibson outside of the custom shop without some major drawbacks.   the fit and finish blows away my Gibson USA LP, that's not even really close between my examples.  

 

 

[DetroitBlues]

I’m curious about how the pickups and pots are wired…. If the R9 is to historic specs, then it would have 50’s wiring and a better taper?  Or am I just imagining there is a difference?  Or does Heritage CC also wire them up the same?

Also, seems you already changed the pickups in both to what appears to be a Dimarzio PAF style pickup?

After playing in a band with another guitar player the brightness may work better in a mix.

Of course, it’s all subjective…

[PunkKitty]

My CC was wired with 50's wiring. I only changed the caps. I swapped the pickups for a set of Wolfetone Dr. Vintage. 

[Genericmusic]

Good review. 

[Kuz]

BOTH Gibson CS and Heritage CC use A3 magnets (Custom Buckers use A3 for Gibson and Parson Street use A3 for Heritage).

I am not a fan of A3 magnets, especially in the bridge.  Give me A2 magnets all day and twice on Sunday.

Gibson used to make a set of pickups called MHS (Memphis Heritage Specials) that had an A3 in the neck and A2 in the bridge.  I have this set in my Gibson 345 and they ROCK!!! The best pickups I played next to Throbaks (and I have tried them all, essentially).  Then Gibson changed the MHS to MHSII which I think, they switched to A5s.  They don't sound good according to Gibby fans.

Bottom line, A3s are very clear, can be brighter, but to me lack the low mids that many (including myself) want in a PAF humbucker.... and the wax potting on Heritages doesn't help the tone either.

[Kuz]

Brent, the only feature you didn't compare was;

Resale value: Gibson (sadly)

[PunkKitty]

9 hours ago, Kuz said:

BOTH Gibson CS and Heritage CC use A3 magnets (Custom Buckers use A3 for Gibson and Parson Street use A3 for Heritage).

I am not a fan of A3 magnets, especially in the bridge.  Give me A2 magnets all day and twice on Sunday.

Gibson used to make a set of pickups called MHS (Memphis Heritage Specials) that had an A3 in the neck and A2 in the bridge.  I have this set in my Gibson 345 and they ROCK!!! The best pickups I played next to Throbaks (and I have tried them all, essentially).  Then Gibson changed the MHS to MHSII which I think, they switched to A5s.  They don't sound good according to Gibby fans.

Bottom line, A3s are very clear, can be brighter, but to me lack the low mids that many (including myself) want in a PAF humbucker.... and the wax potting on Heritages doesn't help the tone either.

The 225 pickups are not wax potted.

[golferwave]

Thanks for the comparison, Brent!  You know your guitars!  Go Heritage!

[rockabilly69]

2 hours ago, PunkKitty said:

The 225 pickups are not wax potted.

Well since you swapped magnets in yours I can probably take that to the bank. But maybe that changed into production because the first reviews I read of the Custom Cores pointed out the wax potting, so maybe they stopped potting the pickups after complaints in the reviews, like this one...

https://guitar.com/reviews/electric-guitar/heritage-custom-core-h-150-review/

 

 

 

[HANGAR18]

That Gibson headstock looks ugly. 

 

[rockabilly69]

5 hours ago, HANGAR18 said:

That Gibson headstock looks ugly. 

 

What??? Until Edwin Wilson fixed that little niggle the standard Heritage headstock was the little dog everyone wanted to kick. I love what Edwin Wilson did to get it more balanced with the body, but for me, Gibson wins the headstock contest. 

And here's my favorite of the bunch...

That said, I will probably end up with a Custom Core, especially if I sell my PRS Custom 22. I would like to get one that's been modded though, with a different bridge, tuners, and pickups. And if that turns out alright I'll sell one of mu H150s.

But my H150s are killer, and modified exactly the way I like them. so it would have to be a great Custom Core.

[brentrocks]

I didn’t include resale values, simply because, it’s a given.  

I realize this wasn’t the best comparison in the world but I hope it was somewhat informative to most.  

[HANGAR18]

5 hours ago, rockabilly69 said:

What??? Until Edwin Wilson fixed that little niggle the standard Heritage headstock was the little dog everyone wanted to kick. I love what Edwin Wilson did to get it more balanced with the body, but for me, Gibson wins the headstock contest. 

And here's my favorite of the bunch...

That said, I will probably end up with a Custom Core, especially if I sell my PRS Custom 22. I would like to get one that's been modded though, with a different bridge, tuners, and pickups. And if that turns out alright I'll sell one of mu H150s.

But my H150s are killer, and modified exactly the way I like them. so it would have to be a great Custom Core.

 

I knew I was going to rattle someone's cage. hahaha But in all seriousness, and this is just my own perception, I used to look at the Gibson headstock like it was the cool kid on the block that everyone wanted to be like. But over the years, the more and more I began to like Heritage guitars, the more and more I began to like the look of the Heritage headstock, even to the point where I preferred it over the Gibson headstock. (I also prefer the wooden Heritage shaped finger rests over the Gibson shaped pick guards.) Today, I especially like the look of the Custom Core headstocks over the older model Heritage headstocks.

[DetroitBlues]

Former Heritage artist, JL Fulks also did a comparative video the other day, although more aligned with a review of his CC 2 years later…

https://youtu.be/qNDLi5zjxiY?si=JSu1KZC5NOZBmobK