Gitfiddler Posted June 3 Posted June 3 OK, just for fun, please tell us what your 'all-time favorite' Heritage guitar or model. What is the reason for your selection? Over the years I've been blown away by the quality and variety of Heritage guitars that have come out of Kalamazoo. I love their archtops, semi-hollows and solid body guitars. And add in those amazing Heritage limited edition, custom one-offs, custom core models, etc., that makes picking only one is tough! Coming up with my favorite is almost as difficult as picking my favorite child. That said, I'll start off by telling ya'll my 'all-time favorite Heritage... It's the now out of production Heritage H-525. Why? This full hollow body gitfiddle can do rock, RnB, country chicken-pickin', and jazz without breaking a sweat...or a string! And I think they are a beautiful, timeless design! 🙂 Now it's YOUR turn! 1. What your 'all-time favorite' Heritage guitar or model. 2. What is the reason for your selection? 1
TalismanRich Posted June 3 Posted June 3 I would have to say my favorite would be an H-555. I think their semis are great, and I like the extra appointments for the 555 (bound f-holes and headstock, nice inlays, multilayer binding on the body, gold hardware, ebony fretboard). A nice 5 piece neck would be a plus, although a mahogany neck is fine. Early ones had maple necks. I've never compared a maple vs mahogany neck, so I can't really say which I would prefer. Alas, I have to suffer with a measly H-535.... life is cruel sometimes! BTW, I have a 525, and it's REALLY nice. I liked the sound better than the 575, which always sounded "boxy" to me. The 575 is probably much better for jazz, but for what I play, the 525 sounded better. I'm not a jazzer. LK got this one from Kuz, and when I played it, I told him that if he was ever going to sell it, let me know. 1
zguitar71 Posted June 3 Posted June 3 I’m a bit biased because I love my H150 Goldtop with p90s so much. So that is the model I have as my all time favorite. 1
RJLII Posted June 3 Posted June 3 H-516. I always wanted one with a fat neck, block inlays, and P90s. Good size. Good sound. 1
rockabilly69 Posted June 4 Posted June 4 (edited) My Darkburst H150 is probably my favorite, It's just a great sounding, great playing guitar! Edited June 4 by rockabilly69 2
MartyGrass Posted June 4 Posted June 4 (edited) There's the wood figuring that can be amazing. But a well done burst is truly a work of art. The transitions need to be subtle and symmetrical. The triburst is a master work when done well in that the interfaces are twice as complex. I am a fan of a few models. Edited June 4 by MartyGrass 4
skydog52 Posted June 4 Posted June 4 I have some really nice Customs. I have to agree with Tim on the H-525 with a H-530 being a close second. I don't know if it's my old ears but the last few years I have really been digging the sounds that P-90s are giving me. Love all my Heritage's, hard to choose.
bolero Posted June 5 Posted June 5 13 hours ago, MartyGrass said: There's the wood figuring that can be amazing. But a well done burst is truly a work of art. I am a fan of a few models. Is that a Roy Clark? Gorgeous!! I couldn't choose one. My fave is whatever I happen to be playing at the time.
Gitfiddler Posted June 5 Author Posted June 5 2 hours ago, Millennium Maestro said: Impossible ask GuitFid! Just go into your guitar archives/storage place, put on a blindfold...spin around a few times...then point in any direction. 🙂 1
Millennium Maestro Posted June 5 Posted June 5 11 hours ago, Gitfiddler said: Just go into your guitar archives/storage place, put on a blindfold...spin around a few times...then point in any direction. 🙂 But a WANT some of your collection!
TalismanRich Posted June 5 Posted June 5 I took the question to be "what model would be your favorite, not which guitar that you currently own, or have owned, is your favorite. It's a bit of a different direction. There are a lot of models from years past that, to me, would be the perfect instrument. Just because I don't have one doesn't mean it can't be my favorite! I've kicked myself a few time for not latching on to a guitar, just because I didn't really need it. Then again, there have been a few times when I just said "screw it" and pulled out the plastic.
Gitfiddler Posted June 5 Author Posted June 5 18 minutes ago, TalismanRich said: I took the question to be "what model would be your favorite, not which guitar that you currently own, or have owned, is your favorite. It's a bit of a different direction. There are a lot of models from years past that, to me, would be the perfect instrument. Just because I don't have one doesn't mean it can't be my favorite! I've kicked myself a few time for not latching on to a guitar, just because I didn't really need it. Then again, there have been a few times when I just said "screw it" and pulled out the plastic. @TalismanRich...Yes sir, that is the correct interpretation of the intent of this thread. However, so is the 'just for fun' part. 🙂
111518 Posted June 5 Posted June 5 I guess my fondness for Heritage has always been in part that they are a bit off the beaten path, and, since that was part of the appeal, seems logical so many of mine were one-offs or someone's custom orders. I guess my favorite model is a custom order... First was a 550, bought used, but with a "custom" truss rod cover and with gold hardware and grover imperials and harptone case. Second was my 535, custom-ordered from Wolfe based on his custom configuration of the time (bound headstock, sperzels, more Gibson-like but still wood pickguard, antiquities) but with an ebony board. (I wanted, but didn't get, a real black to yellow burst. Oh well...) Third was an Eagle Classic, but with split blocks (ala the Super 400 I once owned) and a floating pickup. Fourth was a 140 (or maybe 147?), but with classic LP-shaped body, traps, ebony board, and bound headstock* Fifth and Six (came on the same day) were my employee-one-off Eagle, with spruce top and ebony board with no markers and bound golden-eagle inlay headstock, and Leon Rhodes prototype mahog tele style with set neck. These are all in my estimation custom versions of great models. 550 is pretty unique with veneer construction and plate, so feedback resistant. Eagle Classic is a little thinner than classic Gibson 17" carved guitars, and therefore more manageable for me at 5'7". Eagle with mahogany back has a little different sound I think that maple-backed guitars. Leon Rhodes is unique combination of features --still a project since I want to reconfigure the pickups. 535 is a little smaller and thinner than a 335, but the real advantage to me was that I could custom order one with dots on ebony, which I could never have afforded from Gibson. *Here's the funny thing. I don't think I've played a LP-style guitar in public but once I remember in 40 years. I've always played semi's, or, a semi + a strat or a tele, or, for a run of years now, the Gibson Howard Roberts Fusion, which works well for me as a one-guitar gig instrument. But, I've probably had the Heritage custom 140/147 in my hands as much or more than any instrument I own. My wife has developed a real sensitivity to sound, and so practicing at home has involved compromise. I get a couple of hours a day of loud, and, then for the rest of the time that we're awake, she gets to not hear me practice. Even a semi is loud enough to be a significant distraction for her. Especially since I've taken up saxophone, that, or an acoustic, usually gets my two hours of loud. My other guitar time is usually spent on the 140/147, playing through headphones. It's the perfect guitar for that, esp. lounging on the couch -- not too big, not too heavy, but feels like a classic-era Gibson, which is still my home base. 3
pressure Posted June 6 Posted June 6 Heritage Millennium for the win! Heritage Johnny Smiths are an extremely close second. 1
MartyGrass Posted June 6 Posted June 6 I understand the question of the thread. Another way of determining a favorite is the context of when playing it. I played a ES-345 for several years in a band. I don't have one now, but I will always be nostalgic for one. I also had a Gibson Howard Roberts Artist in my late teens and played it two or more hours a day. It became so natural to hold it, I didn't even notice it hardly. I do have one of those, and it's an old friend. 1
tsp17 Posted June 6 Posted June 6 No way to pick one!!! While my H550 is not my fanciest or most expensive, it is so reliable, sounds really good with any amp, very gig-able, moderately feedback resistant and easy to play. It has my favorite neck of any guitar I’ve ever had. Great workhorse guitar. And so handsome to boot! I’d put it up against anything on the market. there are days when I miss my first guitar true love— a 575 MH. That thing was wonderful. The neck profile stopped suiting me over time so I sold it, but you know how that first love stays with you all your days. then there is my Super KB that is truly a wonderful inspiration and instrument. then some days it is my 575 custom…. then other days…. 1
skydog52 Posted June 13 Posted June 13 These threads come up every once in a while. I love them because I start going through all my models and fall in love with all over again. 1
rwinking Posted June 13 Posted June 13 111518, I see you have the red Heritage Leon Rhodes. I have the blue one. I think there were only five built. I changed out the white pick guard and now have a black pearl on it. It is one of my faves but I don't have a lot of call for it as my H-170 and 162 seem to go with the music I am hired to play lately. My all time favorite Heritage model is the H-170....or at least mine. I don't know why as I have fancier Heritage's, but this particular guitar is just the perfect balance of tone, feel and soulfulness. 2
tsp17 Posted June 15 Posted June 15 On 6/13/2024 at 8:58 AM, skydog52 said: These threads come up every once in a while. I love them because I start going through all my models and fall in love with all over again. +1
TalismanRich Posted June 15 Posted June 15 On 6/13/2024 at 11:58 AM, skydog52 said: These threads come up every once in a while. I love them because I start going through all my models and fall in love with all over again. My situation seems to be different. Right now I have 5 guitars that I can grab an play. My 140, Strat, Melancon Tele, Taylor and Dean Acoustic are either in an open case, or on a stand. I've played 4 of the 5 in the past two days. Last week, I played my 535 for 2 1/2 hours when I was jamming with my friends, and pulled out the 157 for about an hour of just playing around in the basement (it did start to get a bit heavy after an hour). I like playing all my guitars. When I have to clean things up and put all the guitars away, I miss just grabbing another. 1
rwinking Posted June 15 Posted June 15 I like it when my wife goes out of town. I have a shitload of guitars in the studio but when she goes out of town they start sneaking out into the house and I can pick up whatever I feel like and not have to go back out to the studio. If it were up to me I would have them hanging in every room..... My H-170, my Leon, my Prospect 12 and my H 576 would live in the living room and bedroom.
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