Again why did they discontinue the H-137 ?

[y2kc]

Seriously this was a bad move by Heritage. The Les Paul Jr. , Special and the SG jr. are extremely popular right now. Face it, they are timeless and will always be

sought after. The H-137 was as good of an example as any modern reproduction. As good and really much better.

Why in the world would you eliminate this simple but highly potent guitar from your offerings?

Curious minds want to know,

w2kc

[LK155]

Dollars, I'd guess.  More margin on the higher-up models.  It is a business now, after all.

 

 

[TalismanRich]

One reason might be cost.   Gibby is currently selling the LP Jr for $1600.    That's even gone up over the past few years.  I think it was around $1300 4 or 5 years ago.   Wasn't the H-137 more like $2000 a few years ago?    It's a hard sell to be 25% higher priced, even if it was hand built.

[Gitfiddler]

Not sure how well the H137 sold. 

Even the 4 or 5 very cool HOC Special Editions took a while to get sold.

[High Flying Bird]

I don't like the neck radius on the newer 137s.  I bought my daughter a used 137 in 2011.  In 2016 I bought a used 137 custom.  The older 137s were made with humbuckers and slim necks.  We all have different taste. 

img_4101.htm

[bobmeyrick]

1 hour ago, High Flying Bird said:

I don't like the neck radius on the newer 137s.  I bought my daughter a used 137 in 2011.  In 2016 I bought a used 137 custom.  The older 137s were made with humbuckers and slim necks.  We all have different taste. 

img_4101.htm 1.18 kB · 0 downloads

That Goldtop looks very like my H150 Special, the difference being the binding on the neck of the 150.

[ElNumero]

Great guitars

Edited July 29 by ElNumero

[bolero]

I suspect it'll come back at some point. They're still getting things going, after the revamp, I think.

[High Flying Bird]

19 hours ago, bobmeyrick said:

That Goldtop looks very like my H150 Special, the difference being the binding on the neck of the 150.

Bob, here is my 137 next to a friend's '96 150 Special.  Even with the maple cap on the 150 these guitars weight the same.  The H-150 Special is very light for a 150.  Oh, these photos were taken at my friend's house on Nottingham Ln. 

[bobmeyrick]

3 hours ago, High Flying Bird said:

Bob, here is my 137 next to a friend's '96 150 Special.  Even with the maple cap on the 150 these guitars weight the same.  The H-150 Special is very light for a 150.  Oh, these photos were taken at my friend's house on Nottingham Ln. 

The 150 Special has, I believe, a poplar body with a maple cap, and is thinner than a regular 150, which accounts for it being lighter.

[skydog52]

8 hours ago, bobmeyrick said:

The 150 Special has, I believe, a poplar body with a maple cap, and is thinner than a regular 150, which accounts for it being lighter.

Yes, they were thinner.

Solid Body Guitars (archive.org)

[rwinking]

My TV Yellow 137 came with the P-90s. That is a great combination!

[High Flying Bird]

18 hours ago, bobmeyrick said:

The 150 Special has, I believe, a poplar body with a maple cap, and is thinner than a regular 150, which accounts for it being lighter.

That is correct.  Here is a Special next to a Standard. 

[FredZepp]

Yeah... I love a 137 to rock. 

looking at the 2015 price list... an H-137 list was $ 2,700 (available as a single or double cutaway) The H-150 list price was $ 3,140  ($440 more)  and an H-157 list price was $ 3,600. ($900 more than the 137) 

In 2009 the 137 list was S2570, the 150 at $2,990 and the 157 at $3,420

[nuke]

Is the H150 "Special" just a renamed H140? 

 

On the "variants of Les Paul Jr." theme, there's a lot of competition in that area. The Eastman SB55/v is astoundingly good for example, and very well priced. 

 

 

[TalismanRich]

There's a distinct difference between 140 and 150.  The biggest difference is the cutaway.   On the 140, it's a sharp pointed Florentine cutatway.   There's usually no binding on the neck and it should be 1 1/2 inches thick vs the H-150 at 2".  The body is also about 1/2 inch smaller in width and height vs the 150.    The 150 Special would have the same size body as a regular 150 but 1 3/4" thick.   It would also have the rounded Venetian cutaway of the normal 150.

So...no,  it's not just a renamed H-140.   It's a standard H-150 body with all the trimmings of the standard 150 but 1/4" thinner.

[nuke]

Ahh, I was wondering what the differences were. Always was a fan of the H140 and played a bunch of them, just never seemed to get the opportunity to own one. 

[y2kc]

I have three of the aforementioned H-140's. One being quite different from the other two. This H-140 has neck binding and a much thinner body. 7.2 lbs. Nice!

[nuke]

Yeah, I was thinking the H140 evolved over time a bit. 

7.2lbs is a great weight for that! 

 

[y2kc]

Yes it is a great guitar!  I don't think the H-140 evolved as much as this particular h-140 was most likely a custom order.

The binding and reduced body thickness seem pretty rare. I look for these guitars all the time and have only found 

one other with binding and no others with reduced thickness. I am sure there are others.

 

 

[TalismanRich]

There was a change some years later where they added the rounded cutaway to make it more 150 like.  That would have been around 2010-11.   It was called the H-140 2nd Edition.

They had two H-140 versions listed.  You can see the difference here.