Heritage's doors are closed indefinitely?

[Dick Seacup]

From this eBay listing:

 

Heritage Guitar Inc. has closed their doors indefinately. This could be a great time to invest in a Heritage.

 

Granted, he did update that later with:

 

TO ALL EBAY BIDDERS: I've been recently informed that Heritage Guitar Inc.'s doors are not closed.

 

But, don't you wonder what would lead someone to make that statement in the first place?  Interestingly enough, the seller is located in Richland, MI, which is just about 10 miles northeast of Kalamazoo.  ???

[wingnut1]

Probably greed.  If he is selling he wants to increase the bids on his guitar, what would make them more valuable than knowing there won't be any more produced.

[metalheaduk]

Maybe he just heard that the doors were stuck closed, and he changed his listing when someone told him the mnaintenance guy had fixed it! ;D

[Dick Seacup]

LOL.  I can see the profit motive, and in fact that was my second thought.  I just thought it was odd that someone 10 miles from the factory would be claiming that the factory had closed their doors. 

[GuitArtMan]

Actually I think the do close the door on weekends to keep the transients out.  ;D

[Dick Seacup]

Just spotted this over at the G&L Page in a thread about Summer NAMM:

 

Heritage had a booth that had a sign that said roughly:

 

"We've already filled enough orders that will keep us busy for the next 12 months. We'll see you in Anaheim."

 

That's got to be a nice place to be.

 

As Arte Johnson would say, "Verrrrry eeenteresting!"

[Thundersteel]

If they have enough orders for the next 12 months, then they won't be closing anytime soon.

[wingnut1]

That also means they have limited capacity.

[DrFrankStein]

Are retailers fully stocked? When I got my guitars it took about 3 months to get the 150 and about 4.5 for the 535. Not too bad, especially considering how happy I am with both of them.

[JimmyTheSaint]

Actually, there's a little more to this rumor than you guys are aware of. See http://thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=273649

[GuitArtMan]

Actually, there's a little more to this rumor than you guys are aware of. See http://thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=273649

To quote Fuchsaudio:  "Sounds like Bravo Sierra..."  ;D

[Dick Seacup]

I can understand Val (Hi, Val!) having information about the veracity of the rumor, working with Lane Zastrow.  Andy Fuchs chiming in, though, was surprising to me.  I can buy the 'on vacation' answer, as I know Ovation (and possibly Hamer, but I'm not positive) take two weeks off in the middle of July every year. 

 

Three to six months lead time for delivery of a boutique-quality guitar doesn't really surprise me, either, DrFrankStein.  When we went through the Ovation/Hamer tour in May, Jol said that they have sold production for pretty much the next year, with more orders coming in.  I have a friend who is a dealer and he has said a couple of times that lead times were well past six months and the (Hamer) factory is very picky about what they will and will not do. 

 

If Heritage is in the same position, that's not a bad place to be.  I'd like to know more about the 'factory for sale' rumor.  Is it just the physical plant or the going concern?  I realize that is coming from a seller on evilBay who is the girlfriend of an allegedly laidoff Heritage employee, so I don't give it a whole lot of weight.  There are some persuasive arguments to be made for why the seller would make those statements. 

 

I was planning on calling Ren directly when the H137 gets here (today?  tomorrow?).  If I get a chance, maybe I'll ask him about these vicious rumors.

 

EDIT:

 

It looks like Heritage are aware of the rumors circulating on teh Intrawebs.    This is now posted on their main page:

 

  Regarding the recent statement about Heritage Guitars.  Heritage has not closed It's doors indefinitely.  During the last week there have been many meetings to deal with how to structure the company to deal with its large amount of backorders.  During the period these meetings are taking place, we have turned on our answering machine. 

 

Thank you,

Management, Heritage Guitar Inc.

 

I like that they are attentive and responsive.  Very cool.

[jaywolfe]

Heritage has closed temporarily. They have an opposite problem of most guitar makers in that they have so many orders & the demand for their guitars is higher than ever. I've been perhaps the squeakiest wheel in demanding (begging) for guitars from them & they are not keeping up. Most of the other guitar  makers I deal with are begging "me" to buy, as their bosses are telling the Reps that they "NEED" orders. Heritage has the orders, but those boys are "still" making guitars like it's  the 50's. Those of us that already have the Heritage's we like should consider holding on to them, as they may be among the last of the one's hand made in very small numbers by the old guys.

 

They are working on a reorganization plan with Lane & other experts in this field to try to resolve the problem this week. As soon as I have any details about  the plan I will post what I know here. Heritage  is well established brand with a loyal following & I'm confident the brand will continue, however they need to improve in a few important areas & this is being addressed at present. Just discussed this with Lane & told him I wanted to post something here. He's on his way to Kalamazoo for meetings now & promised to let me know how things go.

 

Jay Wolfe

[BrianToth]

I exchanged emails with Ren Wall yesterday and he confirmed exactly what Jay just said.  (It's your fault Jay, you sell to damn many and you got me for 2  )

I hope that whatever they come up with, that it doesn't turn into a situation where the quality suffers, but I've been to the factory several times, and when you see one of the OWNERS packing guitars into boxes for shipment, it is probably time to update some of their methods.

[GuitArtMan]

Thanks for clarifying Jay.  I figured at some point things would have to change at Heritage, though I wasn't quite sure how.  Those boys have been building guitars for years and they aren't getting any younger.  There's allot of history at Heritage but time has moved on.  The industry has changed quite a bit in the past 40 years or so and yet they are still making guitars like it was the '50s.  Let's hope the changes they implement will allow them to maintain, or even improve their high quality standards, while at the same time increasing output. 

[Thundersteel]

Lets just hope that they don't do what Fender did to the Guild line--have them outsourced to China!

[V23505]

Hi All! New here and delighted there's finally a forum for these beauties! Nearly had a heart-attack when I saw this thread, fingers crossed the guys in Kalamazoo keep putting out great pieces in the tradition that endeared them to us in the first place. Here's mine, V23505 w/Duncan Alnico II Pros. My favourite guitar. My thanks as ever to Jay Wolfe for a great purchasing experience, this won't be my last Heritage!

V23505.gif

V23505.gif_thumb

[GuitArtMan]

Hi All! New here and delighted there's finally a forum for these beauties! Nearly had a heart-attack when I saw this thread, fingers crossed the guys in Kalamazoo keep putting out great pieces in the tradition that endeared them to us in the first place. Here's mine, V23505 w/Duncan Alnico II Pros. My favourite guitar. My thanks as ever to Jay Wolfe for a great purchasing experience, this won't be my last Heritage!

Beeyuteeefull!!!!  ;D

[GuitArtMan]

Lets just hope that they don't do what Fender did to the Guild line--have them outsourced to China!

Actually I'm kinda hoping they just modernise:  CNC machines.  They could get the production up, consistency would improve, and maybe start offering some standard neck profiles: slim C, meium C, big C, slim U, medium U, big U, soft V, fat '50s, slim '60s, etc.  Maybe they could come up with an attractive peg head while their at it too, doh! 

[Gitfiddler]

What a great time to start up this great forum!

 

False Rumors such as the one noted here can only do harm to a great, hard working businesses like Heritage Guitars.

 

Did any of you check out the link in the 'News Box' in the above right-hand corner of this forum? 8)

 

Heritage's response to the rumor-mill is already on their site:

 

http://www.heritageguitar.com/

 

Internet Notice

 

Regarding the recent statement about Heritage Guitars.  Heritage has not closed It's doors indefinitely.  During the last week there have been many meetings to deal with how to structure the company to deal with its large amount of backorders.  During the period these meetings are taking place, we have turned on our answering machine. 

 

Thank you,

Management, Heritage Guitar Inc.

[Dick Seacup]

That's a gorgeous burst, V23505!

 

Actually I'm kinda hoping they just modernise:  CNC machines.  They could get the production up, consistency would improve, and maybe start offering some standard neck profiles: slim C, meium C, big C, slim U, medium U, big U, soft V, fat '50s, slim '60s, etc.  Maybe they could come up with an attractive peg head while their at it too, doh! 

 

That's exactly the growing pain that G&L recently went through.  Everything was hand crafted, so neck profiles were 'approximate,' which was one of the biggest complaints the market had.  I never saw it as an issue, as it just meant I had to try a guitar to see if the neck was 'close enough' for me.

[V23505]

Thanks guys! Can confirm that she is a little on the heavy side but plays and sounds even better than she looks. A keeper for sure Hope something positive came of the meeting in Kalamazoo yesterday.

[golferwave]

  After reading all of these postings I'm not sure how to feel about this. There was always something magical to me about the handmade Heritage guitars. Being built in the same building and painted in the same booths as the most expensive vintage guitars on the market today. Some of the greatest stringed instruments of all time have come out of that building with names like Loar and McCarty behind them.  To start using CNC machines and mass production methods to fill orders will lessen my enthusiasm for the brand. If they're in short supply and hard to get it will make the new and used ones more valuable. Maybe I'm just too old fashioned for todays world.

[wingnut1]

I imagine that some of those guys want to retire.  They also have to worry that some of them might pass away in a few years.  I'm sure they have to do some planning to ensure that the company is here in 50 years.

[Dick Seacup]

I can understand golferwaves feelings, but in reality, the CNC machines are just another tool.  They don't take anything away from the creation of the instrument.  I think the result is quite the opposite.  They increase the likelihood that one of the craftsmen on the factory floor will be able to infuse this instrument with 'something special.'  They don't have to fight mis-cut tenons or pockets, mis-located routes, etc.  But, this whole discussion of modernization is premature as nobody outside of the factory (save for maybe Jay and a few others) really know what the plans revolve around.

 

My only concern is that they do, in fact, get things under control and continue production.  I think they will do just that and that they'll still put out some of the finest guitars available.