29er Posted January 3 Posted January 3 I've not paid close attention to Heritage for a while but now that I'm in the marker for an H-530 I noticed the headstock has become a bit larger. Is that a recent change?
zguitar71 Posted January 3 Posted January 3 It is recent and on the custom core models only, the standard models have the original size head stock. 1 1
bolero Posted January 6 Posted January 6 I think in about 2003-2005 there was a change in headstock dimensions too, they just widened it a bit AFAIK
29er Posted January 9 Author Posted January 9 Thanks for the info. The custom core model is very tempting. I need to get my hands on one of these soon!
TalismanRich Posted January 9 Posted January 9 I think there is a distinct difference between the headstock on the archtops like my 525 and the Eagles vs the 150/535/137. I remember the black 555 that was given away at PSP in 2016 had a bigger headstock than the standard 535. Sorry for the blurry photo, but it's the only one I have.
LK155 Posted January 9 Posted January 9 Rich, what I think I remember about that black one in 2016 was that it was actually made with the wrong neck on it. Ergo the larger headstock. Of course, this could be totally untrue.
pressure Posted January 9 Posted January 9 (edited) Heritage use 3 different headstock sizes. Large for Jazz guitars, medium and small for most electric guitars. I wish I had found that out sooner. My last custom build, the Heritage Millennium SuperLight, should have had a small headstock but I had them use the medium size because it looked more balanced to me. Don't forget Heritage had a number of unconventional guitar models that used completely different headstocks, I'm looking at you MarvBird. Edited January 9 by pressure 1
TalismanRich Posted January 9 Posted January 9 (edited) 3 hours ago, LK155 said: Rich, what I think I remember about that black one in 2016 was that it was actually made with the wrong neck on it. Ergo the larger headstock. Of course, this could be totally untrue. I don't know if it was the "wrong" neck, but it wasn't a normal 555 neck. Might have been a special request, might have been an "oops!! That's not right!" We'll never know. Actually, on the 555, I think the bigger headstock looks better. Not that the normal one looks bad, but I like the binding and slightly wider style. It looks CLASSY! Edited January 9 by TalismanRich 1
DavesNotHere Posted January 23 Posted January 23 On 1/9/2025 at 3:36 PM, TalismanRich said: I don't know if it was the "wrong" neck, but it wasn't a normal 555 neck. Might have been a special request, might have been an "oops!! That's not right!" We'll never know. Per Arnie Helinski, it was a bit of both. The neck was originally supposed to be for a custom Roy Clark but something didn't meet the original customer's spec and it wound up just sitting on the shelf being "too nice to scrap". When the PSP giveaway was being discussed that year, Arnie suggested using that five piece neck on the giveaway guitar and Marv et al agreed. I'm glad they made that decision. 😁 3
DetroitBlues Posted January 23 Posted January 23 On 1/3/2025 at 4:57 PM, zguitar71 said: It is recent and on the custom core models only, the standard models have the original size head stock. Not true anymore. The larger headstocks began with the customer cores. Starting either 2022 or 2023, the standard models now also have the larger headstocks. My 2023 H150 has a wider headstock than my 2020 H137, 2016 H535, or my 1985 H140.
DetroitBlues Posted January 23 Posted January 23 26 minutes ago, DavesNotHere said: Per Arnie Helinski, it was a bit of both. The neck was originally supposed to be for a custom Roy Clark but something didn't meet the original customer's spec and it wound up just sitting on the shelf being "too nice to scrap". When the PSP giveaway was being discussed that year, Arnie suggested using that five piece neck on the giveaway guitar and Marv et al agreed. I'm glad they made that decision. 😁 Such a beauty! There was a run of 535 anniversary models ( I think that's what they were) that also used the larger archtop headstocks.
29er Posted January 23 Author Posted January 23 Thanks for all the good info. I haven't owned a Heritage since I stopped gigging in the early 2000's but my recent interest in fully hollow electrics finds me in the market. I've owned a couple of Korean made Casinos, which are ok but I have my heart set on a 530 now. I just need to sell a few instruments first, they tend to pile up in my house and I'm at the stage of life where I ask myself "Why do you have all this stuff?" I'm leaning towards the custom core model in either cherry or blonde. Again, thanks to you all for giving me some education.
TalismanRich Posted January 24 Posted January 24 10 hours ago, 29er said: I'm at the stage of life where I ask myself "Why do you have all this stuff?" How much older do I need to get to that point? Maybe when I move into that assisted living home? 🤣
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