NGD—1985 H140

[ESchmidt]

Hello! 
I picked up an early piece of Heritage history this week. It is a 1985 H-140 finished in May.  I’ve never owned one so early. It has suffered a headstock break and repair, but it was done properly and feels like glass running my hand over it. It came with black plastics and cheap generic Chinese humbuckers. I put a set of Gibson Burstbucker 1 and 2 I had laying around in and it sounds so much better.  The only downside is that I had to over pay a bit for it. The seller was tough but the fact that it was built so early on plus it plays so well and has a stunningly gorgeous top means I had to get it. Enjoy the pictures! 

[bolero]

wow that's a beauty!

B serial & a stinger

drool

[Steiner]

That is drop dead cool.  There’s a ton of mojo in that beast.  Happy NGD.

[tsp17]

Nice!

[Jimbob]

The headstock repair looks to be a pretty solid and clean job, too! Nice score!

[ElChoad]

Damn! Nice find!

[DetroitBlues]

Nice score.  What did you change on it or what did the previous owner change?

Those old 140's have a seriously deep dish carve on the top, so much so, the pickup rings would crack.  

Hard to tell if the pickups were swapped, but the rings are new(er) and I think the top-hat knobs are also a replacement part.  Only other thing I saw was the screws for the tuners were black.

Nothing wrong with any of that, but if you paid a higher price then you'd like, I hope it wasn't sold as an all-original with a repaired headstock.

[ESchmidt]

  On 4/8/2025 at 4:45 PM, DetroitBlues said:

Nice score.  What did you change on it or what did the previous owner change?

Those old 140's have a seriously deep dish carve on the top, so much so, the pickup rings would crack.  

Hard to tell if the pickups were swapped, but the rings are new(er) and I think the top-hat knobs are also a replacement part.  Only other thing I saw was the screws for the tuners were black.

Nothing wrong with any of that, but if you paid a higher price then you'd like, I hope it wasn't sold as an all-original with a repaired headstock.

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I think the tuners were the only original part. Certainly all the wiring and pickups were non original. I had a set of Throbak pickup rings laying around so I installed those when I put the burstbuckers in. The rings have a decent amount of “flex” and grip the body nicely. Time will tell if they crack or not, I suppose. One original pickup was included in the case, a standard Shaller pickup they were using at the time with a 3/85 date stamp on the bottom. I replaced the knobs to with top hats you see on it now. But the ones that came on it were non original.

 

 

[DetroitBlues]

  On 4/8/2025 at 7:22 PM, ESchmidt said:

I think the tuners were the only original part. Certainly all the wiring and pickups were non original. I had a set of Throbak pickup rings laying around so I installed those when I put the burstbuckers in. The rings have a decent amount of “flex” and grip the body nicely. Time will tell if they crack or not, I suppose. One original pickup was included in the case, a standard Shaller pickup they were using at the time with a 3/85 date stamp on the bottom. I replaced the knobs to with top hats you see on it now. But the ones that came on it were non original.

 

 

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There is a trick for pickup rings.  Tape a piece of sandpaper on the top, gently glide the pickup ring back and forth until it makes the curve of the top.

The tailpiece is also original..

Fine guitar all around.

Hows the neck shape?

[ESchmidt]

  On 4/9/2025 at 1:45 PM, DetroitBlues said:

There is a trick for pickup rings.  Tape a piece of sandpaper on the top, gently glide the pickup ring back and forth until it makes the curve of the top.

The tailpiece is also original..

Fine guitar all around.

Hows the neck shape?

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Thanks for the tip! The neck is very comfortable. I’d equate it to a modern Gibson 60s neck. Thin enough, but not as flat feeling as some Heritage necks I’ve felt from the 90s and 00s. Certainly not a “50s profile” though. Overall I’m elated with this guitar. Just feels and sounds right. One thing I also noticed is the Heritage logo on the headstock is a pearl inlay. Many from this era I’ve seen have been just a flat white logo. 

[Genericmusic]

[TalismanRich]

Old H-140s are fun guitars.   I've got an '87,   changed out the pickups to SD Alnico Pro IIs because there was a problem with the originals.   I think I tried changing caps, but that didn't help.   The jack had to be replaced a few years back.  Other than that mine is original.  It's been back to K'zoo a few times over the years for PSP, including PSP 2023.

Yours has a nice looking top!

 

[ESchmidt]

  On 4/9/2025 at 10:41 PM, TalismanRich said:

Old H-140s are fun guitars.   I've got an '87,   changed out the pickups to SD Alnico Pro IIs because there was a problem with the originals.   I think I tried changing caps, but that didn't help.   The jack had to be replaced a few years back.  Other than that mine is original.  It's been back to K'zoo a few times over the years for PSP, including PSP 2023.

Yours has a nice looking top!

 

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SD APIIs are great pickups, I had a set years ago and remember them sounding wonderful.