How does one commission a new Heritage?

[Spectrum13]

About 12 weeks.... It depends on what model and how custom. Special order parts ordering presents a problem. Think about it. From you to dealer, to Lane, to Heritage?... then who ever places the order to the parts supplier. Then it needs to be intergrated into the manufacture process.  With Kuz's latest, remember they called it "with the pickups on backwards" or something like that. I order with the Faber Steel Vintage ABR-1 steel bridge studs to replace the zinc Nashville usual to production. I don't know how many of us on the forum even know what that is and "we" spend a considerable time on the web looking for this kind of cool stuff.  I'm just glad they agreed to built it with these parts. However they have to figure out how to install it and if it is compatable with a tonepro Nashville bridge. They ordered it with a conversion bridge which was returned once they figured out the pin has standard spacing and diameters. Just saying, we can create a lot of extra work.

[Sparky]

If you intend to talk to Ren, call early, 8:00-ish their time.  I did a custom order through Jay, well Graham, actually.  Fourteen months for me.  I went in figuring a year, which is what Graham had said.  Plus, they apparently don't do too many Supers in any given year.  And there was the impending shutdown crisis, while mine was on order.  Very stressful.  My instrument is magnificent!  The guitar is really nice, too.

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[xrcdan]

guess i got lucky with my 157. ordered on 12/15/2008, guitar serial no. is jan. 6th 2009 and received it 2/04/2009 .

[yoslate]

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

 

                                Thanks, Spark!  Just a test; you passed!    :wink:

[GuitArtMan]

Not to desuade you from custom ordering a Heritage but here are my two cunstom order stories:

 

Guitar number one was a H-535, almond burst, premium woods, bound peg head and f holes, trapezoid inlays, custom neck profile after my '59 Flame Top RI, Duncan Seth Lovers (I honestly think this was the first one with them).  I ordered it at the begining of February and waas quoted about 4 months.  The begining of June rolls around and guitar number one is shipped.  Unfortunately it did not have the premium woods updgrade or my custom neck shape - this was one of the thinnest I had played.  I returned the guitar and was assured the replacemnt would be rushed to the front of production and that i should have it by the begining of August.  Well August rolls around, no guitar.  The end of August rolls around, still no guitar.  This went on until Thanksgiving time when I was told what they thought was a finish flaw was actually a crack in the wood and the guitar would need to be destroyed.  At this point they offered me a refund.  I asked them if they could have a guitar for me by the NAMM show.  They said yes.  Well they missed by one week and the guitar shipped the week after NAMM.  If was gorgeous, except for one flaw:  the neck was a D shape and not the C shape I had requested.  The think felt like a 2x4 up the neck.  Still I had the frets dressed locally and she played and sounded like a dream.  Meahwhile a local shop becomes a Heritage dealer and starts geting 535s in that have neck shapes that I just love - nice medicum deep C shape.  I am so frustrated with mine I send it back in to have the neck reshaped.

 

I was quoted about 8 or 9 weeks for this.  Well after a year goes by and my guitar is still stuck at Heritage I call Jay to figure out how I can get it back.  After talking with Bill I think it was the gutiar is shipped back to me.  Keep in mind it was mint when I shipped it back for the reshape.  Well the first thing I notice is that the color on the neck doesn't match the rest of the guitar.  The second thing I notice is that there is orange peeling all up and down the neck.  The third thing I notice is that they replaced the fingerboard in the proccess and now the frets are poorly dressed and will need another fret dress.  I send the gutiar back to have the neck refinish done correctly and this time it comes back bueautiful.  The neck shape is what I want, but the frets suck!  I pay to have the frets dressed again locally and start playing the guitar.  She plays and looks killer now and sounds great.  I think that is still my favorite sounding 535 I owned.  I let that one go when I had a herniated disc in my neck and playind the 535 seem to aggreavate it.  I still wonder about that one from time to time.  I think I sold it to someone in Florida.  Are you out there?

 

Custom order number two was a Millenium Ltd. with some special twists.  I wanted solid trap inlays, not the outlines.  I wanted a carved arched back ala the Millenium Eagle,  I wanted the toggle switch on the upper bout ala a H-150.  At this time I was quoted about a year for a custom order.  Well around the 11 month mark I get a call from Heritage.  Since I wanted solid traps and not the outline traps, and since they normally only do traps on rosewood board and not ebony, they goofed up and used a rosewood board.  They asked me if I wanted to wait to have a new neck made (I guess the fingerboard had already been attached).  I said no, rosewood is fine.  Well that guitar arrives and is beautiful.  It was a chestnut burst with a quilt maple that looked like sea shells - really, really pretty.  The challange I had was my choice to go with the arched back made the gutiar weigh a ton.  Even though it was semi-hollow, it wieghed as much as a solid body Les Paul.  I was hoping for something closer to the svelt 6.5 lbs of my CS-336.  I also found that the arched back pushed the face of the guitar into a funny position when plaiying standing up.  Not Heritages fault because this is what I ordered. 

 

I still think aboput custom ordereing another Heritage or two, I'm just not convinced I'll get what I really want.  Of course, I'm not sure what I really want!  ;D

[VJonathan]

Well, at least you're not in a four year queue...........(and counting).

[GuitArtMan]

Thanks for all the advice guys.  We followed through with no satisfaction for our efforts.  The weird thing about this whole scenario is that Heritage was given special materials for these instruments.  They confirmed receipt of those materials and the order had to be sent  three times because they kept losing it.    Imagine that.  Every time a call was made we were told the guitars were in production.  There is a serious disconnect up there.

You're special materials probably ended up on someone elses guitar. 

 

I've thought about custom ordering a 535 and/or H-150 with a Brazillian rosewood fingerboard.  I have a luthier friend, who's wife just happens to be Brazillian, and who happens to have some of the finest Brazillian rosewood north of the Amazon, and has sold to the likes of Collings Guitars, Santa Cruz Guitar Company, Taylor, James Goodal to mention a few.  I'd love to get some fingerboard blanks from him and have a 535 and/or 150 made, but...

[tulk1]

You're special materials probably ended up on someone elses guitar. 

 

Sad, but probably true. Remember the comments from Vince when he joined the gang? He mentioned finding special orders on desk underneath stacks of whatever. It's a known truth that in previous years they had no real inventory control. VJ, I wish you the best of luck in getting your special build. As GAM has so eloquently put it:

but ...

[Paul P]

I have this great little book called "Clapton's Guitar" :

    http://www.amazon.com/Claptons-Guitar-Watc...6755&sr=1-2

 

It's a true story about an acoustic guitar builder, Wayne Henderson, and a journalist's attempt to get

him to build a guitar for Eric Clapton.  Henderson's shop looks just like the inside of Heritage and his

organization skills weren't learned at Harvard.  Little piles of tonewood are to be found scattered

around the shop, forgotten under other things, waiting to be turned into a guitar the day Henderson

decides its time has come.

 

Basically Henderson will build your guitar if he feels like it, if he feels you deserve his trouble.  He is

apparently a builder of very fine guitars and has people waiting for years for him to build them a guitar.

The trouble with Clapton was that he was not himself directly involved and Henderson didn't have

a very high opinion of him, so the project just never got off the ground.  Until the author of the book

decides that he's going to take it upon himself to get Henderson to finish the job.

 

It's a great story and the kind of book you can't put down until it's finished.

 

 

.

[VJonathan]

Sad, but probably true. Remember the comments from Vince when he joined the gang? He mentioned finding special orders on desk underneath stacks of whatever. It's a known truth that in previous years they had no real inventory control. VJ, I wish you the best of luck in getting your special build. As GAM has so eloquently put it:

 

 

....................I spoke to Vince Margol back in September and he confirmed that my three Brazilian rosewood fret boards were sitting in his office.  He was waiting for the order from Jay Wolfe. This was the third time Jay had to send it because Heritage kept losing the paper work.  As I understand it this typical SOP at Heritage.  I continue to have faith that my boards were not used on someone else's guitar.