Room for improvement?

[GuitArtMan]

The post about Heritage closing it's doors got me thinking.   I love my Heritage guitars as much as the next guy and will continue to play, purchase and praise them, yet I feel there is room for improvement.   I understand that Heritage is facing some production problems (not being able to keep up with demand) yet I feel they can increase production while maintaining, or even improving quality. 

 

Consistency:

The use of CNC machines have allowed the new breed of builder to manufacture guitars to a high level of consistency.  I know if I pick up a Tom Anderson standard neck what to expect.  I know if I play a PRS wide fat from one guitar to another they will feel nearly identical.  I just don’t think Heritage is there yet.  I’ve owned 4 535s with subtly, to not so subtle neck shape differences:

Almond Sunburst – Medium large U shape

Antique natural no. 1 – Slim C

Antique natural no. 2 – Slim U

Dark Almond Bust – Medium C

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to order a 535 with a “large C” or “early ‘50s” or “slim ‘60s”  profile and know what you are getting?  And be able to have two or three Heritage guitars that are so close in feel you can’t tell the difference in a blind test?  My guess is Heritage still shapes their necks by hand.

 

Set Up:

I don’t use Gibson as the benchmark (there I said it) and I don’t think Heritage should either. While Heritage has achieved I believe the same level of quality as the Gibson Custom Shop (I said it again), this isn’t the pinnacle imo.  I use the smaller, independent “boutique” builders as they are the ones pushing the envelope:  Tom Anderson, Don Grosh, John Suhr, Terry McInturff, Gerard Melancon, Paul Reed Smith (at least in the early days), there are dozens of others that could be added to the list.  While the Plek machine has helped considerably, there is still room for improvement:

My antique natural 535 arrived with a dead spot at the 17th fret.

My H-137 arrived buzzing teribley at the nut on the low E, A and D strings.  Even adding more than enough neck relief (way more than enough) didn’t correct this.  It needed a new nut.

My Dark Almond Burst arrived with the nut cut too high and I had to have this set up to get it to play/intonate well.  You just don’t find these kind of issues with Tom Anderson, Don Grosh, John Suhr etc.  I know if I order a Tom Anderson, or Don Grosh, or John Suhr I could gig with it right out of the box – I just don’t feel that way with Heritage, at least not yet.  If they don't have some player/lutheirs in house they need to get some.  They need to open their eyes to what the new guys in town are doing. 

 

Fret size options: 

My guess is Heritage uses 6150 or equivalent fret wire.  I’d love to see 6100 offered as an option, or maybe 6105.  Jazz cats may like to see a smaller fret wire used like a 6130 or 6230.

 

Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard: 

It’s out there, but it’s pricey.  Still many other builders are offering as an upgrade option.

 

Hardware options: 

I think Heritage already offers great hardware selections.  About the only thing I could think of is maybe they could offer an ABR1 type bridge for the true "vintage" enthusiasts.

 

A new peg head shape: 

This seems to be a common complaint about Heritage guitars – people just find the peg head unattractive.  In fact, I’ve seen a number of “ugly peg head” poles and Heritage is always at or near the top of the list.  While I can see past that, I still believe they can come up with a peg head that is functional, original and attractive.  Perhaps we could have a “design the new Heritage peg head” contest here.

[deluxemeat]

good points.

your post made me think of 2 things i asked for on my "soon to be completed whenever it's completed" custom heritage.

it's got 6100 fret wire!

while it's a roy clark; it's got a smaller headstock like on a 535.

 

also i did get a 'u' (or d i guess- shoulders on the side and flattish in the center) shaped neck like on my gmps which is a nod to jacksons.

i can't wait.

wait...

no- thats not true; i've been waiting about a year!

[Thundersteel]

I love my Heritage guitars as much as the next guy and will continue to play, purchase and praise them, yet I feel there is room for improvement.

 

I agree with you there. When I bought my H157, I tried out EVERY H157 in the store. EVERY SINGLE ONE of them had what I consider to be a flaw. Let's see--crooked inlays, uncentered strap buttons, shoddy binding filing, etc. Now, some may argue that these are simply nuances of a hand-crafted instrument. True, nothing is perfect, but I feel that they need to be more consistent.

 

This seems to be a common complaint about Heritage guitars – people just find the peg head unattractive.

 

I kind of like the headstock shape,  though it could be a little wider.

[Dick Seacup]

I had a reply all typed up, left for dinner and now it's gone.  The reply, that is.  Well, dinner, too, but I digress.

 

Is there room for improvement?  Almost always.  I think the real question is what does Heritage, or rather, those who control Heritage, want their brand to become?  If they have a twelve month backlog, I think we can logically conclude that the market is happy (enough) with what they are right now.  Either that or there are a lot of patient customers out there, like deluxemeat.  I don't think I would wait a year for anything to be built by anyone...but I'm not a patient person; it's a character flaw of mine.

 

That being said, I do think they should be able to ensure a proper setup from the factory, regardless of what they want their production mode/output to become.  I have no idea what the fret size is on my H137, but they're low and wide.  And, coming from skinny, tall 'vintage' Telecaster frets, they're actually pretty cool.  Headstock...yeah, not the most sexy thing in the market, but it's, umm, functional.  (My mom always said, if you can't say something nice...)

 

I like the idea of a headstock design contest.  Not that I would expect Heritage to change anything because of that.  But, it would be interesting to see what ideas people would come up with.  I'm a sucker for a sexy headstock design...moreso than body profile.  8)

[jacques]

Hmmm...this is a difficult subject. I have not seen any flaws on my two Heritages and the other one I had on hand. I read many, many reviews from people that just love these guitars and neither of them mentions any noteworthy problems.  Aren't these guitars representing the heritage? And that heritage is one of hand made guitars that produced the sounds that shaped modern guitar music. Those guitars had slight differences too.

Plus I don't like rationalized production of instruments. So I'd say: please let the old guys keep on doing what they do, but -as they can't do this forever- hopefully they can train new people to continue their work.

[GuitArtMan]

Hmmm...this is a difficult subject. I have not seen any flaws on my two Heritages and the other one I had on hand. I read many, many reviews from people that just love these guitars and neither of them mentions any noteworthy problems.  Aren't these guitars representing the heritage? And that heritage is one of hand made guitars that produced the sounds that shaped modern guitar music. Those guitars had slight differences too.

Plus I don't like rationalized production of instruments. So I'd say: please let the old guys keep on doing what they do, but -as they can't do this forever- hopefully they can train new people to continue their work.

You're right, the old guys can't go on forever.  What I hope is the new guys learn from them, but also from the new competition.  I personally feel that new manufacturing techniques have led to consistently higher quality instruments for those builders that embrace them.  I think everyone here would agree that Heritage's fretwork improved when they started using the Plek machine.  Well why can't simialr technology be applied to other areas of the manufacturing process?  Again, maybe it's because many of the new builders teams are made up of luthier/players that they achieve this phenomonal attention to detail.  I can't immagine anyone at Tom Andesons shop is not a player.  Or Don Groshs.  Or John Suhrs.  Or PRS for that matter.  Maybe it's becuase the final QA is done by a fanatical player/luthier that these shops obtain such beautifull set ups. 

 

Again I love my Heritage guitars and think they offer an extremely high quality instrument at a price at a affordable price.  But off the wall the smaller boutique shops are just kicking ass imho.  Maybe that's part of it, these are small shops with fairly low output - I don't know.

[V23505]

The only problems I've had with my H157 was with the nut and the binding; the string spacing between the E and A strings was off and it seemed to be higher on one side than the other. I've since had it replaced, and it plays like a dream. The binding wasn't a big deal at all, a few sloppy fret filing indentations, none of which affected the playability of the thing.

I haven't had the opportunity to play any other Heritages, but after the small work I have had done on mine, I'm completely satisfied with it.

I'd agree that CNC machines would add a degree of consistency to certain aspects of the building process and would be in favour of it, but find it difficult to reconcile any such decision with the fact that Heritage prides itself on not using them - see online brochure.

I'd like to see Heritage differentiate more within their model lines; for example with the H150 line, perhaps the top-end stuff could include some items that are popular retro-fits or custom-order options such as electronics from R.S. Guitarworks and pickups from WCR et al. as standard on those models.

[Ace]

Hi all-

 

I'm Kind of new to the site. I sent my beautiful 535 amber sunburst in for repair and it should have been done by now. Do they give you warning (e-mail notice) when the guitar is shipped or does it just show up on your doorstep? Any input would be helpful. Thanks and I'll post a pic when I get her back.

[JohnCovach]

I have three Heritage guitars--a 575 custom, 576, and 155--all of which I bought used.  Once you swap out the bridge and pickups, they are great instruments.  I'm surprised to hear that many of you have been disturbed by certain imperfections in these guitars, since I haven't noticed any significant problems with any of mine.  But I guess you notice these kinds of things less when you buy used, because you have no expectation that the guitar will be perfect, etc.