Death of a 91' Heritage Black Beauty.

[High Flying Bird]

In an earlier post I talked about Mr. Walker who was one of the early Heritage dealers.  Put your hands on your wallets as I tell you this story!

 

He had a beautiful Heritage Black Beauty.  I had the black H-150 at the time so I wasn't interested in that guitar, but any way, one night some idiots broke into the roof of his store and stole the Heritage and a sweet Martin out of the main display case. 

 

After a few months the Black Beauty showed up at a pawn shop beat six ways to Sunday.  It was ruined.  The owner of the pawn shop wanted full list for it.  That pretty gold hardware was tarnished like  it had been sitting in a junkyard.  The wood was eat up!  Deep gouges everywhere.  Typing this makes me almost want to cry.  Insurance paid for the damage and the lost guitars. 

 

Mr. Walker retired a few years later but when I see him now we laugh about the large pool of blood on the floor where one of the crooks fell through the ceiling and the police finding a feller with a badly broken leg at the hospital smelling strangely of Michigan wood. 

 

Good thing Mr. Walker didn't find him at the store he might have beat him to death with a bass string....that he just sold to him. 

[Kazwell]

That pretty gold hardware was tarnished like  it had been sitting in a junkyard.  The wood was eat up!  Deep gouges everywhere.

 

That "look" is actually in style now. Fender has a whole line of Custom Shop guitars that are made to look like they have been-well, like you described, sitting in a junkyard (for several years?)-and natrually the "painstaking attention to detail in everyway" (of the banged up orginal-one model is supposed to be the exact replilca of the Tele one of the guys in the Clash played for instance) Fender feels justifies a somewhat hefty price tag fior these guitars.

[Thundersteel]

Good story!

 

G!^$@n does the same thing with their "aged" Les Pauls. It's their Tom Murphy treatment.

 

I think I'll let my instruments age the natural way--gracefully with time and playing.

 

[Kuz]

Good story!

 

G!^$@n does the same thing with their "aged" Les Pauls. It's their Tom Murphy treatment.

 

I think I'll let my instruments age the natural way--gracefully with time and playing.

 

 

AMEN! Plus you know the guitar was in excellent shape before it left the factory. I always wondered if the people at Fender thought, "Don't need to finish that one correctly it's a Relic" or "Don't put the good wood on that one. We are only going to beat the hell out of it anyway, it's a Relic"

[High Flying Bird]

That guitar was really nice.  It looked so dignified.  I wasn't near as heavy as the H-150 I had at the time.  It was there for about 6 to 9 months as I remember.  People didn't have the internet then and the word was slow to get out.  Plus so many people had to have that dang ol, "G" word on the head stock......fools.

 

All of this talk about the old days makes me want to call Mr. Walker and get some pictures of him and his instruments. 

 

If there is anyone from Heritage monitoring the traffic here you should ask around and see if any of the old timers remember a Rod Walker from Huntsville, Al.  I am sure he would love to hear from them.  Oh, no.  Forget that idea.  He will suck the money out of my wallet like a shark gutting a seal.  I can hear him now.  "Here's a pretty little guitar I got from up north.  You'll notice the Chet Atkins' Bigsby arm, the tiger striped carved top and the "C" shaped neck....."  How does he always know? 

 

We are due for a weekend vacation this month.  I am thinking about going to Nashville.  If we make up that way I will get some pictures of the guitars at the Gibson Store.  They have some guitars that would make Neil Young weep!  I would rather play that trashed Heritage than any guitar in that joint!  I wish I could find it.

[cod65]

this whole 'distressed' phenomenon in fashion and guitars is the dumbest thing to come down the pike in a long time. does anybody seriously think they get some 'Jaco mojo' by buying a new bass with cigarette burns 'applied ' at the factory ?