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Heritage Owners Club

Finally got a Heritage: H535 in the house!


tbonesullivan

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Here we go! Got it back from the shop after a clean up/set up and replacing the corroded Grover tuners with new 18:1 ratio tuners. Decided against locking tuners because I just like the look of the windings up there for some reason on this guitar.

 

In the case:

 

535b.jpg

 

This is the bridge and tailpiece. They are both non-original. The bridge is actually made by Grover (wtf?) who apparently makes bridges now. The tailpiece however is supposedly a vintage Gibson tailpiece, but you can see that it was originally Gold in color. The PO included the original Schaller huge as heck tailpiece with bushings and posts though, so I'm not complaining.

 

535c.jpg

 

But man, look at that flame. It's almost like a tiger... wait a minute.

 

535d.jpg

 

And, the back view:

 

535e.jpg

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Wow! That's a beauty! Where did you find that gem?
the usual place: ebay. $1200, which was a pretty good price I'm told. Definitely far cheaper than any Gibson 335 I could find, and better quality too. From the looks and smell of it, it probably spent a lot of time collecting dust in a basement. Hopefully I'll be able to finally put some wear on the frets.
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Nice that you rescued that one from someone's basement. ;) And yeah, nice price. You did good right thar! So, any thoughts what your next Heritage will be? Oh .... was that not mentioned? They are somewhat addictive and tend to be had in multiples. Just an FYI.

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Carvin and Hamer guitars are also addictive. But... with 8 guitars the stable is full. Also, I need double cutaways. Only the heritage models with two cutaways interest me, and I doubt I'll find a better one than I already have. I have tried LP style guitars but they just don't do it for me. My first real guitar was an epiphone sheraton from the 90s. Well I've finally come full circle and gotten a true replacement for that that exceeds the original in every way.

 

Only question now is whether I'm going to keep that tailpiece, or get a new one. Alternatively I could just put back on the original one., which is that big schaller one that looks like it should take fine tuners, but is missing them.

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Carvin and Hamer guitars are also addictive. But... with 8 guitars the stable is full. Also, I need double cutaways. Only the heritage models with two cutaways interest me, and I doubt I'll find a better one than I already have. I have tried LP style guitars but they just don't do it for me. My first real guitar was an epiphone sheraton from the 90s. Well I've finally come full circle and gotten a true replacement for that that exceeds the original in every way.

 

Only question now is whether I'm going to keep that tailpiece, or get a new one. Alternatively I could just put back on the original one., which is that big schaller one that looks like it should take fine tuners, but is missing them.

Tbone, check out the 535's little brother - the Prospect. And got you on what's addictive in guitars. In fact, I find them ALL to be addictive. Amps, too. That's why we have this group of enablers supporters here: to help with the GAS

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Tbone, check out the 535's little brother - the Prospect. And got you on what's addictive in guitars. In fact, I find them ALL to be addictive. Amps, too. That's why we have this group of enablers supporters here: to help with the GAS
I was actually looking for a used prospect in the beginning, but the 535 seems to be the most common semi-hollow double cutaway model from Heritage.. probably due to the similarity with the 335. Right now I actually have my sights set on getting an Acoustic Electric 12-string, killing two birds with one stone.

 

Also... I will have trouble finding ANY guitar with better figuring than the H535 I just got, though my carvin CT6M comes close:

 

group1.jpg

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I was actually looking for a used prospect in the beginning, but the 535 seems to be the most common semi-hollow double cutaway model from Heritage.. probably due to the similarity with the 335. Right now I actually have my sights set on getting an Acoustic Electric 12-string, killing two birds with one stone.

 

Also... I will have trouble finding ANY guitar with better figuring than the H535 I just got, though my carvin CT6M comes close:

 

group1.jpg

 

I'm really diggin that sweet shag carpet!!! Nice gits too.

 

That 535 looks like it has a one piece top and back.

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No dot on the selector tip. Probably lowly Schallers.
The ebay auction said they were Schaller pickups. It's a 1999 guitar, and came with a schaller bridge and tailpiece. How does one tell what kind of pickups they have, aside from pulling them out? did they always use the 4 screw mounting rings?
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The ebay auction said they were Schaller pickups. It's a 1999 guitar, and came with a schaller bridge and tailpiece. How does one tell what kind of pickups they have, aside from pulling them out? did they always use the 4 screw mounting rings?

 

Schaller Golden 50's were the stock pickup for years. Ren Wall developed his own pickups based on the stock Schallers, which were then named HRW's (for Heritage Rendal Wall). HRW's are characterized by a dot on the selector switch; black dot if the switch tip is white; white dot is the tip is black. Both the Schaller and HRW's utilize the dual screw per side configuration. It's to balance the pickup front to back as well as side to side. Best bet is your pickups are stock Schallers. You can always pull them next string change, just to make sure.

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Carvin and Hamer guitars are also addictive. But... with 8 guitars the stable is full. Also, I need double cutaways. Only the heritage models with two cutaways interest me, and I doubt I'll find a better one than I already have. I have tried LP style guitars but they just don't do it for me. My first real guitar was an epiphone sheraton from the 90s. Well I've finally come full circle and gotten a true replacement for that that exceeds the original in every way.

 

Only question now is whether I'm going to keep that tailpiece, or get a new one. Alternatively I could just put back on the original one., which is that big schaller one that looks like it should take fine tuners, but is missing them.

 

keep the more traditional looking tail piece, it ads to the elegance of the guitar, which is nothing short of beautifully stunning. the new bridge is far better looking than the roller bridge. Congratulations on a fantastic find.

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I've also considered getting a new Nickel plated tailpiece to match colors. even though the tailpiece is supposed to be a real vintage gibson tailpiece... I don't see how that makes it better. but, I already sunk money into the set up and new tuners, so I'm leaving it as is for now. I like the pickups, so I don't see myself changing them.

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