NGD for Heritage!

[Guest mgoetting]

I saw Marv working on a new style of guitar today. Basically it's a firebird kinda guitar with full MOP block inlays and an ebony board. I don't know what they're calling it. The specimen I saw was being sanded.

 

Heritage produces 4-5 guitars a day total and run only 4 days a week. There are 15 full time workers and a few part time.

 

The good news is that I saw several 525s ready to ship. Interestingly, 60% of the guitars they make go to foreign countries. That leaves only 8 Heritages a week for America.

 

Kalamazoo Gibson made 400-500 guitars a day once upon a time.

 

Here's a couple of other highlights from my visit today.

 

Rendall explained the fine tuning tailpiece. He invented the top mounted one and Schaller basically stole the idea. It's not for intonation. It's to fine tune the pitch after gross tuning with the pegs. Probably everyone else knew this but me.

 

I asked Ren about putting a tone pot on my Sweet 16. He told me Heritage would do it for $100 but I could do it myself and save the money. He then diagrammed the wiring and gave me a pot and a capacitor. He pointed to where I should put the 1/4" hole. He also told me where I could get an ohm meter for $3.

 

The picture of the Henry Johnson guitar is fabricated. They didn't have an example when they were making this year's brochure, so Ren Photoshopped pieces of guitars together. Look carefully at their website. I'll bet you can't tell.

 

I had to make my pilgrimage today since I will be gone the first week of August. Whenever I visit I appreciate them more and worry how long they will remain. The economy has been brutal to them.

[Guest mgoetting]

Here's another interesting lesson.

 

I got a warning from Ren not to use flatwounds unless I really had to have them. He said the uneven string tension torques the neck.

 

To get rid of the scratching sound he recommends WD 40 wiped on the strings.

 

Ren invented the system of measuring how much string tension is needed to create the proper pitch. He hung a small bucket over a pulley with the string in question. He then loaded the bucket with weights until the desired pitch of the string was achieved, followed by measuring the weights.

 

He showed me on my pack of strings how many pounds of tension was needed for each string. The weight should be about the same for every string to protect the neck. Flatwounds are too heavy on the bass side.

 

He doesn't like D'Addarios in general and favors GHS.

[jazzrat]

Thanks so much for that report!

Makes me want to have a custom made all the more.

[Guest mgoetting]

Their shipment room was full, destined for Australia, Japan, South Africa, Europe and Jays.

 

There were so many nice things there I wanted to ask for just one cart full to take with me. Maybe just a complementary 525 for everyone at HOC.

[Blackplates]

I saw Marv working on a new style of guitar today. Basically it's a firebird kinda guitar with full MOP block inlays and an ebony board. I don't know what they're calling it. The specimen I saw was being sanded.

 

Heritage produces 4-5 guitars a day total and run only 4 days a week. There are 15 full time workers and a few part time.

 

The good news is that I saw several 525s ready to ship. Interestingly, 60% of the guitars they make go to foreign countries. That leaves only 8 Heritages a week for America.

 

Kalamazoo Gibson made 400-500 guitars a day once upon a time.

 

Here's a couple of other highlights from my visit today.

 

Rendall explained the fine tuning tailpiece. He invented the top mounted one and Schaller basically stole the idea. It's not for intonation. It's to fine tune the pitch after gross tuning with the pegs. Probably everyone else knew this but me.

 

I asked Ren about putting a tone pot on my Sweet 16. He told me Heritage would do it for $100 but I could do it myself and save the money. He then diagrammed the wiring and gave me a pot and a capacitor. He pointed to where I should put the 1/4" hole. He also told me where I could get an ohm meter for $3.

 

The picture of the Henry Johnson guitar is fabricated. They didn't have an example when they were making this year's brochure, so Ren Photoshopped pieces of guitars together. Look carefully at their website. I'll bet you can't tell.

 

I had to make my pilgrimage today since I will be gone the first week of August. Whenever I visit I appreciate them more and worry how long they will remain. The economy has been brutal to them.

 

That last line is worrisome...i dont know if there are any dealers in my area (maryland) who will order a guitar for me. Im interested in an H 150. can they be prdered directly?

[FrankV]

That's interesting about the GHS recommendation. I just discovered them this weekend. I replaced the D'Ads with GHS Nickelrockers, 10's. The difference in how they sound and feel was surprising to me. They're a lot smoother feeling, and quieter when you slide your hands and fingers along them. The sound is a lot warmer and 'rounder' to me. Just a simple string change brought me closer to the sound I want.

[Jazzpunk]

Mark, thanks so much for the wonderful description of your trip! I doubt I'll ever make it to the factory so it's always a pleasure to live vicariously through others.

[jazzrat]

Boy, that D'Addario description is right in line with what my fingers have been telling me.

They've always felt stiffer to me than the same guage in their roundwounds.

I love that kind of great info from somebody that really knows the nuts and bolts.

[ronalr]

That last line is worrisome...i dont know if there are any dealers in my area (maryland) who will order a guitar for me. Im interested in an H 150. can they be prdered directly?

 

Not sure what part of Maryland you are in but I am in Bel Air and Musicland is a Heritage dealer...the owner is the guy who turned me onto Heritage and sold me my 535 new in 2006.

[Guest mgoetting]

Rendall is a fountain of information.

 

Much of the time we talked about our HTC phone apps. He's helped me there. He also knows a lot about web design.

 

I had monkeyed around with one of my guitars doing a set up. I felt good that he told me I got the truss rod adjusted well. Then he made some further adjustments of the bridge, the saddle separations and the pickup heights (HIS pups!) almost unconsciously while we talked about planes. Damned if he didn't drop the action another 16th of an inch without a buzz.

[Windstring]

Rendall is a fountain of information.

 

Much of the time we talked about our HTC phone apps. He's helped me there. He also knows a lot about web design.

 

I had monkeyed around with one of my guitars doing a set up. I felt good that he told me I got the truss rod adjusted well. Then he made some further adjustments of the bridge, the saddle separations and the pickup heights (HIS pups!) almost unconsciously while we talked about planes. Damned if he didn't drop the action another 16th of an inch without a buzz.

 

Hey, thanks for posting this interesting information! It's great to get an insight into the workings of the Heritage organization. Based on your information, it is clear that this place is more of a "custom shop" than a "factory", and that's what makes it so special. Mr Wall's comments about adding the tone control sounded a somewhat familiar, although I wouldn't usually worry about an ohm meter....is it to check your wiring? Anyway, best of luck with your mods. And thanks again for sharing this information.

[schundog]

Sorry you will miss PSPIII, Mark. I was looking forward to meeting you and thanking you again for the Millenium!

[FredZepp]

This post was a good read..

 

It sounds like you have a great day at Parsons St .

 

We all just love the people in the place ...... they make it what it is.

[Tim]

I saw Marv working on a new style of guitar today. Basically it's a firebird kinda guitar with full MOP block inlays and an ebony board. I don't know what they're calling it. The specimen I saw was being sanded.

 

Heritage produces 4-5 guitars a day total and run only 4 days a week. There are 15 full time workers and a few part time.

 

The good news is that I saw several 525s ready to ship. Interestingly, 60% of the guitars they make go to foreign countries. That leaves only 8 Heritages a week for America.

 

Kalamazoo Gibson made 400-500 guitars a day once upon a time.

 

Here's a couple of other highlights from my visit today.

 

Rendall explained the fine tuning tailpiece. He invented the top mounted one and Schaller basically stole the idea. It's not for intonation. It's to fine tune the pitch after gross tuning with the pegs. Probably everyone else knew this but me.

 

I asked Ren about putting a tone pot on my Sweet 16. He told me Heritage would do it for $100 but I could do it myself and save the money. He then diagrammed the wiring and gave me a pot and a capacitor. He pointed to where I should put the 1/4" hole. He also told me where I could get an ohm meter for $3.

 

The picture of the Henry Johnson guitar is fabricated. They didn't have an example when they were making this year's brochure, so Ren Photoshopped pieces of guitars together. Look carefully at their website. I'll bet you can't tell.

 

I had to make my pilgrimage today since I will be gone the first week of August. Whenever I visit I appreciate them more and worry how long they will remain. The economy has been brutal to them.

Damn...looks like I should pull the (D'Addario) flatwound 11's off of my 575! Thanks Mark for the great information!

[Patrick]

Ren is a great guitar tech. Most techs I know couldn't carry his tools. However, on the issue of flat wounds torquing the neck more so than round wounds . . . . it seems like history wouldn't necessarily agree with that broad generalization. The free world is full of jazz players that have used flat wounds for decades without the problems that Ren has alluded to. Master builders like D'Aquisto, Monteleone, Benedetto, Lacy, Campellone, Comins, Grimes, Mazer etc., etc., etc., have never cautioned anyone against using flat wounds. Companies like Gibson, Guild, Ibanez, etc., have never issued a disclaimer, as they would have, regarding flat wounds voiding warranties. I originally heard Ren tell me the exact same story, 16 years ago, that he told Mark recently. I'm sure that he has told it many times over the past few decades and has polished its' delivery to make it sound very plausible. I didn't buy into it then and I don't now either.

 

Wood, especially tone wood, is very tempermental, especially when under pressure. Even when it's dead . . . it still seems to be alive with movement. While I guess it is possible that a neck with "other issues" might be affected by string pull further exascerbating a prevailing problem . . . . I don't think it's an issue that we could generalize to all guitars with flat wound strings. While the low E string would seem to require more string pull that the high E string to achieve an E in 440 pitch . . . keep in mind that the low E is 4 octaves lower beneath the high E string. I know several players that use .013 wounds and have been for many years . . . no probs. I know others who use custom wound sets such such as .013, .017, .022W, .030, .040, .050 . . . . . never a prob. I've had flat wounds on my first Golden Eagle since 1994 . . . never a prob. So it's hard to generalize that issue as Ren has in the past.

[blueox]

"I saw Marv working on a new style of guitar today. Basically it's a firebird kinda guitar with full MOP block inlays and an ebony board. I don't know what they're calling it. The specimen I saw was being sanded."

 

This is good news. While I enjoy their classic guitars, such as my H-150 and others from the Heritage catalog, I also enjoy the new developments from the Heritage team, such as the H-110 of 2009 and the H-137DC of 2010, to keep things interesting.

 

" . . . Interestingly, 60% of the guitars they make go to foreign countries . . . "

 

While on a tour last year, one of the owners mentioned that 80% of their sales was overseas, so hopefully this means that the U.S. market is picking up.