Rare Korean made Heritage 535

[faededtoblack]

Hello all, I have what I think is an extremely rare Heritage. It is a transparent cherry semi-hollow body 535 style. It has blank headstock and has a serial number and a "made in Korea for Heritage guitar" stamp on the back of the head stock. I called the Kalamazoo plant and talked to one of the guys there and they told me they had heard of it and that they thought it might be one of the 8 different models they authorized Korea to make a pilot of. From what I understood, they were thinking of letting Korea make some guitars kinda like what Epiphone does with Gibsons but they backed out at the last minute. They guy told me that my guitar may be the only one of it's kind in the world. To some guitar collectors, this may be a hot item, I'm not sure. Does anyone have any thoughts on this or has anyone heard any stories about this?

Thanks,

 

Jeremy

[Kuz]

Top input jack mount, different pickguard, different headstock,...... all take your word for it if you call Heritage, but I never heard of them even exploring the idea of allowing and overseas build.

 

Now I do know there have been some counterfeit Heritages made overseas.

 

We are having a reunion at the plant next week. I'll ask the guys and see if they know anymore about this.

[faededtoblack]

Top input jack mount, different pickguard, different headstock,...... all take your word for it if you call Heritage, but I never heard of them even exploring the idea of allowing and overseas build.

 

Now I do know there have been some counterfeit Heritages made overseas.

 

We are having a reunion at the plant next week. I'll ask the guys and see if they know anymore about this.

Ok thanks man. Like I said, I talked to one of those guys and that's the story I got. I have never seen a counterfeit that actually had "made in Korea or China" usually they try to pass it off as USA made right?

[FredZepp]

I've never heard of such a thing ... so I will tend to be skeptical about it. But as Kuz said... we can find out soon enough.

 

Any imported Heritages in the past have been fakes, but then again I've never seen that on the back of a headstock.

 

Any better photos? Particularly of the front of the headstock.

[faededtoblack]

I've never heard of such a thing ... so I will tend to be skeptical about it. But as Kuz said... we can find out soon enough.

 

Any imported Heritages in the past have been fakes, but then again I've never seen that on the back of a headstock.

 

Any better photos? Particularly of the front of the headstock.

 

this is the only other photo I have of it

[FredZepp]

this is the only other photo I have of it

Thanks.

 

It's a C Serial.. so the headstock looks about the right shape for an '86.

[schundog]

Tuners, horns look suspiciously Jay Turser-y.... I don't know, it'll be interesting to hear what the guys in Kalamazoo say; Hey, it worked for PRS (the best of the imports, IMO), Epiphone, and Fender MIM, as a "starter" Heritage, maybe not a bad idea to start instilling brand loyalty.

[faededtoblack]

Tuners, horns look suspiciously Jay Turser-y.... I don't know, it'll be interesting to hear what the guys in Kalamazoo say; Hey, it worked for PRS (the best of the imports, IMO), Epiphone, and Fender MIM, as a "starter" Heritage, maybe not a bad idea to start instilling brand loyalty.

 

It is a sweet guitar. It plays better than most guitars I have ever played and sounds awesome. I forgot to mention, It does have a hard case as you can see in the pics and it has "the Heritage" in script screen printed on it but I guess anyone can screen print that on it if they were trying to copy it. Someone told me that it was a real Heritage case though, and that you couldn't just get one of those anywhere. I dont know.

[faededtoblack]

Anyway, you guys let me know what you find out. I will keep an eye on this post and thanks for the help

[Thundersteel]

[Guest mgoetting]

It's worth whatever someone will pay for it.

 

Weird stuff!

[peteraltongreen]

Hi Jeremy

We forget,as guitar players,that our 'magic wands' come out of factories & workshops.A factory is a factory,no matter where it is.I personally dislike the 'make it somewhere else & put a well known brand name on it.I feel cheated.I have 3 Epiphones. Two were made in Kalamazoo,one was made in the original factory in 1932,so Epi,himself,may have touched it.Having said that,as Epiphone did not fit truss rods until 1935,the warped neck on my '32 had to be taken care of.I contacted British guitar building legend,Emile Grimshaw,then down Poultney Street,in Soho,London,in about 1965.He suggested carving a new neck to the original dimensions,and using the original fingerboard & frets,which he did.So,the guitar cost me £8 (about $15 ) from a second hand shop,the new neck cost £36 (about $60 ) I ended up with a very playable archtop,with which I made my first commercial recordings.It brings home the timespan to me when I think I bought the guitar about 1962-3 time,it was 30 years old.I've had it ever since,47-8 years. I still think of this guitar as American,not British.The far eastern Epiphones,to my mind do not equal this Anglo American effort.

I've included a photo.It's fitted with a removable DeArmond pickup that sounds great.The tailpiece is not original.I have the one that was fitted,but it snapped.The tuners are 1960's Kluson's.The originals were open backed Grovers that failed with age.The Epiphone name on the headstock was made by Emile out of fret sawn brass plate,a masterwork on it's own.So,I have an almost 80 year old guitar that's had some repairs,but just goes on & on.It's all starting to sounds like that Johnny Cash song ! I love it.Thanks Epi.

[Gitfiddler]

That looks a lot like an Ibanez AS80 knock off. Were you able to determine which factory in Korea made this? Cort and Samick come to mind, but it would be interesting to know a bit more about this Asian-Heritage and how it is believed to be the only one of its kind.

[tulk1]

Tuners, horns look suspiciously Jay Turser-y.... I don't know, it'll be interesting to hear what the guys in Kalamazoo say; Hey, it worked for PRS (the best of the imports, IMO), Epiphone, and Fender MIM, as a "starter" Heritage, maybe not a bad idea to start instilling brand loyalty.

 

You can see that from that phone pic? Man, I really DO need to keep that eye appointment tomorrow. Schun - you can't tell that from that picture. <lol> (all in good fun, dog).

 

You know who'd know if we don't get the word from the boys? Mr. Wolfe. Wouldn't be surprised if he were in on it. I'm thinking with this old braims that this came up in the HoC's first year. Which is probably gone forever now (the first year, not my braims just yet). But the idea of an off-shore intro level Heritage isn't all that unfamiliar. Whether it was us in discussion, or discussion of an abandoned project. Will be cool to find out!

[Guest mgoetting]

Hi Jeremy

We forget,as guitar players,that our 'magic wands' come out of factories & workshops.A factory is a factory,no matter where it is.I personally dislike the 'make it somewhere else & put a well known brand name on it.I feel cheated.I have 3 Epiphones. Two were made in Kalamazoo,one was made in the original factory in 1932,so Epi,himself,may have touched it.Having said that,as Epiphone did not fit truss rods until 1935,the warped neck on my '32 had to be taken care of.I contacted British guitar building legend,Emile Grimshaw,then down Poultney Street,in Soho,London,in about 1965.He suggested carving a new neck to the original dimensions,and using the original fingerboard & frets,which he did.So,the guitar cost me £8 (about $15 ) from a second hand shop,the new neck cost £36 (about $60 ) I ended up with a very playable archtop,with which I made my first commercial recordings.It brings home the timespan to me when I think I bought the guitar about 1962-3 time,it was 30 years old.I've had it ever since,47-8 years. I still think of this guitar as American,not British.The far eastern Epiphones,to my mind do not equal this Anglo American effort.

I've included a photo.It's fitted with a removable DeArmond pickup that sounds great.The tailpiece is not original.I have the one that was fitted,but it snapped.The tuners are 1960's Kluson's.The originals were open backed Grovers that failed with age.The Epiphone name on the headstock was made by Emile out of fret sawn brass plate,a masterwork on it's own.So,I have an almost 80 year old guitar that's had some repairs,but just goes on & on.It's all starting to sounds like that Johnny Cash song ! I love it.Thanks Epi.

 

 

Hey, that looks like my strap! Nice one.

[Jazzpunk]

Welcome Jeremy!

 

I would suspect that a Korean made Heritage would not be of much interest to collectors as the Kalamazoo shop and the folks who make them here in the states is a big part of their appeal. You never know though.

 

Thanks for the interesting post.

[peteraltongreen]

Hey, that looks like my strap! Nice one.

So,you've played a club in Hull,England ?

I found it under a pile of dirty laundry,backstage at a local flea pit.Came up nice,though !

[faededtoblack]

Thanks everyone for the cool posts. I figured I would raise alot of eyebrows with this guitar. I wished I knew more about the history of it. All I know is it could be a pilot that was never actually put into production. That is why it could be the only one of it's kind. This guitar was in Kalamazoo at some point. I do know that. The guy I got it from got it from a guy that worked there in the Heritage facility. They were friends. The rest is a mystery.

[Guest mgoetting]

So,you've played a club in Hull,England ?

I found it under a pile of dirty laundry,backstage at a local flea pit.Came up nice,though !

 

 

Yeah. So that's where it went!

 

 

 

 

Actually I got mine off of Ebay. It's quite wide, 4" I think. I used it to tame the weight of the 157. It turned out to be overkill. Yours looks like a more reasonable size. And certainly your price was better than mine.

[smurph1]

Velly Intelesting!! Gotta say it looks like a Heritage headstock..my 2 cents..

[schundog]

You can see that from that phone pic? Man, I really DO need to keep that eye appointment tomorrow. Schun - you can't tell that from that picture. <lol> (all in good fun, dog).

 

You know who'd know if we don't get the word from the boys? Mr. Wolfe. Wouldn't be surprised if he were in on it. I'm thinking with this old braims that this came up in the HoC's first year. Which is probably gone forever now (the first year, not my braims just yet). But the idea of an off-shore intro level Heritage isn't all that unfamiliar. Whether it was us in discussion, or discussion of an abandoned project. Will be cool to find out!

 

 

Hey, Tulk1; I don't know if it's a badge of honor or not to claim to recognize an inexpensive 335 copy's horns or not!! haha!! My first "335' was a Gay Turdster, I mean, Jay Turser, but it bit me with the bug, which led to an Epiphone Dot, which led me to a Gibson ES-335 Memphis Reissue I got when I turned 40, and, I like to think, the next step UP in the evolution, a used Heritage 535. Not as pretty as the Gibson, but plays GREAT!! As I said, I've got mixed feelings as to whether or not an offshore Heritage would be good for the brand or dillute the brand, but, if this is legit, I gotta think it could be an introduction to a lot of guys who may not pony up for an American Heritage. The thing is, what is the demographic of the typical Heritage guy? My guess is, on AVERAGE, 40-60 year old white guy with or close to a 6-figure income, maybe a tad bit anal retentive about the "little" things that make a decent guitar GREAT! The snitty comment about PRS is, "Four out of Five Dentists play PRS!" Probably some truth to that, and probably the same for Heritage. The difference is, a lot of serious pros choose Heritage, too, simply because they realize the quality and value. The difference for PRS is the appeal an offshore may have for the younger, harder rocking kids out there, or the lower income guy wanting to "test the waters with PRS," or the guy who doesn't want to take a $3000 guitar to a bar gig. I, too, look forward to hearing whether or not the guys in Kalamazoo have ever seriously considered the addition of a Korean line. I'd certainly be fine with it either way, not that they asked my opinion, haha. Whatever helps them stay afloat during this difficult economic downturn.

[faededtoblack]

just wondering if anyone has heard anything on this topic yet

[High Flying Bird]

just wondering if anyone has heard anything on this topic yet

 

Sorry not to have revisited this thread yet but I have been busy since getting home from PSP3 yesterday.

 

Marv said they tried a few economy models a several years ago and nobody at the trade show even asked about them. When they got home from the trade show he sold them to employees and friends.

 

Congrats my friend you have a rare Heritage. Now get a decent camera and take some pics of it for us.....

[Kuz]

just wondering if anyone has heard anything on this topic yet

 

Sorry to tell you the bad news but all 3 owners said that your guitar was not commission or asked to be built by Heritage. It is not a "Heritage" guitar but a Cort guitar that they made trying to persuade Heritage to allow them to make a line over seas. Ibanez did the same thing.

 

So while your guitar is rare, it is not a Heritage and not built to any specs, qualifications, or anything related to Heritage.

 

You said you like your guitar and that should be a good reason to keep playing it.

 

Best,

 

John

[Steiner]

Sorry not to have revisited this thread yet but I have been busy since getting home from PSP3 yesterday.

 

Marv said they tried a few economy models a several years ago and nobody at the trade show even asked about them. When they got home from the trade show he sold them to employees and friends.

 

Congrats my friend you have a rare Heritage. Now get a decent camera and take some pics of it for us.....

 

I must have been next to you Sir Bird when Marv said this.