I am in LOVE with my Heritage H150 Les Paul with P90's

[67mike]

I played her all evening..........simply blows me away each time I play this thing!!!!!!!!!

 

What the {censored} was I thinking all these years??? P90's are the absolute perfect pick-up, especially if they are hand made by Jason Lollar on an Island off Seatle!

 

Holy {censored} fellas.....this thing is WAY BEYOND my wildest dreams!

[*BLEEP*]

 

REPORTED!

[67mike]

REPORTED!

 

Two Words:

 

Drop Gerbil

[PlinytheWelder]

Pics?

[w00dsy]

pics or your getting a kick in the arse fella. C'mon feed a man some GAS.

[67mike]

This is Her:

 

[Road.Kill]

OMG!! Beautiful!

Congratulations and enjoy.

[w00dsy]

hot

[67mike]

Why is Heritage not at the top of the list?

 

Old Gibson employees making Gibson guitars in Gibson's Old shop with Gibson's old equipment, the way Gibson used to do it???

 

WTF is wrong with this world?????

[Road.Kill]

Seriously wish I could afford one.

Good enough for Alex Skolnick to endorse = definitely good enough for me!

[w00dsy]

 

Why is Heritage not at the top of the list? Old Gibson employees making Gibson guitars in Gibson's Old shop with Gibson's old equipment, the way Gibson used to do it??? WTF is wrong with this world?????

 

 

the same reason so many choose Fender over G&L. Brand names rule.

[aclarke]

 

Why is Heritage not at the top of the list? Old Gibson employees making Gibson guitars in Gibson's Old shop with Gibson's old equipment, the way Gibson used to do it??? WTF is wrong with this world?????

 

 

I've always been slightly wary of Heritage guitars because they were made by former Gibson employees.

 

Let's be serious - 1971 to 1984 weren't exactly Gibson's high point. Their quality in that time nearly killed the company - and while there's some gems from that era, there's a LOT of dogs. And the people who made them went on to form Heritage.

 

Not exactly a strong selling point, in my opinion.

[docjeffrey]

Gorgeous guitar. Those Heritages are boutique instruments with down to earth prices.

[crowguitar]

Every Heritage Ive played has been awesome.. now if only the price of the same guitar I bought for 1100 with case didnt go up to 2200...

[67mike]

 

I've always been slightly wary of Heritage guitars because they were made by former Gibson employees. Let's be serious - 1971 to 1984 weren't exactly Gibson's high point. Their quality in that time nearly killed the company - and while there's some gems from that era, there's a LOT of dogs. And the people who made them went on to form Heritage. Not exactly a strong selling point, in my opinion.

 

 

See, what you are not considering is: It was the CEO (Nolin) of the Gibson company, that was cutting corners to max profit...not the employees ideas....but, if they wanted a job....they follow orders.

 

Also, keep in mind that if you RESEARCH the subject, you will see that the three owners of the Heritage company started working at Gibson as EARLY as 1954!!!! Now, did they put out a decent Les Paul in 54????? I think they go for a few hundred grand???? These guys started off sweeping the floor, then making the necks then shaping the necks, then........

 

So, do not have ANY fear.....Seriously, it is by far the BEST instrument I have ever bought.

[Notes_Norton]

P90s rule. IMHO they are the best pups currently made.

 

And that is a gorgeous guitar you have there!!!

 

Notes ?

[metallica_00]

Glad to hear you are enjoying your guitar!

 

For some people, the history of the Gibson factor/employees is a big factor - some love it, some are scared by the Norlin era thing. Personally, I don't even care - it's a cool story, but all of that Gibson stuff is the past and if you look at the NOW the bottom line is that they make really really nice Les Paul and 335 type guitars for around $2000 new, and can be picked up for just over a grand used.

 

Heritages have a very "authentic" vibe - while a lot of other companies/boutique builders make Les Paul-ish or 335-ish guitars, many of them have a somewhat altered shape or a more modern feel. Playing a Heritage makes you feel you are playing a really nice, worn-in vintage Gibson. Very organic, great resonance, I would argue the build quality is good but the instrument has more of an old-school feel rather than the modern precision of a Suhr or Collings, which border on sheer perfection.

 

My 535 (which I bought used about 1.5 years ago) is about 10 years old, the binding is yellowing, nitro has sunk in a bit, it has a ton of vibe and feels very vintage.

[Willyguitar]

A good reason why fewer people play them is a) they are not available in countries like the UK very widely, if at all b) they are still quite expensive.

[67mike]

Out of interest, here is a bit of history of the Heritage Guitar Group that I have quoted from the Heritage Owner's Group.....of which I am a proud member:

 

" The three founders of Heritage Guitars (Marv Lamb, J.P. Moats, and Jim Duerloo ) all hired-in Gibson within two years of each other ( 1956 - 58).

They all started in white wood sanding and they all progressed to senior management in the 1970's.

 

Marv Lamb:

" My father worked at Gibson. I was working at a bakery in Kalamazoo in 1956. He started in January and i got him to get me a job.

Dad started working in the lumber yard, that is where they cut the lumber in the "rough mill". " [ Marv's brother and sister-in-law would also eventually work at Gibson in Kalamazoo also ]

 

Going back to the 50's, where did you go to work after sanding?

" After about a year , or a year and a half, I went to work in the neck department. Making necks, belt sanding necks."

Was there a saw or something to carve the neck?

" It was done by hand. The necks came from the mill room in a rough shape. We would take them and glue the fingerboards on them, glue head veneers on them. Then I would take and shape that neck with s slack-belt sander. And we had a guy that would carve the heels; the heels were kind of square. He'd use a spindle carver; it was like an eight blade knife sticking out on a spindle. He would carve the heel and the flair. Then I would take and roll the neck on that slack-belt sander, and round the neck. Then sand it up. Then I'd go over to a spindle sander, which was basically like a spindle carver. Then I'd have a tube sander, and I'd sand it up some more."

Now you had quite a bit of control over the shape of the neck then?

" Absolutely. I hand shaped a lot of necks. ....."

" We had gauges to measure the thickness and we had radius gauges for the curvature of the neck- the roundness. There were certain gauges for certain necks, and certain fixtures for certain necks.

And as much hand work as we did on them, I promise you, they varied. But we got as close as we could, once you learned how to do a thing, you'd get them pretty consistent.'

 

" I was doing all that white wood work and neck work during that period 1956-59 ( on the first floor of the original building ) When I went out to the new area (the 1960 expansion ) I was still a 'line leader'. At that time, we hired a lot more people."

 

[ NOTE: Les Paul Standard 'Burst owners are well aware the the 1960 Les Paul Standards neck has a pronounced flat profile verses the rounder U-shaped neck of the 1959 'Burst. The neck machines were relocated in late 1959/ early 1960 at the same time the neck profiles changed. Neck profiles changed back to the U-shaped profile in 1963. ] "

 

[67mike]

P90s rule. IMHO they are the best pups currently made. And that is a gorgeous guitar you have there!!! Notes ?

 

Thanks. Apparently P90's were the first style of pick-up made (If I am not mistaken...so they have been around pretty much the entire history of the electric guitar).

 

Most folks don't even know what they are or what they sound like....I was one of those folks, untill just a month or so ago.

 

They are fantastic in the Les Paul style guitar with the mohog/maple combo! I can now see the great appeal of the BFG type config in a Les PAul.

[jamdogg]

This is Her:

 

thats a hot setup! nice.

[Alecto]

I checked their dealer site: the closest dealer to where I live is in Oakville.

[Brian Krashpad]

Nom.

 

Congrats again.

 

(o)(o)

[Hoddy]

I bought a new lefty Heritage 535 back in 2000...beautiful guitar, but it wouldn't intonate correctly...their wasn't enough travel in the saddles to get the high E or B strings set. I thought it was the strings so I tried another set and still the same thing. So I gave Heritage a call...talked to one of the four original owners though I can't remember which one. He told me to try a heavier set of strings so I went from 10s to 11s and the results were the same. I then took my guitar to my tech and he said the bridge was located in the wrong position...I called Heritage again and talked to the same guy...he said that could not have happened and told me to use even heavier strings...at that point I said screw it...when you pay that much for a guitar it should intonate with whatever gauge strings you use. By then I had a pretty sour taste in my mouth about Heritage so I sold the guitar at a substantial loss since I felt obligated to disclose the defects. It's a shame...the guitar was a stunning looking guitar and I'm sure Heritage could have simple moved the bridge to the correct location, but instead the would not admit to the defect being their fault. I love the looks of their guitars but I would never buy another Heritage again because of their {censored}ty customer service.

[67mike]

 

I bought a new lefty Heritage 535 back in 2000...beautiful guitar, but it wouldn't intonate correctly...their wasn't enough travel in the saddles to get the high E or B strings set. I thought it was the strings so I tried another set and still the same thing. So I gave Heritage a call...talked to one of the four original owners though I can't remember which one. He told me to try a heavier set of strings so I went from 10s to 11s and the results were the same. I then took my guitar to my tech and he said the bridge was located in the wrong position...I called Heritage again and talked to the same guy...he said that could not have happened and told me to use even heavier strings...at that point I said screw it...when you pay that much for a guitar it should intonate with whatever gauge strings you use. By then I had a pretty sour taste in my mouth about Heritage so I sold the guitar at a substantial loss since I felt obligated to disclose the defects. It's a shame...the guitar was a stunning looking guitar and I'm sure Heritage could have simple moved the bridge to the correct location, but instead the would not admit to the defect being their fault. I love the looks of their guitars but I would never buy another Heritage again because of their {censored}ty customer service.

 

 

 

 

That is too bad. I guess every manufacturer has the odd lemon?

 

Seems VERY odd, though, that the bridge would be placed wrong. I cannot see how that could happen, as they use a JIG that positions the holes exactly where they should go? Stranger things have happened.

 

I would have sent the guitar back to them......they have a 1 year warranty against defects.....if it was in the wrong location...that should qualify as a defect.