Conference napalm::guitar

    
    	I believe Gary Moore plays a Heritage LP style guitar.  He is
    	featured in the Heritage catalog I have.  

    I have tried out a few Heritage LP models.  All had bogus fret jobs on
    em from the company (not a good sign IMHO), and all had a freakazoid
    weirdo radius on the necks!  I didn't like em at all.  Also, the
    electronics seemed microphonic with tons o gain.  Maybe they were just
    flukes?
    

    The founders of Heritage Guitar Inc., Marv Lamb, Jim Deurloo and J. P.
    Moats, have built some of my favorite guitars, but these guitars have
    the *Gibson* logo on them.
    
    I have owned a couple of Heritage instruments. One was a Golden Eagle,
    serial #5. Since #'s 1-3 never left the company and #4 was rejected by
    my dealer for wood defects, it is likely that I bought the first
    archtop they sold. The Golden Eagle is a 17" x 3" carved top guitar
    with a laminated maple neck, solid maple sides and solid spruce top.
    The one I owned had very nicely figured curly maple with a matching
    curly maple pickguard. The neck inlay is the "cloud" pattern and the
    headstock has an eagle and tree. This guitar is similar to the Gibson
    Kalamazoo Award.
    
    Mine arrived with a defect--the rear peghead overlay was de-laminating,
    so I sent it to the factory for repair. Since they were going to have
    to refinish the neck, I had them re-contour it to my specifications.
    Originally it was very clubby, with a huge heel that started below the
    8th fret. Dealing with them was hassle-free: they were very cooperative
    and the results were quite good.  They got the shape of the neck just
    right, and reduced the bulk of the heel considerably. 
    
    My overall appraisal of the guitar was that the workmanship was good,
    the acoustic sound was good, but electrically it was a dud. Their
    floating pickup sounded thin, wimpy, and poorly shielded. I did not
    like the looks of the peghead and the sunburst was boring--nothing like
    a vintage L-5. I didn't play it much and finally sold it.
    
    The other Heritage was an H-555, their version of an ES-355. It was
    very pretty, with very highly figured maple. The neck was very shallow
    and nicely shaped, but the frets were poor and required leveling
    immediately. The strings were set too close to the neck edge and the
    fret edges were uneven--a bad combination for me. The guitar had a nice
    sound when the two pickups were combined, but compared to my 355's it
    was gutless. Despite its nice looks, I sold it, too.
    
    A friend who is a Heritage fan has a Golden Eagle, a custom Golden
    Eagle and a custom Super Eagle. The first one is similar to the one I
    had, including the awkward neck. The second is a florentine cutaway
    single pickup electric. It has spectacular wood, but the shape of the
    cutaway is wrong--it is nothing like the classic elegance of a '60's
    Gibson. I haven't seen the Super Eagle yet, but my friend says it's
    wonderful.
    
    So what do I think of Heritage? Their guitars offer good value for the
    money, but resale value is low. The quality of their archtops is better
    than that of the imported archtops I have seen ( I have not yet seen a
    Barrington) and similarly priced. They will do all sorts of custom
    work. I'd suggest staying away from the Heritage pickups. Nothing I
    have seen from them yet is in the class of either vintage Gibsons or
    the best of the custom builders like Benedetto, D'Aquisto or Borys.
    
    An interesting tidbit--I was recently contacted by Gibsons lawyers to
    ask what I knew about Heritage. They found my name in both Gibson and
    Heritage files as a resource on archtops. The gist of their questioning
    was to find out if I thought that Heritage's advertising or catalogs
    would make anyone think that Heritage was in some way connected with or
    a continuation of Gibson. I told them I was not confused by it, but I
    couldn't speak for someone less knowledgeable. The fact that they have
    access to Heritage files shows that a legal action is underway. They
    asked if I would testify for them--I told them I would not. I'll be
    pissed if they subpoena me.
    
    One other thing--Mandolin Bros. prices for Heritage guitars seem higher
    than I'd expect. My friend's custom instruments were purchased through
    his local dealer (in NJ) and were all less than $2500.
    
    Danny W.
    
    
    

    	From last years price list Heritage Archtops list price starts
    at $1500 and goes to $7000. I've seen one H575 which was selling new
    for $850 with case(List was $1500) 
    
    							Rick
    

    I've tried out several Heritage models, and found them somewhat
    disappointing. I was initially interested in Heritage because I'm a
    Gibson fan from way back, and I was given to understand that Heritage
    was started by the "old boys" from Gibson who wanted to get back to the
    roots and provide the original Gibson quality. This sounded like a
    great idea, but something seems to have failed in the execution. It's
    interesting that you entered this note now, because I was just thinking
    about Heritage today, and the fact that, at least for me, they don't
    live up to that expectation. I'd rather have a Gibson, even one of the
    newer ones. It's not that Heritage is making bad guitars, they are
    probably as good as, or at least almost as good as what Gibson is
    putting out these days. But I certainly didn't think they were any
    better.
    
    Your mileage may vary.
    
    - Ram

     
     Hello there,
    
                I'm Raymond from Geneva (SWITZERLAND).
    
    I just want to know if somebody in States or in England have heard
    something about a limited serie (Only 75) of "Les Paul" by HERITAGE Guitar
    called "GARY MOORE" Signature. I'm a GIBSON lover but i'm also very
    interested by HERITAGE materials.
    
                                             thanks  
    
    
    

    I've been playing a Heritage H-535 for about 18 months and love it.  It
    is basically a Tobacco Sunburst ES-335, but with a slimmer neck than
    the Gibson's I saw on 48th Street and seemed a much better quality
    instrument.  I paid less for the Heritage than I would have paid for a
    Gibson with a red or black paint job -- no wood showing.  I get a great
    jazz sound from the front pick up and a BB King sound (of sorts) from
    the dual pickup position -- where I am most of the time.  The lead
    pick-up is kind of boring by itself and I was thinking of one of the
    new PRS or DiMarzios to replace it (why leave well enough alone).  
    
    Guitar has a "snake head" shaped headstock that looks good
    to me.  On the whole I couldn't be happier, and think I got a much
    better deal than I would have on a new Gibson.  Used Gibsons in
    Manhattan were either beat to shit or over priced as "vintage", so my
    sunburst "dot" was just the ticket.
    
    - Evan 

    I get a lot of mail from noters looking for "inexpensive" archtops
    (meaning, cheaper than a Porsche.) Although I have no use for such
    things myself (cheap archtops, not Porsches,) I keep an eye out for
    likely candidates as a service to the noting community :-)
    
    Anyway, when my dealer said he'd gotten in a "cute" Heritage, I told
    him I'd take a look at it. It's a "Sweet 16," which appears to be 16" x
    2.5" (I didn't actually measure it), with a florentine cutaway. The
    detailing is medium fancy: multiple binding on the top, pickguard and
    neck, simpler binding on the sides and back; Super 400-style inlay on
    the ebony fretboard, rather plain headstock inlay; generic trapeze
    tailpiece with plain ebony insert; gold hardware. The wood is very nice
    curly maple for the neck, sides,  back, and pickguard, and decent
    spruce for the top--all except the neck appears to be solid rather than
    laminate. The finish is a nice, honey sunburst that looks hand-applied on
    the top. I'd give the overall looks an "okay" rating--I'm not a fan of the
    Heritage headstock, and the large, black floating pickup is ugly.
    
    Playability is fair. Heritage sets the string spacing to be very narrow
    compared to the neck and the high frets are not to my liking. If this
    were my guitar, I'd replace the nut and saddle to widen the strings
    (there's lot's of room.) and I'd take the frets downs a little. The
    neck shape is okay, but not outstanding.
    
     The acoustic sound is quite good for such a small guitar, but when
    plugged in, the wimpy Heritage pickup sabotages it. The only other
    guitar I have that's about this size is my Borys B120, which has little
    acoustic sound, but blows the Heritage away electrically. 
    
    So, for $1700 you can get a pretty good small archtop with nice wood.
    It's certainly fancier than an ES-175 and has more sound acoustically,
    but I don't think it's as useful. I decided not to keep it.
    
    Danny W.
    
    

    My understanding is that Heritage uses Schaller pickups unless the
    guitar is custom ordered, in which case they will install any pickup
    the customer wants. The use of Schaller pickups seems to have been
    a poor choice for an instrument that is otherwise well made. 
    
    I would think for $100 -$150 you could replace the stock pickups
    with something more to your liking.  
    
    Mark
    
    

    Does anyone actually like that the Heritage headstock design?  It's
    always been a real sore spot for me in what are usually otherwise
    attractive guitars.  It looks particularly clumsy on their Les Paul
    style instruments.  What were they thinking?

    They were probably thinking about how much they had to change the shape
    to avoid getting sued.
    
    						Al Dershowitz

    The pickup on this is made by Heritage and appears to be glued to the
    pickguard. If I really want to own one, I'd order it with a different
    pickup.
    
    Even with a better pickup I wouldn't have kept the guitar. That long
    headstock really needs more dressing up, and the neck really didn't
    feel right for me.
    
    I'd like to emphasize that it sounded very good acoustically and was
    very well made, so it's worth considering if you're looking for
    something in this body size and/or price range. It's just not for me.
    
    Danny W.

    
    
       Jeeze Danny, 16 hundred bucks for a arch top that you feel 
    is just marginal? Where do these arch tops typically hit in the 
    dollar range?  There's alot of talk about LPs and Strats.
    There's all sorts of info that you've put in on all sorts of
    arch tops - but 16 for something that hits marginal?  Yikes.
    
       Way too rich for my blood.  
    
       Rick.
          

    A decent condition, *non* vintage L-5 is 4-5 kilobucks. A new Benedetto
    Cremona is $15K and a beat up or refinished D'Angelico Excel is $25k.
    By these standards, the Sweet 16 is a good value.
    
    BTW, a new LP Custom with comparably curly wood is over $1300 and
    there's no comparison between the amount of work that goes into them.
    
    Danny W.

    
    
       Thanks Danny.  It was the 4-5K, 15K and 25K range that 
    I didn't know.  Frankly, I'm shocked.  So 16 hundred is a
    cool price. 
    
       Rick.
    

    If you have to ask how much they cost, you can't afford one.
    
    Mark

    
    
       ...ain't that the truth.
    
    

	I'm pretty sure the headstock design found on most Heritage 
    instruments is supposed to be shaped like a cobra's head. I seem 
    to recall that Gibson used this design on some of their A-style 
    mandolins years ago. I agree that in most cases, the Heritage 
    headstocks are too plain. The ones I really hate are the 6/side 
    pointy headstocks that I have seen on a few Heritage Les Paul 
    clones...Totally inappropriate for a LP style guitar IMHO. 

	Some of the Heritage instruments are quite nice though. I
    have one of their catalogs at home and there are several models
    that are very pretty. 

	Bottom line, If I had a chance to buy a nice Heritage instrument
    at a bargain, I'd grab it. Even if the pickups suck, a set of 
    replacement pickups could transform a stock Heritage into a tone 
    monster. 

	By the way, Mr. C's music in Marlboro has a nice Heritage 
    Archtop in stock. It is similar to an L5CES with 2 set-in
    Humbuckers. I didn't ask the price. BTW, Mr. C's music has moved
    from their down-town location to the TwinBoro Crossing shopping
    center on Route 20 on the Marlboro/Northboro line, right next
    to Wex Rex collectable shop. For me, it makes for a perfect 
    lunchtime hangout. 
    
    	Mark
    

    I played a Heritage Johnny Smith ("The Rose") last week at a dealer in
    Orlando (I was at Microsoft Tech Ed).  I now have (yet another) serious
    case of guitar lust...
    
    Jim

Hmmm,, is this a full size archtop wioth a single humbucker,
with a trapeze tailpeice..  tell me more.. I'm interested..

What's the cost ???

    >is this a full size archtop wioth a single humbucker,
    >with a trapeze tailpeice..
    
    Basically, yes...
    
    Johnny Smith jumped to Heritage when Gibson wouldn't build enough JS
    guitars to suit him.  The Heritage JS is a full sized (16.5" or 17")
    archtop with a carved top (X-braced) and back.  The top is spruce,
    back and sides are are maple.  It has a single floating pickup mounted
    on the pickguard.  Other features include abalone block inlays, bound
    neck, and a rose inlayed in the peghead.
    
    List is $5000-- I think I could have talked them into $3000-$3200.
    
    They also had a red Golden Eagle.   It was *very* red.  I couldn't make
    up my mind if it was really beautiful or really gaudy.  They had a 
    "normal" antique sunburst Golden Eagle, too.  The GEs were a bit
    cheaper than the JS.
    
    I'd love to have a good archtop, I'm just not sure I can justify
    spending the required $$$...  And Heritage is about as cheap as "real"
    archtops get.
    
    FWIW, I've heard negative things about Heritage pickups in the past,
    but this one sounded great, right from the first note (I tried it out
    through a black-faced Deluxe Reverb, which didn't hurt).  I've played
    a couple of Golded Eagles in the past and the string spacing was too
    close together for me.  Apparently the JS is a bit wider, because we
    got along quite well.
    
    I'd like to try a Heritage Sweet 16 sometime.
    
    Jim

Guild also has a Johnny Smith model, well, it used to be
'johnny smith' I think it's dubbed the 'Artist Award' these
days..

Even still, $3k is too much for me,, I'm still looking at 
the Epiphone Emperor Regent.  For what I'd use it for
that would be enough of an investment..

    I've also seen a red Golden Eagle, more of "cinammon" color; it was
    pretty nice.
    
    And I too found the spacing on these too narrow; if the JS is wider,
    that would be nice.
    

    >Guild also has a Johnny Smith model, well, it used to be
    >'johnny smith' I think it's dubbed the 'Artist Award' these
    >days..
    
    I think he went from Guild to Gibson to Heritage.  Doesn't the Guild JS
    date back to the 50's?
    
    The Epi Emperor Regent is a relatively good value for the $$$.  With
    pressed/laminated construction, though, it really doesn't compare to a
    carved/tap-tuned instrument.  But you could buy the Epi, a Strat, and a
    solid wood Martin and still spend less than you would on most solid,
    carved archtops...

 <But you could buy the Epi, a Strat, and a
 <solid wood Martin and still spend less than 
 <you would on most solid, carved archtops...

indeed... the old 'bang-for-the-buck' ploy!

re ..And Heritage is about as cheap as "real" archtops get.

Without question Heritage archtops are a bargin for archtops and are very real. 
I also found that they are a higher quality instrument than the Guilds I've 
tried and I liked them more than Gibsons. They have really nice finishes and
woods and have great tone. 

>   FWIW, I've heard negative things about Heritage pickups in the past,
>   but this one sounded great, right from the first note 

I spoke to one dealer in Florida who sells Heritage. He replaces the standard
pickup with a higher output pickup that he gets from a guy who rewinds the 
original pickup. He also provides a gold or chrome plated cover as opposed
to the standard black cover. His claim is that the pickup has a little more
output than a Benedetto pickup.

I spoke to Jay Wolfe of Wolfe Guitars who is a large Heritage mailorder place. 
800 358-9014,I have never done buisness with him,but he was quite nice over 
the phone.

>   I'd like to try a Heritage Sweet 16 sometime.

The Sweet 16 is a very nice instrument,but it does have 2 11/16's width at the 
nut. The neck is thinner at the nut than at the heel.

It has a thinner body than your typical 3.25 inch archtop,but sounds 
quite good acoustically and electrically. It definately has that thick
archtop tone. I seem to remember the ball park price of $2.2k+ depending on 
options/finish as a price. It also can come with either a floating pickup or 
installed in the top. I'm not sure why someone would spend that kind of money 
for an instrument with a spruce top and then have it cut into with a pickup.
It does have a 25.5 scale ebony board with JS style inlays. It is an x braced 
instrument.

I've seen two Sweet 16's for sale recently one from Mandolin Bros. for $2.9k
and a used one in Hawaii for $2.1k. Epi Emp's go for $700 new/$500 used.(no
    comparision) 

Rick

small nit regarding Emperor Regents....

Epis price has gone up..

A good price for the Emperor Regent now-a-days is around
900 bucks...  used, between 650 and 750...

as with everything, up goes the prices..  When I started looking
at sheratons, the were around 450/475...  there over 650 today..

Just thought I'd mention...


/pelksta

Hey Ray.....

re epi's....price change

Mr Music in Alston has 3 Epi Emperors for $699.95(new)

I've seen them on the Internet for less than  $600 used

hell, that's where I gotta start shopping...
thanks for the tip...  I'll get the details later if
need be..  still not cash in hand ready to go,, but
damn, sure glad you mentioned this...

/r

    I should let Rick B post this but...  :-)
    
    Rick and I attended the Long Island show this weekend, which featured
    continuous live performances from top jazz guitarists in the courtyard.
    And most of whom were playing fancy multi-K$ state-of-the-art custom
    jazz archtops.  But one of the best of these players, and one of the
    best tones of the day, was John Pisano playing a new state-of-the-art
    Epi Emperor Regent!
    
    Now John's a fine player, and could no doubt make a cigar box sound
    decent, but we were nevertheless quite impressed with the performance of
    the Epi.  Especially with so many fine instruments to compare it with.
    I spoke with John afterwards briefly and he agreed it was a great little
    jazzbox.  Go figure.
    
    /rick
    

    hey Rick maybe it was the Evans Custom amp he was using?  :^)
    
    Rick
    

my buddy just picked up a used heritage LP last 
saturday at Minor Chord in Acton...

Cherry Sunburst, really pretty.

he paid $250 for it, with a trade (had one of
them upscaled Arai's that was made in like the late
70s)

anyways they had the Heritage tagged for $500, so the 
looks like the guy gave him a decent trade for the Aria, 
(which he will probably **never** sell)