Has anyone ever owned or played a Heritage guitar?

DrBob

Yes me, I've got one, this one in fact:

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/cc343/lorddonricci/IMG_0131.jpg

It's a 25th Anniversary 535.

It came to me in the usual arse about face fashion.
I'd been after a decent 335 type for years had played a couple of these and had seen how they went for peanuts used as compared to an equivalent guitar from the "Big G". so I'd been banging on about them to the Long Suffering Wife and she kind of got the wrong end of the stick and she went and ordered me a brand new one from Jay Wolfe over in Florida and probably paid far too much for it, didnt' realise we'd have to pay best part of £400 Import duty and handling charges etc etc.
So yeah I got it and it is a lovely guitar but it did need a fair bit of work from @Felineguitars to get it there.

If I recall correctly the fretboard was very dry upon receiving the guitar, and intonation & tuning stability werent amazing.
So in it went for a fret dress, setup and new nut and now it's lovely. Oh yeah i also swapped out the SD59s that were in it for a pair of Wolfetone Dr Vintages but that was more of a 'just because' kind of thing...

So yes it's a lovely guitar but I suspect that for what we paid between us what with her intial very generous gift and then my having to pay Import Duty AND the work Jonathan did on it I suspect i could've scored something really tasty with a Gibson logo on it.


But then its never that simple really is it ?

absolutpepper

DrBob said:

Yes me, I've got one, this one in fact:

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/cc343/lorddonricci/IMG_0131.jpg

It's a 25th Anniversary 535.

It came to me in the usual arse about face fashion.
I'd been after a decent 335 type for years had played a couple of these and had seen how they went for peanuts used as compared to an equivalent guitar from the "Big G". so I'd been banging on about them to the Long Suffering Wife and she kind of got the wrong end of the stick and she went and ordered me a brand new one from Jay Wolfe over in Florida and probably paid far too much for it, didnt' realise we'd have to pay best part of £400 Import duty and handling charges etc etc.
So yeah I got it and it is a lovely guitar but it did need a fair bit of work from @Felineguitars to get it there.

If I recall correctly the fretboard was very dry upon receiving the guitar, and intonation & tuning stability werent amazing.
So in it went for a fret dress, setup and new nut and now it's lovely. Oh yeah i also swapped out the SD59s that were in it for a pair of Wolfetone Dr Vintages but that was more of a 'just because' kind of thing...

So yes it's a lovely guitar but I suspect that for what we paid between us what with her intial very generous gift and then my having to pay Import Duty AND the work Jonathan did on it I suspect i could've scored something really tasty with a Gibson logo on it.


But then its never that simple really is it ?

I love Gibsons, but I tell you...I cant see a nicer one than that 535.  Love the gorgeous trans-black top!  I want first refusal if you ever move it on ;-)

DrBob

absolutpepper said:

DrBob said:

Yes me, I've got one, this one in fact:

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/cc343/lorddonricci/IMG_0131.jpg

It's a 25th Anniversary 535.

It came to me in the usual arse about face fashion.
I'd been after a decent 335 type for years had played a couple of these and had seen how they went for peanuts used as compared to an equivalent guitar from the "Big G". so I'd been banging on about them to the Long Suffering Wife and she kind of got the wrong end of the stick and she went and ordered me a brand new one from Jay Wolfe over in Florida and probably paid far too much for it, didnt' realise we'd have to pay best part of £400 Import duty and handling charges etc etc.
So yeah I got it and it is a lovely guitar but it did need a fair bit of work from @Felineguitars to get it there.

If I recall correctly the fretboard was very dry upon receiving the guitar, and intonation & tuning stability werent amazing.
So in it went for a fret dress, setup and new nut and now it's lovely. Oh yeah i also swapped out the SD59s that were in it for a pair of Wolfetone Dr Vintages but that was more of a 'just because' kind of thing...

So yes it's a lovely guitar but I suspect that for what we paid between us what with her intial very generous gift and then my having to pay Import Duty AND the work Jonathan did on it I suspect i could've scored something really tasty with a Gibson logo on it.


But then its never that simple really is it ?

I love Gibsons, but I tell you...I cant see a nicer one than that 535.  Love the gorgeous trans-black top!  I want first refusal if you ever move it on ;-)

I'll bear it in mind brother but as it's a gift I imagine I'd be in all sorts of trouble if I sold it !

And yes you're right it is an absolute killer colour combo. When you say 'Black 335'  my thoughts tend to go straight to Lucille with the solid colour & the gold hardware, this is sooo much nicer 

Blueingreen

I played a fairly rare model, the Academy Custom, and came close to buying it.  The aesthetics were a bit Marmite but I found it interestingly quirky and old school. It was beautifully made, better than most Gibsons, and played very well.  I thought it sounded decent for jazz/blues/soft rock etc but I'd probably have wanted to change the pickups.

I would probably have bought it if I'd been able to find evidence supporting the asking price as being fair, but I couldn't find many sales and the ones I could find were at either at somewhat or much lower prices, so I decided to leave it.  IIRC it did stick for a long time and I believe the seller eventually traded it in.

guitars4you

Blueingreen said:

I played a fairly rare model, the Academy Custom, and came close to buying it.  The aesthetics were a bit Marmite but I found it interestingly quirky and old school. It was beautifully made, better than most Gibsons, and played very well.  I thought it sounded decent for jazz/blues/soft rock etc but I'd probably have wanted to change the pickups.

I would probably have bought it if I'd been able to find evidence supporting the asking price as being fair, but I couldn't find many sales and the ones I could find were at either at somewhat or much lower prices, so I decided to leave it.  IIRC it did stick for a long time and I believe the seller eventually traded it in.

I've sold 3 in the last 5/6 years - although one of those was the same guitar sold twice - around £1300 ish - but you don't see many around

Noticed Thomann have new Heritage models on their site but very little now below 2.2K, which taking into inflation, exchange rates and natural price increases then it is about right -  as such many used models between 1K and 1.5K represent good value

xSkarloey

Don't Doug and Pat use a Heritage Les Paul as the test bed guitar for pup shootouts? 

richardhomer

Skarloey said:

Don't Doug and Pat use a Heritage Les Paul as the test bed guitar for pup shootouts? 

Yes they do. Heard Doug do some lovely guitar work on his....

ICBM

There's a H150 in the shop which I played today for research purposes when I was testing an amp .

It's really nice - it feels and sounds much more like an old Gibson than a modern Gibson does, in my opinion. It feels solid but isn't too heavy, and has that nice woody resonance that they all seem to. The finish also feels thinner and harder than a typical modern Gibson. This one has Duncan pickups, although I don't think that's original since the pickup surrounds have the typical Schaller multiple screw holes.

The headstock isn't offensive either .

cbilly22

Double post ...apologies.

cbilly22

Played a 335 alike Heritage at a shop locally (I really should buy something from them to be honest......) and it was very good indeed. Pickups were medium output which suited the guitar, neck very nice though not to my taste and the overall finish and feel was what I would expect from a 1200 quid guitar (2nd hand). I can't put my finger on it, but it kind of felt a little more manageable than some Gibson 335s that I've played so I don't know if there is a size difference or it was just me. Either way it was a very nice, pro level guitar.

equalsql

I've played (but not owned) quite a few over the years and have yet to find a turkey. All were excellent instruments however the headstocks have always been the Marmite issue for many people, especially on the LP type models as it makes them look peculiar and unbalanced.

Parker

I owned a gorgeous Les Paul. Beautiful flame and a lovely mocca colour (I guess root beer in Gibson terms). Solid and heavy. Only thing I HATE is that gross headstock shape and scroll logo. Aria does a better headstock!

chris45

I owned a 555 which I bought new from a dealer in the US (as previous poster it was Jay Wolfe who was very good to deal with) 10 years ago, when I was over there a lot and the FX rate was good.  A very well put together instrument.  I liked the wooden scratch plate; I agree about the "woody" tone - definitely complex and classy IMHO.

StefB

I like them but never owned one.  I've always thought of them as being Gibson's G&L...

Evilmags

Evilmags

with its new carved wooden bridge and Oil Cities. 

AlexHunter

Skarloey said:

Here's a curio. I knew I hadn't made this up (I recall ads for this model) and a quick Google reveals there was a Heritage Gary Moore Model.

There were under 200 of those ever made. World Guitars had one about 18 months ago, it was advertised for about 3 hours and sold instantly for a rather princely sum.

Ive played lots of Heritage models, loved them all. The h140 body was too thin for me, the h150 is lovely (if you get rid of the Schaller pickups) but still prone to the same neck break issues as an LP. One sold in a shop close to me for £850 recently, that was a bargain.

ToneControl

I think "High End guitars " in or near Nottingham stock(ed) them

I think Frailers had a 535 in

I had a 535 for a year
It was a nice guitar,  I bought a Gibson 335 in the end, which is no better really

Roland

A couple of years ago I tried a 535 when I was on a 335 search. To my ears and fingers it was much better than any of the 335s I tried. As someone said it sounded and felt more woody. Despite being "better" than a 335 the resale value would have been much lower. 

xSkarloey

@Evilmags Very tasty looking guitar.