What's your take on Heritage guitars?

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UltraGary

UltraGary

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I'm checking them out for the first time and am VERY impressed, yet I rarely hear about them or see them around. Any experiences to share on these?.......
 
In before Hardvalve starts showing his Zika Babyheads.
 
Supposedly built by Gibson's old Kalamazoo Crew. I've heard good things about them, but I've never played one. Never really been interested in them either. Their QC can't be any worse than modern Gibson's.
 
They are excellent guitars made by the original Kalamazoo Gibson guys. A lot of them are better than Gibson's who are notoriously inconsistent over the years. The headstocks and SC lower horns are slightly different to avoid legal issues with Gibson.
 
I'm sure they are great, but I just can't deal with the headstock.
 
My best playing and best sounding guitar is a Heritage 535 but it is not a typical production model. Short version is that it was sent straight from factory to a shop that PLEK'd it and refretted it. I tested a bunch of other 535s that day and was going to leave empty-handed until I played that one. The others were nice guitars but...well it just wasn't a fair fight.

I also had an H150 that sounded amazing, played very well and had a beautiful top...but it weighed over 11#. Heaviest guitar I've ever lifted. I'm not a big dude so as good as it was it had to go.

IIRC, they do not swiss-cheese the bodies (hence my 11+# H150).
 
I have played one before and they are great guitars! Alex Skolnick from the band Testament has been playing Heritage LPs for years.
 
Best Gibson you will probably lay your hands on.
 
I've played a handful. Better than some Gibsons I've played, but I've also played lots of Gibsons that I thought played and sounded better.

After selling a '68 Reissue, I looked at quenching my Les Paul gas with a Heritage based on all the praise I'd read. I was really wanting to like one of them, but I was left underwhelmed by the ones I played and passed. The fit & finish and build quality was fine, but they just had a different feel to them that I wasn't jiving with.
 
I own a Heritage 150 CM and it they are just as good or better IMO than any recent Gibson's I have played. I refused to buy a newer Gibson and I had mine built in 1999. I worked and lived in Kalamazoo from 1998 to 2008.
 

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For those of you, comparing them to gibsons, are you comparing them to Gibson USA or custom because that makes a huge difference? I tried a few heritage guitars years ago and also remember them being really nice, but would need to try one again now to have a better idea
 
:rawk: Give me a 12 LB Paul any day. You can keep the rest of em'
 
I honestly think you can't find a better deal than the price of used Historic Gibsons. I have 2 and they are excellent...no way I'd pay new prices but I scores a 2008 3PU BB7 LPC under $2500 and a 2009 R7 Gold-top from $2100...great guitars but I wouldn't spend 4-6k one em.

Finally folks need to get over all Gibson's suck...their pricing sucks but the CS pieces are top quality. I thought they all sucked from a bad experience with them in the 80's and didn't touch one until I bought
 
Ive played a few. All were heavy, none were anything special to me. Felt and sounded decent. I also think its kinda funny when people talk about the factory being the original gibson factory.. its the guys working there that built the norlin guitars.
 
Jack, the old head of Gibson repair shop still works there and does some hands on. The old guys aren't doing the building anymore. They are up there in age. Jack told me all about a couple years ago when I had them fix one of mine. They are ok guitars. I had three. Definitely heavy.
 
Marshall Freak":iahvgkxq said:
Ive played a few. All were heavy, none were anything special to me. Felt and sounded decent. I also think its kinda funny when people talk about the factory being the original gibson factory.. its the guys working there that built the norlin guitars.
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Jim Deurloo one of the owners and former Gibson plant manager started working there in 1958 and Marv Lamb another owner started in 1956. Pre-Norlin era. Great guitars period and rival any Gibson IMO especially for the price. And what is wrong with the Norlin era anyways?
 
glip22":37kb4sun said:
Jack, the old head of Gibson repair shop still works there and does some hands on. The old guys aren't doing the building anymore. They are up there in age. Jack told me all about a couple years ago when I had them fix one of mine. They are ok guitars. I had three. Definitely heavy.
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I know Jack. Cool guy.
 
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