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Hi folks,
some of you may remember that Heritage built me a gorgeous single set pickup Golden Eagle that is an absolutely stunning guitar that I play every day. After I had it, it became clear to me that this won't stay my only Heritage guitar. I live in Germany but I knew that I had a business trip to Minneapolis/Madison and Chicago coming up in the spring of 2014 - so I emailed Ren Wall from Heritage and kindly asked him whether they could make me a H555 that I would pick up myself during my trip (a ES 355 was always one of my dream guitars and the H555 is an - open to debate - improved model that is Heritage's take on it) - I figured that this would be a fantastic opportunity to breathe in a bit of the famous history of the place that Patrick educates us about frequently (Hi Patrick!). After some back and forth we settled on a friday in may 2014 - the plant is normally closed on fridays but Ren said he would come and show me around regardless.
I was looking really forward to this trip and finally arrived on thursday evening in Kalamazoo. Ren told me that he had a gig that night in a nearby cafe. So I went straight to there, walked through the door and there was that band of three gentlemen playing country and a few jazz standards. Ren immediately recognized that it must be me and smiled. In the break he introduced me to his friends and they even asked whether I wanted to sit in and play with them - which I found really nice. But i had along drive behind me and was tired (and I am also not as good as these guys or familiar with the music they played).
The next morning we met for breakfast and talked guitars and music for an hour or so and finally made it to the plant. I found it fascinating to see all this ancient equipment and the level of craftsmanship and love they put in their products. So, after touring the plant he showed me the guitar and as I opened the case I was blown away by the beauty of the guitar. Ren remarked that this one came out particularly nice. I also met Marv and Bill Paige and they were all super nice people and fun to talk to.
This H555 is a custom build, but relatively close to the standard specs. Differences include block inlays and Bareknuckle Stormy Monday pickups (that I had sent to Heritage from the Music Zoo, one of the few sellers in the US that carries them) that they wired with coil split and out of phase option). The guitar practically plays itself ... it is marvellous. A piece of art and a lovechild.
I have been meaning to write about that little story and post a few pictures for a while, but now there finally was time to also record a few bars of music to let you share in the beautiful sounds (my playing is decidedly not beautiful, but the guitar and the way it sounds really is).
I have the fondest memories of my trip to Kalamazoo and I remember a bunch of wonderful gentlemen that I met at the Heritage plant who build fantastic guitars with love and passion for handcrafted instruments and I am very grateful for the experience. Special thanks to Ren for his hospitality!
... needless to say ... this won't be my last Heritage either ... I did not leave the plant before making a downpayment for a black beauty H157 - another dream guitar of mine :-) ... and then ??? I recently had to pass on a spectacular deal for a OSB eagle classic with two pickups that had my name written all over it (still grumbling - I already was in the car but then turned around and had my head win over my heart - the next day the guitar was gone - actually, it was a blowout sale because the only authorized Heritage dealer in Germany stopped carrying them) ... ok, sometimes waiting increases the joy (in german we have the silly phrase "anticipated fun is the purest form of joy" - I already hated that as a kid (for obvious reasons) and it didn't get much better with age :-))
ok, enough of my babbling ...
Here is the guitar in all its beauty (forgive me - I'm not as skilled as 2b or others here):
Here are two clips ... a jazzy one and some blues noodling that goes through the pickup combinations. I am quite happy with my new recording chain. The backing track goes from band in a box to a Bose T1 ToneMatch four channel mixer. The guitar signal either goes in there direct via a preamp or via a SM57 (as in the clips, hence some noise). The mixed signal goes into a Focusrite audio interface and from there into the computer. I simply start band in a box and record with QuickTime on a mac which takes the audio from whatever interface you specify in the system settings and the video from whatever camera you choose. This eliminates a number of awkward steps such as exporting audio files from BandInaBox, importing video, matching video to audio tracks etc. Simply hit go on QuickTime and BiaB and that'it. I'm pleased with the sound ... my playing ... well that's another story and it still needs major work - but it's an enjoyable trip :-)
Cheers everybody!
Frank
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10-26-2014 02:55 PM
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Gorgeous!
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Thanks for sharing your story Frank! Gorgeous 555...love the shading...don't sell yourself short on the photos or playing. congrats on your 2nd Heritage...but an OSB Classic? You're a better man than me!
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Thank you very much 2b! It is a nice little story and I will always associate it with this fine guitar. They really make awesome instruments at Parson's street!
Not buying that over the top gorgeous OSB classic at that price point was a decision I did regret many times ... But there also is the thing that I barely let go of guitars anymore ... You're passing most of them on after a while.
I am actually wondering - is a super eagle with a floater noticeably louder than a golden eagle with an inset pub? My single pub golden eagle is already pretty loud but could not hang with a real accoustic guitar.
Cheers,
frank
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That's the best looking semi hollow guitar I've ever seen from Heritage. I particularly like the split block inlays. BTW, I never liked the original circles surrounded by arrowheads inlays on the standard 555 model.
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Those fb inlays are a huge improvement over the cheap-ugly looking standard 555 inlays. Nice.
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Thanks Klatu! I also really like it. I always thought that an ES 335ish guitar has to be red :-) but I dislike cherry red and I asked them to come up with a really dark red. To me, it blends very well with the gold hardware and the ebony board. I also dislike the regular 555 inlays and think that the split block is nicer (I also have split block on my golden eagle as I disliked the cloud inlays too). The flame was a bonus that I did not specifically asked for, but it looks nice. It is awesome that they let their customers have a saying in these things.
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+1
Originally Posted by Woody Sound
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Its always so good to hear of business transactions that go well like this, instead of each trying to get as much as they can without regard to the other's needs.
Thanks for sharing the story and congratulations on a gorgeous guitar.
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ps- What's on the headstock? Originally Posted by Woody Sound
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Hi Frank. So . . now you have a better understanding of the people and the historic magic of 225 Parsons Street, Kalamazoo. I'm really glad you were able to make the trip. The only way it could have been better would have been if you were able to make it there when the machines were hummin' and the crew was hard at work. Just watching the passion they put into their efforts is something to marvel at. But, you had a chance to see many guitars and components of guitars at various stages of the build. That in itself is way cool too.
Your new H555 . . or as we call them . . The Triple Nickel . . is beautiful. Congratulations!! Also, your comment that the guitar seems to play itself is exactly what I have felt over the years when I had occasion to play them. I owned one for a short while, then sold it to The Good Doctor . . Dr. Mark Goetting . . (MartyGrass). Just couldn't get beyond the finger board inlays. (Hated them!! Not sure what the hell Marv and Jim were thinking when they came up with that design idea. You did real good switching to the split blocks.) But, it played easier and smoother than almost all
other guitars I've ever played. The 555 is one of the finest crafted guitars Heritage makes.
I see what appears to be quite a few signatures on the label? Looks like you've made a few friends there. They're a great bunch of guys. I also see that you had Ren top wrap the strings over the stop tail piece. Did you consider excessive wear on the gold plating that will result from that? If you love the tone, feel and concept of top wrapping the strings . . you mighy want to email Ren and have him send you one or two additional Tone Pros gold stop bars.
The sound clips sound great . . I love the tone. When you crank those Stormy Monday's . . . they're going to sing sweet tones out to you.
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The headstock is stock and there I like the H555 symbol.
(sorry for the bad picture)
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Hi Patrick,
thanks so much! Yes, Ren was specifically commenting that he had all people who worked on that specific guitar sign it -so that is quite a signature collection on the label. That was really nice of him! We had such a nice day together and during the rest of the trip the guitar turned many heads of my colleagues. It's fun to find out how many scientists either played or play an instrument. I had to tell them the story of Heritage in Kalamazoo many times and they were all proud americans (in the best sense) that places like Heritage still exist and carry on the great tradition.
For the string wrapping - it was a recommendation by Ren. I haven't tried the alternative yet but it is true that I am also a bit concerned about excessive wear on the gold ... on the other hand these things are meant to be played and replacing a stop bar here and there is certainly not such a big deal. Next string change I'll try.
I am really happy that you like the sounds! The Stormy Mondays are great pickups and they split really well (also, the sweet honey overdrive is a nice sounding pedal IMHO). In the video I stepped on a tc spark mini booster to compensate for the volume loss upon splitting. In the recording I like the split sounds perhaps even better for the bluesy stuff.
I noticed that the pickups are unusually sensitive to height adjustments. I had the guitar setup by a local luthier but made a few changes afterwards. I found the action after setup actually a bit too low and the bridge pickup sounded a bit anemic until I moved it a fair bit closer to the strings. Now I find it fine but the neck and bridge pickups are a bit uneven. So I may adjust the neck pickup as well ... but tinkering with guitars is fun of course :-)
... so far for my latest Heritage experience ... won't be the last one :-) still bummed that I had to let go of that amazing deal for the OSB classic two pickup eagle ... comes time!
Cheers,
Frank
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Frank: With you being from Germany, I know you have a good appreciation for a good beer. Had I known you were making the trip to K'zoo, I'd have recommended lunch at Bell's Brewery. It's a micro brewery, on a bit of a larger scale than most US micro breweries. Very nice old world European charm and GREAT beer and ale. I remember once making the mistake of sitting there very involved in a conversation with a few of the local K'zoo-ians . . and unconsciously drinking about 5 (or 6?) large beers with an 8.6 alcohol level. Got a bit more than buzzed!!
Ren's a master at what he does and with what he recommends . . and as such I hate to secong guess him. But, those Triple Nickels play so well, if it were my guitar, I'd probably not top wrap the strings. Ren father, Rem Wall, was a resident playing pro for Gibson and then for Heritage for quite some time. Did Rendall happen to mention his dad?
REM WALL
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Hey Patrick - mmh, yes, I like a good beer although I am more of a wine drinker (but not a connoisseur). But visiting that micro brewery next time sounds like a great idea :-) I'm typically in the US 4-5 times a year and if I can fit it in then I'd love to do another trip to Kalamazoo - hu, 5 or 6 large beers with that amount of alcohol would put me in a coma, no doubt - if you are in Europe be careful with belgian beers - there really good but even stronger.
I'll definitely try without the string wrap ... that is an easy one to try.
No, Ren did not mention his father. So obviously there are some serious country music roots in the family - It was fun seeing him do that country gig with his friends (he was actually playing bass - he said that doesn't stress him out as much as guitar playing. Interestingly enough he said he brought an el cheap bass so he's not worried that it gets stolen - but his two colleagues were playing H535's - very well I must say, even if it is not my style of music)
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Yeah . . Rendall's roots go way back in country music. He's been to The Grand Old Oprey in Nashville quite a few times, either delivering guitars or mando's . . . or doing on site repair work for the artists performing there. Ren isn't a monster player. But, he can certainly hang with players. He does bass, drums and guitar.
Just a quick heads-up for you to keep in mind when you spec your order your H157. Most of them come in a 10+ lbs . . with some (many) even over 11 lbs. Some don't mind that and actually even prefer the additional weight for what they perceive to be a better tone. Others shudder with the thought of a guitar hanging on their shoulder at more than 9 lbs. If that's a concern to you, make sure you discuss that with Marv or Jim. There are options available to get the weight down. You could specify genuine Honduran mahog for the body and ask the boys at Heritage to make sure they use mahog that is well dried (aged) . . or, they could do a weight relieved . . which is totally different (better, IMO) from the Swiss Cheese concept that Gibson uses.
So, based upon the whole experience you're going through now with Heritage, it seems that the misfortunes you had to suffer through with the dealer you were originally buying the GE through, has all turned out to be better than it would have had things not gone awry with that dealer.
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Rem Wall with what looks like a Heritage Golden Eagle
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Hi Patrick,
The H157 was actually spec'ed when I was at the plant in may and it was finished yesterday. Today Ren sent me the picture ... so, I am looking really forward to lay my hands on it. Originally Posted by Patrick2
I was actually concerned about weight and at the end of the day, after discussing with Ren and Marv and Bill, I opted for the lightweight version of the guitar. I think, I know got the three dream guitars from Heritage that I always aspired to - a L5, a ES-355 and Les Paul custom - except - I am pretty sure that I like the Heritage versions better - including the headstock :-)
For the H157 I guess there are only two things non-standard: the inlays are block again rather than trapeze. That seems like a minor detail, but it delayed the building by quite a bit. I somehow liked the idea to keep the block inlays consistent amongst my Heritages and they do 'em really well. The other is Jimmy Page wiring with four push-pulls for coil splitting, out of phase and series/parallel operation. I always found it cool to have that much tonal variation without compromising the standard Les Paul type electronics and without putting any additional switches in.
That is really true. At the end of the day I am lucky that the originally attempted deal didn't work. The german dealer actually now dumped Heritage guitars altogether thus leaving German Heritage fans with no option. The OSB eagle classic in his blowout sale was really calling my name but I couldn't do it. On the upside, the way it all went, I met some wonderful people and could share in the some of the wonderful history of the outstanding guitars. I hope I can enjoy the trip for a while to come. Originally Posted by Patrick2
Have a nice evening!
Cheers,
Frank
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cool 2b - thanks for sharing! Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
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Frank,
Watching your videos, it looks as though you've got a pretty sweet collection hung up on the walls. You want to let us in on what you've got hanging in the man cave?
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Mmmh, yes, there has been a nice collection piling up. We just recently moved in the new place and I got a supernice men cave (I have the sweetest wife!)
I have no pictures yet since everything is new, but in a nutshell: I have a couple of nice jazzboxes (Heritage golden eagle, Gibson Super 400 and ES 175, Epiphone Byrdland, Ibanez GB10), two Gretsches (a black 6120 and a cadillac green country club), some semis (Heritage H555, Gibson ES 137 with Amber spirit of 59 pickups, Godin Montreal, Höfner VeryThin contemporary with stormy monday pickups and an old Gordon Smith that I had restored) as well as solidbodies (Gibson Les Paul Alex Lifeson, Warmoth 3 pickup tele, strat and a strange "Chamaeleoncaster" do-it-all guitar that I designed together with a friend). I also have a wonderful Gypsy guitar from a german luthier that I practice a lot on and a Frameworks JazzFrame that I travel with.
That's way way more than any man needs (��), but I enjoy collecting guitars and these are also all played.
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