Heritage Custom Build

[Jim Soloway]

Thanks again to all for the good wishes. With the family situation I almost certainly played less in the last two weeks that at any time in recent years and yesterday was the first time I'd given myself to just play for pleasure since the beginning of December. The guitar was an absolute joy. The smaller body size not only works for me in terms of comfort but it also put the neck in better playing position for me and the smaller voice makes the tonal balance about as close to perfect as I could imagine. As I said in my OP, the inspiration for a lot of this guitar is the balance and the delicate voice of the old Martin 00018 and this guitar come about as close to that as I can imagine.

I did a quick recording last night just running a line out from my amp. Musically there's nothing new hear. It's part of an original piece that I've recorded many times and I often use it as a benchmark for test recording (I suppose that one of these days I should just do a final and complete version of it and then retire it for good from the recording process but it does a good job of testing the note separation and checking the low end). Like most DI recordings it doesn't really capture the sparkle or acoustic presence of the guitar but it does give a very good representation of the string to string balance. There's no EQ on this so what you're hearing is the actual amplified voice of the guitar.



As for the family situation, it's going to be what it's gong to be and the hardest part for me is just accepting how little control I have over any of it. It's been both difficult and time consuming but I guess this too is part of the normal process of life.

[goshawk]

Jim, first and most important, best wishes in terms of your family issues. My wife spent most of the last year dealing with a younger sister's declining health, so I have some understanding of the emotional effort you're facing.

More happily, the recording sounds wonderful. The guitar has a beautiful voice and it seems to be exceptionally well matched to the player. I look forward to hearing more.

[Bluedawg]

Now you need to order the 27 inch version ..... in honor of your own Swan guitars

[mikeSF]

wow, love the clip. can already tell it's a winner Jim.
Will be thinking of you.

[Eddie Lang]

Best wishes to your parents and you, Jim.

Congrats on the guitar. It is The best looking Heritage I have ever seen IMO and not meaning to take anything away from the others. This one is superb, and it sounds really good too!

[rpguitar]

Way to go Jim, lovely playing on your new guitar. Best wishes.

I'm tuning down a whole step and playing fingerstyle too, FWIW, and really liking the whole package of doing that.

[Klatu]

If I had a signature guitar, I'd have my silhouette stamped on the headstock like the Slash Epiphone. As a result, it would be the best looking guitar on the market.

[peterbright]

Glad the build worked out so well for you! Hang in there with the family.

[Greentone]

Signature instruments can be a curse. Les Paul, Chet Atkins and others fretted over quality because their names were on the guitars.

I used to make amps with my name on the badge. You really sweat quality when your name is at stake.

[Jim Soloway]

Signature instruments can be a curse. Les Paul, Chet Atkins and others fretted over quality because their names were on the guitars.

I used to make amps with my name on the badge. You really sweat quality when your name is at stake.

A little late for that. There are 450 guitars in the world with my name on them and I was directly responsible for the quality of every one of them.

[Patrick2]

A little late for that. There are 450 guitars in the world with my name on them and I was directly responsible for the quality of every one of them.

Well, Jim . . based upon what I've read from the reviews of your guitars . . your image is in tact. Never heard anything but possitives about your guitars.

Your new guitar looks like it just stepped out from behind a 1950s or '60s curtain. It's a throw back to some of the the minimalist elegance of that era. That's some really elegant mahogany too. As always with Heritage, the shading is beautiful . . . and the color is very reminiscent of old school Gibson. I'm going to be very curious to hear . . after a couple of months of playing . . which of the two Heritage custom builds you gravitate towards more often.

[Jim Soloway]

Well, Jim . . based upon what I've read from the reviews of your guitars . . your image is in tact. Never heard anything but possitives about your guitars.

Your new guitar looks like it just stepped out from behind a 1950s or '60s curtain. It's a throw back to some of the the minimalist elegance of that era. That's some really elegant mahogany too. As always with Heritage, the shading is beautiful . . . and the color is very reminiscent of old school Gibson. I'm going to be very curious to hear . . after a couple of months of playing . . which of the two Heritage custom builds you gravitate towards more often.

Thanks Patrick. I guess there's never a really reliable way to predict the future but as of this moment the preference seems really clear to me. The new one is more comfortable for me. It puts me in a better playing position. The string to string balance is much better and the bass is much more controlled. I think I said in my first post that this guitar really is what I wanted to order on the first go around and didn't quite have the nerve at the time. So far it's everything I was originally hoping for in both feel and sound. I even think it looks better with the unbound peghead and lack of inlays. And having grown up with an early 50's ES125, I guess it makes sense that I'd be drawn to this sort of look. I've often described myself as a serial monogamist with guitars. I've tended to play one exclusively until it was time to move on and then I'd move to the next on (often wondering why I bothered other than boredom) but I've rarely alternated between guitars that I've owned simultaneously. For now it seems that the new one is going to be the guitar of the moment. Now the question is how long that will last.

[Al Br.]

Very nicely done piece. Enjoy the ride and best wishes.

[Jim Soloway]

Just a quick follow up now that I've been playing the guitar for a week ... It's gotten all of my playing time since I brought it home and I'm thrilled. It's much more comfortable than my original H575 with the full sized body. The voice is smaller and better balanced and really well suited for my playing style and the long scale length gives me really good articulation with my lowered tuning without causing it to boom in the low end.

My wife's going to Oregon for a few days so I'm on my own for Christmas and I'm planning on doing some more recording and hopefully a video or two while she's away. I might even do a demo video specifically about the guitar. I'll post those when they're complete but for the time being I'm about as pleased with this as I have ever been with any guitar.

[ESP-335]

A little late for that. There are 450 guitars in the world with my name on them and I was directly responsible for the quality of every one of them.

And you should be very proud of every one of them.

Best wishes for a very Merry Christmas. Ed

[boatheelmusic]

Jim, what strings are on it?

Sounds great!

[Jim Soloway]

And you should be very proud of every one of them.

Best wishes for a very Merry Christmas. Ed

Thanks Ed. And to you and yours as well. My wife is going to family in Oregon tomorrow and I intend to spend the holiday playing guitar and giving thanks for all that is good in life.

[Jim Soloway]

Jim, what strings are on it?

Sounds great!

Thanks. I'm using Tomastik Infeld Swing Series 12 with a 53 for the bottom string. With the whole guitar tuned down a full step it's actually pretty light.