-
After I got my L5 I made a promise to my wife to get rid of something and I put my Guild X-500 up forsale. Unfortunately, it did not sell and in the meantime a student really wanted my Eagle so I let him buy it on layway. He finally paid it off several weeks ago and during the lesson, he played my...err...his Eagle and I played my L5. Listening to the 2 guitars it really made me realize that the L5 wasn't "superior" to the eagle. They are really different animals. The L5 is a "lead guitar". It plays better and faster and has a bit more electric characteristic to its tone along with being a bit more feedback resistant and having a bit of thunk to it. By contrast, the Heritage sounds like an older guitar. It harkens back to '60s sounding instrument and has more acoustic vibe to it. So, I was really having second thoughts about parting with it.
So I began looking for another Heritage, goal being not to spend more than I sold the other one. I ended up finding a single pickup, early '00s eagle classic. This one has a thinner top than the one I sold and along with the single pickup and vol/tone placed close to the rim, has a super sweet acoustic sound to it. It's a lot louder than the other eagle I had and of course, the L5. It sounds like an early '60s instrument ala Pat Martino Strings. Beautiful acoustic electric sounds and excels at solo guitar.
I was lucky to find a single pickup Eagle that had parallel bracing because they usually use X-Bracing on the single pickup guitars and I like the creamier sound of the parallel braces.
Unfortunately, as my wife is the interface to our SPP insurance, I had to let her know I had it so now something else has to go.
Last edited by jzucker; 07-27-2015 at 01:48 PM.
-
07-27-2015 01:33 PM
-
Jack,
I like it a lot. Really nice.
When I play my Heritage Johnny Smith at home, I plug into an amp that is 15 feet away. I adjust the volume of the guitar so there is a nice balance between the amp and the acoustic sound of the guitar. It adds a really nice effect to the sound that I don't get with any of my other guitars.
You should try that with this guitar.
One other thing, Do you have trouble moving from one Guitar to another? I find that it takes a bit of time for me to get my pick timing down when I float from one to another. It cuts into my practice time a bit.
Anyhow, nice guitar. Really nice.
Joe D
-
I love that guitar. It's a beauty. Mine is a hogback, sides, and neck. I love it too. After a long hiatus caused by the arrival of my cherished '40's L7, I picked her back up a couple of days ago to be reminded of what a great guitar Heritage builds with the Eagle classic, single pup. Really nice, your new guitar. Welcome back to being a Heritage Eagle owner.
-
I usually set my guitar and amp up just as you describe for practicing. To minimize issues going from guitar to guitar, I set them all up with the pickguard exactly 1/4" below the strings. That helps a lot. Still, the L5 is a bit different feeling from the rest.
Originally Posted by Joe DeNisco
-
I look forward to bumping into the Heritage 17" bout guitars at some point. I've never played or seen one before.
-
in my case i'm 5'7 so the L5 is a huge guitar. You wouldn't think it would feel significantly different from the kessel or eagle but the extra depth makes a diff. And for some reason the same thickness body on the X-500 doesn't feel as awkward though it did when I first got it. Originally Posted by Joe DeNisco
-
Congrats Jack! Prior to yours I'd only seen 3 other single HB Eagles. Someone spec'd your Eagle to a "t" complete down to the shading. Great find!
-
Jack . . . not so unusual to find the parallel bracing on an Eagle model from that era. I noticed the K on the back of the head stock. Yours is a 1994, as is my first ever Heritage . . . a GE. Mine is also parallel braced. The X bracing had to be spec'd during that era and the parallel bracing was standard. But, as you've noticed, they've now gone to the X bracing on single inset pup Eagles or Golden Eagles.
If you sell this Eagle, you really do need to have a mental evaluation. This guitar just oozes vibe and class. The guys and gals over at HOC would be going . . . "Ooooooo . . . it's got a stinger!!!" lololol But, I really do love the understated appointments. You say it sounds like a '60s Gibson Arch top. It looks like one too. I'm also thinking that because it's a '94, that Schaller might be the lower wind and warmer original Golden 50s model. How do you like the pup?
I'm also thinking . . . ditch the black speed knobs and get some gold witch hats on that baby!!
-
That's interesting. The seller claimed he bought it new in 2001! Originally Posted by Patrick2
Good idea. As to the pickup, i'm not sure but I like it better than what was in the previous eagle but my favorite was what was in the eagle thinline I had. Those were microphonic and picked up some acoustic sound. This pickup is potted. Still, it sounds very good. I'm not going to change it.If you sell this Eagle, you really do need to have a mental evaluation. This guitar just oozes vibe and class. The guys and gals over at HOC would be going . . . "Ooooooo . . . it's got a stinger!!!" lololol But, I really do love the understated appointments. You say it sounds like a '60s Gibson Arch top. It looks like one too. I'm also thinking that because it's a '94, that Schaller might be the lower wind and warmer original Golden 50s model. How do you like the pup?
I'm also thinking . . . ditch the black speed knobs and get some gold witch hats on that baby!!
-
It's possible that I'm misinterpretting the letter on the back of the head stock as a K . . when it's really an R. K is definitley 1994. R is definitely 2001. The photo doesn't show the letter too clearly, but it looked like a K to me. If it's an R, 2001 . . then the guitar was more than likely spec'd with the tone bars instead of the X bracing. Originally Posted by jzucker
As I mentioned, my 1994 has the tone bars as standard . . along with the earlier variant of the Schaller Golden 50. I love it's tone through either of my tube amps. I wasn't thrilled with the tone through my Evans JE 150.
-
it's really hard to tell if it's an R or K.
-
but it appears to be an R, so 2001 so would the pickup be the ren designed pickup then?
-
That's definitely an R. It's a 2001. It's quite possible that it has the HRW Schaller pup. If the guitar had 2 pups, it would be easily identifiable because the selector switch tip would either be white with a black inlaid dot on the tip of it. Or, black with a white dot. With a single pup, you'll have to get a light and a mirror and inspect the bottom of the pup. It will clearly be marked HRW, which is an acronym for Heritage Rendall Wall. But, I seriously doubt that it's an HRW. If it was, I'm quite sure you'd hate it . . (as I do). But, Henry Johnson, Kenny Burrell and Sheryl Bailey love them in their Heritage signature models. Go figure! Originally Posted by jzucker
-
Great guitar Jack
Years ago I didn't like the Classic, I expected more bling, like on a Golden Eagle. Now that I am used to Eastman's and Yunzhi's the Classic looks totally normal to me...
-
i know what you mean. Wifey's making some noise about it though, lol. And a student of mine wants to buy my GB10 and my L5. So eventually, I may sell one or the other. Originally Posted by Bluedawg
-
That is such a nice finish. Who was spraying at Heritage in '01?
-
That was Heritage's most popular finish, at the time. It's an ALSB, Almond Sun Burst. Floyd was upstairs in the spray room in 2001. Floyd has since passed. He was the best!! He's also the guy who did your beautiful Rose shaded Super Eagle. Originally Posted by Greentone
-
Ah! That explains a lot. The Super Eagle is another beauty. I just played it a few minutes ago. It's a winner!
You know, it's really getting played in, at this point. When I first got it, I suspect that it wasn't your main player. It had kind of "closed up," if you know what I mean. My guitars that I don't play a lot don't stay "opened up." When I play them a bunch, however, they get more vibrant sounding.
The SE is starting to develop some acoustic power. I am finding that on volume levels I used to use with it, the SE is acoustically drowning out the amp. You can really hear a nice combination of amp/guitar at this point. Still using TI 13s.
Thanks, again, for the great guitar.
-
Floyd!!! RIP Floyd. Originally Posted by Greentone
-
isn't this what gibson calls viceroy?
-
I'd say pretty darn close...although, for some reason, i've never seen two photographs of viceroy brown guitars that look the same, while the almond heritage's seem to be pretty consistent.
Btw, floyd did my 575, and i must say...its a work of beauty.
-
After much delay due to school and the inability to put this guitar down, here's my new to me Eagle. Sounds amazing and feels great. I'm not a huge fan of the maple pick guard and I'm considering either a bound ebony l5 shape or a bound tortoise one.
Only issue: I detuned the high e to adjust the tailpiece and when I tuned back up bam the screw hole stripped. So that one finger no longer adjusts. Will hear back from heritage tomorrow and see what they think.
Last edited by Burr; 02-14-2017 at 11:14 PM.
-
Looks great! I have the same finger style tailpiece on my Heritage, and I'm not a fan of it. I'll probably replace it at some point. You should be getting some nice sounds--how about a demo?
-
Congrats on the new jazzbox. May it inspire your playing for many years to come.
-
Very nice archtop. Sorry about the fingers tailpiece. The pickguards are an acquired taste.
If you are not a fan of it see if you can replace it with a Heritage crossbar tailpiece. Even a traditional single diamond crossbar tailpiece will do if the bracket holes line up.
Make great music with it. I may tweak you about the headstock now and then
but that is like throwing a bone to a dog. Woof! Woof!
Reply With Quote
Andy Bartosh plays "Peter Green"
Today, 04:01 PM in Composition