Heritage Acoustic Super Aagle

[Frank67]

Dear all,

I missed it by one day but I thought it would be appropriate to post this basically exactly a year after Patrick's tragic passing. So Patrick - this one is for you!

A week ago, I took delivery of a guitar that had been in the making at Heritage for about 13 months. In the planning phase last summer I had a lot of contact with Patrick and he gave me good advice that is now reflected in this wonderful instrument.

I wanted an essentially acoustic archtop and opted for a big box - hence an acoustic super eagle. Patrick thought that this was a good idea. I think it is ok to quote him here

"Another thing you may want to consider is a Super Eagle. I know you are a bit uncomfortable with the Super 400 you have. But the SE is a smaller version of an 18" guitar. The 3" body depth makes a huge difference in comfort. As you know, I had six of them at one time and I still have three. [...] The dual pup version of an SE is also a great guitar. I still own one and I'll probably never sell it. Acoustically, it is twice as alive as a dual pup Super 400CES. Also, there are not many people in Europe who own a Super Eagle."

At the time I was considering a DeArmond RC 1100 re-issue floating pickup. Patrick happened to have one that he did not use and hence he sold it to me and shipped it to Heritage. Eventually, the pickup was lost in the confusion after his passing and since I had another guitar with that pickup, I decided to go with a Lollar Johnny Smith floater that I had subsequently shipped to Heritage. And I am very happy with that choice.

Patrick took a keen interest in the project. Being himself, he always offered more insight and help. We exchanged dozens of e mails and went through specs, pros and cons of X or parallel bracing interspersed with storys from the old days (you all knew Patrick - he liked telling nice storys).

He strongly advised for a full contact bridge from B Gagnon. So I did reach out to him and it was a very smooth transaction and the bridge was delivered timely. It is a very beautiful bridge and even has an eagle on the base.

I also thought it would be nice to have something different than the generic tailpiece. Patrick suggested an ABM tailpiece. similar to what he had on his unity. I managed to talk them into doing this and also send it to Heritage for the final assembly.

Originally, I wanted to pick up the guitar myself and possibly also meet Patrick in K'Zoo on this occasion. Unfortunately, he passed away soon after the project was started. Meanwhile the project got delayed several times and it was only finally completed this august (I will not speak of the many things that went different than planned).

The rest of the guitar are pretty much stock super eagle specs.
- 18'' lower bout
- 3'' depth
- 25.5 scale, ebony fretboard with split block inlays
- X bracing
- All carved solid woods, spruce top, maple back and sides
- multiply bindings
- A beautiful antique sunburst finish

The guitar is gorgeous. As Patrick said, it does not feel as bulky as other 18'' guitars and it is comfortable for me to play. It plays beautifully. Already the acoustic sound is warm, mellow with a strong, firm bass and sweet highs. Plugged in it sings nicely with a strong, deep, mellow voice and a lot of wood in the tone.

This guitar will forever remind me of Patrick and his love and passion for guitars. It is sad that he left us so early. I am sure he would have liked this one.

Here are some pictures:



I also recorded a little piece in honor of Patrick. It is one of my favorite gypsy waltzes ("Bistro Fada" from Woody Allens "Midnight in Paris" ... maybe a good tune to reminisce a bit about the past).

Here is my recording setup that I tried today: basically I went from the guitar into my mad professor reverb pedal, into a Lehle splitter, then into the twin and the polygon, miced both amps, mixed them in a Bose ToneMatch mixer and on the third channel mixed the band in a box backing track before sending the mix back to the computer.



... and here is the video.

... so now I only "owe" you guys a NGD from a guitar I bought a year ago, but otherwise I think I done with arch top buying for the foreseeable future. I am supper happy with the guitars I have (and my wife points out that we are out of space anyways :-) ... but she loves these guitars as well).

I was thinking about recording something that shows the different voices of the various arch tops. That should be fun. But for now business travel takes over.

Have a great time everybody!
Cheers,
Frank

[Drifter]

Wonderful guitar, with an emotional story behind it. Love the eagle on the bridge base. Sounds great, too and wonderful playing as always. Congrats & enjoy!

[Boston Joe]

Love the inlay on the bridge. Nice detail.

[Jabberwocky]

Great story, Frank. The whole package came together well for you. Love the caramel burst. Subtle graduation of burnt butterscotch. Love it. The goldplated ABM tailpiece goes well with it.

Did Heritage rework the headstock? It looks longer and the flares at throat is smoother and more graceful.

One of the nicer understated Heritage archtops.

Congrats, Frank.

[Frank67]

Thanks to everybody!

Jabberwocky, I would not be aware that they did something special to the headstock.

I was always in the camp who had no problems with the Heritage headstock design (neither love nor hate it). I don't look at the headstock when I play and what I hear from the Heritage guitars is generally to my liking (sans my dissatisfaction with my own musical abilities - but no guitar can be blamed for that :-))

[rabbit]

Damn that's pretty!

Congratulations.

[Rob MacKillop]

My envy is more than tempered by my happiness for you, Frank. That's a beautiful guitar, and I can see it was already worth your while. I also like Bistro Fada, and used to play it - fun film too. All is well with the world.

[BigMikeinNJ]

Frank it is a lovely piece and an even lovier story. Thank you for sharing that.

Big

[Frank67]

Thank you Big! Your collection of nice Guitars is very impressive!

[AlsoRan]

And, Frank,

You are raising the standards for personal videos. I mean, where are the dirty white socks and the stained "wife beater" t-shirt? And where is the jumble of music books all over the floor and haphazardly stacked behind you?

Instead, you come out with that beautiful guitar, that nice black shirt, and every hair in place.

It is hard enough for some of us to post personal videos as it is and you come out with this?

Ok. Admit it, you had a production team, complete with director, set artists, lighting specialists, make-up artists, and wardrobe specialists, right?

----------------------------------------

Seriously, congratulations on that fine guitar. You have always been so positive on this forum. I am happy for you (and your wife). Patrick, would most definitely be proud!

(If I ever do get my dream guitar, I will try and reciprocate with my own video.)

[skykomishone]

Very nice tribute, and the guitar is fantastic. I absolutely love that tone.

Thanks for the post!

Steve

[citizenk74]

This instrument is a superbly executed classic design with custom detailing to make it unique; it has a story that is of particular interest and value to JGF members; and it is being played and appreciated by someone with the sensitivity and chops to do it justice. Congratulations, and play it in good health!

[Stringswinger]

Beautiful guitar. Congrats!

[Frank67]

Ha ha, AlsoRan, that was a really funny post. I read it out loud to my wife and she was bursting out with laughter.

Ok, so here is my confession:
- I look tragic in a wifebeater
- My mancave just got cleaned up
- The desk that you did not see in the video was messy with all kinds of music books
- I don't own white socks
- ... but my wife did ask me what on earth I want with a black shirt on a saturday where I should be outside mowing the lawn
- it was the damn 6th take on this tune ... I wanted to gypsy pick it and I wanted to play it at 190 but I couldn't pull it off and then when I was in the middle of it polytone started to hum for no obvious reason ... so I decided to be less adventurous.


I really like this forum - friendly, knowledgeable, civilized people with a love for guitars and music - what else could one ask for :-)

Have a wonderful day everybody!

[Frank67]

This instrument is a superbly executed classic design with custom detailing to make it unique; it has a story that is of particular interest and value to JGF members; and it is being played and appreciated by someone with the sensitivity and chops to do it justice. Congratulations, and play it in good health!

Thank you so much! That is really very generous of you to make such a nice comment :-)

[Frank67]

(If I ever do get my dream guitar, I will try and reciprocate with my own video.)

Yes - I am looking forward to that! Keep up the good work! (... and tell me how your picking got so fast :-)).

[TedBPhx]

Oh! That is a lovely guitar! And the story is also full of love.

[Max405]

Frankie, Quite possibly the post of the year!
The guitar sounds VERY Heritage like. Great playing. I will read this over and over again.
Sincerely, Joe D

[Marty Grass]

That's a beautiful instrument. I'm glad you got what you wanted.

I can see the Patrick influence on the guitar. I don't know that he would have approved of that pickup though. But once he heard it, he would have smiled. But the upgraded f hole binding, the ABM tailpiece, the cross bracing, the rim jack, the ebony PG, and the bridge with the inlayed base are things Patrick would give the thumbs up to. He also would have suggested a thinner top because this is designed to function acoustically.

The Dearmond RC 1100 you spoke of did arrive at Heritage within a couple of days of Patrick's death. One of the guys at Heritage asked me what to do with it because no one there knew what it was for. I had them send it back to Patrick's home. I assumed that it was supposed to be put on one of the two Golden Eagles that Patrick and I were picking up the next week. So I got that wrong. I think the pickup is with Patrick's son, Chris.

Frank, I know Patrick helped you deal with Heritage and probably never got a penny of commission. Patrick told me that you're a great guy and that he enjoyed being of assistance for you. In truth, Patrick did a lot of behind the scenes kind acts for many people.

[Frank67]

Dear Mark,

thank you very much for your kind words and more details of the story that I did not know about. Indeed, all of the details that you mention were Patricks suggestion. I was always very greatful for Patricks help with Heritage. And he did it just for the love of guitars and his appreciation of Heritage (in the process, I came to really like and appreciate the good people at Heritage). I once offered him money and he categorically refused.

So, I once had a nice bottle of wine sent to him (if I recall correctly it was an Amarone since I remembered from some forum post that he liked that). This turned out to be even more difficult than to get a guitar to europe ... The first bottle was lost in the NJ winter by the shipping company, one was accidentally delivered to a neighbour (who drank it) and one to an office address that no longer existed (don't know where that ended up) ... On the fourth try, weeks later but before Christmas it did finally arrive and I remember that Patrick was in a good mood when he posted this evening on the forum.

I tried to get in touch with Chris for that pickup but got no response and decided to let go of it ... The family had enough hard times to deal with. I hope he sold it to somebody and then it becomes a late 'thank you' from me, however small the gesture is. I am very happy with the one that is on there now and I am smiling at the thought of Patrick nodding after first trying to talk me out of it :-)

[2bornot2bop]

Best post ever. Best SE ever. Frank clearly you and Patrick share the identical passion for guitars! Might that be the final SE finished by the original Heritage owners?

I love the shading. Great photos! Great playing! That was worth the wait and the price of admission. One can't read that story without missing Patrick all over again. Patrick was so unselfish with his valuable time. He genuinely loved helping others. I always saw him beneath the persona for when you stripped away all the unimportant noise what you saw was a man with a huge heart.

To the forum...Those B Gagnon bridges are the cats meow. If you haven't tried one, what's taking you so long!?

Congratulations to you Frankl!

[2bornot2bop]

Yeah, the whole time reading it I kept thinking...aw man, this is gonna mess JD up! What is it with you NJ guys? You're both softies with big hearts! Don't lose the goatee.

Frankie, Quite possibly the post of the year!
The guitar sounds VERY Heritage like. Great playing. I will read this over and over again.
Sincerely, Joe D

[Frank67]

You guys are awesome! Thanks so much!!

[Greentone]

Frank,

This was great reading on a Saturday morning. It was a super story about my late friend, Patrick, helping out another great guy to get the guitar he deserves. Well done, all the way around.

I am glad you got Patrick to help you out. He has been a big help to me, too. Thanks to him we both own great Super Eagles from the folks at Heritage. (Yours is spectacular, by the way. The sound in your clip is super, no pun intended, and the guitar is just beautiful. Nobody makes a better finished guitar than Heritage.)

Enjoy it in good health.

[Greentone]

One more thing: I like the tailpiece on your SE. I have the same one on my Unity. Patrick had it on several of his guitars--Heritage and Unity. Very pretty and functional.