Heritage H-575

[Frank67]

Gorgeous Roger - nice sound all around. Hope you enjoy your Heritage! it looks great and sounds great (I was more into the sound of the pickup only recording, but they both sound really sweet!)

[Max405]

Roger, your new guitar sounds really nice. very nice playing too. I think it is a beautiful instrument. It would fit in anyone's collection. It looks to be in great condition too. It depends on your state of mind really. If you want it and you want it work for you, it will. Most people would love to have that guitar. I know I would especially if heritage could make a snap in pickguard for it, then it would be a slam dunk..
Joe D

[Greentone]

Roger,

Beautiful custom H-575. I really like the playing and the tone--both the blend and the pickup-only. Nice addition.

[gspirro1]

Beautiful guitar, both visually and tonally. I'm really enjoying the 2005 custom H575 I recently bought. These are really great instruments. I know mine's a keeper! Play it in good health!

[silverfoxx]

Roger,
The 575 sounds very good indeed to me, my acquistion of a'59 VOS 175DN early last year
was a complete disaster and has gone into the "bin' If it had sounded and looked this I
would have kept it. Congratulations on a very good choice of a fine instrument.



Best

[Gitfiddler]

Beautiful H-575 Custom you have there. And it seems to be in the right hands. Very nice playing!

You might find that the thinner body projects a bit better, and feeds back less than 3" archtops when amplified.

[2bornot2bop]

Love the knob change! Hey, where's that pickguard!

One of the nicest looking 575's I've ever seen...and I'm no blonde guy. Your acoustic description pretty much fits a Sweet 16 as well...not a lot of acoustic projection from these thin bodied Heritage archtops. That's what you need that stellar acoustic Golden Eagle for...grab it before it's gone!

[rpguitar]

Thanks all.

The pickguard is nice (here's a photo), but I like the naked look for now. I don't rest anything on the guard so it's just visual for me.

This 575 is not loud acoustically, but it is an acoustic creature for sure, perhaps a bit like a Benedetto in character. It is X-braced and slender, with a clean, bright, articulate acoustic voice. It is nice to play sitting on the couch, and it warms up when amplified to give the player a wide dynamic range.

I played around with the idea of a Golden Eagle, and I'd be lying if I said I don't want one - who wouldn't? But I do have an L-5C. I'd need something different to make that purchase.

[Frank67]

+1, the GE will sound different from the L5C. For the same pickup configuration and strings, the GE will likely be brighter and more acoustic in its sound ... Mmmh, it looks like there is always a reason for wanting yet another guitar :-) these golden eagles have a magic that is hard to describe - and it is different from the magic that surrounds the L5.

[Klatu]

In my opinion, the strength of the 575 lies with its comfort. Its 16" bout and relatively narrow depth makes it an exceptionally comfortable instrument to handle for extended periods of play, and I've found a significant boost to my performance when I'm most comfortable.

[jazz.fred]

I love my 575 Custom.

When I picked up from my guitar tech after the initial setup, he said "this is a well made guitar".

Yes it is!

[rpguitar]

The open high E buzzed a bit, but it was due to a low nut slot, which I filled and re-notched. The TI strings are fine. The unwound trebles seem to be silver colored as well, rather than brass, which was a nice surprise (not fond of the brass ones).

[Max405]

My string guru, Vinny, told me the brass strings need to vibrate a little more than steel. Therefore, they tend to not be very friendly to low action. That seemed logical to me. That coupled with the fact that I never had the same problem on my guitars that I put chromes on, I decided to give it a go. It worked like a charm on my HDA. I intend to buy some more and use the E & B elixirs on all guitars going forward that I put TI Jazz Swing's on.
It would be nice if TI stopped using the brass unwound strings. I love the soft touch and balance of the set. So I will deal with swapping the E and the B for a dollar each.

JD

[mad dog]

They look similar, but end up being pretty different instruments. The H575 is clearly inspired by the ES-175. Same body shape and size (in length and bout width), same scale, same set in, 2xhumbucker (usually) set up. Not the same body depth. The H575 is a 1/2 inch shallower back to front. Biggest difference is the woods. While the ES-175 body is all laminate, most H575s have a solid, carved maple top. I think the back and sides are solid also, not sure on that. ES-175 necks are bound, while only the H575 custom comes stock that way. Mahogany one piece neck on the Heritage.

Lots of generalization here. Heritage does a lot of customization, so not all H575s or H575 customs will have the same features and appointments.

As far as comparisons, everything depends on your requirements, tastes and preferences. Just my opinion here: Starting off with the assumption that the H575 is an ES-175 clone is one way to go, but maybe not the best way. Easy to mark down the H575 cause of the solid maple top, different headstock, lack of "thunk" vs. favorite ES-175s, that kind of thing. If you really want the ES-175 sound and feel, such a comparison won't sell you on the Heritage. But if you don't think that way, the differences can make the H575 a compelling choice with its own character and virtues.

That's how it is for me. My H575 is deep blue. Not my first choice color, but it is so beautiful, elegant even, in person. Easy to feel and hear the quality. I don't think it was intended to be an ES-175 at all. The solid, not thin maple top and shallower body are by design, clearly meant to take it somewhere else. Less feedback than the solid spruce top archtops I've tried. I wasn't at first persuaded by the stock Schaller p/us. By now I'm reluctant to change them, as this guitar has a beautiful sound for jazz. And can easily get a rougher, rowdier tone with certain tweed amps and a little extra volume. I never use the bridge p/u. Neck only seems to do everything.

Because it's not quite an ES-175, I still want one of those. Best sounding ES-175 I've tried is a well played, repaired headstock early 90s ES-175 at a local shop. Different sound and feel. A little clearer voice, not as thick a sound. (No idea how much of that is the pickups.) Not as comfortable to hold and play. A bit lighter, more lightly build than my Heritage. Still drool worthy. Someday I'll grab an ES-175 too. In the meantime, the H575 is an excellent guitar for how I hear things.
MD

[GNAPPI]

The 575 is not a 175.

In construction material and build quality I say the 575 beats the pants off the typical 175.

175's are typically plain where Heritage most always have nicer woods. Also the Heritage bursts are to me some of the best.

The 575's neck pup is 7" from the bridge, where the 175's neck pup is 6".

The Heritage does not have a bound neck while the 175 does.

575's are 2 3/4" thick and 175's are 3 1/2"

575's can be special ordered and from what I know standard pups used in them have changed over the years, not so for the 175.

Soundwise 175's are very variable as is their playability while the Heritage are more consistant given the pups are the same.

That said, I play my 175 more often it just feels like a Gibson.

[Artpulis]

I am no expert at all, but did a reasonable amount of research before ordering one to my specs. If you want to hear one, there are a lot of YouTube videos out there. David Becker plays what he calls his "Million Mile guitar" on many of them, especially where he is instructing. If you want to talk with someone who really knows them call Jay Wolfe at Wolfe Guitars in Jupiter Florida.

[hot ford coupe]

I had one and it was great. I got tired of it because it was a very light natural color and I preferred sunbursts at that time. It was so light it looked unfinished but very shiny.

[jads57]

Funny thing when it comes to traditional ES-175 or ES-335 guitars I prefer laminate constructrion to solid wood. It may be because we've all become use the tone of those instruments on records over the many years.
As for archtop I prefer carved top and back to laminate construction for the same reason.

[Gitfiddler]

Another huge fan of the H575 here. I own two Custom versions of this model and each is so different from the other...both exquisite to me. One is a very lightweight, Quilt top/Flame back, outfitted with Heritage's proprietary HRW's, and has a wonderful jazz tone. The other is a Blueburst Custom loaded with Seth Lovers and has great tone, but is as heavy as my old ES165.

My very first archtop was a humble '90's Gibson ES165 (pre-Herb Ellis moniker). I loved that too, but the workmanship was not up to par...and it was a one trick pony tonewise.

The guitarist who sold me the 165 turned me on to Heritage, and the rest is history.

And yes, there are many discussions on this board about Heritage guitars...and many enthusiasts of the marque.

[mad dog]

As Ingenari says, the H525 somehow ends up more in the ES-175 zone that the H575. I'm lucky enough to have an H525 also, so get to go back and forth between the 525 and 575 custom all the time. Love 'em both.

I'd love to try older ES-175s with P-90s, to see how they compare to the 525. Just out of curiousity. I don't miss anything, feel the lack off anything in my H525. it's a perfect P-90 set of sound to my taste. feels perfect in my hand. Helping me realize that I actually prefer single coil sounds in jazz, though still quite fond of humbuckers too.

So lucky to have these two fine heritage guitars. The other one I hope to try is the eagle classic. i want to see how they approach the iconic L5 CES design, whether the eagle classic intends to be different, how it holds together as a design.

MD

[ingeneri]

If he were still around, Jack would probably disagree with me on this but I find the 525 to sound pretty similar to the (admittedly few) 50's ES-175s I've played. Though those older ES-175s were built lighter (like the Heritages) than the later versions.

2B has had L5s, Super 400s, Super Eagles, and Golden Eagles, and, with Patrick gone, is probably best placed to make a comparison. I haven't had the chance to match up my Super Eagle with a Super 400, but can compare it too a friend's non-vintage L5CES. I feel the big carved Heritage definitely nails the CES tone and don't feel any need to "trade up" to a Gibson. The 18" bout on the Heritage did give it a deeper and "bigger" amplified sound than the L5.

Here's some recordings of the 575 with P90s through a Jazzkat Amp:

Here's some tracks of the Super Eagle through a DRRI and the Jazzkat: https://soundcloud.com/ingeneri/sets/guitar-bass-duo

Sorry, i don't have any recordings of the 525.

[2bornot2bop]

Howdy Matt!

Regrettably, 2b hasn't owned an ES175. But I've owned a 575. Great guitars, and a steal on the used market when you can find one priced right.

They're what I'd describe as a players guitar. Very versatile for nearly any type of music. I paid $1200 for mine from feebay, but that was 4 years ago. The best place to find a 575 on the used market is the heritage forum, where most often they're priced right...there or Craigslist.

One could build a case that the 575 is one of the finest all wood guitars available for less than $1500. I'd preferred a deeper body guitar...which is why I no longer own a Sweet 16, which one sold for $1850 just days ago on feebay.

In short, it's hard not to like a 575. And occasionally one can find them on the used market that were ordered with a Spruce top to boot...if Spruce is your thing.

[Gitfiddler]

It seems other H575 owners believe that the H525 is very close to vintage ES175's.

I agree, and view the H525 as an overall improvement in the original ES125 and ES175. This particular Heritage model was conceived by Jay Wolfe.

[Artpulis]

Got this a couple of weeks ago, and recently received the perfect strap to go with her. (Seventh String Guitar Straps.) I want to thank you on this board for putting me on to the idea that I could custom order something that I wanted from a US builder, including a 1 3/4 neck, without breaking the bank. Thanks Jay Wolfe, your advice was perfect, and I love my new toy. I was also surprised at how nice the wood would be when this is not the "top of the line."

[339 in june]

A beauty !
Congrats !
But while you are at it, maybe you can adjust this bridge a little further on the treble side
Enjoy it, happy Heritage player !
(love this Wolfe on the bag !)