The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Super Kenny Burrell-100_0352-jpgI posted the "incoming" post already. There were a few hiccups, therefore a small story, plus more pics.

    I bought the guitar for the Guitar Center between Ann Arbor and Detroit. Although my credit card cleared while I was on the phone buying it, Guitar Center does it's own verification of the credit card later to prevent fraud. Two days later they had not completed that. They have a small national staff to do that, and there were 600 purchases just on the day I bought this. I thought it would be in my hands by yesterday morning. But the new expected date was four days later. So what the heck, I drove there.

    The good news is that Michigan is repairing its roads, which is also the bad news. It took more than five hours on the road instead of the three I expected. But windshield time can be quality time going through rural Michigan.

    The guitar is mint. The frets look unplayed. GC put 10 rounds on it. It has the original case, which is in very good condition. I confirmed it was built in 2006. It is the 11th SKB made.

    The label says it's antique sunburst. That seems right. Sometimes customers would say to mix a red or darker brown or whatever to change the shade. I don't think that happened here.

    The top has interesting figuring. I don't think that matters with tone or durability in this type of guitar, but it has a lot going on visually.

    The top is parallel braced and is about as heavy as the Super 400s I've played. Mirror exam is passed! The pickups are HRWs. They sound very, very good. There is the magic sauce of the four way mounts under the pickup rings. You can see the "special" washers under the rings in one of the pics. That is somehow supposed to affect tone in a good way. Call me skeptical, but they can't hurt IMO.

    There are plastic bushings between the bridge and saddle. It's better to have them than not because they're easy to remove but harder to find in the store if you feel they help. I'll probably ditch them. I dunno.

    The neck is a medium with soft shoulders, a little more than usual on the shoulders.

    It plays well. It's about as heavy as a L-5CES.

    I'm putting Chromes 12s on it today.

    This is my fourth SKB. The build consistency is strong. This is not true with Super and Golden Eagles. But don't blame Heritage for that variance. Dealers and customers used to specify the bracing and top thickness as well as neck carve frequently, and they were responding to their demands.

    Here are the pics.

    Super Kenny Burrell-100_0362-jpgSuper Kenny Burrell-100_0360-jpgSuper Kenny Burrell-100_0371-jpg

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    Super Kenny Burrell-100_0367-jpgSuper Kenny Burrell-100_0368-jpgSuper Kenny Burrell-100_0378-jpgSuper Kenny Burrell-100_0379-jpgSuper Kenny Burrell-100_0381-jpgSuper Kenny Burrell-100_0384-jpg

  4. #3

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    You can see the washers under the pickup rings and the bushings under the saddle.



    Super Kenny Burrell-100_0345-jpgSuper Kenny Burrell-100_0347-jpgSuper Kenny Burrell-100_0393-jpg

  5. #4

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    Killer SKB Mark! I love the Antique SB finish! I'm happy you nabbed that guitar! Patrick would approve of that top! Congratulations!

  6. #5

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    Oh happy (new guitar) day!
    What a beauty.

    If I recall correctly, didn't Heritage make claims about, and have a special name for their special mounting rings? What did they call it?




    Anyway, play that big girl in good health, MG.

  7. #6

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    Wow your 4th Heritage Kenny Burrell? Just curious why the other 3 didn't work for you? Or maybe you are a collector of these particular guitars?

  8. #7

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    Four point mount.

    Ren Wall has been a guitar innovator for Gibson, guitar strings in general, and Heritage. I asked him about this idea of a four point mount, which keeps the pickup ring off of the top in an effort to reduce the dampening effect of the pickup ring. I wanted to know if that actually makes any difference considering the weight of the pickup is still on the top. He smiled at me and said people tell me they hear a difference.

    Hmm.

    BTW, I want to thank RhoadsScholar for helping me scope out the Super Kenny Burrell.

  9. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by jads57
    Wow your 4th Heritage Kenny Burrell? Just curious why the other 3 didn't work for you? Or maybe you are a collector of these particular guitars?
    Two I passed on to friends. One I foolishly sold in pursuit of who knows what.

    There aren't many of these around. The reason is there is not a big market for them and they cost a fair amount to build. They are louder acoustically and don't feel big to me. To each his own.

    Below gives you a size sense of the SKB, the Super 400, and the Golden Eagle. The SKB (same size as the Super Eagle) has a longer and wider sound box than the Golden Eagle but is smaller, and arguably more comfortable, than the Super 400.



    Super Kenny Burrell-100_0402-jpgSuper Kenny Burrell-100_0401-jpg
    Last edited by Marty Grass; 08-18-2019 at 12:48 PM.

  10. #9

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    Dang! A Super Switch Master With 6 knobs! Okay now you're going to make Danny W jealous,LOL,

  11. #10

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    A beauty

  12. #11

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    A little bit of his signature and some inside pics.

    Super Kenny Burrell-100_0404-jpgSuper Kenny Burrell-100_0405-jpgSuper Kenny Burrell-100_0406-jpgSuper Kenny Burrell-100_0407-jpgSuper Kenny Burrell-100_0412-jpgSuper Kenny Burrell-100_0415-jpg

  13. #12

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    She looks barely played! You really scored Mark!

  14. #13
    Glad you were able to snag that one Mark. She’s a beauty

  15. #14

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    Wow, that is a stunningly beautiful guitar! Hope you're still loving it

  16. #15

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    really nice looking axe w/nice color, as mentioned before Heritage can spray a beautiful burst when they want to.
    can't say I'm a fan of those flame maple guards though, they look out of place against the spruce top to me, but maybe I'm so used to seeing celluloid.

  17. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by jads57
    Dang! A Super Switch Master With 6 knobs! Okay now you're going to make Danny W jealous,LOL,

    Heritage should have called that one the Super T-Bone Walker!

    https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qlASCHSqV9s/hqdefault.jpg

  18. #17
    Hello Marty,

    its really nice to see that there are still people around who invest in a quality guitar, with a history behind it, instead of going the mainstream way with a asian build one. We should always cherish the made in USA guitars, because they are the best of all times. I respect you for that! Your Heritage looks like the real deal my friend, congratulations. The thing with the washers is something that i first saw from Rich Severson, who would always say how it made his guitars open up a lot more. I shared that idea here on the forum a long time ago, but the people weren’t paying attention and said its good for nothing. Well, let me tell you one thing, if the guys at heritage did it, then it makes a difference. Personally i never dared to do it to my 76 Guild, because i dont want to unscrew the old screws anymore. But im sure it makes your guitar a little bit more special! Anyway, keep the guitar, it will serve you well for many years to come. You did the right thing with the chromes 12 on that guitar too. To me they sound more like what the legends were using (Burrell, Montgomery, Smith) then anything else these days. Again i tried to tell people about that, but to each his own. Seems like you got it all right my friend! Take care and farewell.