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I was staring at this this past weekend!
Originally Posted by Gitfiddler
Oh my, do all blue archtops eventually turn green?! Is there a way to prevent that from occurring?
I love my blue-burst 2007 H-575 Custom and do not want this prince to turn into a frog!
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01-25-2021 02:39 PM
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I love the green!
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Andy Summers played a green Benedetto for a while
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It arrived safely and was well packed. It had to warm up a while before i could get to it.
The case is in good shape for being 25 years old.
The guitar needs some hand buffing but is structurally sound. It's quite light, like Heritage Johnny Smiths tend to be. The neck is on the thin side, again in accordance with Johnny's specs.
The color is pretty well captured in the pics below. The exception is the neck, which the flash made too light. The wood figuring is good.
There are a few dings on the top.
It plays wonderfully.
I showed my wife, who is an artist. She was surprised it was green. After staring briefly she said she doesn't not like the color. It did catch her attention, which guitars usually don't. She looked it over then said she likes it and that everyone should have at least one green guitar like this. My 19 year old son loved the color immediately.
The next thing is I'll set it up. But so far, so good.
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Congrats Mark - it’s a beauty , and I’m glad it arrived without incident. The green is quite striking ...and perhaps it’s best keeping that color.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Nothing wrong with green. As an inveterate backpacker/outdoorsman, I assure all reading this that green is the predominate color of life. Where there is much green (the forest), there is much life. Where there is little green (the desert), life is sparse.
This is a rare guitar in a rare color. A worthy addition to a fine collection. The dings are evidence that it has been used for it's intended purpose, to wit, to make music. IMO, all that guitar needs is to be cleaned up, set up and enjoyed.
Congrats Mark on a fine score!
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Looks great and nothing wrong with the guitar. I bet is has good sound too.
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I love the color. I had a PRS CU24 that I ordered in Emerald Green. It was gorgeous. I gave it to my best friend, who already had a green ovation. As Stringswinger points out, green is the color of Life, as yellow is the color of energy (IMHO).
Cadillac Green is one of my faves. Alas, none to be had!
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It helps bring out the green in the ah-balony inlays!
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"Where there is little green (the desert), life is sparse."
you mean like this?
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I took the guitar to Pete Moreno for ideas.
The guitar he felt was in very good condition for being 25+ years old. The top was the exception in that it had quite a few minor dings and scratches but not bad.
He doesn't think the rims, back or neck need any attention. From a cosmetic standpoint he'd like to address the top. The first step would be to find out if the green finish was rubbed on the wood first followed by lacquer vs. only green lacquer. The latter makes it easier to consider more options since it would be easy to denude the top.
If the green is into the wood, he'd suggest reapplying green. He would try to better match the result on the pickguard. An option also would be to shade the edges of the top with black as a burst.
If the top finish comes off fairly easily, he would want to look at the figuring of the top. If it is highly appealing he'd suggest considering an amber or antique natural top or less heavy green. Alternatively, black with gold hardware may work.
As he was examining the guitar, it's the only time I've ever heard him say that this will be a fun project for him.
I'll keep you up to date on this project.
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I don't what Heritage did but Hollenbeck always sprayed clear coats to start a guitar then went to the shading. Sometimes it can bleed into the top but if you seal the wood good and finish is over the wood the color should all come out. That said sometimes there still seems to be a faint glow of the old color. Frankly just to refinish the whole guitar is about as easy really no masking the old easier to handle.
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I recognize those Super Eagle shots! Congratulations on the HJS! Quite a steal considering the prices for current day Heritage guitars don’t you think? Originally Posted by Marty Grass
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I'm surprised you want to refinish it. It looks nice, and is especially unique. Originally Posted by Marty Grass
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I agree. It’s likely it’s the only green HJS ever created. So there’s that.
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MG, I’m sorry I poked fun at the color early on.
It’s a Johnny Smith, so that should have shut me up right from the start.
Pete will take great care of this guitar. Another beautiful Johnny Smith comes to mind that he made into a masterpiece.
Of all people, I’m glad this guitar went to you. You have a great appreciation for the brand. And reverence to the man the guitar was named after.
Enjoy the guitar.
By the way that shot of the barber pole neck is special.
JD
Originally Posted by Marty Grass
I took the guitar to Pete Moreno for ideas.
The guitar he felt was in very good condition for being 25+ years old. The top was the exception in that it had quite a few minor dings and scratches but not bad.
He doesn't think the rims, back or neck need any attention. From a cosmetic standpoint he'd like to address the top. The first step would be to find out if the green finish was rubbed on the wood first followed by lacquer vs. only green lacquer. The latter makes it easier to consider more options since it would be easy to denude the top.
If the green is into the wood, he'd suggest reapplying green. He would try to better match the result on the pickguard. An option also would be to shade the edges of the top with black as a burst.
If the top finish comes off fairly easily, he would want to look at the figuring of the top. If it is highly appealing he'd suggest considering an amber or antique natural top or less heavy green. Alternatively, black with gold hardware may work.
As he was examining the guitar, it's the only time I've ever heard him say that this will be a fun project for him.
I'll keep you up to date on this project.
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My band opened for Andy at the Cannery in Nashville and we hung out a little while and he was really down to earth . and nice. He had Chad Wackerman on drums. They told us to hang in there with playing Fusion. His group sounded kind of like Holdsworth WO the same solo skill. I really enjoyed that night!!! Originally Posted by Lobomov
Andy Summers played a green Benedetto for a while
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No problem! Originally Posted by Max405
When I first saw a picture of this guitar I didn't care for it, mostly the top. I looked at red, blue and black archtops and wondered what the deal was these seemed okay but not green. Then I looked into the world of Gretsch. Green is fairly normal there. How about Benedettos? Same. How about Guild? I didn't see a X-700 or AA but there were plenty of others.
I learned more about this individual HJS from the seller, who plays both guitar and sax in jazz bands. I was convinced the build was good and the instrument was solid. But the green?
He showed me what it looked like when jamming, and it looks fine. He also told me that no one seemed to have an issue with it for the 15 or so years he had it, and it got a lot of play time. The previous owner had it for about a decade and was okay with it.
I saw it and thought this looks pretty okay. The top is a little dull but the rest looks good.
I believe that with "electric" guitars, almost anything goes in terms of finish. Very traditional high end guitars many are conservative in their choices. Jazz guitarists as a group tend to be very traditional if their music choice is old school jazz. Making the leap to thin hollowbody, semi-hollow and solid body opens the gates to lots of acceptable choices.
To underline my point I thought I'd not see a Martin flattop in green. I was wrong.
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Update:
I visited Pete Moreno's shop yesterday and brought a pic of a green finished guitar with black edging (see above examples). The green Heritage Johnny Smith is on the rack of guitars he's working on toward the front of his shop. All of the hardware is off of it.
There are enough dings on the top and some wear through the finish under the tone pot to warrant some cosmetic assist. The soldering under the tone pot is thick with no padding below it. He'll sand the soldering down and put a felt dot on it to protect the renovated finish. The rest of the guitar is in great shape.
He plans on stripping the top now. He has this idea that if the top is highly figured that it may be a good idea to finish it as a natural or antique natural. However, over the last week the guitar got universal positive comments from visitors to his shop on how good the green looks. It stood out among the other 9 guitars on the rack, although one was a purple Les Paul.
This is turning out to be a fun project.
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Im Green with envy, LOL !
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MG,
Pete will do a great job.
If it was me and it’s not but I hope you don’t take offense, Blond, The color of the models booty and that brown burst are the only 3 colors this world class guitar should be.
No matter what, it’s always going to be a Johnny Smith.
Thanks for saving it.
Joe D
Originally Posted by Marty Grass
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Green with black edges? Not sure...
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That green strap takes the whole theme too far! Originally Posted by Hammertone
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The more I see the guitar, the better the green looks.
There was a time when sunbursts were edgy I'm sure. Black, red and blue seem okay but certainly had to be very odd when introduced.
Here's some ladies who are able to do well with different colors.
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MG, if you were any of those ladies, you could get away with a dark brown guitar with little pieces of corn sticking out of it.
I am just trying help you avoid having a terrible dream one night.
You hear a gentle knocking on your front door, you open the door and Johnny Smith is standing there all slumped over, looking sad, with glass of Gin in his hand. He says, “Hi Marty. My name is Johnny Smith. Years ago, the greatest guitar makers in this great country use to build a guitar, with my name awn it. I was very, very famous once. I heard you have one of those guitars. I hope you are enjoying very, very much”. And then he turns around and starts slowly walking away. He stops, turns around and waves goodbye to you.
You close door behind him gently.
A few minutes later you hear an even gentler knocking on the door. You open the door. You see no one. Except, off in a distance, Kermit the frog is filling up bushels and shopping carriages on your front lawn, with heads of lettuce, cucumbers, stalks of Basel, Christmas trees and Rita Hayworth getting undressed (oops Rita was in MY dream, sorry). You slam the door shut. You sink to the floor. And you look up and Johnny is standing over you with a sad look on his face. He says, “Green Marty? Green? Why green? It’s a guitar Marty. Not some kind of seasoning or half of a Got damn Christmas decoration...”
You wake up in a cold sweat, and scream, “I should have listened to you Joe...”
Just sayin..
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