Heritage again - but seriously...

[Groyniad]

it is a bit too blingy

take away the abalone truss rod cover

and I would prefer a whole different - aesthetically simpler - thing on the headstock - just an eagle maybe?

I am starting to like those roundy-shaped inlays

[Groyniad]

I think 8-9k to get a new one

[2bornot2bop]

Face it. We never saw the day that a Heritage Golden Eagle would be selling in excess of $5k because the company stopped producing them!

[Gitfiddler]

I think 8-9k to get a new one

2018 Golden Eagle NAMM price was: $8,999

Custom Shop Winter NAMM 2018 Golden Eagle Electric Guitar, Original Su – Heritage Guitars

Prices have likely gone up since then.

[2bornot2bop]

So what the company is truly saying is: We don’t want to make them any more.

[Crm114]

this years NAMM teaser

[Hammertone]

Is that a teaser for the cancelled NAMM'21 show, or the NAMM '22 show (fingers crossed!)? Interesting comparison from the guitar shown at NAMM'19 and the more recent one shown:

[Hammertone]

This is the one for sale at Heritage through their Custom Shop, from NAMM'18. Nicest one of the bunch by a country mile, IMO.

[cmajor9]

So what the company is truly saying is: We don’t want to make them any more.

In that case I doubt they’d be showing them at NAMM every year. IMO what they are saying is “We’d like to pay our (American) workers and earn a profit.”

[Crm114]

Time will tell
if you follow their Facebook page it’s all about H150s and H635s

second year in a row the PSP has been cancelled: reorganizationnof the production floor
construction of the Hard Rock Cafe

given as the reason
UGH

Buy used

[Crm114]

If you are serious about trying to get a Heritage Guitar then the person you might want to talk to his Marty Grads
Marty knows a lot of people and being up in Kalamazoo he sees a lot of Heritage Guitars pass through his hands
Some of the best deals I ever got were things I bought from Marty

He recently bought three ghost Built Heritage Gretsch Guitars via a Julien’s auction I told him about
18 inch Eldorados

Yeah, it is a nice guitar. I had a H535 with the fat neck option a couple of years ago (that was the guitar that made me realize that I REALLY prefer singlecuts to doublecuts, despite it being a killer guitar), and if it had the fat neck option, and cost a bit less, I could see owning it. Oh well, I'll just have to wait and see how the Eastman AR403CED I have on order turns out.

[Hammertone]

what the company is truly saying is: We don’t want to make them any more.

In that case I doubt they’d be showing them at NAMM every year. IMO what they are saying is “We’d like to pay our (American) workers and earn a profit.”

Time will tell
if you follow their Facebook page it’s all about H150s and H635s ... Buy used

I think they are simply following a smart marketing strategy that is similar to what Gibson has done. The market for Les Pauls and ES-xx5 guitars is much larger than the market for carved archtop guitars. Gibson sorted this out in the 1960s. Les Pauls and ES-xx5 guitars are much simpler and easier to make than carved archtop guitars. Baker, Benedetto, Collings, Comins, Eastman, Trenier and others have essentially followed variations of the same strategy - develop the brand halo with labour-intensive, complex, carved archtop guitars, and cash in with solid-body and/or laminate instruments, which are dead-easy to build by comparison. They may have gotten there in different ways, but it's still a very smart strategy.

As far as carved archtop guitars go, they remain available to those who are willing to pay the price. Heritage pricing strategy is entirely in line with the industry from what I can see - they make a small quantity of lovely but stripped out 17" carved archtops for somewhere around $4,500-5,000 new, and highly decorated custom versions of the same thing for somewhere around $8,000-9,000.

For those with the interest who are interested but unwilling to pay the price, there's the used market, enthusiastically embraced by some of the folks here, myself included. One of the nice things about this particular used market is that (I suspect) most owners tend to baby these instruments, so condition is usually not an issue.

[2bornot2bop]

I think they are simply following a smart marketing strategy that is similar to what Gibson has done. The market for Les Pauls and ES-xx5 guitars is much larger than the market for carved archtop guitars. Gibson sorted this out in the 1960s. Les Pauls and ES-xx5 guitars are much simpler and easier to make than carved archtop guitars. Baker, Benedetto, Collings, Comins, Eastman, Trenier and others have essentially followed variations of the same strategy - develop the brand halo with labour-intensive, complex carved archtop guitars, and cash in with solid-body and/or laminate instruments, which are dead-easy to build by comparison. They may have gotten there in different ways, but it's still a very smart strategy.

As far as carved archtop guitars go, they remain available to those who are willing to pay the price. Heritage pricing strategy is entirely in line with the industry from what I can see - they make a small quantity of lovely but stripped out 17" carved archtops for somewhere around $4,500-5,000 new, and highly decorated custom versions of the same thing for somewhere around $8,000-9,000.

For those with the interest who are interested but unwilling to pay the price, there's the used market, enthusiastically embraced by some of the folks here, myself included. One of the nice things about this particular used market is that (I suspect) most owners tend to baby these instruments, so condition is usually not an issue.

Let me see...I can have a used late model L5CES for about $7500, or I can buy a new Heritage Golden Eagle for $8500....Hmmmm

[Crm114]

Yes what Hammer said
most people really baby there arch top and when you buy used you got a damn good chance of getting an almost new instrument at a really drastically reduced price especially compared to what these guys are wanting for them now


imagine trying to buy a new L5 right now - what would that be costing

[Hammertone]

Let me see...I can have a used late model L5CES for about $7500, or I can buy a new Heritage Golden Eagle for $8500....Hmmmm

I think it's more useful to compare apples to apples:
-new Gibson L-5CES @$10,000-11,000, new custom-built Heritage Golden Eagle for @$8,500
-used L5CES for @$7,500, used Heritage Golden Eagle for @$4,500.
-new custom-built Heritage Golden Eagle for @$8,500, new Heritage Eagle Classic for @$4,500.
-new Gibson L-5CES for @$10,000-11,000, used L5CES for @$7,500.
and so forth.

[jads57]

Gibson will always hold a greater value over Heritage. The name brand carries the cache as well as much greater amount of instruments to choose from.

While there have been some beautiful looking Heritage Archtops in this thread. That is not the norm most people will encounter.
Most are fairly stripped down of aesthetic as well as built to quite thinner plate carves, at least for Golden Eagles.

I do think Pete Farmer seems to be an excellent luthier. And I hope he's allowed to make more Archtops for the brand. They definitely look better than the earlier period Heritages!

[Crm114]

No disrespect to Ali diehard “only a Gibsons is good enough” cadre here but frankly those days are over
Your best bet financially and for a high-quality instrument is to order from Mark Campellone

[2bornot2bop]

I think it's more useful to compare apples to apples:
-new Gibson L-5CES @$10,000-11,000, new custom-built Heritage Golden Eagle for @$8,500
-used L5CES for @$7,500, used Heritage Golden Eagle for @$4,500.
-new custom-built Heritage Golden Eagle for @$8,500, new Heritage Eagle Classic for @$4,500.
-new Gibson L-5CES for @$10,000-11,000, used L5CES for @$7,500.
and so forth.

But unless you buy from a personal seller you can’t even find GE’s for $4500 today. The guitar I recently sold was the last one!

[Gitfiddler]

Heritage's Custom Shop "Bespoke" program will build a new Golden Eagle for a quoted $8,999. That was the last quote dated 2018.

Custom Shop Winter NAMM 2018 Golden Eagle Electric Guitar, Original Su – Heritage Guitars

Gibson L5 will set you back $10,599 and up depending on options, Wes Mo, etc.

Gibson Custom L-5 CES Hollowbody Electric Guitar - Vintage Sunburst | Sweetwater

At least there are two relatively large U.S. guitar makers still making upscale archtops. Smaller builders like Campellone are a great alternative.

Buying used is another option. For many folks (like me) used is the best option.

[Marty Grass]

Gibson will always hold a greater value over Heritage. The name brand carries the cache as well as much greater amount of instruments to choose from.

While there have been some beautiful looking Heritage Archtops in this thread. That is not the norm most people will encounter.
Most are fairly stripped down of aesthetic as well as built to quite thinner plate carves, at least for Golden Eagles.

I do think Pete Farmer seems to be an excellent luthier. And I hope he's allowed to make more Archtops for the brand. They definitely look better than the earlier period Heritages!

My experience differs with Golden Eagles. The woods and appointments tend to be quite good. The plates often are thinner, which is more work than less. Commonly they are x-braced. They are designed for a fuller acoustic spectrum.

Heritage has made many parallel braced, thick plated Golden Eagles, too. Back a few years ago you could specify the bracing and the top thickness.

I agree that the Gibson name adds to the market price. I'm certainly not a Gibson basher.

[Hammertone]

My experience differs with Golden Eagles. The woods and appointments tend to be quite good. The plates often are thinner, which is more work than less. Commonly they are x-braced. They are designed for a fuller acoustic spectrum.
Heritage has made many parallel braced, thick plated Golden Eagles, too. Back a few years ago you could specify the bracing and the top thickness.
I agree that the Gibson name adds to the market price. I'm certainly not a Gibson basher.

A reminder here as well:
-the Golden Eagle is not based on the L-5.
-it is based on the Kalamazoo Award / Johnny Smith / Legrand.

[Marty Grass]

A reminder here as well:
-the Golden Eagle is not based on the L-5.
-it is based on the Kalamazoo Award / Johnny Smith / Legrand.

That is true.

[2bornot2bop]

A reminder here as well:
-the Golden Eagle is not based on the L-5.
-it is based on the Kalamazoo Award / Johnny Smith / Legrand.

So the going price of a used GE should at least be worth a third the price of a used Kalamazoo Award, which would be $5k.

[Hammertone]

I'm under the impression that used Heritage GE archtops currently sell somewhere in the $3,500 - $4,500 range, depending on how special/custom they are, with a few outliers one way or the other. There isn't a large data set from which to work, but I'm under the impression that prices have been trending upward for awhile.

[2bornot2bop]

I'm under the impression that used Heritage GE archtops currently sell somewhere in the $3,500 - $4,500 range, depending on how special/custom they are, with a few outliers one way or the other.

did you catch the non cutaway Jay Wolfe SE for $8.5k! Nice piece!

2003 Heritage - Super Eagle Non-Cutaway Custom - Old Style | Reverb