-
I like the comment about no architect in charge when describing Heritage.
The older guys while competent guitar builders really had funny ideas about aesthetic and what constituted a great archtop imo.
Like I've said before I played one excellent sounding Sweet 16 archtop with a pencil thin neck , out of the many Golden Eagles,Super Eagles,Johnny Smith Rose, etc along with their other thinlines,etc.
Hard to believe I'm the only one here of this opinion. But as archtop boutique builds go, Heritage is lowest on my list.
Maybe since Pete Farmer is now in charge of building it's changed, and I for one certainly hope so.
But to even compare any older Heritage to a Mark Campellone build or one of Gibsons Crimson Archtops is reaching. Sorry fellas but no contest.
And again it's only my opinion, you all allowed to believe what makes you happy.
-
06-19-2021 11:29 PM
-
Originally Posted by jads57
-
Originally Posted by jads57
Life is hard and the hours are a bitch. We all do what we can.
-
Originally Posted by jads57
Last edited by rrbasic; 06-20-2021 at 11:30 AM.
-
I offered my opinion and findings because from the pics shown in this thread, I would believe Heritage Archtops are superior as well.
Some of you have been very fortunate, and I'm really glad for you. But that has not been the norm on my 30 years of playing many of their offerings.
And as I've also stated Pete Farmer seems to understand these downfalls and is now correcting these things. So onward and upwards.
Let's all find the best instruments to play out there!
-
Hey Jads57
-
Originally Posted by rrbasic
To those of you who have not found a Heritage archtop you liked, I understand. To those of you who love your Heritage guitars, Congrats! Guitars are like women. One man's queen is another man's sweat hog.
-
What I don’t care for is an entire thread bashing Heritage. I’ve spent ten years getting to know and own some 25 of their guitars. Each was unique. Heritage wasn’t attempting to replicate the thick topped Gibson sound, which as far as anyone knows they came to quite by accident trying to cut down on warranty repairs. Find me a thread where you find Heritage owners who constantly bash Gibson. I don’t think you’ll find even one. Does that mean Heritage owners have more class?
-
I've never had the fortune to play a Heritage archtop but had a 150 for many years. I was looking for a nice Les Paul Standard back in the day and someone suggested I try a "Heritage" - a what?, I said. I compared 2 different LP Standards with the 150 and it just felt and sounded better. Superb neck, not too thin, obviously shaped by a real human and the Schaller pickups were great traditional PAF-sounding units. The only thing I didn't like were the roller bridge saddles. Anyway, I took it home.
That isn't "Gibson bashing", just fact, in that particular case.
Beautiful guitar in the OP, by the way
-
The roller bridges work nicely for those with Bigsbys. The bridges are marvelously engineered but don't seem optimal in many guitars. The Schaller tailpiece also is brilliantly engineered but heavy. String changes are a breeze with them. I swapped them out though for a more standard type.
Schaller Golden 50s are good PAF type pickups.
-
Setiously
Golden Eagle
-
Originally Posted by Crm114
-
Dude
sadly I remember all too well your comments. When I was married my wife acquired more animals and yet was so bad with “her money” I was always selling something to pay vet bills. I bought this from Lanning, great guy
all the best
BigMike
Originally Posted by lawson-stone
-
Why can't guitars just get along? Sometimes they do and the audience has a great time.
Look at the wear on these instruments. That's a sign of love, surely.
-
In Gibson threads, Gibsons get bashed. In Heritage threads, Heritage gets bashed.
The Internet brings out the worst in people it seems....
-
Ghost built Eldorado sighting light as a feather, loud snd sweet, 1992 build with all the founders signing the label
-
Yeah baby
-
Originally Posted by Crm114
-
Originally Posted by Crm114
-
Well it certainly brought out the worst in me. My apologies offending Heritage owners. I still stand by what I said, but I'm sorry by offending Heritage owners in this thread.
-
Only two kinds of guitars Good and Bad one mans junk is another mans jewelry.
-
We're all friends here. The way I see it, if too many people liked Heritage, they'd raise the prices even further.
To be fair and balanced, I'd have to say that one of my all time favorite guitars is a Nashville built Gibson. Not everyone likes this overstated design, but I see it as the builders held nothing back on this one. It balances, plays and sounds perfect (whatever perfect is). The wood is incredibly well figured. I would love to see Hank Garland play the hell out of this.
I also got a batch of Memphis Gibsons that are very fine semi-hollows, the Lucilles and a 345 even better than the mid 1960s Kalamazoo was making because they are lighter.
-
Gibson or Heritage? Gibson or Heritage? Gibson or Heritage? ...
Of course, I love them both. When I discovered Heritage archtops about 20 or so years ago, I quickly realized that it was kind of pointless to compare, say, a Golden Eagle with a Gibson L-5 CES. Having played Gibson Citations and Kalamazoo Award guitars, it seemed to me that the apt comparison was how does the GE compare with, say, a Kalamazoo Award? As it happens, the two instruments are built along very similar lines and they sound and play much the same. The same is true of the Johnny Smith Rose and the Gibson Johnny Smith. I don't think Heritage made a guitar that is as heavily constructed as the L-5CES. Jim Duerloo, et al., _could_ have made a guitar to that specification, but that was not what they were after, apparently. They were chasing after the Citation/KA sound and look that these guys built when they were at Gibson.
I think they succeeded. Check out the Kalamazoo Award sometime, if you get the chance. Norlin or not, it's an exceptional instrument--acoustically and as an acoustic-electric guitar. It really is an acoustic guitar, however. With this comparison in mind, play a Golden Eagle. I don't think there is a clear winner. They are both superb guitars.
I'm not sure it's useful to compare the Super 400 and the Super Eagle, either. They are both very viable instruments. However, they are built to different objectives--the 400 is an electric guitar, while the SE is an acoustic-electric guitar. I love them both.
-
Originally Posted by Marty Grass
And could forget the Lucilles? I owned both a red and a black one. The Red was absolutely stunning. What great playing guitars too. Heavy, but a player!
-
Msrty that Super 400 it’s like a great big old Buick Roadmaster convertible from the 50s it is what it is and you want to ride down the road with that thing smiling
Grant Green, What is This Thing
Yesterday, 01:59 PM in Ear Training, Transcribing & Reading