Heritage Sweet 16 - What a syrupy treat!

[Ric Lee]

So this NGD stems from another duo of NGD's where I purchased two Gibson ES-125T one of which needed an immediate return due to a neck angle from a bad past repair. Although I thought the other 125 had an issue I had several shops including Joe Glaser's shop take a look and there was no play in the neck and just a little bit of lacquer separation at the joint. After thinking on it thought I didn't want to slap 12 flatwounds on it and then see an issue down the line as a neck reset can be an involved process so I thought let someone enjoy it with 9's or 10 roundwounds!


So as you may know prices on used vintage Gibson's right now can be pretty crazy and I was able to get almost double what I paid for it in trade value at a local shop here in Nashville.

I knew I wanted something in the thinner body depth along with a slimmer neck for a sitting with guitar on my leg position. Though I'm very comfortable with the classical position as that was my original entryway into playing guitar. They had two Heritage guitars a Golden Eagle with a lot of lacquer checking but reading the inside label it also indicated it was tap tuned. The Golden Eagle did need a little bit of action work and at Carter they have really small demo rooms and with such an alive instrument I wasn't able to hit 5th or 6th string root guitar chords without getting howling feedback immediately with even a vintage Princeton Reverb in the room on 3.

So with that I didn't really get to see how dynamic or how responsive the GE was but judging by the feedback and the tap tuning it is a very lively guitar and I'd wager that if your room was any larger than 4 x 4 feet you'd be fine with playing it with proper positioning. The lacquer checking in person is much more dramatic than it appears in the photos I'd say for anyone interested. It was definitely a player in all respects but with a refinish I would bet it would really catch the eye. Here's the GE The Heritage Golden Eagle 1993 – Carter Vintage Guitars

As far as Heritage guitars I can't say I regret selling many instruments but I DO regret selling the Heritage H-550 I had. It was super comfortable and played like a dream along with having a lovely warm voice. At the time thought I was less established and chasing guitars when I should have been a bit more exploratory in other aspects like my amps of choice and my playing skills!

The main event now being my new to me 1997 Heritage Sweet 16. Initially I thought I wanted a sharper treblier sound but upon trying out more archtops I really just wanted a more articulate amplified tone with good dynamic response when picked. The Sweet 16 had much more feedback resistance than the GE and while the Benedetto S6 has a bit of a quirk with the B string being lower in output it still sounded very nice plugged in(it seemed somewhat true to the acoustic tone in a way I haven't had with other pickups). The Sweet 16 definitely doesn't have a large acoustic voice but I don't need a ton of that when I want to plug in for a mostly electric tone. The neck is pretty slim like the H550 I had but it also plays really well and overall lovely appointments. Very happy and love how it responds to picking touch and articulation in a very shaded and nuanced way. I recently started taking lessons with a local teacher so very excited to get to woodshedding with this lovely guitar!

One small quibble is that although elegant I don't really love the Benedetto style tailpiece and pickguard on this Heritage guitar so may seek something truer to original spec down the line.

[Max405]

What a nice guitar.
I think the mods are tastefully done. Perhaps a nice, bound pickguard with hidden tone and volume controls would put the guitar over the top!
I love that color. And the wood on the back is very beautiful too.
I love a clean, cared for guitar. After a playing session, All my guitars go back in the wall case after being wiped down with a microfiber and a spritz of spray detailer. That guitar looks like it was treated well. Deservedly so.
Enjoy your new guitar and thank you for sharing.
JD

[Ric Lee]

What a nice guitar.
I think the mods are tastefully done. Perhaps a nice, bound pickguard with hidden tone and volume controls would put the guitar over the top!
I love that color. And the wood on the back is very beautiful too.
I love a clean, cared for guitar. After a playing session, All my guitars go back in the wall case after being wiped down with a microfiber and a spritz of spray detailer. That guitar looks like it was treated well. Deservedly so.
Enjoy your new guitar and thank you for sharing.
JD

Thanks!
They are pretty tastefully done. I know I’ve suffered from trying to turn a guitar into something it isn’t with mods but it sounds and plays great. Still thinking about that Golden Eagle if I had the funds I’d buy it as well to fix up but the 16 was so nice to play and I spent 85% of the AB time just enjoying it.
The Golden Eagle’s finish is very checked like you see with the super relic’d Murphy’s Lab Gibsons and looks like a case of quick temperature change.

[Esport]

Beautiful 16. I’ve covered one for awhile. I suppose you’re in Nashville if you were at Carters? If you don’t mind me asking, who are you taking lessons from? Been on the lookout myself. Congrats on the new acquisition!

[marcwhy]

Congrats on the beautiful guitar! FWIW, I like the tailpiece!

Enjoy!

[Ric Lee]

Beautiful 16. I’ve covered one for awhile. I suppose you’re in Nashville if you were at Carters? If you don’t mind me asking, who are you taking lessons from? Been on the lookout myself. Congrats on the new acquisition!

I'm a little south of Nashville as I was living in East Nashville but needed more space for our first kid! (we are about 30 mins south of Nashville currently but I like visiting).

So don't want to besmirch anyone as the guy I'm taking lessons with IS Berklee trained so he has technical knowledge and has an appreciation of Jazz but is mostly used to teaching and playing popular music and the country/rock that's everywhere here. Not that you can't have both as Robben Ford definitely has knowledge out the wazoo and is local to the area.
My teacher is also very close to my house and I'm using the situation as motivation to keep on practicing. We ARE working on a standard after some poking and prodding by myself. But he's an eager teacher, nice and approachable and he listens so going to use the opportunity to motivate myself to practice and supplement with other materials as needed(mostly on approaches over standards). He's a great player and has great feel so definitely not a bad situation. I do lessons 1 hour every 2 weeks and have only had 3 so far so no long term reviews yet.

[Woody Sound]

Whoa, awesome S16. And I love the look of the ebony tail and guard on that guitar. TEHO.

[Cunamara]

That is downright lovely! Congratulations and enjoy your new inspiration!

[2bornot2bop]

Congratulations on the Sweet 16!!!

Someone swapped out the pickup, tailpiece, and pickup for Benedetto styling. But it’s still a Sweet 16!

I’ve owned several of them but always desired an Autumn Sunburst like yours. I passed on a mint version for $2400 back in 2010, and after that an AS was never meant to be. But my finest was a Chestnut Sunburst with a single humbucker. Enjoy that instrument!

[Gitfiddler]

Congratulations on scoring a beautiful Sweet 16! It reminds me of my former 'sweetie'. Mine was also Almond Sun Burst (ASB), but had a set-in pickup.

Taking lessons with a great archtop will help you keep practicing. Enjoy your new archtop and play it in good health.