-
1987 Heritage Golden Eagle. These are analogous to a Gibson L5 in construction and craftsmanship, handcrafted in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Single hand-wound Kent Armstrong PAF, custom bound tortoise pickguard with tone and volume controls, professionally installed.
17" wide body
2-7/8" body depth
3-piece maple neck with cloud inlays
Spruce top
Flame maple back and sides
I purchased this guitar from Elderly Instruments, who had professionally repaired/cleated two cracks in the lower bout, one on the bass side (visible in pics below), and another on the treble side (difficult to see). As far as I can tell, these don't affect the guitar tone in any way. It's full and rich as a Golden Eagle should be. The person I worked with at Elderly made the following comment: "I don't think the top cracks affect the tone at all. We've seen so many guitars in here that have had major cracks repaired, and the sound doesn't suffer at all."
In some of the pictures, it may look like there's some relief on the bass-side crack. There is not. You can see the crack, and feel it under your finger, but the top is flat. I'll post another picture showing that as best I can.
Prior to the guitar being listed for sale, and in addition to the crack-repair, Elderly Instruments had also modified the guitar to fit a built-in pickup, and they stand behind their work. The guitar originally had a floating pickup.
Includes non-original case with burgundy interior in good shape. This is a great jazzbox all around, and also for situations where you might not want to take a pristine Golden Eagle or vintage Gibson.
I'm new to this forum but have perfect feedback on Reverb and would be happy to sell through that channel if preferred (with price adjusted to compensate for fees).
$SOLD shipped CONUS using a fee-free form of payment.
_front.jpg)
Last edited by NervousNrG; 12-26-2023 at 05:50 PM.
-
12-21-2023 10:04 PM
-
Here's another photo of the bass-side crack, you can see the top is flat.
Last edited by NervousNrG; 12-22-2023 at 01:41 PM.
-
Wow that's gorgeous! I especially like the Epiphone-style cloud inlays. I've seen a few Eagles with them and always dug 'em. That's a heck of a lot of guitar for the money.
FYI, a "D" prefix in the serial number indicates a 1987 build.
Date Your Heritage | Heritage Guitars
-
Thanks, @andrew. You've seen a Golden Eagle without cloud inlays? All those that I've seen (very few) have had the clouds.
Originally Posted by andrew
That was a brain-fart on the date, not sure what was rattling around in my head at the time.
Its been corrected in the OP. It is indeed a 1987 -- 36 years of ageing in that wood!
-
I had a question about the built-in pickup, an important detail that I'd forgotten about. Prior to listing the guitar for sale, Elderly Instruments had modified it and installed a (different) built-in pickup. At a later date I had the Kent Armstrong PAF installed that is seen in the photos.
-
Originally Posted by NervousNrG
Yes, there are some with block inlays, like the example linked below:
1996 Heritage Golden Eagle
There's also other variations of the Eagle like the Eagle Classic with no inlays and the Super Eagle with Super 400 inlays. Heritage seemed to mix it up on occasion (or perhaps to cater to custom orders). There are the "slash" (as in the symbol "") inlays and I recently saw a 575 with the split parallelogram inlays (common for Gibson, first time I'd ever seen one on a Heritage)
-
Wow- that's a sweet guitar. Do you know if the braces were cut/ modified in order to accommodate the pickup?
-
Lordy, that's one beauty of a guitar. Too bad 17" guitars are a bit big for me. Good luck with the sale.
Doug
-
@andrew thanks for the link and info.
Interesting about the 575 with the split inlays. I just went and checked my 575 just to be sure, and it does not have the split inlays.
-
@JazzDaddyD -- I don't know the answer to that question and lack the equipment to find out. I might be able to take it to local shop to find out, and will post the answer if I'm able to do that. Originally Posted by JazzDaddyD
-
I ordered a Golden Eagle with split block inlays (like the Super Eagle) in 1993. Heritage was quite open to making changes like that. I eventually sold that guitar. Originally Posted by andrew
Keith
-
Heritage was happy to do custom work like this right up to the sale of the company. It added cost to the guitar. One can still do it through their custom shop, at an added cost.
-
Here's the 575 I was referring to with the split parallelogram inlays (like an ES-175 or an L-7)
And here are what I called the slash inlays
-
is that a crack next to the tailpiece on the treble side?
-
Yes, that's the treble-side crack mentioned in the OP. It can be hard to see. It was also repaired/cleated by Elderly. Originally Posted by jzucker
-
Thanks @andrew and @floatingpickup for sharing the pics of the custom fretboards on those Heritage's!
-
I see, i thought you meant the upper bout. thanks for the info. Originally Posted by NervousNrG
-
These are three Heritage Golden Eagles once belonging to are beloved brother who passed away. The one the left he custom ordered with split blocks.
-
Most everyone here knows me and my reputation as a seller.
I’ve never vouched for anyone in my 14 year membership here. But let me tell you, Rick is not only a great dude, he’s a straight shooter, and he’s from my hometown in the great NW.
This is a no lose proposition, and frankly a steal. Have you priced a Golden Eagle lately?
-
Ditto! Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
most everyone here knows me and my reputation as a seller.
I’ve never vouched for anyone in my 14 year membership here. But let me tell you, rick is not only a great dude, he’s a straight shooter, and he’s from my hometown in the great nw.
This is a no lose proposition, and frankly a steal. Have you priced a golden eagle lately?
If I didn't already have a GE I'd be all over this beauty.
GLWYS.
-
Thanks for posting. That's a beautiful and impressive trio! Originally Posted by Marty Grass
-
Thanks, Greg, that is very much appreciated! Still hard to believe we're practically neighbors! Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
Most everyone here knows me and my reputation as a seller.
I’ve never vouched for anyone in my 14 year membership here. But let me tell you, Rick is not only a great dude, he’s a straight shooter, and he’s from my hometown in the great NW.
This is a no lose proposition, and frankly a steal. Have you priced a Golden Eagle lately?
-
Firstly, incredible early GE, really beautiful. I have a '97 with floater and just looked inside with a lighted mirror. I dont think you could fit a full size humbucker without effecting the braces from what I could see. Knowing Elederly has a good reputation I would be curious to know how that was handled. That price is a smokin deal and Im close to convincing myself I should have it. I have a SW16 that was acoustic then modified to mounted HBucker. Braces were cut and sound posts added. Its acoustic volume was reduced (but still nice tone) plugged in...well superlatives would not suffice. Looking forward to seeing if you could shed some light on the modification. Anyone's that on the fence better pounce soon, this wont last Originally Posted by NervousNrG
-
I saw Pete Moreno, a master luthier, put in a humbucker in a cross braced Heritage Golden Eagle. He had to trim the braces slightly to make it fit. It worked just fine. The braces lost no stability. Your guitar could be parallel braced, which should be much easier for a mounted pickup if someone wanted it.
-
Thanks for the comments, and hope everyone is having a great holiday. What are the "sound posts" that you mention? Originally Posted by Rickco
With the festivities of the last couple of days past, I should be able to dig into this a bit more and get a few answers. And I do agree the price is attractive, even after adjusting for the repairs and modification. It's been a great, issue-free, guitar for me for several years.
Reply With Quote
Melody between melody
Today, 03:25 AM in Chord-Melody