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Heritage vs Gibson. How fair a fight?

mojorison_75mojorison_75 Posts: 157
edited December 2004 in Musicians and Gearheads
I'm possibly going to be in the market for a new Gibson soon but have been reading up on Heritage guitars lately. I've never played a heritage, but it sounds as if they have a pretty nice pedigree. Anybody around here know about Heritage guitars or have any first hand experience with one? How do they stack up to Gibson?
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Comments

  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    mojorison_75 wrote:
    I'm possibly going to be in the market for a new Gibson soon but have been reading up on Heritage guitars lately. I've never played a heritage, but it sounds as if they have a pretty nice pedigree. Anybody around here know about Heritage guitars or have any first hand experience with one? How do they stack up to Gibson?

    Considering the people that build Heritage worked for Gibson until Gibson closed the Kalamazoo, MI factory and moved operations to Nashville I'd say they are pretty damn close.

    Many people love the Kalamazoo made Gibsons and the Heritages as well.

    If you don't care what name is on the headstock you're golden. They are well made, nice sounding guitars, it's just up to you to decide since we're all different. I'd play a bunch of guitars, especially some older used Gibsons before you decide.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • mojorison_75mojorison_75 Posts: 157
    Yeah, good advice. Another thing that's impressing me about heritage right now is the reputation they seem to have. Everything I've read on the internet and everyone I've talked to can't say enough good things about the workers, quality and customer service.

    I talked to jay wolfe of wolfe guitars who seems to be pretty knowlegable on heritage and he endorses them pretty strongly. Everything time I said "what if i want to do this" he said "ok". They will pretty much build your guitar the way you want it "custom shop" for the same price you can buy one in the store. You pay for the any extra options of course, but you don't pay a left nut "custom shop" fee. That's pretty freaking awesome. You just pay down 1/3 and wait a couple of months.

    He also said that no part was cnc'd, that's it really is a hand built guitar. He said that in fact they don't run a production line at all really. Nothing is time stamped, it's done when they think it's done. There's no rush to get X part done in Y minutes. Also impressive.

    He had a guitar basically like I wanted in stock and here's how it laid out:

    H157
    ebony fretboard
    pearl square fret markers & pearl enlay on headstock
    pearloid old style tuners(std upgrade for wolfe, so he says)
    upgraded bridge(std for wolfe)
    flame top
    mahogany body & neck w/binding
    pair of seymour duncan pearly gates
    hardshell case
    silver hardware (i don't care for gold too much)

    Price: $1488 !!!!!! That's about a $3500 new Gibson. Oh, except that with gibson I don't have pickup choice,hardware choice, and am limited to a few colors. I think you can pretty much choose any available color heritage has on any guitar.

    I would like to add coil taps. Don't know the price for that, but that's it.

    I'm going by your advice pac, but I have to admit that all that sounds really tempting. Hertiage will definately be a serious consideration when I get ready to buy. I would also like to add that jay wolfe at wolfe guitars may be the most friendly and accomodation guitar dealer I've spoken to.

    After typing all this it kinda comes out like a heritage commercial. Didn't mean that, but I'm really impressed with what I've found out about this company so far. I'm setting myself up for a month of crying in the corner of a dark room if I'm dissapointed.
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    mojorison_75 wrote:
    Yeah, good advice. Another thing that's impressing me about heritage right now is the reputation they seem to have. Everything I've read on the internet and everyone I've talked to can't say enough good things about the workers, quality and customer service.

    I talked to jay wolfe of wolfe guitars who seems to be pretty knowlegable on heritage and he endorses them pretty strongly. Everything time I said "what if i want to do this" he said "ok". They will pretty much build your guitar the way you want it "custom shop" for the same price you can buy one in the store. You pay for the any extra options of course, but you don't pay a left nut "custom shop" fee. That's pretty freaking awesome. You just pay down 1/3 and wait a couple of months.

    He also said that no part was cnc'd, that's it really is a hand built guitar. He said that in fact they don't run a production line at all really. Nothing is time stamped, it's done when they think it's done. There's no rush to get X part done in Y minutes. Also impressive.

    He had a guitar basically like I wanted in stock and here's how it laid out:

    H157
    ebony fretboard
    pearl square fret markers & pearl enlay on headstock
    pearloid old style tuners(std upgrade for wolfe, so he says)
    upgraded bridge(std for wolfe)
    flame top
    mahogany body & neck w/binding
    pair of seymour duncan pearly gates
    hardshell case
    silver hardware (i don't care for gold too much)

    Price: $1488 !!!!!! That's about a $3500 new Gibson. Oh, except that with gibson I don't have pickup choice,hardware choice, and am limited to a few colors. I think you can pretty much choose any available color heritage has on any guitar.

    I would like to add coil taps. Don't know the price for that, but that's it.

    I'm going by your advice pac, but I have to admit that all that sounds really tempting. Hertiage will definately be a serious consideration when I get ready to buy. I would also like to add that jay wolfe at wolfe guitars may be the most friendly and accomodation guitar dealer I've spoken to.

    After typing all this it kinda comes out like a heritage commercial. Didn't mean that, but I'm really impressed with what I've found out about this company so far. I'm setting myself up for a month of crying in the corner of a dark room if I'm dissapointed.


    why not search heritage guitars for yourself. I believe it's

    http://www.heritageguitar.com/

    I'm thinking thier workshop is actually the old Gibson factory even.

    Gibson and Fender like to charge unbelievable amounts for their name attached to "custom shops" Slap a Tom Murphy finish on a 58 or 59 custom shop Gibson and the price is $10,000. I'll age my own guitar thanks.

    I'd rather own a vehicle.

    Another thing you might want to check on is the resale value.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • mojorison_75mojorison_75 Posts: 157
    Yeah, I've already been to the website. It's got some good info on it. I've still got some investigating to do, like resale, nothing's concrete. I'd also like to play a couple before I buy anything.

    It is very interesting though. It seems to be exactly what I've been looking for. A top notch guitar that I can get the way I want and I don't even have to rob a bank. Much like the acoustic I have. Could it be possible I could get so lucky twice?

    I guess we'll see.
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    mojorison_75 wrote:
    Yeah, I've already been to the website. It's got some good info on it. I've still got some investigating to do, like resale, nothing's concrete. I'd also like to play a couple before I buy anything.

    It is very interesting though. It seems to be exactly what I've been looking for. A top notch guitar that I can get the way I want and I don't even have to rob a bank. Much like the acoustic I have. Could it be possible I could get so lucky twice?

    I guess we'll see.


    yeah, playing and hearing is believing, until then it's just hearsay. I'd like to play the H-535's.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    What about that other LP clone, Tokai? Their Love Rock guitars are really damn nice...

    http://www2.wbs.ne.jp/~tokai/nls70f-vf.JPG
    http://www2.wbs.ne.jp/~tokai/nls75s-gt.JPG
    http://www2.wbs.ne.jp/~tokai/lr30.jpg

    I'd love to try out that '56 Goldtop clone... Here's a beauty, too...

    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=2384&item=3769784626&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    One more, because it's so very, very pretty, and because Paco should see her:

    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=2384&item=3769121756&rd=1
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • MissYouAllDayMissYouAllDay Posts: 939
    How come PRS gets sued by Gibson but they leave heritage alone?

    Those Heritage Les Pauls look beautiful.
    I miss you already, I miss you always
    I miss you already, I miss you all day
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    MissYouAllDay wrote:
    How come PRS gets sued by Gibson but they leave heritage alone?

    Those Heritage Les Pauls look beautiful.

    How about PRS suing Tokai for their PRS copies...

    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=2384&item=3767625373&rd=1

    Tokai actually did get sued by Gibson, back in the day, but I don't know what came of it. I do know that they're NOW manufactured in Korea, not Japan like they were originally...
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    mccreadyisgod wrote:
    One more, because it's so very, very pretty, and because Paco should see her:

    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=2384&item=3769121756&rd=1



    That's exactly what I'm looking for. Damn. Beautiful. To bad it's a 59 and not a 54 because it's a 3 color sunburst.


    Mig you're right about the Love Rocks. Atlanta Discount Music had a few and I think the sales people ended up keeping them. They are built well too.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • mojorison_75mojorison_75 Posts: 157
    I'm still not sure about all the details with the prs suit, but I'd have to think there are bigger issues there. Did prs's models have the same headstock design as gibson? I don't remember. Not a big PRS guy. Seems like that's what they usually sue about. That's what the whole thing was over the japanese companies back in the day anyway. Electra actually made some really damn fine les paul copies. The law suit never went to court though, it was settled. Electra stopped using the headstock and that was it. There was nothing said about body shape.

    By the way, if any of you happen up on an electra that hasn't been used as a sledge hammer, I would reccomend buying it. They are really nice guitars that can be had horribly cheap. This may not be the case forever. I have a x250 with acitve eq that freaking screams.
  • mojorison_75mojorison_75 Posts: 157
    I just looked at the prs to remember what it looked like. Maybe it has something to do with prs being a large production operation and Heritage being what seems to be a much smaller company. Heritage may not pose nearly as big of a threat to market share, plus they may have some kind of agreement worked out with Gibson. They are old family members after all.

    At any rate, I'm itching to get my hands on a Heritage and try it out.
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    mojorison_75 wrote:
    I just looked at the prs to remember what it looked like. Maybe it has something to do with prs being a large production operation and Heritage being what seems to be a much smaller company. Heritage may not pose nearly as big of a threat to market share, plus they may have some kind of agreement worked out with Gibson. They are old family members after all.

    At any rate, I'm itching to get my hands on a Heritage and try it out.


    I think the true issue behind it all was that all the MTV bands started playing PRS instead of Gibson. Gibson has been slipping in quality at the same time they've been jacking their prices, and now that PRS is making a better product for the price, Gibson is seeing their market share shrink. When the suit was brought, it claimed copywrite infringement, like PRS was trying to copy the Gibson Les Paul. The truth is, PRS was making a BETTER guitar, and Gibson got scared and sued.

    From 15 feet, a Tokai looks IDENTICAL to a Gibson, but a small Japanese company isn't exactly gonna cut into the market-share for people wanting that phatty Gibson logo on their headstock. But since Nickelback plays PRS guitars... that's a threat.
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
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