Heritage H150 owners step forward

[chcjunior]

Tell me what you think about the tone and quality of your guitar compared to the Gibson LP's. I returned my Telecaster...just not a single coil sorta guy. I may or may not be selling my Gibson SG as I installed the APII in the neck recently and gave it new life. My Dean Hardtail is the number one right now...simply love it.

So....I'm looking for the kinda crunch I grew up listening to that comes from a Marshall and Les Paul. I know I'd have to pull the Schallers out and replace with Duncans. It's the standard mahogany/maple cap and rosewood fretboard.

So.....tell me your thoughts on the H150.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Heritage H150 owners step forward

Well, I'm no longer a Heritage 150 owner, but here's my 2 cents

1) Lot more guitar for the money than a Gibson Les Paul Classic which is similar in price. Better figured woods, better tuneomatic, better pups (mine came with a pair of zebra 59's), better tuners. However, the higher dollar Les Pauls seem to have "nicer" wood in that the figure is much more pronounced, The Heritages tend to have a very subtle figure to the grain.

2) Headstock is ugly. LOL. Sounds petty, but I REALLY had a prob with that. Same with the pickguard.

3) Hardshell that came with mine was a POS. Locks and hinges were not terribly sturdy

4) G string's nut slot was "double cut" (two slots) when I bought (brand new) ..made it hard to keep in tune until I had it fixed...every time I would bend that string it would pop over into the "second" slot. PITA.

5) Gibson finish seems "sturdier". More scratch/blemish/ding resistant. Heritage finish is a little "soft" it seems.

But overall...fantastic instrument..'cept for that headstock

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Heritage H150 owners step forward

My opinion is that anything you get with humbuckers that's NOT a Les Paul Std, or better, is just a stepping stone. Those are always the last guitars you'll part with.
No matter what I have, my Gibson LP Std's and Customs still beat'em. The only other guitar that comes close is a PRS McCarty or Singlecut. I love strats, teles, G&L's, and all kinds of other guitars, but there's a reason Gibson is top dog. I see a lot of Gibson bashing, but not ironically, it's never from guys that have a bunch of Gibsons.

 

[Frantic_Rock]

Re: Heritage H150 owners step forward

I don't know anything about stock h150s. I'm not sure if they use SAM or not, or whether they have holes drilled in the body under the maple cap.

The ONLY reason I got a heritage is because I knew EXACTLY what I'm getting down to the smallest detail - all to my specs. I wouldnt've been getting a stock 150 - thats for sure... I'd rather get a 3 HB Honeyburst Gibson LP Classic - with gold hardware. I almost bought one off Ebay for 1160 right before settling on my custom heritage.

I gotta say to ya though that the playability on mine is immaculate. There is no buzzing or tonal imperfections anywhere on the neck. Action is low and the guitar has that Les Paul bite (I'm talking about when your pick first makes the contact with the string and the distortion is on full - you get this bright clipping sound only a real LP gets)

I'm under impression that It's better to have 1 one-of-a-kind guitar than several things you can buy in the store... Mine is one of a kind and it's staying with me if I have to sell all my other ones. Even my tele.

 

[Frantic_Rock]

Re: Heritage H150 owners step forward

Well, I'm no longer a Heritage 150 owner, but here's my 2 cents

1) Lot more guitar for the money than a Gibson Les Paul Classic which is similar in price. Better figured woods, better tuneomatic, better pups (mine came with a pair of zebra 59's), better tuners. However, the higher dollar Les Pauls seem to have "nicer" wood in that the figure is much more pronounced, The Heritages tend to have a very subtle figure to the grain.

2) Headstock is ugly. LOL. Sounds petty, but I REALLY had a prob with that. Same with the pickguard.

3) Hardshell that came with mine was a POS. Locks and hinges were not terribly sturdy

4) G string's nut slot was "double cut" (two slots) when I bought (brand new) ..made it hard to keep in tune until I had it fixed...every time I would bend that string it would pop over into the "second" slot. PITA.

5) Gibson finish seems "sturdier". More scratch/blemish/ding resistant. Heritage finish is a little "soft" it seems.

But overall...fantastic instrument..'cept for that headstock

Heritage does real Nitro cellulose laqueer. I guess that's why they're soft. I really don't know anything about Gibson - because I haven't found a reliable source to read up on.

The pickguard - you can get a standard gibson guitar. You don't have to go for the Heritage one. Heritage actually makes these totally gorgeous all wood figured pickguards - they're killer! Check em out on the jazzboxes.

And the headstock... If you get it bound I think it looks cooler. It's streamlined and elegant. I got the tuners that match the cream binding too - so it looks sharp.


But then again tastes differ... Just check out my next idea for a custom Heritage Paul (with the heritage headstock offcourse, and same tuners but crome):
Pickups will be Custom B - PG M - Jazz N

 

[JeffB]

Re: Heritage H150 owners step forward

The pickguard - you can get a standard gibson guitar. You don't have to go for the Heritage one. Heritage actually makes these totally gorgeous all wood figured pickguards - they're killer! Check em out on the jazzboxes.

I had actually bought a standard Gibbo pg, but never put it on..same with the pickup switch plate (all part of THE LP look AFAIC )

And the headstock... If you get it bound I think it looks cooler. It's streamlined and elegant. I got the tuners that match the cream binding too - so it looks sharp.

Indeed. The bound headstock looks much nicer.

But then again tastes differ...

Absolutely. By no means was I trying to downplay the Heritage guitars though. I think they are awesome, especially compared to a similarily priced Gibson.

AND BTW, that new one you are looking into having built is VERY nice.

 

[kherman]

Re: Heritage H150 owners step forward

I think Heritage guitars a great. Everyone I've tried has been wonderful.

When I was originally looking for an LP style guitar, I had it narrowed down to
a Heritage H150 or a Czech Dean EVO Premium.
But, then I was offered a great deal on a Diodati 59Q that I couldn't pass up.

If your not stuck on the Gibson name, I feel there are some great alternatives out there.

Since your a Dean fan, have you thought about looking on Ebay for a EVO Premium? Lately there's been some NOS popping up.

Also, keep an eye out for the Japan Replicas.
Tokai
Burny
Orville/Orville by Gibson/Epiphone Japan/Epiphone Elitist
Greco
Edwards

Hamer USA Studio is another thought.

If down the road you decide to go in the Hardtail direction again, check out the Carvin CT's as well.

Just some suggestions.

Kent

 

[Evan Skopp]

Re: Heritage H150 owners step forward

I have a 150. If you've seen the guitar Seymour is holding in the front of the Antiquity catalog (it's a water color painting) -- or, if you've seen the "Master and Mentor" ad we did with SWD and Seth in the mid-'90s -- then you've seen my guitar. Cherry-burst. No pickguard. Wilkinson TOM. The original, prototype SH-55 pickups (hand signed by Seth & SWD).

It's a lot of guitar for the money. I think the Gibson-brand guitars that compare feature-to-feature are the historic reissues, and they're at least three times the price.

Plus, there's something very cool about buying a guitar hand-built by the same builders, in the same factory, and using the same tooling and jigs that were used to build the guitars that gave us the great guitar tones of Cream, Led Zep, Fleetwood Mac, Skynyrd, etc.

Seymour plays a 150 as well. If you want to see his, look for the Honey-burst axe being played in the demo-station in the NAMM video.

+1 for Heritage.

 

[Scott_F]

Re: Heritage H150 owners step forward

A new 150 Goldtop with humbuckers was quoted to me at 1350, a new R7 can be had for 2200 if you search. Not quite the value they used to be or Jay Wolfe has higher prices than the other dealers that I've not spoke with. That's a possibility.

 

[kherman]

Re: Heritage H150 owners step forward

A new 150 Goldtop with humbuckers was quoted to me at 1350, a new R7 can be had for 2200 if you search. Not quite the value they used to be or Jay Wolfe has higher prices than the other dealers that I've not spoke with. That's a possibility.

$850 is $850.
Could go for some other really nice gear.
I don't think it's small change.

 

[kaknight]

Re: Heritage H150 owners step forward

I love my 150. My housemate had a LP from gibby. When I got mine, he cried. It was just so much nicer than his standard. It's built by Gibson luthiers by hand in the gibson kalamazoo factory. it surprises me that people might choose not to buy one. they really are great if you want a les paul!

 

[casblah]

Re: Heritage H150 owners step forward

Just got my H150 after a 5 1/2 month wait. I'm really digging this axe. Plays good, sounds good, looks good, and I was able to have a great deal of input as far as options go. I'm not bagging on Gibson guitars, I still love them. I'm just tired of seeing the continual price spikes on their instruments. The LP standard went up $200 since last autumn in the new M.F. mailer. And that is why I opted for an LP by Heritage.