Gibson Heritage Acoustic

I was lucky enough to find a 1977 version of this Gibson dreadnought that appears to be virtually unplayed. It had been stored in a closet for the last 30 years. It has a solid spruce top, and although most of these guitars are said to have been made with laminated rosewood backs and sides, this one appears to be solid. The grain pattern inside is a perfect match to the grain outside. It has a three piece maple neck and an inlaid ebony fingerboard and bridge. It is quite a classy looking guitar.

These Gibson dreads were never intended to be bluegrass cannons. You will never drown out a loud banjo with one. But for solo picking and voice accompaniment it is superb. It has a very mellow and rich sound that is well balanced across all six strings.

The action and setup after setting detuned in its case for 30 years was a big surprise. I changed the old tarnished original strings to a new set of Martin SP PB Mediums and cautiously tuned it up, fully expecting it to explode. Nothing happened! It's setup was perfect. Lots of saddle showing and no adjustments needed. Plays smooth as butter all up and down the neck. I did install a set of ebony/abalone pins to replace the old plastic ones.

I think this guitar has that strong Double-X bracing system that Gibson adopted some time in the 1970's. It doesn't seem to affect the sound quality. But I suspect it affects the quantity. Again it is not a banjo killer. If you want loud, buy a Martin. I can't predict how it will play and look a year from now. But so far I'm very pleased.

Very little info out there on this guitar. And Gibson doesn't have much either.

I've been playing mostly Martins for 50 years. I owned an early 70's Gibson Country Western once, and an old late 1960's Epiphone Texan that were very lacking in the sound department. I attributed this to the Double X bracing. So I was pleasantly surprised when this Heritage sounded so good. For voice accompaniment and/or quiet front porch pickin' it's a winner.

My Gibson Heritage Custom came with onboard piezo pickup and plugin jack, which means it really was a custom order. It is the standard dreadnaught style but with some interesting breakout features. First, it has a maple neck, which does compensate somewhat for the fact that it has DOUBLE X bracing, something that Gibson apparently did to beef up this model, but which can deaden the volume output significantly. Maple necks tend to brighten the attack on the fingerboard. A nice benefit of the double X bracing is that the soundboard is very sturdy, and mine needed to be due to the paces I have put it through during the years. I have played pro a lot and used this guitar for all my gigs.
The tuners are first class, with a very good winding ratio. The neck is one of the best I have ever played, almost in the ES335 range,just a bit wider.

Great for folk, integrating acoustic into a rock mix, and sounds good when played normally. I added a RareEarth pickup, took out the piezo, and got the miked sound I wanted. The bass on this guitar has to be rolled off a bit, and the treble needs to be clipped if you capo up.
Due to the double X bracing,new stings make a BIG difference.

Action: I reworked the saddle. Plays like a stick of butter.
Great wood in the guitar. first class in every way.
Bridge on this one was fixed, Brazilian rosewood,not the variable bridge on most others Ive seen.
Finish almost worn off due to wear and tear,butvery acceptable.

Thia guitar is to acoustic like Tele is to rock.

Only ever been worked on by Erlewine (not Dan, his cousin?) in Austin.

like any good instrument, its not perfect, but it has something about it that sets it apart and it continues to grow on you. Great neck, wonderful tone when capoed up to 5th fret or above, good strumming tone anywhere. sold to me by a pro bluegrass picker needing money to pay off the IRS, so of course there is that magical history thing there, too...
I have a Lowden O32C with German spruce top. Thats a fingerstyle ax that the Heritage cant compete with. It doesnt have the attack of a vintage Martin D25. But it has the sweetness of an old Gibson, and I consider it a good, sturdy gigging guitar that, when miked properly, does everything you want day to day.

Made probably around late 60s. I got it in a pawnshop in San Francisco for 300.00 in 1972. No electronics. Dreadnought size with a thinner, wider neck than the Martin. Rosewood body, spruce top, square abalone inlays for the frets. Ebony bridge and fretboard, inlaid wood between the halves of the back.

Very rich, full tone. Best with medium or light strings. I use a Marshall acoustic amp with it. Getting mellower as the years go by. I play finger picking style and the guitar sounds great.

No flaws, bridge has been redone by a luthier friend about 12 years ago.

Has withstood close to 40 years. Dependable. I use it with and without amplification

Never called the company

playing 40 years. I own 2 classical guitars, an upright double bass, a fender Jazz bass, a Dean electric guitar, a banjo, a fiddle, a quatro, two ukeleles. I would buy another if I could find it. I would compare it with a Martin dreadnought. The neck is my favorite feature.

From the Gibson website, this guitar is a '68. Fourteen fret neck, square shouldered full size dreadnaught body. Solid close grained top, well matched laminted Brazilian rosewood back/sides with decorative center strip inlay on back. Short 24 3/4" Gibson scale. Attractive scroll MOP inlay on peghead with MOP Gibson logo. "Heritage" endraved on truss rod cover. Ebony fingerboard and bridge. Plain but classy vintage look. Finish has minor checking, not unusual for a 37 year old guitar.

I play various styles of music, and it suits most, except for Bluegrass, its not as loud as other guitars. It does get somewhat muddy when playing hard. Nice ring to treble side, full bass but not overwheming, nicely balanced. Good overtones and excellent sustain across the spectrum. Had crappy adjustable bridge when purchased, which totally ruined the true sound. I'm not a big fan of boom boom bass, so I find this sound great especially after the bridge was replaced. Has no electronics, use mike when needed. Mikes well even when recording.

The guitar is close to needing a neck reset, not much saddle left. Still is very playable, action still 2-3/16 on bass side. Finish could have been better, but is thin and probably helps the sound. Otherwise, the workmanship is decent. The wood used appears to be good quality, even the laminated parts, which don't appear to hurt the sound any at all. The neck is only 1-9/16" wide. I find it easy to play, some people don't like the thin neck, it is almost like an electric. It is too narrow for serious fingerpicking.

The fact it is 37 years old speaks for itself. Has all original hardware, even the "pat applied for" Grover Rotomatics. Dependable? Very. I have other guitars, but wouldn't bring backup. This guitar seems to have better tolerance for moisture/temperature extremes than my other acoustics, probably the laminated parts help in this area.

I have contacted Gibson with email about this guitar, they were prompt and helpful, although not much info is available for the Heritage series. I did ask them about the neck reset, and they also wrote back quickly with a job description and approximate cost of repair and a RMA number. No warranty. The respose was surprising to me, since they are just a part of a big conglomerate.

I have benn playing for 35 years, some professionally, some not. I play for the joy of it now. The ebay seller answered all the questioned I asked. I would try to find another one if I lost it. I love the sound, the neck size and the outstanding grain of the rosewood. I did replace the tone killer adjustable bridge, which I hated. If you are a collector, sound probably does't matter to you, leave the old bridge on it. I own a '76 Mossman and a '99 Martin and they all have unique sounds. This is really a fantastic bargain in a vintage American made acoustic. Most square shouldered Gibsons have been shunned by collectors, and I don't know why. But it's a good thing considering how collectors and the like have totally hyper-inflated the prices of other pre 1970 acoustics.

I have a Heritage Custom (USA)which I bought new in 1975 at Sunset Sound in LA. So I can vouch for the year it was made. I researched the serial number with Gibson years ago. This has been my main acoustic since then. At first I liked the mid-tones. Could not afford a Martin in those days (paid about 450 for this). The action got LOTS better with light gauge strings. The sound has really sweetened over the years. Crisp high end, and still packs a punch in the midange even with light strings. I have had to have the saddle cut and reversed (the high E and B strings) so they would maintain intonation. Still break strings a lot, but am skeptical about having someone sell me on an new saddle. 14 frets to the body. Beautiful finish and inlay. Grover tuning pegs. Love this guitar.

Playing since 1970.

Year Made: c1977
Location: Kalamazoo, MI
Solid Spruce Top Square Shoulder Body, Laminated Rosewood Back and sides.

I was just given a Gibson Heritage Custom, Union make dreadnought. I am still overwhelmed at this being given to me. It is curious to me that Gibson would have a Jazz line Heritage model and also a Heritage Custom Acoustic Model. The person who gave me the guitar said he bought it in 1974 and paid $500 for it then. The Gibson website indicates that they ran this model in 1977.

The front finished has checked but this is not noticable straight on.
The bridge is very lovely with a beautiful simple scrolling inlay. The neck is inlaid tihe square or rectangle abalony.

From http://www.provide.net/~cfh/gibson6.html#heritage
Early 1970's specs:
large block fingerboard inlay, large bridge with pointed ends and curlicue inlays.

Wonderful addition to my musical tastes which is anything New Age altered tuning, folk, or bluegrass.

Hard to tell, but I have narrowed it down to 1970?
It has a solid spruce top and laminated rosewood sides and back. The sides and back are beautiful! Almost makes me wonder what type of rosewood they used. Not much info on these guitars at all on the web. I've bugged Gibson to death and even they can't give me specifics on when it was made. The finish has checked all over and has a lovely patina now.

The sound when I got this instrument was not great. Really midrange strong and it lacked bass. I removed the terrible adjustable bridge insert and replaced it with a TUSQ saddle (which I had to shim with more Tusq material). That helped, but I eventually decided to steam the bridge off and get the brass inserts out of the top. I plugged the top with spruce inserts and reinstalled the bridge. It has helped this instruments tone a little. You can't really tell that anything has been done visually. I would recommend this to anyone (just get a luthier/repairperson to do it). The tone is louder. Although I wish I had the mahogany model as the other gentleman has.

Action is quite good on this model and I love the easy access to the truss rod.
Although I do not like the adjustable bridge, the workmanship seems good.

My uncle played this model in bars for 28 plus years. Solid.

Gibson has been somewhat supportive and have exchanged all they know about this guitar with me.

From looking on the web at serial number pages, I believe this guitar was made in "67. I bought it new in "73 with a gibson hard case. 14 frets to the body. Similar to a dreadnought in size. Spruce top and mahogany back and sides. Rosewood fingerbaord. Small MOP dots and black bound fingerboard. Not the Heritage Custom, which I felt was a bit gaudy. Pretty much the same as a Hummingbird without all the fancy stuff. I recently added an LR Baggs Dual Source pick-up system that sounds awesome. Came with an adjustable height saddle type bridge that I had replaced. Gibson tuners that I think are probably made by Schaller. Great wood inlay down the middle of the back.

In the 70s I toured around in an acoustic duo with a guy that played a Martin D18. He loved it, but I never thought the tone was anywhere close to my Gibson. Made for a good contrast though. We played mostly country rock, folk type stuff. Has a very mellow sound, not as loud as some of the handmade guitars nowdays, but the tone was incredible! We always miked the guitars as there was nothing out there in the way of pickups those days that sounded worth a damn. Now it has a warm mellow sound(34 years old) that has to be heard to be believed. I've played a lot of guitars recently, Taylor, Martin, Santa Cruz, ect. but I really am attached to the way this one sounds.Great midrange and bass with clear trebles. Has been played on a few albums as a strumming guitar. When fingerpicking, if you're playing very fast with a lot of lower notes, it can get a little muddy though.

Fit and dinish was always a 10. The wood on the top and sides is beautiful, perfectly matched. Set-up was good, always played great. Medium sized frets. The one thing I always hated about it was the bridge. It was rosewood with a large groove where another piece of rosewood was inserted. This held the saddle. A screw on each side of the bridge would raise or lower the saddle to adjust the string height. This obviously reduced any solid connection between the bridge and the top. After traveling around the country for more years than I like to remember, the finish became checked over the entire guitar. If it could talk I would appologize to it. The top bowed up some behind the bridge and the neck began to bow inward some. In the early 80s when Dan Erlewine had his shop here in Austin, Texas, I gave it to him and said "Here, Fix it". He reset the neck, reworked the frets. And then the best, he made a rosewood insert/inlay for the bridge to hold the saddle. Beautiful work. You have to look close to see the bridge is not one solid piece of rosewood. Much more volume and sustain. Wish I'd had it done years earlier. The action is better now than it ever was. Even though the guitar is finish checked all over, it sounds wonderful..I will never sell it.

After dragging it around the country forever, it always held up fabulously. The problems I had with it were my fault, not the guitar's. I'm about to begin playing in front of people again, and I am really proud of the guitar I have. I played it for years without a backup, would do so again, except now I have a great little Tacoma KOA guitar for alternate tunings, so I have a backup.

Never delt with them. Never had any warranty problems. Guitar is a rock.

I began playing when I was 12..I'm 49 now, so that's...... In the early 80s I started playing R&B with an electric band. Played mostly Gibsons, especially several SGs. Favorite was a 60s red SG with a single cobalt pick-up. Great for slide!!!Have owned Yamahas, Fenders,Les Paul Standard, Hagstrom bass, don't know, can't remember them all. Favorite amp was a Sunn 100 tube head played through two Fender 2-12 boxes. I just recently bought a Tacoma PK30E to play alternate tunings on. Awesome little guitar! Especially for the price!
If the Gibson were suddenly gone for some reason, I don't think I could replace it, not with the work I had done to it, not to mention the memories. Woud probably get a Santa Cruz if I could dig up the money.