Heatley Tradition

Essentially similar in features and style to a Les Paul Standard, with the exception of the groovy Heatley headstock design, and no pickguard. The body and neck are mahogany, with a rosewood fretboard. Bone nut. Sperzel Tuners.

One key difference in style between the Heatly Tradition and the Les Paul is how the neck attaches to the body. With the Heatley, the neck molds with the body in such a way as to provide easier access to the higher notes on the fretboard.

The pickups are a Seymour Duncan 'Hot Rodded Humbucker' set, which
matches an SH-2N Jazz Model in the neck position with and an SH-4 JB
Model in the bridge position.

I play with a few different bands, and the styles range from heavier rock to cleaner jazz/blues. I wanted a guitar that could do all of this in one package, and it does. The sound is quite rich. You can get some very deep, dreamy jazz tones when you want them, but the guitar has the versatility to offer up some real hard rock crunch as well.

I wasn???t sure initially if these particular Seymour Duncan humbuckers were quite right. They were my idea in the first place, but at first I thought of switching the bridge pickup to something a little less midrangy. I went with it because I generally shy away from too much trebly high end, and err on the side of low end. My sense, though, is that the tone of this guitar is so deep and resonant that you could likely go with a brighter bridge pickup without ending up with icepick high end. Having said that, I???ve come to like the tone of the pickups, and have no plans to change them at this point.

(For reference, I play it with a Rivera R-30 1x12 combo, and a Marshall JCM 800 2x12 combo. Sometimes I use a vintage Rat pedal with the Rivera, but for the post part I'm not using pedals.)

I get a lot of compliments on the look of the guitar. It's beautifully finished, and the sunburst is exquisite. It actually changes its appearance depending on how light hits it. As for the action and playability, I find it to be lighter than most Les Pauls. I have a 1995 Les Paul Standard, described by most who play it as light for an LP. The Tradition is lighter still. It has a solid yet comfortable feel; a comfortable guitar to have around your neck.

The action is just right for my tastes. I find that there's a tiny bit more tension when really bending strings than with my Les Paul, which I personally like.

I play in a local club on a weekly basis with a band. When I first got
the guitar, I stepped off stage for a while, and invited a friend of
mine (a very good musician) to go up and play a few songs with it. I told him nothing of the guitar before hand. Afterward I asked him how it played. "Really good," he replied, not quite sure of what it was. He thought that I had rented it, and was very impressed.

It was interesting to get such a postive review from someone who had not been 'primed' by any pre-hype on my part, and who's first contact with the guitar was to put it through its paces in a live setting. I???ve let a few guys play the guitar since then, and have always gotten good feedback.

I've had it for two years now, and play it a lot, both at home and on stage. I have had no problems. I can't see reliablilty being an issue here.

Again, I can't see this being an issue. Scott Heatley is easy to deal with. He provided a lot of useful guidance in a manner that was expert without being ???know-it-all??? or impatient. The experience of having the guitar made was pretty easy-going (and educational).

I've been playing for over 25 years. I???d basically give this guitar top marks. It???s a durable, beautifully-finished instrument with a great sound. I think the real issue in getting a custom guitar made is whether the vision that???s in your head can be perfectly translated into reality. Maybe it can be, but there are always some intangeables and wild cards in the mix.

I suppose I tended to err on the side of conservatism, an approach that worked out well in that I got a guitar that???s proven to be a solid but still unique workhorse. As mentioned, I get many compliments on the look of the guitar. More importantly, I???ve gotten consistent compliments on the sound, both live and recorded, from both from musicians and from casual listeners.

(I???d add that I don???t seek out these comments or opinions; someone will compliment the guitar tone on a recording without knowing that I???m using the Tradition, or some casual listener at a gig will comment on the guitar sound without having any idea that the guitar is custom made. I think the fact that these comments are unsolicited speaks for itself.)

You'll notice I don't use numbers to rate the guitar in the review. For the most part I dislike that sort of thing since it's not really relevant unless there's a problem. For the money a person pays and what he expects, if the instrument is lacking he probably should've bought something else. In this case the guitar has no problems and is very much a solid, high quality instrument. It's not the fanciest guitar with the most features but then again I didn't order it that way, so I'm not "taking points off" for something which was never meant to be there.

If there were any issues I had with anything about this guitar, I might rate it with numbers. Since I've been using it over a year and I don't have any issues with it in any way, there isn't any point in using numbers to rate it.

That being said, here's the review.

This is a 2004 solid body model with transparent blue finish. Rosewood fretboard, carved flame maple top (3/8" thick at the sides, 3/4" thick in the center, edge of maple top becomes the "binding" which is very attractive), mahogany back and neck. Lightly chambered to keep body weight to around 8 lbs. Dual humbucker configuration (Gibson 57 Classic for the bridge, 490 for the neck), Tonepros "tune-o-matic" bridge, chrome knobs, Grover tuners. Hardshell case included. Average thickness frets. For a LP-type guitar, the scale is a bit longer (helps keep the low end from becoming indistinct, which is a problem that befalls some other LP type guitars with shorter scales).

This is a very broad/deep vintage sounding LP type guitar. It's not just "deep" in terms of its low frequencies but just "deep" overall. The attack has chime, chords are gorgeous and single notes sound round but still have some snap to them. The overall sound has a good balance (as most of my guitar playing friends continually remind me when they use it). I normally don't care much for neck humbuckers but this guitar is one of the few I can really appreciate for that. Cleans with the middle and neck positions are inspiring. The middle position offers a good variety of blues tones with overdrive. The bridge position is "home" to me but I can appreciate all the sounds the guitar has to offer. I've also used a number of other pickups besides these--the guitar takes well to many of them. I just settled on the Gibsons since I was most familiar with their tone/response.

In terms of dislikes, I don't really have any. The only thing that annoys me is the tendency for some amps to not play well with this guitar's broad/deep sound. It's not as though I can blame the guitar though, since this isn't the only LP type guitar which has more low end to it. My own amps don't have a problem with this so it hardly concerns me. The only amps which do this are ones known to be better suited to teles and strats than LPs. And once again, this is what I expected--I ordered the guitar this way. Part of its beauty is in its broad/deep sound. It tends to sound particularly amazing because of it actually, and it's not without a good focus either.

I'm an AC/DC fan and also appreciate a lot of other classic rock typically done with LP type guitars. I'm able to get pretty much any of those sounds with this guitar but it still has its own signature to it, which I really like. Whether it's Malcolm's ryhthm, Mick Jones' leads--and a wide variety of other sounds I've wanted to do justice to--this guitar handles them very well.

I normally don't use this guitar with high amounts of distortion but I do appreciate it that way too. For very modern high gain sound my main preference is a bolt-on neck design and a lighter body (for more mid focus/aggression)--but a guitar like that can't do the sounds this guitar does. I imagine with an EMG 81 in the bridge I could turn this guitar into a fire-breather but that might not be the best use of this guitar. Then again, the temptation to try the Zakk Wylde thing might prove too great and the EMG might end up in there (for a short period of time at least)...

I've had the guitar over a year and I live in the dryest climate of Canada. If the neck were to have a problem or the fretwire were to protrude (etc.), it'd have happened by now. As it is the guitar has played excellently from day one and that hasn't changed. Part of how good it sounds is due to how well it plays--I use low action and thinner strings than usual for this guitar (9-42) but the sound rings true. There are no cosmetic flaws, the top is well matched, the specific approach to a "binding" look is excellent, the neck joint is done very well--it all around looks and feels like a high quality instrument.

I've bumped this guitar around a few times already (much to my horror) but have only put a very small ding in the finish (once--the other times, no visible damage resulted). No cracks or chips happened, which shows me the finish was done well.

The hardware is very good quality of course (read the list in the "features" section--no need to explain any of that here).

There's nothing about this guitar that indicates it won't last.

Scott's on the same page as I am. When I called him and discussed what guitar would suit my tastes, it was an effortless conversation. Scott knows what he's doing.

So far I've had no reason to require support but I'm sure he'd be very approachable if I needed to. I've spoken with him several times since receiving the guitar and he's been friendly and insightful.

I'm 34 and my experience with guitars is lengthy. I've owned about 40 electric guitars (that I can recall) and have modified a number of them significantly. I wish my playing reflected this experience but unfortunately I've focused more on sound than talent (as a friend says, my only talent is volume, heh heh). This is definitely not the first quality guitar I've owned.

I normally don't buy guitars without playing them because it can be so chancey. There's so much tonal variation in different cuts of wood, even if they're the same type from the same production run etc., that guitars can sound drastically different. This time out, I was looking for a LP type guitar with specific tonal qualities. I spent a lot of time over a year and a half trying every LP or LP type guitar I could find in the hopes of finding it. Some came close but didn't quite hit the mark. Some of the supposedly "best" ones were average in their sound and had poor attention to detail (and a higher price tag to go along with that). It got to the point where I was beginning to prefer some of the "lower end" models over some of the "premium" models--that's when I knew it was going to be a long road if I didn't talk to a luthier. Considering Scott's prices and a few reviews I'd read from other guitarists (whom I know from discussions on forums), I figured it was worth a shot. It definitely was.

The amps I use are my own designs. That's not meant as a plug so much as to help give an idea how particular I can be about the sound I want from my guitar setup. My amps' designs are my responsibility but I'm not a luthier. So for a guitar, I either need someone like Scott to be able to build me what I want or I have to try endless guitars at local stores until I find the one I want. Considering the latter usually (eventually) results in the purchase of an expensive guitar anyway, I know what I'm doing for my next purchase. I'll be talking to Scott again. Knowing what I got the first time for the money I spent, I'm very comfortable dealing with him again.

This guitar was made in 2003 in Canada by Scott Heatley. It has 22 frets, 2 Wolfetone humbuckers with 3 way switch, nitro finish, mahogany back and neck, KOA top, Brazilian Rosewood fretboard, and Paua inlays. It is a "Les Paul" shaped body, with two volume and two tone controls. It features a string through body which is awesome. Also comes with locking tuners, a slimmer profile neck, and it came in a awesome Gator case. There is really too much to list!

I generally play more rock, blues and jazz, and it handles each style equally well. The rhythm clean tone is crisp and clear, unlike most Les Pauls. The treble is bright ane cuts through, but not too piercing and hot, like a 500T Gibson pickup.

The guitar came to me set up with 11-50 strings on it. It helps bring out the true sound of the guitar. Pickups were different than what I am used to, but a pleasant change. I looked over the guitar for a while after I got, being the perfectionist to the 10th degree that I am, and I just couldn't find anything worth complaining about. Everything was done with great care and detail, just the way a custom made instrument should be.

I am sure this guitar would withstand the rigor of playing shows, but fortunatley it is not my only guitar, allowing me to put others in that type of environment. I would feel sick to my stomach if something happened to it. The strap buttons are nice and secure, and I feel totally comfortable playing it. It is not heavy at all, which is a plus. The chrome hardware is sharp, and as long as I wipe it down after use like you should, this guitar will probably outlive me (although I'll probably take it with me!!!)

In lamens terms, Scott Heatley is a classy guy when it comes to customer service. He is always around to personally answer any questions I have, and showed my pics as it was being built. If I had a problem with this axe, I know that Scott would help me resolve as best as he could. He is the real benefit of buying a custom guitar from a professional luthier.

I have another guitar being built as we speak, so obviously I respect his abilities and knowledge. I have been playing for several years, and I have owned or currently own many other types of guitars, both custom made, and mass produced. When a master craftsman has the ability and freedom to create what he or she wants, the end result is usually much better. As is the case with my new guitar. No deadlines or quotas. Just a guy taking his time to produce a world class instrument.