Heritage Eagle

This Eagle is a very stright-ahead axe, based on Gibson's Johnny Smith, which I have always found to be a comfortable guitar to play due to the body's 3" thickness. It is essentially an amplified acoustic archtop instrument. Solid carved X-braced spruce top, mahogany back and sides. Not much in the way frills -- no binding on the neck, f-holes, etc., nickel-plated Schaller tuners. A single floating humbucker is mounted to the pickguard. A single volume pot, no tone control. I don't like real flashy guitars, so it is amply apportioned for my tastes. My be a bit dull for some.

Acoustically this guitar sounds very good and that is actually the reason I bought it. I was doing more Freddie Green-type large ensemble stuff at the time and this box works great for that -- turn down the volume and snap your wrist to project the sound. For straight-ahead jazz gigs however, it took me a while to get accustomed to the sound of this guitar. I find it's very different from the sound I get with a jazz box with top-mounted pickup(s). With my ES-175 I can just plug it in and go. This guitar I really had to experiment to get a satisfactory sound. The factory pickup sounded very thin and weak. I replaced it with a Benedetto, which sounds infintely richer. Like the fellow below I also had a tone control added to allow some of the top end to be rolled off (even with the treble all the way down on the amp it was still too bright). The guitar now sounds mediocre through my Mini-Brute but is absolutely exquisite through my Evans JE-200 which allows much more in the way of tone (especially midrange) tweaking. Plenty of low end, no problems there. I absolutely love the sound of this instrument now but it took some work to get it dialed in.

I purchased this instrument used and it was playing poorly. I had the frets dressed and the bridge seated better. Otherwise, these are very well-made instruments. I also had to have the output jack replaced (which is in the endpin). I used to own another Heritage (H175) and it was also solid. Good quality woods, etc. Obviously made (or at least inspected) by actual humans.

This is a professional instrument and should last a lifetime. I've taken it on many, many gigs and it has never given me any trouble.

This is my second Eagle. I don't know why I ever traded off the first (reviewed way below). Was still looking for an L5 I guess. I've had an L5 now. It's gone. I like the basic Eagle better because it's X-braced like a Johnny Smith and has a sweet acoustic tone (though not a cannon volume-wise).

Made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA. Bought used (has the old style ES-175 lookin' tailpiece). Not sure what year it was made. My first was made in '96/97, and this one is just like that one was.

Single bound 17" body all solid mahogany (CNC machine carved top and back) cutaway archtop with lacquer finish. 20 medium/jumbo frets on unbound rosewood fretboard with modern radius (feels and looks like a Gibson). 25.5" scale length CNC machine carved mahogany neck (basic "C" shape). Grover tuning machines. Passive humbucking Schaller #3 floating pickup at neck end with mini volume pot on wood pickguard.

Not a lot of bells and whistles, but a very competent so-called "jazz" guitar.

"The Heritage" logo'd decent hardshell case with five latches.

I use this guitar primarily acoustically around the house, and so have removed the pickguard and its pickup, and fashioned another pickguard from maple - stained with tung oil to match the guitar's almond sunburst brown shading.

The tone is bright and has a sweet midrange with Pyramid 13's flatwound strings. Stays in tune very well.

Though you can order Heritage archtops with tap tuned tops and backs, I find you can experiment with string guages with these basic machine carved guitars and find a set that gets them to resonate well acoustically. My first version ('97) seemed to sound best with Thomastik-Infeld "Be-Bops" in 0.014" - 0.054" guage.

Electrically the guitar is setup a lot like a Johnny Smith designed guitar. The Schaller #3 is constructed quite a bit like an early mini humbucking Gibson pickup as used on the Gibson versions, in that it does not have the usual magnet under ferrous polepieces. Instead the polepieces are the magnets (like Fender design single coils) to reduce the physical thickness of the pickup so it will fit under the strings above the top in the space allotted.

In the Gibson mini-humbuckesr used on their version of Johnny Smith archtops, one bobbin was wound around an AlNiCo bar magnet. Then a ferrous metal plate mounted under the pickup body transferred the magnetism up through the polepieces of the other bobbin. They had a mellow tone with fairly low output.

Compared to most humbucker equipped guitars, this Heritage Eagle and its Schaller #3 thin style humbucker is no powerhouse, but is quite quiet for hum and has a decent sound for most Jazz duties, though somewhat on the thin sounding side.

I like the sound, but it requires a bit more EQ from an amp with some range to its tone to get a lush sound. It tends towards bright and midrangey (though not nasty-midrangey) through most amps.

This guitar sounds best for me electrically through a modern Polytone with a contour circuit.
It also does ok through a Fender style sounding amp (if y'know what I mean?) though is more prone to feedback that way.

This guitar sounds just awful through an old Gibson transistor amp (not a Lab series) I have, which just doesn't have enough tone control to dial out enough midrange. Interestingly, my Guild work ax sounds ok through the old Gibson SS amp, but not as good as the Eagle through Fender style amps, with their emphasized highs and lows (built to try to make plank guitars sound good).

I would think most modern amps could be a good match for the Eagle. My default amps on most gigs are Roland Cubes, but I generally use another archtop when playing out (a laminated short-scale Guild Savoy with body installed/mounted humbucker and included vol AND tone pots onboard). The Guild also feeds back less.

For what I use the Eagle for (unplugged couch noodling/practice) the sound is great, though diminutive compared to a purpose built acoustic archtop from the Bigband era.

It's nice I could also put the pickup/pickguard assembly on, in a pinch.
If I had to choose to live with only a single guitar for everything, it would be the Eagle.

First rate.
Excellent luthiery. Good quality materials and build quality/attention to detail.
Simple proven design.

For its type it is sturdy enough to withstand constant professional use.

No experience here.
Bought used.

I have had several Heritage archtops of various models (two Eagles now, H-575, and H-550 Custom). Never had any trouble with any of them.

Since 1960 I have had them all.
This is my favorite all time (so far) guitar for what I do now (dinner Jazz wallpaper gigs mostly, plus an occasional Showtunes/Bigband job), though I generally use the plywood Guild when playing out.

The Grail for me was always a Gibson L5. I had one last year, but sold it after only a couple of months. It wasn't a "bad one" either.

Though an L5 gets a certain great Jazz tone where the notes pop out (especially around the 12th fret and above), I never have needed a bridge pickup on an archtop, and it killed the acoustic tone, even though it had an earlier, thinner, top.

L5's are great for gigging, but I had too much money tied up in it to watch it get beat up on bandstands. Besides, many times you couldn't even hear how great the tone was in noisier settings. May as well be playing a solidbody plank with the tone rolled back (good enough most of the time, except for intimate settings playing quiet straight ahead chord solos).

I've decided I want a non-fancy, easily replaceable working ax for the club wars, and a nice sounding (though affordable) house guitar for unplugged duties.
The Heritage is my favorite.

I used to gig my previous Eagle all the time. It was great, but did feed back more than my currant working ax (the Guild).

I also keep a partsocaster plank around for the really loud distorted stuff (I play all styles). I use a Fender Roc-Pro 1000 with Mesa/Boogie Thiele 112 cabinet for that kind of thing. Or sometimes a Mesa/Boogie Mark I Re-Issue (if I don't have to carry it too far).

For clean sounds with archtops, transistor amps make too much sense, though warm sounding tube amps have their charms too.

It's solid wood with a built in humbucker custom ordered.
Heritages have a nice wood feel to them.

I play jazz, some big band gigs and jam sessions.
This is a custom eagle, with solid spruce top, ebony board and built-in seymour duncan '59.
Nice loud acoustic sound and warm sound when plugged in.
It sounds much warmer and woodier than the laminate archtops I have played.

I got it used. The neck is nice with some .12's or .13's flatwound.
I feel like Kenny Burrell or Wes with this guitar.

It is a very lightweight guitar which is easy to hold.
It doesn't feel quite as durable as a plywood guitar, but the sound makes up for this.
I don't know if I will gig a lot with it or try to sell it for a profit locally.

I have been playing guitar for almost 15 years, jazz for about eight years, classical guitar for longer.
There is something about archtops that are more collectible than other types, and this was my first solid carved guitar. It cost about the same as my used es 175, which is too new to be vintage and definitely been used a lot on gigs.
I wasn't ready for a $5000 axe, so this is a good substitute for an L5 or a luthier made guitar.

2003 model (purchased new), solid Spruce top (X-braced), Solid Mahogany sides and back. Optional Spertzel tuners, chrome hardware, ALSB (Almond Sunburst) with matching pickgaurd one volume knob no tone. Optional bindings on neck and headstock. Everything else standard Eagle, floating H3 pickup with 25 1/2" scale, 17" lower bout, 1 11/16" nut...

It was bought to play Jazz, with an eye on fingerstyle jazz without a pick. Just the fingers and use the meat. Jay Wolfe at Wolfe guitars was helpful choosing this particular instrument for that purpose. The Mahogany is just a bit brighter than maple, and I feel that choice helps bring out the fingerstyle just a bit more. Works well both mic'ed and through and amp.

I really appreciate the sound of this instrument, i believe that the comination of workmanship, the finish, and the hand crafted solid wood is responsible for this tone.

I have read folks complain about the lack of tone knob, but honestly I haven't missed it. I usually back off on the volume and tweak my amp a bit, and it has the same effect.

Wolfe guitars set up the instrument prior to shipping, with .13 flatwound strings. Action and relief were excellent. I did have to have the nut cut a little bit after delivery, to meet my preference. Interestingly my next Heritage (I hope everyone caught that my NEXT one ;-), was PLEK'd and didn't even require this. Intonation was fine.

A small check (2 lines about .5" long) in the finish on the upper bout developed within 2 weeks of delivery. The guitar was stranded during shipping on the Gulf for a week while a major hurricane hit that area. I am not sure if the extra humidity had an effect or what. I sent it to Heritage and they refinished the area and returned it.

Also, it is very apparent that the guitar is hand build. There are irregularities in the surface and with the binding as well. Some folks might find offense with this, but i have seen similar things on a D'Aquisto costing much more. These are not bad, they add some character to the instrument. It is much less sterile feeling than Gibson, or any of the poly finished Asain guitars.

This is a solid wood instrument, and i treat it that way. Heat, mosture, all that should be considered. For durablity the laminate archtops are better, but at the expense of tone. The finish is a vintage type lacquer not a poly coat, again the poly coat is much more durable, this lacquer will project sound much better. All hardware is fine, and very good order.

The dealer Jay Wolfe is top notch, I fine fellow that even puts up with my long winded phone calls.

The factory folks are also equally nice. One warning, this is small shop, something like a dozen people, one phone line, no receptionist. This isn't a bad thing, but don't call expecting to have a team of Cust. Service folks standing by. And they are not an assembly process things move slow there.

I did get somewhat frustrated with trying to get an exact answer on when my warrantee work was coming back. But I spoke directly to the man who doing the work each time, and they worked to satisfy me.

I can say one thing to sum all this up, I just ordered my 3rd Heritage archtop. 'nuff said.

I bought a second hand Heritage Eagle with a mahogany carved top in antique sunburst, very nice I guarantee. It was probably made around 1994. It's 17" wide. No bindings around the neck or soundholes, no eagle inlays or fancy stuff, just dots. A guitar for a player, you'd think.
The floating pickup gave a shrill sound with very low output, so I figured there was something wrong with it and replaced it with a Bartolini jazz (johnny smith kind of pickup). Also added a tone pot.

I only play jazz (standards mostly) and I do that for weddings, receptions, in art galleries, a bar every now and then. I put the Eagle through my Trace Acoustic 100-R with just a spice of line6POD in between.
The guitar has a ringing quality and nice warmth. Mind you, I had a tone-pot installed, I dial it back a great deal without losing too much of the treble.
The statement I'm trying to make is: you all know the feeling when you go to a shop and play a guitar and it sounds great. But when you play it in a band you just can't seem to cut through. All of a sudden your guitar sounds woolly, lame. Not so with the Eagle. Quite the contrary even. It doesn't really stand out on its own, but in a band, especially with a busy pianist and a loud drummer: it always cuts through with clarity and warmth. How's that? I think it's the greatest sound I have ever had.
We play with a lot of different musicians, local jazz-guys we rent for the occasion. Almost every single time they ask me what that guitar is, why it sounds so much better than my other instruments and what the f... Heritage is.
Oh, yeah, I had the pickup replaced with a Bartolini. Now, though Bartolini is great it can't make a bad guitar sound good. Believe me, I tried. But on this baby, the Bartolini just rocks (jazzes!).

The action is very low, amazing. On replacing the pickup I saw that all the wiring was neatly done, with great eye for detail.
The binding is nice, no glue sticking out or anything. Just a great simple guitar.

I have taken this guitar with me for more than two years now. It has travelled many a mile and has been in and out of its case maybe 200 times. I've played it in open air, indoors, in mild rain, windy or very sunny weather. I believe it's a very dependable instrument.
When I first picked it up I just couldn't believe how thin the top was. Made me fear the worst: easy to break or something. Nothing of that sort, however. Solid as a rock.

I try to contact them through email and am always refused by their spam-blocking device. God knows I've tried with my own emailaddress, with my wife's, with a friend's, even my workaddress but nothing seems to work.
Haven't phoned them yet, dont know.
Not being able to mail sucks somewhat.

Compared to my Gretsches, Yamaha's and Framus' it's the best guitar I have ever had.
If it were lost, stolen or I sold it for booze I would definitely buy another one. I would like the very same instrument, I still am very much in love with the looks of it and I can't stop digging that sound, man!

This is a straight ahead jazz box so it does not need a lot of bells and whistles. It has a suspended pickup and a volume control and that is all it needs in the way of electronics. The jack is built into the end pin and there is an RCA style plug inside to allow the pickup/pickguard combo to be removed. I can put my plain, accoustic pickguard on in a matter of minutes and it looks beautiful.

The body is Mahogany except for the optional spruce solid top. The finish is sunburst and very attractive. The fingerboard is unbound rosewood. The tuners are Grover chrome plated and solid as can be. I purposely did not order an ornate guitar with lots of gold & ebony because I desired the beauty of the spruce top to be at the center of this guitar's appearence. It worked.

This guitar came with a high-quality hard shell case.

This is my jazz axe. Chord melodies, rhythm work and bebop style solos are what I play on this guitar. I have 13s on it so it is not very easy to bend and it stands up well to a firm right-hand technique. Being purely for jazz it has a relatively narrow range of sounds available but it is perfect at getting a warm jazz tone. If I want a different sound I grab a different guitar.

I have owned some fairly expensive archtops in my day and played some incredibly expensive archtops such as Gibson Citations, D'Angelicos and some fine Benedettos. I have never played an archtop that sounded better to my ear than this Heritage, period!

The setup was perfect out of the box. There were no flaws and the bookmatching was fine. I literally picked it up the first time and it sounded and played exactly right. Other than intonation adjustments when changing string types I have done very little to it.

Archtops are not as hearty as a Telecaster or a Les Paul but I have used it on jobs with no problems. I have played it outside at garden-party gigs with no ill effect.

There are no strap buttons on mine unless you count the endpin and there are no problems with that.

In 11 years I can only remember two trussrod adjustments and the guitar has been through at several major climate changes. It was built in Michigan and delivered to a store in Minneapolis. I picked it up and flew it to Denver and have since moved to Arizona.

I have no fear of failures with this guitar but I will only take ot to small jazz venues from now on. If I need more volume than a job like that requires I'll use a solid-body.

I called Heritage once about a possible upgrade to the pickup. They were very helpful and friendly. I have no concerns whatsoever about their customer support.

I have been playing since 1966 and own several solid body guitars and basses in addition to the Heritage. I also own a Godin Nylon Duet which is a thin bodied electric classical.

I would replace this guitar in a heartbeat if it were ever lost. If I had it to do over again I would probably choose a natural finish over sunburst both to show off the spruce top and the beautiful mahogany grain of the back and sides.

When I bought this guitar (1992) I had been looking for an archtop and had come across a Heritage Golden Eagle in a Denver music store. This particular Golden Eagle had been special-ordered with mahogany back and sides instead of the normal maple. I loved that sound and sought to buy that guitar but the store was reluctant to address a fret problem that had arisen. Because the first store ran me around on the fret issue I placed a call to Lavonne Music in Savage, Minnesota and ordered an Eagle made with the same combination of mahogany and spruce. The simpler trim of the Eagle gave me the straightforward appearance I desired.

Overall, I think that Heritage makes a great guitar and that I also had the good fortune to get a guitar that was exceptionally good sounding even for a Heritage. I could not think of a way to improve on the sound of this archtop. In my little world this is the best archtop guitar I could imagine. I wouldn't trade it for a D'Angelico.

I bought this guitar for my son in late 2003. He currently has the jazz guitar chair in the City of Phoenix CityJazz Program. I met one of the founders of Heritage in Hawaii a few years ago and when the need for a "jazz box" arose I contacted Heritage and reviewed their guitars compared to Gibson. Frankly, I was amazed. Gibson makes guitars mostly without solid wood tops and I have been told since I was small...a long time ago....make sure the top is solid.
The guitar details of the standard Eagle model are available at the Heritage web page. It has everything a jazz player could need done in the most beautiful and traditional sense of jazz boxes I could imagine. My son loves the instrument, and I get to play it now and then. I asked the company for their recommendation for his situation and the Eagle was their starting point. I know there will be more Heritage's in his future.

This is a true jazz box...no illusion. The sound is fantastic. Using the guitar with just about any amp is fine, but my son has come to like the sound through an Ultrasound Acoustic Amp. The sound is rich and full from the single pickup. There is no noise, and he uses no effect pedals although I note he will sometimes use chorus and/or reverb from the amp if available. Indoors, outdoors. They play everywhere and this guitar gets rave reviews. Real deal.

We have never found a single flaw on the guitar. Everything has always been perfect.

He has played over forty shows, traveled, done a hundred or so rehearsals. This is a kid who wears out PRS saddles, knobs, frets, tuners, etc. very, very fast. It was inevitable that if any guitar was going to encounter difficulties, this one would with my son playing it. He plays very aggressively and plays a great deal of time every day. More on this, see Customer Support.

This is the reason I wrote the review. The Eagle pickguard popped loose which affected the pickup position. Two small screws that hold the pickguard in place came loose....again...he has played the guitar a bunch and traveled extensively since getting the guitar.
Well, I contacted Heritage and returned the guitar to them for a once over and repair. They not only gave it a once over, fixed a couple minor things they noted that we didn't, provided extra supplies in case an emergency developed, fixed the original problem, cleaned and polished it back to new....but did it the same day it got there and shipped it back.
I have played for forty years and owned nearly everything I ever liked in guitars and amps and I have always had service problems with Gibson, Fender, Marshall, Mesa Boogie (although minor with these guys), Rickenbacker, Hughes & Kettner, etc. Actually everyone except PRS and even they don't meet Heritage.
What is wrong with all of us? These guys make awesome instruments. If you ever think about a Gibson 335, check out the Heritage 535. It totally blows the 335 away at a better price. They have retained the Heritage of Gibson before Gibson became what it is today. Greatest experience I have ever had with a manufacturer of a musical instrument.

I have been playing for forty years and my son for about six. If the Eagle vanished, it would be replaced as fast as possible. He and I both love the authentic nature of the guitar and the sound it produces, as have the audiences of CityJazz. The value in this guitars exceeds the value of any other instrument either of us have owned, and they have been and are numerous. For its purpose....awesome.
When he graduates from high school there will be another Heritage in the gifts of graduation.

The features of this guitar have been described below, so no need for much more discussion of them. Solid carved spruce top, floating pick-up, one volume control and no tone control, long scale neck, 17" body, and made in Kalamazoo, of course. A guitar like this is not designed to have a ton of features, so my rating reflects the features it does have. It is a simple, well designed, and elegant instrument. It was initially difficult to get used to not having a tone knob, but not a big deal in the long run. Puts the focus back on the player, in terms of sound production - most other instruments don't have tone knobs! Came with a nice hard shell case. I was able to take advantage of a small lacquer check on the back to reduce the price two or three hundred dollars.

I think this guitar sounds great. I play almost exclusively jazz, and the Eagle is great for something close to a Wes Montgomery sound, in terms of soloing. I also like it for big band and four-to-the-bar style rhythm. Obviously, there is not a variety of different sounds in terms of flipping a switch or rolling off a tone knob. I tried playing it first through a Polytone, which wasn't really a great combination. I'm currently using a Roland Blues Cube BC-30 with this guitar, and I'm very pleased with the sound. I will probably continue to check out other amps, as finances allow, but have no qualms at this time with the Eagle/Roland match. Pick up is the one supplied by Heritage, and is very quiet.

The fit and finish of this guitar pleased me greatly, and I dare say is much better than something comparable from Gibson. I mentioned the lacquer check above, it's barely visible and saved me some cash, so enough said about it. The one major flaw is the fret work, which wasn't great. This is a common complaint about the instruments currently coming out of the Heritage factory, so take note. I have taken my Eagle to a professional to have the frets dressed, etc. The guitar was set up with fairly light strings - .10s or .11s, which is not my preference but not a big deal either. I've since had it set up for .13s. The one thing I'm not crazy about is the pick up connection to the volume, which is done with an RCA hook-up. I believe this is intended to make it easier to swap out the pick up, but has a tendency to bang around. The finish is great, as far as I can tell. My major problem is with the fret work.

I've had this guitar for a few months, so can't speak to it's longevity. However, it seems to be very sturdy and reliable. At this point I can say I depend on it, have not brought a back-up to the gigs I've used it on, and do not anticipate any problems with it in the near future.

I have not had need of customer support, so will not offer a rating in this area. I will say that I've heard good things about Heritage's customer support from others. Also, I bought this guitar from a heritage dealer in Florida, Jay Wolfe. He was great to deal with, and I feel that he would stand by his product. I wouldn't hesitate to contact him with any problems.

I've played guitar for over twenty years, and have played jazz for almost that long. My other guitar is a Gibson 175, which is very different from the Eagle (and sounds great on the Polytone, by the way!), but it's nice to have the diversity. I feel the Eagle is really an incredible value, and would not hesitate to buy another if it came to that. I did a lot of research before making my purchase, and believe that I couldn't have done better for the money I had to spend. Like I said, it's not a particularly fancy instrument, but try getting a carved top for under 2K from any other company. One argument that I came up against while I did my research was that Heritage has a low resale value, which may or may not be true. However, I'm not buying an instrument as an investment - I'm buying it to play, with the expectation that I'm going to like it, use it, and hang on to it. These are the merits upon which I've based my decision to make a purchase.

This is an American made archtop. Its all solid mahogany, even the top. Its got 20 frets and 1 floating "Heritage Jazz" pickup with just a volume knob on the pickguard. It has a single rounded "Venitian" cutaway. Rosewood fretboard and bridge and a trapeze tailpiece. Grover tuners. It came with a fine hardshell case. It is a very plain guitar without many features but I give it a ten in this catagory anyway because I don't see that you'd want anything eles. I'm one of those guys whose fine with one pickup and no binding on the F-holes. It could use a strap button though.

Well it sure sounds good to me. Not very versitile but you wouldn't expect it to be. It is a wonderful jazz axe of course but does fine for old country tunes and blues. Not a lot of Fender"twang" but you can play rock n' roll on it if your old fashioned. Plugged in to a Mesa Boogie it sounds a lot like a Les Paul till you pull that treble down. With a Fender Princeton it sounds almost the same as it does unplugged, which is very good, I don't plug it in when I'm alone. You have to plug in to jam with others, a Martin flat-top drowns it right out. This is an electric guitar. I hate to use words to describe sound but I'll say its your "rich full" sound, balenced, not a bad spot on the neck. The pickup is quiet as a field mouse. All around its louder, and ballsier and stronger than my Gibson ES-125.

When I got this guitar it was used, though in perfect condition, not played much at all{the last owner sure didnt like it as much as I do!} It had heavey flat-wound strings on, which my friends liked but I sure didn't. I put on round-wound 13's and they'er very nice but I can now detect a slight buzz on the upper frets but only when playing unplugged so I havn't botherd trying to adjust it. The pickup is very close to the strings and is not adjustable. I don't want to gush to much over this thing but there is really nothig wrong with it. Very nice deep brown sunburst, flawless laquer, no loose parts, perfect intonation. Pull it out of the case and everyone looks twice. The only thing thats a little weird is they didn't bevel the edges of the plastic pickguard and they feel sharp, but of course you'd never feel it while playing. I'll experiment with lighter bendable strings but I think this guitar likes heavy strings.

I havn't owned this guitar a long time but it certainly feels durable. Its heavey. Nice thick top. The finish feels good and thick. The one stap button is also the input jack, on the tailpiece and it is all good solid stuff. The wiring is hard to see but it also looks good. Holds it tune very well. I'll say its a very dependable axe that dosn't really need a backup but when I play out I always bring at least two. Gotta play all them guitars somtime!

I got it used and it was six years old so I don't know about any warranty. I've also never spoken to Heritage Guitar but they do have a nice website.

I've been playing for over 20 years. I've been collecting too much gear in that time{14 guitars}. I have a guitar for every style of music I play. I use a Gibson Les Paul for loud music and a Guild D-44 flat-top for quiet music. The heritage is for in between. I'd get another one of these is it was stolen because I love the quality of this instrument and its simple appointments. The other archtop I compared it too is my Gibson ES-125. This axe is a lot tougher than that one. My favorite thing about the Heritage is the price to quality ratio. I never thought I'd find an American made no plywood archtop that I could afford. This is the most expensive piece I ever bought.

Made in 2000 (I think) in Kalamazoo, MI.

Basically a Heritage Eagle with a few upgrades. Solid spruce top, mahogany back and sides. Single ply creme binding on body, neck and headstock. Unbound f-holes. Body is antique sunburst - beautiful finish. I like it much better that Gibson's Vintage Sunburst. Single floating humbucker with volume control. Grover tuners, chrome hardware. Rosewood fingerboard and bridge.

Hardshell case included. Didn't come with a truss rod wrench. I had to get a standard Gibson wrench and file it down to fit into the nut cavity.

This is a great jazz box. I had been looking for a solid carved archtop for over a year and tried several different models including: Gibson L-4, L-5, ES-175, Super 400, Fender D'Aquisto, several Guild models. I originally wanted an L-4 because it was in my price range and had a solid spruce top, but when I tried to have Gibson Custom Shop build one without the bridge pickup, they wanted an additional $500. The L-5 is great, but too expensive. Guilds felt cheap to me. Super 400 is too big, and way too expensive. I liked the Fender, but it was used and I wanted an American made guitar. When I found out about Heritage, I was very interested in verifying the positive feedback that I read. I played a few and was impressed. The carved body and spruce top with minimal hardware affecting the vibration of the wood creates what I consider to be the ideal jazz sound. Very warm, rich, and well balanced. I play with a guy who uses an ES-175 as his working axe and there is no comparison. Acoustically, it sounds like he is playing a piece of plywood. The Heritage is in a different league. Electrically, the sound is also quite good, although feedback can be a problem if amplified too much. I find that most of jazz guitars that I played sounded reasonably well plugged in, anyway. Don't expect a versatile instrument with this guitar, just great jazz tone.

The action was a little high when I bought this guitar and the neck needed some adjustment - and it was strung with roundwound 10's. I was anticipating a poor setup based on what I read in other reviews, but it wasn't too bad. I heard that Heritage seats all the frets by hand, so problems might be experienced within the first couple of months. I immediately switched to flatwound 12's and made the necessary adjustments. I actually made samll adjustments over the course of a couple weeks because the increase in string tension required quite a few turns of the truss rod nut. Now, with a straight nech and good action, I have a guitar that plays effortlessly with no buzz - except on the D string at the forst and second frets - but I believe that has to do with a high third fret.

The finish is excellent! The sunburst is smooth and the lacquer is lightly and evenly applied. The only flaws I can find are a few blobs of glue inside the guitar, but you really have to inspect closely to see them. Even the pickgaurd is solid mahogany with a nice dark burst applied. The creme binding is understated and really gives the appearence of a high quality axe.

Seems solid.

I called Heritage to find out setup specs and to ask if I would be voiding the warranty by installing a strap button to the neck. I heard that doing so on a Gibson would void the warranty. I spoke with someone there (I assumed it was one of the luthiers) and he was very friendly and helpful. By the way, as long as you don't damage the guitar by installing the strap button, the warranty stands.

This is an unbelievable value. I was told by many skeptics that I shouldn't buy a Heritage because it wouldn't hold its value. Well I ain't ever selling this thing. For less that $2000, you get a solid carved guitar (for more or less you can order just about any custom feature Heritage offers) that is similar in style to a Gibson L-5, and in my opinion sounds just as good.

I currently own an American Standard Strat w/ Kinman pickups and a Taylor 310CE acoustic. I play through a Fender Blues Junior and a Fender Acoustasonic SFX. The Heritage sounds great through the SFX and feedback is less of a problem.

If anyone is looking for a great jazz box without breaking their bank account, check one of these out. They are hard to find and they don't advertise, but that is the reason they are so inexpensive. They claim to be 90% handmade - and American made with quality materials.

New ('97?) Made by former Gibson luthiers in the old Kalamazoo factory. Custom carved mahogany top archtop, all solid mahogany, simple appointments, unbound rosewood fretboard. 20 med. frets, nicely finished. 25.4" scale length. Fade stain (sunburst)glossy. One volume knob mounted on mahogany pickguard. Chord jack mounted through tailpiece strap button. Single floating mount pickup, humbucking, no adjustments. Rosewood bridge, Gibson ES-175 style tailpiece. Hardshell case, 5 latches.

Good acoustic tone for unplugged practice. A spruce top would have more bass response. Great plugged in so-called "jazz" sound with clean amp settings. Feedsback readily. No hum. I use for Showtunes, solos, rhythm section work, small combos, intimate settings. This is an acoustically responsive archtop, though best plugged in. It does what I bought it for: A soft archtop "jazz" tone.

Excellent fit and finish throughout. It was designated a 2nd because of two hairline wood cracks over internal end blocks. Full warranty. I doubt the cracks could spread or lengthen, given their locations. Its a beatiful guitar. I'm glad they didn't trash it. Bummer for Heritage, excellent discount for me!

Good solid giggable ax. Grover sealed machines. No worries.

One year warranty. I think a well crafted, luthiered guitar like this can always be repaired by a competent luthier. I expect for problems

38+ years experience. All styles. Also have Gibson Advanced Jumbo '36 reissue flat-top, and American Standard Telecaster. Two amps. I'd buy the exact same guitar in a heartbeat! I never thought I could afford a domestic made archtop until I checked this one out. Its great. A really nice guitar. Simple, the way I like 'em. Affordable too.