Heritage H-535

There are already plenty of reviews here about this guitar's features, so I'll try not to repeat that information. Mine does have the standard Heritage humbuckers (i.e. not Seymour Duncan) and I am presuming that these are still the Schaller-made pickups as they mount with the two mounting screws per side as do Schallers, a feature I like, by the way. The finish is Almond Sunburst and it is just beautiful. They picked a nice top with some flame and a bit of burl. Not over-the-top with grain like some guitars. I really don't care for the over-emphasis of wood grain like you see on many PRS and Carvin guitars. After all I want to play this thing, not just polish it and hang it on a wall to look at. This is a musical instrument, not a showpiece. It comes with Grover tuners and a hardshell case. The quality of the case is OK, but not near the quality you'll get from Ibanez for an AS-200, a comparable guitar, and I own one of those, too. I got a terrific deal on the H-535 guitar, as far as price, but I'm not going to list that. I bought it from Elderly Instruments and I've been treated well by them in the past on other purchases, but they dropped the ball on this one. So, the review is partly about them and partly about Heritage, the company. They both let me down, but since I know how to repair guitars and do it pretty well, I bailed out myself.

I'm pretty picky about guitar tone and full-size humbucker tonality and have changed out pickups on most dual humbucker guitars, but I won't need to on this one. Tone is in the ears of the beholder, but I will say that this guitar's unplugged tone is so good that I believe it accounts for most of the plugged-in tone. The Schallers are fine. The tone is very defined without being too etchy, smooth in the neck position, and with use of the tone control for the bridge pickup, I can easily dial in what I want there, punchy but not ice-picky. Sometimes guitar players expect pickups to do miracles. If the guitar is a dog unplugged, buying boutique "hand-wounds" for $250 apiece is not going to do anything but deplete your bank account.

On the positive side, the finish is great, and the binding is well done (except I don't understand why they trimmed the plastic at the heel with an odd contour except that was to help it to be more comfortable to reach in the upper range of the guitar beyond the twelfth fret, but the shaping of this trim piece was a bit sloppy, to say the least). The Gibson sytle Nashville bridge (I don't like those bridges) with the thick thumbweels does not leave a lot of adjustment room. The way Heritage mounts the neck to the body allows the bridge to be closer to the top. That's a good thing, but it would be better if they used the ABR type with smaller thumbwheels. I may put a new Calliham on this. The pots are silky smooth and they use good quality film caps instead of the junk most companies use. The controls have a good, smooth taper. They're audio taper pots and give you what audio pots give but with a bit more travel, somewhere between audio and linear, or what I think is perfect. The pickup rings are arched too much for this guitar. Actually flat rings might fit a bit better. Lastly, the fret job on this guitar is as perfect as it gets! I've never seen a better one on any guitar at any price. Here's my real gripe: The nut was cut wrong. It was waaayyy off! I don't know how they could have made such a great guitar and let the guitar out of the factory like this. There was a big gap between the treble E and B and a big gap between the bass side E and A. The other four strings were equally spaced. If you know anything about string spacing you know that six nut slots have to be cut so the center of each slot is center to the string center, taking into account the outer windings on wound strings. If you don't have one of those gauges you can get from Stew-Mac - I don't - then you have to be intuitive (experience helps) about this or have another nut from which you can pattern a new one. I presume that manufacturers have some sort of nut jig set up to make these in volume for the same guitar to the same specs. This one was done by somebody who was completely clueless. The saddles are really not notched right either. I had to buy a Tusq nut and re-shape it and make it for this guitar. I just got finished working on the guitar yesterday. The guitar plays like butter and the strings are spaced like they are supposed to be.

I called Elderly Instruments and asked to speak to a tech. The guitar had a tag on it with the initials K.C. The guy I spoke with said his name was "Shell." Well, I don't speak Norweigian and did not know that "Shell" was spelled Kjell. I was speaking to the guy who inspected it - he does repair work at Elderly - and he was not honest enough to admit he was the guy who looked at it before it was shipped. He said I could send it back or Elderly would give me $36 for a local repair shop to fix it, "although you probably won't find one who will do it for $36.00." Really helpful, that guy! I didn't want to give FedEx two more opportunities to destroy the guitar, so I decided to keep it and fix it myself.

I took photos of the guitar nut and sent those to Heritage. I guy named Ren got back to me and said he would send me a nut blank. Whoopee! He never sent it. It was supposed to go out on a Monday. I waited almost two weeks. It never came. I wrote him back and told him how much I appreciated that he at least wrote me back (meaning to be sarcastic). These people don't seem to realize that there are musicians who read these reviews and they further don't seem to understand that these reviews can affect their sales, plus or minus! I don't mean to throw the baby out with the bathwater, but I will think twice about buying a Heritage guitar again, and I'm going to think twice about buying from Elderly again. In time, because the guitar is so good, I'll get over it. For now....

Overall, this is a very well made guitar, except for the problem I mentioned. It has a feel of guitars made in the late 50's or 60's that you just don't get today and that is because of the more handmade nature of it. Guitars made on CNC machines have their benefits, too. In the end, you pick up the instrument and it either speaks to you or it doesn't.

See my previous comments.

I'm going to rate the guitar not the customer support.

This lovely work of art was hand crafted in the Heritage Custom Shop in Kalamazoo, Michigan sometime in 2007. It is a deep chestnut burst with standard dual volume and tone controls. It has Seymour Duncan '59's at the neck and bridge.

I'm not sure of the wood this is made out of, but the top has a very elegant quilt that you can see easily through the burst.

The neck is fairly wide and chunky, just how I like them. Heritage will vary their necks to your liking, so no worries if you don't like that kind of neck.

The fit and finish of this guitar is spotless. It is perfect in every way. The binding is perfect, the fret ends are perfect, I could go on, but you don't want me to.

The only reason this doesn't get a 10, is that the features are pretty basic and straightforward.

I plug this guitar into a Dimebag Crybaby Wah > Carl's Custom Guitars Univibe/Phase 90 > Analogman modded Small Stone > stock TS 9 > Analogman Sun Face (high gain NKT 275) > Ernie Ball Volume/Boss TU-2 > Boss DD 20 > Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue.

I play many styles, but lean toward jazz, blues, Americana/roots rock (ala Black Crowes), and jam styles. This guitar suits these styles perfectly. I've been able to coax some Zakk Wylde pinch harmonics out of it, but I wouldn't rely on this guitar for your sole metal axe. There are better guitars for metal.

This guitar is so full of mojo that I cannot even do it justice. Even unplugged an open G chord will ring for days, and you can feel this baby come alive when you pick it up.

Plugging it in just takes the mojo to an entirely new level. It is dead quiet if you're not playing. Neck pickup settings are very rich, warm, and woody. A very organic and nuanced sound can be had. The volume and tone controls will take you all over the stylistic world, from Bluesbreakers to Kenny Burrell. The bridge pickup is just plain fun. It will take my DRRI and kick it into a beautiful, natural overdrive that is very responsive to the volume knob. Add some overdrive or Fuzz, and you can go anywhere in the rock world you want.

There is a reason that artists of so many different styles choose this kind of guitar- it's versatility and mojo can't be topped.

This guitar has no flaws at all. The only dislike I had was the light gauge strings that came with it, but that's just taste, and had nothing to do with the guitar. I strung it up with a set of DR Tite Fit 11's and it was sonic heaven.

Heritage takes immense pride in hand crafting these instruments. You can sense this by just picking one up and playing it. I don't know if it's possible, but the folks that made this beauty may have loved it almost as much as I do.

I've had it for 6 months and play it at gigs weekly without a backup. I play this guitar literally every day, and it looks like the day I got it. I take very good care of my instruments, but play them pretty hard- so this one is holding up well. I don't know that I've had it long enough to really comment on it's long term durability. I'll post another review of it in ten years and let you know!

I haven't dealt with Heritage directly, as I bought this guitar from Wolfe Guitars. There is no finer dealer anywhere. I had found several H-535's on their online inventory that I was interested in. I called on a day that the store was actually closed, and Jay answered. He talked with me probably for an hour about these guitars- on his day off!

The next day, Graham called me. He had all of these guitars lined up and played them all for me and described them. He nailed it on this one. I will buy from Wolfe Guitars again when it's time to add another Heritage to the stable. So, my rating is more for Wolfe Guitars, but they deal directly with Heritage, so I don't feel so bad giving either of them a perfect rating.

This is my "retirement" present, although I'm about 30 years off from that. I love everything about this guitar. It has soul, and it feels alive to play it. There are some instruments that you just connect with, and this one is one of them. The sound, the feel, the way that it guides your heart to create beautiful sounds and music- these all make this guitar perfect. I compared this guitar to Gibson ES-335's, CS-336's, and an L5. These were great guitars, but even the most bare bones, low end ES 335 cost more than this, and only one of the 336's came close to the mojo factor that my Heritage has.

I'm not going to get on my soapbox for very long, but you really should check out the history of the Heritage company. You'll find that alot of the folks that are making these lovely instruments by hand today are the same people that made the vintage Gibson instruments that we all spend waaaaaay too much money on. If you're not aware- the Heritage factory used to be the original Gibson factory when they were in Kalamazoo. A quality, handcrafted instrument is not cheap- but when stacked up next to a comparable Gibson, you'll find them to be very fairly priced.

If this guitar were lost or stolen I would be very sad. I would contact Jay or Graham at Wolfe Guitars and start the search for another Heritage once I got out of my grief counseling.

1993 Heritage 535 which I bought in Sept 07 for $1,000. Natural finish (maple, light blonde, lightly figured wood), double cutaway 335-style semi-hollow body, maple laminate top and bottom, mahogany neck, figured wood pickguard, 2 Schaller humbuckers, 2 volume and tone controls, Grover tuners, roller type bridge, hard stop tail piece, nitrocellulose finish, hard shell case.

Very solid, vintage PAF sound. Depending on the amp and amp settings, I can get a classic jazz sound or a great vintage blues sound. This guitar will rock too. The Schallers are very articulate pick ups; not particularly hot or over wound. The best word I can come up with is articulate; really articulate. Based on the number of 535 owners who wrote reviews and ordered their guitars with Seymour Duncans, I was initially worried about the quality of the Schallers. However, the owner of the shop I got it from urged me to give them a fair hearing; saying that Heritage was a quality brand and that they had reasons for picking Schallers. He was right. In the neck position, with a clean, jazz type amp setting, the Schaller has that distinct, soft, woody snap or pop that I associate with 335 style guitars (third, forth and fifth strings on the upper frets). It is really beautiful. For that sound alone, if that is all this guitar could do, I would be completely happy. The first and second strings are softer sounding on the higher frets; great for blues and jazz. But, with something other than a clean amp setting, the neck pick up can be a little colorless. The bridge pick up is much brighter and the third, forth and fifth strings on the upper frets have a brassy, trumpet type quality. I eventually did a side by side, digitally recorded comparison of the 535s Schallers with my Gibson Les Paul with Burstbucker Pro Vs and my Epiphone Sheraton with a Seymour Duncan Jazz and a Custom Custom. The pick ups all sounded great; they were often indistinguishable from one another. IMO, quality pick ups in the same style (PAF or not overly hot), are just subtle variations of each other; more alike than not. All had that great 335 type woody pop in the neck and a sweet, brassy quality in the bridge. As with other guitars, the amp and amp settings are also key tone components; they either allow you to unlock what the guitar has got or it works against the guitar. IMO, this guitar works best with a tube amp (on the clean side) and a little overdrive; for me, its my Fender Deluxe Reverb RI or Blues Jr with a Fulltone Full Drive 2 pedal or my Chandler Tube Driver (rack version). My guitar teacher recently played my 535 and really put it through its paces and said it was a perfect guitar. I agree.

For a 14 year old guitar, it is in terrific shape; no dings, dents or scratches. I got real lucky. This is also a beautifully made guitar. The neck is straight and this one is definitely on the thin tapered side. It is a pleasure to play. In the music shop, I was comparing it to a used, 2005 Gibson 335 with a thin, tapered neck and the Heritage was slimmer and easier to play. That really sold me. It has the width of a Gibson and the girth of a Fender. The action is terrific; no string buzz or dead spots. Tone and volume controls operate smoothly with no sudden sound drop out. The pick up selector switch is silent and rock solid. The Grover tuners are very accurate and this guitar stays in tune. The top is just lightly figured, nothing wild, with a natural finish. It is very classy. Nothing over the top. If it calls attention to itself at all, it is because it is understated and just plain cool looking. One small thing I like, the input jack is on the side of the guitar (like a Les Paul) and not on the top of the body like a 335. Why drill another hole into the top of the guitar body and detract from that lightly figured wood? Every aspect of this guitar is well done and well thought out. It even sounds good acoustically; a real first rate musical instrument. The quality is very high all the way around and I think the little tweaks and personal attention to detail at all stages of the build add up to a discernable, qualitative difference. It is hard to describe; but this guitar just has a real presence to it. My guitar horizons have really been broadened.

In light of how great this guitar is at 14 years, reliability and durability are superb.

No need to call so far. It seems Heritage was having some problems within the past year or so. But, the website says that they have reformulated their ownership and hierarchy, and have resumed production of guitars. That was good news. So I guess they will still be around to handle any problems that might come up. Whatever happened, I hope they maintain the same traditions and standards. These guys really know how to build a guitar

Although I have some great guitars, this is a qualitatively different instrument. As I said earlier, this 535 has broadened my guitar horizons. It is a very different thing. It is not flashy or showy, just great, unmistakable quality and attention to detail. I have always liked 335s, but I could never justify the cost. I have played a lot of used and new Gibson 335s for the last few years and, when it came down to this used Heritage and a used 335, the Heritage was the better guitar. Although it was more than I would usually spend on a used guitar, I am very happy I bought it. The 535 is the real deal; and, since it was built by a lot of the original Gibson staff with the original Gibson equipment, you could say that this is the real vintage deal. In this case, it had a lot more presence than the new or used Gibson 335s in the store. The attention to detail is great, the sound is great, the playability is great. I am very happy with it. I think the quality is beyond question.

1998 Heritage H-535 SSB. Made in Kalamazoo, MI -USA-

This is a high quality USA made copy of Gibson's ES-335.

In terms of materials used and sheer craftsmanship the H-535 surpasses that of the ES-335.
-bound multi-ply laminated maple top and back
-solid maple rim
-one piece mahogany set neck
-bound rosewood fretboard
-24.75" scale
-high gloss nitro cellulose finish
-mother of pearl "dot" inlay
-chrome Grover rotomatic tuners
-chrome covered Schaller "golden 50" humbuckers
-chrome Schaller "roller-bridge"
-chrome schaller tailpiece (stop bar)
-amber "bell" knob controls
-3 way toggle
-bound "ebony" pickguard

This guitar has really got it all.
The parts are of very good quality and the overall construction is very solid.

The wood has a ton of figure and the SSB "Sunset Burst Finish" is very attractive.
It is a 3-tone burst using only two spray colours. when the outer ring meets the inner ring it creates the third colour.

All the binding is clean and there is no "orange peel" in the finish anywhere.

The neck is very straight and the fretwork is actually quite good.
The truss rod is identical that of a gibson. If you dont like the Heritage truss cover you can use a Gibson bell cover and it will fit very well with no modification.

The neck is a very nice shape and size falling nicely in between the '59 and slim-taper 60's necks by Gibson.

It has "some" mass (no where as clunky as a '59) but it still very accessible and fast.

The H-535 is a very balanced instrument and the stock Schaller pickups are a perfect fit for this semi-hollow instrument. This is probably the first instance where i have seen an OEM set of pickups actually work incredibly well in its intended instrument.
They have a good bit of tonal character and never get muddy or shrill. I have found that my tone controls are not as obsolete as I thought in the past...and actually enable me to dial in the right amount of "mojo".

The electronic components such as pots, caps and jacks are of very high quality... in this instrument "cloth" wire was used and the caps are not ceramic...but higher quality not found in anything Gibson makes outside the "custom shop".

The input jack is located on the lower-bout "rim"... not on the top like a typical 335.
I am rather find of this modification as it eases any stress of "cord" related incidents, ect.

This came with the original Hard Shell case and Hang Tags.

My only complaint is the logo. It looks like a sprayed on or decal... and it was put on very crooked and is not centered on the headstock... this really irks me as quality goes. It really kills the symmetry. The guitar would do well with a simple "pearl" logo.

The overall sound is wonderful.
The H-535 is very balanced and organic.

It's tone is very woody and resonant unlike the Gibson's... which have a tendency to sound rather "plinky" un-plugged.

All the electronic components are well-suited for this model... and bring out the best that this instrument has to offer.

The H-535 is very versatile and can cover all the bases effortlessly... from jazz, blues and rock and pop.

I think a "varitone system" in this particular model would extend this guitars versatility into the stratosphere.

I got this guitar used from Wolfe Guitars.

I was a little misled in thinking this guitar was in immaculate condition.
The headstock has few minor chips actually in the wood and there are a couple deeper scratches in the top... particularly by the tailpiece.

I was told the bridge and stopbar were replaced and was aware of that upon buying.

The stopbar was nickel and did not match any of the hardware (colour wise) and the bridge was a TonePros that could not be possibly locked down as the improper mounting studs were used ( actually the original schaller studs remained on the guitar).

Due to this the bridge was sliding and the intonation was all out of whack and the guitar was virtually un-tunable... I don't discount that the strings has lost their life as the cold weather during shipping may have taken a toll on them.

The frets had quite a bit more wear than I expected and there were several "divots" in the frets within the first 5 frets or so...

I contacted Wolfe Guitars and explained the problem and they promply sent me the original bridge as well as tailpiece... so I could keep the guitar 100% original. They were very gracious and quite professional and friendly over the phone.

I also releveled the frets and recrowned and polished them... I also recut the nut slots and intonated the guitar.

The setup was fair but in many ways rather "in-complete".

Now that all things are taken care of this guitar is a monster...in a positive way.

If taken care of i believe every guitar can last forever.

I believe the reliability and durability of this guitar in my possession is great and will probably last me as long as I want it to last.

I downsized my collection to get this guitar. I now have only one other electric guitar and I am depending on this 535 along with my custom made Telecaster to handle it all.

I have great faith in this instrument for the years to come.

SEE ACTION, FIT & FINISH.

I bought this guitar under the pretense of being "the one".

I still stand by that assumption and am still confident that it is.

I see guys looking for the ultimate guitar in terms of versatility and I have done the same in years past. A guitar is only as versatile as the player.

I have always said that a great guitar inspires a player to be better. The Heritage H-535 does just that.

With the high build quality, options, overall vibe and price how can it not inspire???

The Heritage H-535 is a good solid investment that seems to hold it value quite well.
The 1997 BlueBook of guitars had the original MSRP of this guitar at $1500.00...
The 2006 Vintage Guitar guide listed this at being worth $1200.00 plus.

it has retained most of its value over the past decade and being an American made piece will continue to do so.

Bought it used in near mint condition. Electronically and wood-wise, everything you would expect from a 335's close derivative. Mine has a beautiful Dark Almond Burst, which is near to never found on a Gibson. A TKL case included. Anchor key included, too. Made in 2005 (so, her best times are still yet to come). The main noticeable differences from 335 in design are the headstock (makes it look kinda modern) and the form pickguard (I like it lots).

By the time I was bying this baby, I had tried several various ES-335's already, so I did have expectations. Not dissapointed at all. Even with .009 strings, the sound was fat and solid, and had beautiful overtones. I play .011s, and that's a real pleasure on this instrument!

As for amps, I've tried this one with Fenders Twin and Deluxe, a Marshall JCM 2000 and a 1x12 Mesa Boogie (not sure about the model). I play into a crunch channel mainly - just plain crunch sound. It sounded great with all of the amps, but I really loved the sound with the JCM and the Mesa. Fenders are for Fenders, to my opinion (unless you want a pure clean sound, in which case better go for a Twin).

It's as versatile as a guitar like this can be. I also keep in mind that it takes a versatile player for any guitar to be versatile. Mine has no coil-splitter, but I don't miss it when playing. The neck pickup does that rounded, jazzy sound (which can blow you off the floor if you crank up the amp) and the bridge pickup is a real screamer! Think 'Paranoid Android' but twice more hysterical - just what I always hoped to get from a Les Paul, haha. The mix of the pickups is really good, too.

This guitar sounds great both in a studio mix and in a dictaphone audience recording.

In a word, I found all of this guitar's sounds to be what I'd dreamed of.

Perhaps, I'll have to A-B-compare it to a good old 335 to draw my final opinion. But even now I am sure this guitar deserves an honest 9 for the sound.

The action was very very good straight out of the box. I tried to loosen the anchor to better suit my custom, but I found the out-of-the box set up had been better, and turned it back.

The pickup adjustment was ok - no suprises here.

As for the rest in this topic - no flaws found, everything's perfect.

Today I dropped this guitar (no straplocks mounted yet - idiot, I know), then picked it up and it didn't even come out of tune. This guitar is as reliable as a semi-hollow can be. I use it onstage without even thinking of a back-up. I see no way this guitar could let me down.

Never had to deal with them.

I've been playing for 16 years now, 13 years in bands, 6 years for a living, and the living is good! Besides a Heritage, I also own a '78 Les Paul and a '00 Tele (USA-made, yes). I've also tried so many good guitars, newer and older, that I can hardly count - so I think I do know and feel what a good guitar is.

This guitar will inevitably get compared to a Gibson. But this one is more or other than just a copy. You can feel it in the looks (see Features), the feel (the neck), and the sound too.

If you want a Gibson ES-335, please wait for some more money and buy a 335. For some, the inlay logo on the headstock is no less inspiring that the sound, that's understandable; and a Gibson really has some important things about it that no other guitar can possibly have. But if all you want is a very beautiful semi-hollowbody guitar, hand-made in the USA, with a sound that makes you want to take it to bed, very player-friendly, constructed much like a 335, and all that for a $1400 - don't hesitate to go for an H-535.

If this guitar were stolen, the thief would have his hands cut off. If it were lost... no, that's hardly possible. This guitar doesn't have me quit dreaming of an old 335, but it sure stopped me drooling at the new ones. Yes, I do recommend it for anyone to try. Overall, it's an honest 9, if we disregard the money factor. It will be a 10 some years later: good guitars only get better.

I purchased this guitar about 10 years ago. It hung in a shop where pimply teenagers went for shredder guitars. The people in the shop didn't really know much about Heritage. I stalked this guitar for two years and finally made a ridicoulus offer This guitar was finished in Antique Sunburst. The finish was flawless. It's a thinline double cutaway like a Gibson 335, with a chrome after-market tune-a-matic like bridge and tailpiece. The tuners are chrome Grovers, non locking. I don't know who makes the pickups, but mine are really loud. The pivkups are passive black humbuckers with black rings but no covers. One tone and one volume knob and one knob to dial in the amount of "out of phase" you want. There are three mini toggle switches to tap the bridge or neck pickups with one to switch on the VIP, which is the "old style' VIP. There is a toggle switch which is mounted near the bridge to select pickups. The guitar has 22 frets and joins the body at the 20th fret. The scale length is 24.75" and the frets are pretty fat, set in a rosewood fingerboard. The fretboard is marked with dot MOP. The medium neck is cream bound Mahogony and the body is made of plywood. The body is slightly thinner than a Gibson 335 and has cream binding on top and bottom. The f-holes are not bound. There are no cover plates on the back which has some pretty tiger-striped maple.
The store where I bought this guitar had lost the case so they gave me a new Gibson 335 case complete with a hot pink satin interior.
This guitar was probably made in 1991 as it has a serial number that begins with "H."

I play blues, jazz and rock and this guitar can go all the way on everything. The pickups are very loud and can easily overdrive my Rivera Fifty-five Twelve. At full volume, the guitar can sound a little bit jangly. Both the tone and volume controls have a great deal of influence on the sound. Back off the volume and the guitar quiets down a great deal. You can back off the tone until you sound like Jim Hall. The coil splitting function and variable phase control gives the guitar thousands of sounds. For a really neat jazz sound, I really like putting the neck pickup in single coil and backing off the tone to about 50% of it's travel. Putting the bridge on single coil, you get a thinner bridge pickup sound which is neither Strat nor Tele but something else. Overall, this is a very good tonal range and not like the Gibson, which I heard someone say: "It can sound like a lot of different guitars, but does none of them really well."

I don't know how well the guitar was set up at the factory. It had remained in the shop for 6 years! One of the shop workers was sad to see it go because he said it was the best guitar in the shop for demoing different amps. I usually set up my own, but needed to do very little to this one. The thing buzzed on some of the higher notes but when I put on heavier strings, that went away. I have not noted any flaws either in finish or workmanship. The only thing I think would have been nice was if they bound the f-holes, but Heritage saved that for their upscale model, 555. This is really a pretty guitar. When I open that case with its hot pink satin, the dark brown guitar always evokes some ooos and ahs.

I do not play live or move my guitars around very much. If I did, I'd probably use my G&L S500, but I don't want to get a scratch on that either. I did take it to my lessons a few years ago. My teacher, Bob Shaw (http://www.geocities.com/bobshawguitar/) loves this guitar and offered to trade me his Gibson 345 for it! In his hands the guitar was a work of art! This guitar is well made but you don't want to bang it around, like some old solid-body. I'm sure the guitar will hold up without falling apart. The finish is well applied and very durable. I can depend on this guitar. After long lay-offs the guitar stays in relative tune, but needs to be tweaked up a little.

I have no warranty experience. There have been no problems with the guitar at all, but one of my friends tried to talk me into sending it to the factory to have the neck reset. I have called the factory and discussed whether I needed to send it in for any reason. Over the phone they were very helpful and eventually we all realized that my friend was a little on the hypochondriac side.

I've been playing over thirty years, but I never said I was good at it. I've owned a dozen guitars of all styles and this is the only one I'd never sell. I think about changing the pickups (read what Ed Roman says about Heritage guitars... He knows all the flaws) I don't really play good enough or have the kind of ears that distinguish the finer points, but it sounds good to me. I only own two other guitars: a Taylor mahogony cedar grand auditorium, and the G&L S500. The only thing I wish was different was the f-holes.

I'm not an expert. If I start to sound like one, move on to the next review because I'm probably full of shit.
I wanted an old 335 from the late 50's early 60's but I didnt have, you know, TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS laying around.
Having said that, this 2006 model is made just like they made them in the 50's.
This is a Custom Shop model, speced by Wolfe Guitars. They order them with all the right features and put them up on their website at wolfeguitars.com.
Mine has a gold top with walnut stained back, sides and pickguard, sperzel locking tuners, graphtec nut, schaller roller bridge and Duncan Seth Lover pickups. This setup keeps tuning with the Bigsby very stable. The Seth Lovers are my favorite pickups, very vintage sounding. They're not potted, which gives them added honk, but a little too much distortion and they squeel like pigs.
The neck is the most comfortable I've played. Somewhere between a 50's and 60's profile. Not sure on the weight, but it's feels lighter than a les paul or my old ES-135.
Case is a TKL, very nice but probably one step below their best model like the one that came with my Hamer. Fits perfectly though.

I play blues. Obviously, rock n roll is just white guys playing blues, so I play that too. I do some country stuff too but that's just red neck blues. It's all blues to me.
If you're looking at these, you probably know what they're for and know the roster of guys using them (Freddy, BB, WOF Clapton, Chuck, Alvin, Keith, the list goes on and on). I'm on a rockabilly kick lately and it's fine for that as well.
My G&L ASAT Bluesboy is the best sounding guitar I've ever heard, until I got this one. Same neck pickup, but this one just has more tone. The ASAT has that single coil in the bridge, so its still the twang king though.
All in all, I could not be happier with the sound of this, I would just make sure you know what pickups you like and have them installed.
I play through a couple of decent tube amps. I use a Blues Driver for some boost on the leads and thats it. I'm looking for a decent delay pedal now. The Rocktron that I bought is useless. The clean sound is so rich and warm but still cuts through the mix. Crank it up and the sustain and harmonics are just incredible.

These are Pleked at the factory. Some sort of laser guided fret machine that makes them perfect. Normally, it costs about $200 but its just part of the factory set up with Heritage. Wolfe Guitars did the final set up on this one, after I told them what strings to use, what I play, preferred action, etc. Set up was perfect and needed absolutely no tweeking.
When I went to install strap locks, I found that the end pin was not centered in the hole in the bigsby and didnt really fit right. They tried to fix it at the factory with a fill and re-drill but did a very poor job. Once I did it right (drill, dowel, glue) it was fine. I should not have had to do this on a guitar at this price. My work was better than Heritages, which should be very embarrassing for them.
Having said that, this seems like a very minor complaint to me because I am so happy with this guitar.
Overall, the fit and finish is very good. A step below my Hamer, but in line with the price difference between the two.
This is the only factory guitar I've ever seen that has a properly cut nut right out of the box. I read the reviews on 2 or 3 thousand dollar Gibby's and I'm appalled that people do $300 worth of fret work on a brand new guitar.
The input jack is mounted on the side rather than the top, great feature. However, they really should use a metal plate like an LP instead of mounting it right in the wood as it constantly loosens up. Annoying, but once again, minor.

I waited until I did a couple of gigs with it before I wrote this review. I think this design has proven itself over the last 50 years or so. We played outdoors in 90 degree weather with high humidity. The nitro finish on the back of the neck did get a little sticky, but it held up great and looks good covered in sweat.

The warranty says one year, but I hear Heritage is the best.

I've been playing since the days when "vintage" guitars affordable. I'm not a pro, maybe gig once a month or so.
Every time I open the case, I just smile. I think that says it all.
I wanted a vintage guitar for playing, not displaying. I wouldnt bring a $5,000 guitar out of the house. I looked at Gibsons but I picked this up for about $400 less than the cheapest Gibson 335 (you know, the one with no finish, cheap tuners and pickups that need to be replaced?) with top quality components, old time workmanship, great woods and all the features I wanted. I don't know what a Gibson with these features would cost but its more than I want to spend. Check out wolfeguitars.com and talk to Graham or Jay. Graham talks funny, but he's a good guy. I looked at Gretsch but they're over priced and I couldnt get past the disgusting colors on the ones I liked (the Setzer Hot Rod models). I also thought about getting an Epiphone and upgrading it but when I started doing the math, I would have paid close to the same price as this one for a Korean guitar. Bottom line is that this had all the features I wanted, was 100% ready to go out of the box and the price was right. I was also very comfortable dealing with Wolfe. Unlike the feeling I get from the super dealers. Wolfe Guitar guys are guitar guys, not $8 an hour clerks.
Without question, Heritage is the best value in vintage style guitars. People say they lose value whereas Gibsons gain value. True, but I'm looking to play guitars, not to resell them.

I have a 2006 antique burst, AAA flamed, rosewood fretboard, made, of course, in Kalamazoo. It has schaller pickups, gover tuners, a 59 neck; two volume, two tone controls. The same type of set up as my 78 ES-335 - except this plays much better.

Im playing through an 83 fender super champ and the guitar sounds amazing. bright when i want it, bassy when i want it, mellow for jazz all at the twist of the controls.

The set up from the factory was perfect. I had it professionally set up at my local Sam Ash and when I asked the guitar tech (generally a pretty dour fellow) his opinion of the 535 he just smiled. I cant find any flaws in the finish and the matching pickguard really makes the guitar look good.

Its my everday guitar and the one I take to play with friends and I have had absolutely no problems with it. It stays in tune going from the home to the car and back inside. I would never gig without a backup, but if I had to I would trust the 535.

I havent had to contact customer service.

I have been playing since 1976. I have six other guitars and I would definitely replace the 535 if it were stolen, lost or destroyed. I like the 535 better than my 335 because the feel is better - the neck is a bit thinner and the plekked frets feel smoother.

By now you are familiar with the H535 features. Laminate Maple semi-hollow, mahogany neck, 17 degree headstock angle, 2 hums, 2 tone, 2 vol, three way switch, grover tuners, nitro finish. Do you need anything else?

I'll mention the upgrades on mine. Duncan '59 pickups, vintage style tuneOmatic and stop tail.

Neck is bulky but in a good way...more on this later.

Great guitar for Jazz to Classic rock and anywhere in between. The duncan 59' pickups are very strong compared to my tele. I was suprised at how much louder they are than singles (I usually use singles and p90s). They definitely push the amp, but somehow they don't distort as much. By that i mean that singles sound more distorted at these volumes. Maybe these pickups compress a little more and therefore sound louder yet less distorted.

The bridge pickups is shimmery clean with no harsh ice-pick sounds. When driven, the bridge pup rips like it should. Great for zep-ish or ac/dc ish stuff. The Neck pup is my fav. Very complex and fat with the tone up. No lack of highs, but gives a very beefy 3-D sound that i can't get enough of. Roll back the tone about half-way on the neck pup and you're starting to get into jazz territory. Very lush and muted jazz tones, but never muddy. Not as open as a full hollwo Jazz box, but that's ok. My fav setting is both pickups with the bridge tone up and the neck tone 3/4 down.

Bought from Wolfe guitars and they had Plekked it. I don't know if the Plekk is responsible for the killer setup, but the setup is just that. PERFECT. The action was set at an average height (I like my action on the low side), but even at this height it was effortless to play. Eventually I lowered the action to my preferences with no trouble at all. I actually considered leaving the action higher as it played so well and i didn't want to fiddle with it. I'm glad i lowered it in the end though.

The neck is slightly fatter than I'm accustomed to, but definitely not a baseball bat. I found that I really like the substantial neck. It seems to just place my hand perfectly to reach everthing without straining. Great high fret access.

No flaws in any regard. The nut is cut as well as any guitar i've ever seen or played (not sure of nut material). The finish is beautiful shiny nitro. Glassy and flawless without being thick or gummy. A work of art.

It's a semi-hollow, so I tend to be more careful with it. I'm not hard on my guitars to begin with though. Hardware is all high quality and should last. I would happily gig w/o a backup.

N/A. Never had to deal with them.

Been playing 12 years. If stolen, I'd buy another in a heartbeat. I may buy another eventually anyway just because I like it so much. I love the beefy neck, the excellent pickups. I compared it to both old and new Gibson ES335s, epiphone dot, and Epiphone Sheratons. The epiphone dot was a fine guitar, solid, but I wanted something more high end. The new 335's were nice, but didn't really click with me. The few sheratons I played were very good and comparable to new 335's if you changed the pickups/pots and gave it a good setup. Played two 70s ES335s and those were great. They felt hefty yet alive...they just had the magic. The heritage 535 has that same magic in spades. I never played it before I bought it over the phone and luckily my expectatins were exceeded. The H535 seemed like the best choice for me because I didn't really connect with the new 335s or Sheratons, and I could not afford a vintage 335. If my H535 had been equal to the new 335 I would have been happy because it cost around a thousand less, and was even priced a little lower than some late 90s used 335s I tried out. Lucky me, the H535 delivers above and beyond what i'd hoped for at a reasonable price. I'm very happy with my purchase.

I bought my Almond burst 535 in 1996 thru' Ed Roman. This is, in effect, my 10 year review ! I picked it up today after having some minor repairs done to it by John Diggins, the british luthier. I dropped it on the jack socket a month ago and damaged the side panel. John did his customary excellent work to strengthen and repair the problem. Mine has Schaller machines and pups and the nice tailpiece with the wobbly bits in.
I cannot begin to describe the pleasure this guitar gives me. Feature wise, this guitar doesn't have much, just a great flame finish and reliable hardware.

This guitar does most of what I require, good blues,jazz, R&r, reggae, country, britpop - I don't do shred or metal. It can distort, feedback and do good clean - definitely with a rich full sound. I use it through a mesa tremoverb combo or a nomad 1x12 combo. I've still got my old peavey heritage 2x12vtx as well. However, it took me until 2002 to make this my main axe.What you get from this guitar is tone, tone and more tone. My oppo has 2 Gibson 335's, both with different characteristics ,but, for me, the heritage leaves them in its jestream.

This guitar was cock on from the moment it arrived apart from me slightly lowering the action and realigning the string spacing at the bridge.

This guitar plays out around 50+ gigs a year - and I take it out without a back up, rarely get any breaks or problems.

Never needed them.

Been playing for 40 years, I also own an 80's schecter strat which I've had to use whilst the 535's been laid up, a tele plus deluxe with tremolo (it keeps playing better and better), a black standard tele (1989) with the centred tone control. This was my main axe for years. A Gibson 346 Paul jackson Jr custom shop. I'm getting my head round this one the moment, the '57's don't have much poke. All of these guitars have their good qualities - the heritage shades them all comfortably. 10 years on and its still taking care of business.

you know them well.

es-335 all the way. woody, honk, suave. I have played several, and they all had "it". I was severly dissapointed after having recently gone through 3 es-335 dots (figured) via musicians buddy mail order- all of which had some sort of defect... real obvious stuff that shouldn't have gotten past Gibson's QC. shame. my 61 re-issue SG is light years above the memphis 335's they were sending me. so i gave up and went in search for a heritage h-535, so as to give it a whirl. let me tell you, these things are more 335 than any modern production gibson es-335.

superb! just be careful as they are hard to find... and when you find one it's usually been sitting in some shop, having been molested by men who neglect to remove the wedding ring before they jingle jangle about the neck. Fit and finish are as you would expect from a guitar twice the price (but you won't find on a gibson es-335). Lovely tops, great fret work... all top notch stuff.

solid.

have e-mailed back and forth with Heritage, and they're quick to answer any questions. They seem willing to do whatever it takes to make a customer happy.

save some money, and buy the Heritage. It may not say Gibson on the headstock, but it's heart oozes authentic 335 mojo.

2006, Semi-Hollow Body, Double Cutaway (335-style),
2 Humbucking Schaller pickups,
Grover tuners,
Nicely-figured, laminate Maple body,
One-piece Mahogany 24.75"-Scale Neck.
TOM-style bridge and tailpiece.
Nice, black hardshell "Heritage" case.

Commentary:
Not a lot of features, gizmos, switches, widgets or gadgets- just the way i like.
Nice, light-weight body and EXCELLENT fretwork.
Perfectly straight neck and every last fret is perfectly shaped.

I had to adjust the truss rod a little and set the guitar up the way i like one to play. No biggie. I live in TN, and the guitar was made in Michigan. I know how to set one up for myself.

It came via Fed Ex. I was a little worried about that- but it arrived safely. Thanks, Wolfe Guitars, for loosening the strings before sending it.
and thanks for double-boxing it.
Again- not a lot of features, but the ones it has are well-executed, and I give high marks for that.

The sound is more.
MORE.
More of what you would buy a 335 for.
more honk-y.
more wood-y.
more squirt-y.
more snappy.
more 'meat'.
dang-it sounds good!
I grew up loving a 335 through a Boogie amp.
That "hollow yet punchy' sound ala Carlton's first 2 albums or Robben Ford's tone on "Inside Story" (without that weird doubling thing he used). anyway....
I owned a '67 ES-335 for 20 years and this guitar has a much more acoustic, snappy, woody tone. I hated the TINY neck on that guitar. absolutely tiny- almost like a mandolin.
I bought this style of guitar because i wanted a guitar that had the basic sound of a hollowbody jazz guitar, but one that i could still play at loud volumes.
KILLER wood-y, fat, hollowbody, jazz sound.
I also wanted a guitar that i could play when i'm 83. I might look a little foolish playing a Flying V when I'm 83.

The electronics work perfectly- and quiet. no scratchy pots or switching noises. And the tone pots have a pleasant, usable range of timbres.

Schaller pickups- which i like very much.
They have a broad range- more bass than my Gibson LP's or Guilds and more treble too. Some people claim that they are 'muddy' or 'bright'...
maybe they are used to hearing pickups that have no bass- or treble?
Listen for yourself...
I like them.

Handmade.
That means it wasnt cranked out by some series of machines.
I like the idea of an AMERICAN guy sweating over the details in some shop somewhere to make me a musical instrument that i will cherish until i hand it down to my son. Do you feel me on that?
I'll pay good money for that.

You always forget what you pay for something anyway- and you either enjoy it, or not.

The 'machine work' part of this guitar that i DO like is the PLEK fret dressing. DANG! It has to be felt to be appreciated. I think i read that its "accurate to .00039 inches". No guitar has ever played this good. in every position.

I dont know about the Reliability yet.
We'll see~

I sent an email and got a response within an hour or so.

And let me just say- their website says "we appreciate your support".
Thats a little thing- 'thank you'....but let me ask you, what other ARROGANT guitar company has ever uttered those words?

these guys are still making them like they USED TO.
and guess what; they are making them in the same FACTORY that they used to. and its the same guys that used to make them like they used to.

thats kind of a no-brainer to me....

Ive been playing the guitar for 33 years.

Ive built my own guitars and studied guitar-building and different types of guitars and why they sound the way they do.

I bought the Heritage H535 because i wanted a semi-hollow body sound.
I compared different models and companies and chose Heritage for their workmanship, design, reputation, integrity, customer service and last(and least)of all; price.

I bought the guitar i wanted and got more than i expected. and THAT my friends is a rare occurance.

Heritage H-535. Made in 2001. ES-335 style semi-acoustic electric with solid maple back and sides and nicely flamed laminated maple top with mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard and MOP dot markers. The finish is Heritage?s very fine almond sunburst. Tune-O-matic bridge and stop tailpiece and solid quality tuners ? most likely made by Schaller. Has optional Seymour-Duncan pickups, (rather than the standard Schallers); Jazz neck and JB bridge. Cream binding on body, fretboard and headstock. It came with a substantial tolex Heritage case. All the features you need really.

I study jazz, although admittedly on a glacial timescale, but like blues and other styles as well. I play through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, and sometimes use a Boss delay or Boss chorus. I?m using 10 gauge strings with a wound G and this guitar is very quiet with a rich, well rounded tone from the neck pickup. Neck and bridge pickups together have a pleasant although less precise tone and the bridge alone with a little overdrive gives a classic blues tone. The tone controls give a sufficiently wide range of sounds. The upmarket heritage H-555 has a maple neck and ebony fret board which may sound a little more bright. However, I?m perfectly happy with the tone of this guitar.

Bought the guitar second hand over from an internet supplier who imports second hand guitars from the united States. The nut had been substantially damaged by the previous owner so I had a professional setup done by Fretco, in Adelaide, South Australia who do a great job and I couldn?t be happier with the result. Relatively low action with a very comfortable, wide, older style Gibson neck. Good hardware, with no annoying rattles from the tune-O-matic bridge, unlike with the Ibanez AS80 that this guitar replaces. The construction is rock solid and the almond sunburst finish is superb. Heritage have quite a fine take on the sunburst style, with a subtle graduation from light to dark.

Rock solid, and dependable it should last a lifetime.

This guitar was purchased sight unseen because Heritage guitars are relatively rare in Australia and quite a bit less expensive than an older style Gibson. I contacted Heritage Guitars in Kalamazoo, Michigan several times regarding the pickups. I wasn?t very enthusiastic about Schaller pickups which are standard appointments on Heritage H-535?s as I?ve had Schaller single coil sized blade pickups on a Godin ST-IV and really didn?t like them. Ren from Heritage answered my questions promptly and checked out a photo, from the suppliers website, that I?d sent him to confirm that the guitar had Seymour Duncan pickups. Peter from North Coast guitars (3000 km from Adelaide) was helpful and straight forward in his comments and sold me the guitar on condition I could send it back and be refunded it if I wasn?t happy.

Been playing for years but have taken formal jazz lessons over the last 5 years. My favourite features are the comfortable mahogany neck, fine tone and high quality finishing. This has been a significant improvement in tone and playability from my Ibanez AS80 (SD jazz pickup in neck, Super 58 in bridge). I also have a Fender American Standard Stratocaster that is an excellent guitar as well. Between the Stratocaster and the Heritage I really don?t need much else ? although a Heritage or Gibson 157 style guitar does have it?s own appeal. In the unlikely event that the guitar is out of my sight long enough to get stolen I would replace it ? although with a relatively expensive purchase like this it would not be any time soon.

heritage is a lot like Burger King, in that you can have it your way. They are willing to do basically anything physically possible, as long as you are willing to pay for it. I wanted mine to look like the 335 in Back to the Future, and besides the headstock, it does. Here are the specs:
Faded Cherry
Seymour Duncan Seth Lovers
Ebony fretboard
Sperzel locking tuners
real MOP block inlays (perfect!)
Vintage hardware and pickguard

the only thing I would change is that it is laminate, not solid wood. Very hard to find solid wood semi-hollows now, so I can get passed this. But, to be completely vintage, it should be solid.

The fact that I could choose anything I could imagine (even if my imagination was limited in this case) is worth the 10 rating. The mega shops can't provide this level of flexibility, the private lutiers can't afford to offer the options without compromising value.

Flat out the best guitar I have ever played (keep in mind I have not played many). When searching for a 335 type, I tried everything from the Gibson 335(sounds ok, but level of craftsmenship just isn't there) to a Washburn (nice value for the money, but seriously, at $400 it just couldn't compete). I chose the Heritage for a few reasons, they sound as good or better then the Gibsons I played, the build quality is outstanding, the customer service is better, the value is much greater (about half the cost for a better guitar, no brainer). Graham at Wolfe guitars said my guitar is one of the best Heritages he has seen come through their doors (they sell more than any other dealer). He said he would have bought it if I didn't...it had the mojo! Keep in mind, I had already paid for it, so he wasn't trying to sell me! This thing sings through my Mesa Boogie Studio 22. Able to do whatever I can, and most importantly, makes my play sound better. Awesome all around, jazz, blues, rock, etc. Thick, creamy, juicey tone with plenty to spare. I play alt rock and church songs, but I got this so I can begin to branch into Jazz and Blues...so far, it has inspired me to practice. One flaw, if you want to play really dirty or metal, this is certainly not the choice. Even when I overdrive my amp, it has subtle and sophisticated phrasing, almost orchestral. You simply cannot make this guitar sound like garbage (the tone, not the band)

A qualified 8. When I opened the case the lighting in the room made the guitar look orange. I almost died (it was a custom, so I didn't see it until it was shipped to me). I took it to a different room with better light, and it was in fact red. The finish is superb, feels and looks excellent. It had not been played by gobs of grubby handed kids at the local guitar big box store (part of the reason I wanted a custom) so it doesn't have dings, sratches, or fingerprints on it. The cream binding is perfect. I should have specified to have the headstock bound too, but I didn't, so it isn't. I also forgot to specify the volume and tone knobs, and so I got the gold colored vintage look. Jury is still out on these, and I may end up changing them to black. The inlays make the look. Dots are ok, but the blocks take it to the house! I realize that inlays do not make the guitar sound better, but the beauty makes this an important upgrade. A must for my 535. Wolfe offers set-up with purchase, so it arrived at my office after a cross country UPS journey ready to play. Opened it up, adjusted the tuning (every string was a half step high) and it was ready to go. Would be a 10 if I had specifed, and if it didn't have the orangey look under certain lighht.

I had Wolfe put straplocks on it, and together with a great leather strap, it shouldn't go anywhere while played. It seems very sturdy, but I would not want to drop it or wack it against a wall. To put it another way, if you are the sort of musician who likes to destroy your instrument at the end of a show, this would provide less theatrics, because one good wack and it would bust open. however, I am of the opinion that as long as you take good care of it, it will withstand minor jarring. You don't have to baby it, but treat it as you would an acoustic.

No question customer support alone would sell many a guitar for Heritage. They ar awesome guys to talk to, and that's right, you can actually talk to them. No outsourced help-line, just the real guys who had the dream one cold night in kalamazoo. In fact, I had a special request to have them do something they stop doing a few years ago, and they said they would be more than happy to oblige. You expect this type of service at Tiffany&Co and the four seasons, but I was floored by the service and willingness to help that I found with Hertage. As an aside, the service at Wolfe's was also quite good, and I would definately purchase another Heritage there. Jay Wolfe has the best prices, and all the insider clout one could ask for from a dealer. I trusted him the whole way, even though I never met him personally, and he does business in florida and I live in CA. He gets the best prices for new Heritage instruments because he sells the most. Just check out how many times he is listed on the heritage website. He should be on their payroll!

I've been playing for 5 years, and this is my first high quality electric guitar. I play a Taylor acoustic, which I also really like. I have played a few other electrics of merit ( a custom Gibson LP, a couple of American Strats, etc) but so far this is my favorite. It can play almost anything you would want, the company is top notch, the options are almost limitless, and the value is phenominal. Unless you are a brand whore and you will not settle for less than an inferior guitar that costs twice as much with a better marketing department and name recognition, you should consider this the best semi-hollow being built today. Lost or stolen? I would cry...and then I would order another from Wolfe and wait the 3 months it took to have it made. No regrets...I plan on keeping this one for life.

Used Heritage 535 in classic cherry, Seymour Duncan 59's, bound headstock w/inlaid logo and upgraded sperzel tuners, vintage hardware, wooden pickguard, etc. The wood has an absolutely beautiful grain and deep flame finish.

I play through a Fender Deluxe Reverb ReIssue, with a a Keeley modded, Boss Blues Driver 2. My Heritage 150 (think Les Paul) has a beautiful clean and heavenly overdriven tone. This guitar has a more articulate, almost accoustic tone. My 535 sings like an angel, screams like a beast and like its 150 cousin...sustains FOREVER!

Funny thing, I bought it used from Jay Wolfe of Wolfe Guitars. Jay, I'm sure went over it carefully. As a a result, everything was to my liking, including set up, pick up adjustments, nut, etc. He even gave me a brand new hardshell case at no extra charge.

Very solid and well made axe. Assuming I take care of it...it will last forever.

I love everything about the guitar except one thing...the controls were reversed. Apparently, the original owner specified the toggle switch to be set up with the bridge pup (treble) "up" and the neck pup (bass) "down". The tone controls also co-incided with the toggle switch.

I called Heritage directly, spoke to one of the owners and told him of my situation. The bottom line is that they will be correcting the toggle/tone controls situation essentially FREE of charge. Try getting the owner of a major axe manufacturer on the phone, let alone having them bend over backwards to accommodate you.

Here's an update to my story. Yesterday, Rendell, one of the luthiers/artisians at Heritage called me...twice.

When I spoke to him today, he conveyed to me that yesterday, he received my guitar and that the controls were already corrected and that it would be sent out today. FREE!

In addition, he wanted to know if there was anything else he could do for me?

He thanked me for my business and told me to call him directly if he could be of any additional service to me. He was sincere.

Please keep in mind, I'm the second owner and the guitar is out of warrenty...by several years!

Personally, assuming the product is equal, even superior in the case of Heritage, customer service inspires more loyalty than brand recognition.

Please do yourself a favor, if you are in the market for a world class, vintage vibe 335 style guitar, contact Jay Wolfe or Graham Zebedee of Wolfe Guitars...and play a Heritage 535.

Ok, you know what you are getting for this one. 355 styling, basically a Gibson with a different headstock. Mine had some extras on it, which include:

Gold Schaller locking tuners (not factory)
Seymour Duncan '59 pickups (factory)
Real mother-of-pearl crown style inlays (simply gorgeous!)
Factory Stopbar tail piece
Extra curley maple package (awe inspiring)
Extra cream binding around the headstock and f-holes (like H-555)

Thats it. I give mine an 8, because its got some nice extra touches over the stock H-535, but its nothing spectacular (as if I had the D-VIP switching and coil taps).

My gear:
guitar-->Peterson Strobostomp-->BSM Fuzzbender-->BSM RM treble booster (Rangemaster)-->Xotic Effects BB preamp-->Boss CE-2 (vintage, black label)-->amp
I have only used this guitar with my Fender Hot Rod Deville 410, but I just bought a Dr. Z KT-45 but haven't gotten a chance to use it thouroughly yet, so this review is for playing through the Fender.


Being a solid-body player for most of my life, this guitar was interesting. As most may know, semi-hollows are natrually louder than solids. Well it was quite a surprise; I bought this for jazz and blues, plugged it in, and found that it rocked louder and harder than my Les Paul! It was a trip.

Everything played out of it just sounds huge. I play Classic Rock (tonally think Led Zep, Cream, and Free) and all kinds of Blues (Chicago/British/Texas/Delta), and I aspire to get into Jazz.

The sound is much deeper than anything I own. Another way to describe the tone is reall thick. For what I play, it does wonderfully. I really love the neck pickup sound on this, although it needs a bit more definition for chording with some drive. Not to think the bridge postion is lacking, for it also sounds great for good ol' 60s/70s rock not to mention nice early BB King tones into a cranked fender. It sounds amazing on clean (think Peter Green, sans out-of-phase), and with drive on my BB preamp the sustain is huge. I have to be a bit wary though about feedback with too much drive, but that's ok. It's worth it for the tone. Sounds fantastic with the CE-2 as well, particularly in the neck position.

I plan in the future to try some Bare Knuckle Stormy Mondays, which I heard are amazing for sweet PAF tone, with a phase switch. But the SDs in there right now are wonderful. A 9, for a bit of room for improvement.

Simply Brilliant. The Almond Sunburst finish is top top notch, and the wood figuring is stunning, especially under stage lighting. The original owner ordered the nicer wood package, and it definitely shows (I am infact its third owner). This is one of the most beautiful guitar I have ever seen, and I have seen many of them.

The neck is by far my favorite--it is that in-between contour from the '59 shape and the very thin 60s shape (my Les Paul is the 60s style, and I am finding it way to thin since playing this guitar). Add to this some very huge jumbo frets, making bends much more smooth than I have ever felt before. I used to play with GHS Boomers Thin/Thick, but for this guitar I didn't want to use uneven string tensions, so I put on DR 11s, and lo and behold, it's easier to bend the 11s on my Heritage than the 10s on all my other guitars! For some strange reason, heavier strings feel notably lighter on this guitar. I may move up to 12s someday. I also love high action, and this guitar adjusted to my setup very well.

The guy before me put the Schallers on there. I usually dislike them, because I think they are ugly and add too much weight on the peghead. But, they look really nice on this headstock shape and they work remarkibly well for tuning. I wouldn't put them on any of my other guitars, but I am keeping them on this one. I put the old Govers on my Les Paul, which really needed a tuner upgrade anyway.

The only thing I don't like is the Schaller roller bridge. It's ugly and it can get the spacing all messed up when you throw on new strings. I will get it replaced with a Tune-o-matic with Detemple Titanium saddles for more string to string definition and a bit more sustain and note purity. An ebony fretboard would have been nice too.

I know that some guys here got some bad examples, but my guess is mine got a little bit of extra attention, and it shows.

It's been reliable for regular playing and gigging for about five months now. But it's no solid-body, so you have to be careful with the body and finish and whatnot. The strap buttons on it are huge, so strap worries are nonexistant. I have technically never gigged without a backup, because I always brings two guitars for tonal reasons, but I would gig with just this guitar as long as I don't worry about strings breaking. Thus far, none have. To be fair, I give it an 8 because of its semi-hollow construction.

Never had to deal with them, hope I never will have to!

I am typically a Gibson kind of guy (I currently own a '96 Les Paul Standard and a real-deal '63 Firebird III), and I was inspired to get this style guitar from Clapton and his work in Cream. I actually first heard of Heritage by freak accident; I was digging around the local Sam Ash (before I knew any better lol) and I saw one used hanging on the wall. I played it, and was amazed. But for $1400 it was a no go. It had this humbucking sized P-90 in the neck with wide pole pieces that just sounded amazing.

Fast foward a couple years, and I saw this beauty and I snatched her up. I knew one of this quality doesn't come around too often. I believe I got a steal, for even used ES-335s are going for $2k, and they aren't nearly as beautiful, feel as good, or dare I say sound as good as mine does. The only thing I would want that this doesn't have is an ebony fretboard; I plan eventually remedy this by getting a Heritage H-555 with a Bigsby, block inlays, and HRW pickups with the D-VIP switching. If it got stolen, I would be quite livid. I would replace it with my H-555 idea, which would hopefully cure those tonal blues. This is my favorite guitar feel-wise, while my 'bird gets the prize for best vibe. But that's because it's vintage :-).

Made in 2001and purchased new in 2005. Vintage natural finish, standard pick ups. Everything basically stock which is why it gets a 9 - no add on elecronics or switches - too many choices distracts me from focusing on playing the thing anyway.

Sound is truly great. I compared this one with standard pick ups to the 535 classic model with the seymour duncans and the standard pick ups suit me better. This guitar is loaded with personality. I can dial in a very warm jazz tone, country chicken pickin' tones with neck pu only or a variety of classic rock/blues tones by mixing the neck and bridge pu's. I play alternative, rock, country blues and jazz and a bunch stuff I can't really categorize and it covers all these styles with ease.

The fit and finish are excellent. There is one very small nick on the headstock only a new guitar buyr would notice, probably happened while being taken down from the hanger on the wall of the shop. The top is not evenly flamed, but to me that adds to the character of the guitar.
The shop must have had it set up as it has 11's on it with very low action. The intonation is spot on and the fret work is excellent (I think this one was made before Heritage bought their PLEK machine)the neck is straight as an arrow (bummer for Big Lou) and the finish is flawless. Construction and finish is leaps and bound better than any of the ES 335's I've seen in the last couple of years

It's a semi hollow body so it is a bit more fragile than a solid body, but I see no reason why it would not hold up well. It's the only electric I currently own and given the range of tones it's the only one I need. Since guitars aren't particularly rare I think I could find one in the event of something happening to this one, but short of a hurricane or fire I should be ok

Heritage is very responsive when emailed a question

I've ben playing 15 years, mainly acoustics. I play through a fender blues jr. around the house and it is a good combination. I really like the feel and tone of this particular guitar. Neck plays very fast, the balance is great, the body is a little thinner than the ES 335's which adds to the comfort. My favorite feature is the ability to create a wide range of tones and that fact that acoustically it sounds great.
It would be nice to have a 1 3/4" nut but that would have to be custom ordered and the issue is not really specific to this guitar. It's really only 1st position that is a little tight so I just play up the neck where it's a bit wider. I'm not one to own or buy and sell a bunch of gear as I tend to find what I like and stick with it so the 1 11/16" nut on this one will be fine for 10 years or so.

As value goes, Heritage has it all over a number of other manufactureres including Gibson. It seems Gibson's production has been slipping over the past few years. There are great ones out there being made to today, but you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find one. I played 5 or 6 different 535's and 555's before I settled on the one I ultimately purchased, but they were all arguably great, just different.

The only other negative about Heritage is their dealers do not carry much inventory indiviually. I visited 3 or 4 dealers over the course of a year or so until i found the one I purchased

ES-335 style, Natural Finish, Ebony Fretboard, HRW pickups, DVIP electronics, Mahogany neck (originally - more later), Laminated maple body, Grover tuners, custom-built to my specifications 2002

This guitar sounds very nice plugged in; however, acoustically it has a few buzzes.

This was horrible from the start. The neck was warped and would not stay in adjustment for more than a week. The neck binding split at the frets after two months (I keep my house at a uniform temperature 65-70 deg. F., and relative humidity of about 50%. In addition, I own several jazz boxes, Guild, Gibson, and Epiphone, and have no problems with them - at all!) Everything regarding the set-up of this guitar was/is completely unacceptable. Two expert guitar techs examined it and indicated that (i) that fingerboard had a significant rise at the body and (ii) the neck was "rubbery", probably due to green wood. Because of the neck problems, I sent it back to the factory. (Actually, I sent it back twice, the first time was shortly after delivery to fix the neck binding, the second time for the neck stability issue.) For the neck, Heritage had the guitar for seven months. We decided to replace the neck; the tech at Heritage indicated to me that the neck was "rubbery". It was replaced with a maple neck. they shipped the guitar back to me, but when it arrived, I found that electronics had been mis-wired. I sent it back again. It seems OK now; I'm allowing the neck to settle in.

I haven't played out with this guitar. I plan to sell/trade it in. Because of all of the difficulties, I cannot keep it - I feel betrayed!!!! I have no desire to bond with it. I SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT A GIBSON.

I feel badly about this review because Heritage is owned/operated by a really nice bunch of people.

The guitar looks nice, but played poorly. I will not buy a new Heritage again. Again, I should have bought a Gibson.

Don't misuderstad why I rated this a 7!!! I say 7 simply becasue it is not loaded with gimmicky features--but it is amazingly made!!! Perfectly hade-crafted! Typlical 335 construction with 22 frets, laminated top and back (solid flamed maple rim), two schaller humbuckers w/ 2 tome/volume and typical 3-way swich. This guitar is not loaded with all sorts of nifty gadgets and what not--but it is made well--very well. I have had several guitars and this is by far the best instrument I have ever owned. The quality of materials is great.It really resonates well and has a thick sound. The notes ring clear acoustically and are not muddy.

My playing style varies but I range between old style bebop (Pat Martino/Barney Kessel to Scofield and Kurt Rosenwinkle style jazz guitar) and so far this guitar covers those tones very well. I got it with a guage 10 set of strings but I had it set up with 12's round wound and aparently there was some buzzing on the frets so I had the guys at 30th Street Guitars (NYC) do a fret crowning adjustment and now the guitar is like butter! I am amazed by it--infact, my brother who also plays and has always been a strict strat man fell in love with it and now wants to get one himself. He couldn't believe that I had 12's on it! He thought it was so easy to play and was just so blown away! At the moment I am without an amp but I was playing it trhough an old fender blackface and it had such a warm and creamy tone. No buzzing or cracking when switching tyhrough pickups.

I got this thing through a frined who's dad had a music store when I was in high-school. He had never sold some of this merchandise and this H-535 sat unused since 1995. So when I got it the neck was out a bit and again the strings were 10's and I wanted to put something heavier on. But once set up and adjusted, this thing purs like a kitten! It is amazing! The wood is flamed nicely--not too outrageous but very pretty. The flamed maple pickguard is a great touch!

Everything about this guitar seems like it will have no trouble holding up. Seems very sturdy.

Since I didn't buy this through a dealer I didn't really have to deal with the company, but I did write to them to let them know how much I loved the guitar and I asked them about their line of tube amps and within a week or 2 they wrote a very nice responce and sent me a cataloge for there guitar line and amp line. They also told me that I could date the guitar on the website!

I have been playing for about 15 years and my style has changed through the years from metal to classic rock, to blues to new-age, to jazz and bebop! This guitar is great! It matches my current style but can hold up for almost any style. I would defintly try to get another if my current H535 was stolen or broken. I couldn't be to picky about the guitar becasue it was already set up that this is what I was getting (a blessed circumstance) but I am glad that this is what I got--I have played 335's and I just feel like this guitar is better--it stays in tune better, seems to be made much better and is just very georgeous! I also am aware that there are so many options when buying new that Gibson doesn't offer--Heritage guitars are really a cut above ther rest in my humble opinion!

A have a 2004 Heritage 535 in Almondburst(like a 335). Mahogany neck. Rosewood fingerboard. Gibson-style tailpiece. Two stock Heritage PAF pickups. Grover Tuners. Two tone controls, two volume controls, three way selector....ya know...
For me and my use of the guitar the features are perfect. Nothing less or more is needed for me.

I love the way this guitar sounds. I have played my friend's 335 and this sounds similar, though some might disagree. It has a very warm, round, and thick sound. I am sorry I can't describe it much better than using those vague words. You just gotta play one! I actually prefer this to my friend's Gibson. Besides, his 335 came in the mail brand new with cosmetic flaws from the factory. I couldn't believe it from a guitar that expensive. Not to rip on Gibson or anything-they make fine guitars for the most part. But I have seen some consistency issues from Gibson in the past.

It came to be with the truss rod to tight. I could just be the humidty difference and it was no big deal to fix. It play pefect now. I noticed no cosmetic flaw whatsoever. It is a well made guitar for sure!

Fine so far.

Haven't dealt with them

I love the way this guitar sounds! It is the sound I have been missing. I would write more but I am too busy playing it!

I ordered it half November 2004 and got in half Januari 2005.... so either 2004 or 2005 made.
It is like the other H535 with a few modifications on my request:
-Seymour Duncan Seth Lover Humbuckers
-Regular stop-tail bridge (a bit less bulky than the regular ones installed by Heritage)
-Cream bound body, neck and head stock
-Cream coloured pickguard (like on their solidbody guitars)
-Real mother of pearl block inlays (much more beautiful than dot inlays)
-The colour is burnt amber (combined with the cream parts makes it look like a guitar-shaped cappucino)

This is really the most beautiful guitar I have ever seen. I really liked the fact that I could have any colour or hardware choice to my liking.

I also like the fact that the guitar is not too heavy.
Tried a Heritage real hollow-body (Kenny Burrell Groove Master) as well, but that one suffered a lot from feedback problems when I tried it with a little overdirve. Because of the centerblock the H535 does not have this problem.

Rating the features is a bit hard. I did not by this guitar for the amount of features, but because the features it has are all executed perfectly.

I have tried a lot of guitars before I stumbled upon Heritage, but I dare say it has the most beautiful sound of any guitar I ever played (including my teacher's 1969 Gibson ES335).

The sound is really has a very singing, warm, musical sustain. It sounds so beautifully wooden. I use Thomastik-Infeld flatwounds on it.
On my other guitars I often use a compressor (Black Finger form EHX), but the H535 doesn't need one.

I primarily bought it too play Jazz on it (think Grant Green, Kenny Burrell, Wes Montgomery). For this kind of music it is very well suited.
I also play pop/alternative/rock/funk on it, and there it shines as well.
The only music it really is not suited for is metal. It just doesn't do that Metal grind. No matter how much distortion you add, the sound remains beautiful and singing.

I play it through a Peavey Delta Blues (with a bit of reverb) through a rotating extension speaker by Songwork (Leslie like effect).
It really doesn't need any additional effects at all.

It is also one of the few guitars were I actually use the volume and tone pots. On many guitars this will mudden your sound, on this one it doesn't.
The volume pot really can be used to boost the overdrive (set it to 7 for your normal playing, turn it completely open when you start soloing or need more overdrive)
The tone pot works really nice as well. It does what all tone pots should do; warm your sound (not muffle it).

The action is flawless, did not need any adjustment.

Haven't found any finishing flaws. The paint job is nice and thin, which improves the guitars sustain and sound.
Even the inside of the guitar (looking through the F-holes) looks flawless.

The pickup were adjusted a little too high (so I deduct 1 punt), so my amp went in to overdrive a little to easy (it also dampens your sustain because of the magnet-pull on your strings). But this is nothing that a small screwdriver cannot adjust.

The overall quality of this guitar (both woods and hardware) is so good that I cannot think of a reason would it shouldn't last for 30 years or more.

As with all hollow-body guitars it is a bit more fragile than a solid-body, so it will not stand real abuse very well (but I don't see why anyone in their right mind would abuse any musical instrument).

Will this instrument withstand live playing? Hmmmm... I don't play any differently live than during rehearsals or at home...
It comes with a good hard-case, so it should be well protected during transport.

I called Heritage and spoke directly to one of the guys who actually build the guitars.
He was very helpfull in answering all my questions about sound, finishing options etc.

When I e-mailed they answered very promptly.

Did not have any problems yet.

I've been playing guitar for almost 20 years now. Next to the Heritage I also own a Fender Telecaster and a DeArmond StarfireSpecial, good guitars but not nearly as nice as the Heritage. I've alos owned some Gibsons, but I sold them when I got the Heritage.

I certainly would replace it when it would be stolen or lost (and I would be mad like hell).

I really bought it for the incredible sound. Even after 5 months of playing it the beauty of the sound still amazes me.

It is not a cheap guitar it's sound, finishing and quality are really comparable with Guitars costing 2 to 3 times as much, so it is fantastic value.

This model is a variation on the standard H-535 built since Heritage's inception and is a clone of the original Gibson ES-335 developed in the 1950's. Rather than rehash the guitar's features I'll point out the differences from the standard H-535. My guitar is what Heritage calls Vintage Sunburst. In reality it's a light orange-gold gradation over nicely figured maple top, sides and back. The body and mahogany neck are bound with ivoroid and the rosewood fretboard has simple abalone dot markers. The unbound headstock is topped off with chrome Schaller tuners and the guitar boasts Vintage Seymour Duncan twin humbuckers rather than the standard Schaller or proprietary Heritage pickups. This model comes without a pickguard.

I don't want to get too worked up over this, but this thing sounds great! Better than the standard 535 and MUCH better than current generation ES-335s. With a good amp (I use a Twin Reverb of current vintage and a Tech 21 Trademark 60) you can literally get just about any sound you could ever ask for. Very cool 50's jazz to screamin' Freddy King to American Beauty Jerry and beyond; jazz, blues and pre metal rock is the forte and I don't think another guitar does it better unless you get to handpick custom shop 335's. The Vintage SD's sound like current PAF's are supposed to but usually fall short. If you're looking for an all around electric, this is it!

Just like Gibson's built in this factory 50 years ago, Heritage wins some and loses some. I had another Heritage (a much more expensive one) and ultimately sold it because of disatisfaction with the build detail. This one is perfect. Never order one sight unseen.

Any semi hollow body is by definition vulnerable to disaster, but this guitar feels very solid and well balanced. This finish is excellent.

Other than promptly answering my emails, I have had no experience with the factory.

I've been playing for over 30 years moving from 60's garage band chic to Creedence wannabe to straight ahead jazz to roots. This is my sole electric and I'll play blues, jazz and faux rockabilly when the spirit strikes. This pup handles it all convincingly. Just put one next to any thing less than a custom shop ES-335 and compare.

Model 2004, schaller pick-ups, nickel hardware, clear finish. The mahogany neck is a very nice light brown; body curly maple laminate is quilted -- an exceptional looking guitar. Has tune-o-matic type bridge, and although I prefer a roller-type bridge, I have not had to adjust it and I have not broken a string, so am happy so far.

Play modern church worship music, blues, electric folk, and some mild jazz, through a Fender Twin or a Rivera 55. Use a little delay occasionally and Full-Drive sparingly. The 535 produces everything from jangly-trebly rhythm to warm low-chording to clean lead tone to cutting wail. It just sounds great. I especially appreciate that other musicians go out of their way to compliment it. It goes without saying that to love the semi-hollow sound you have to love the sound of the guitar itself, not your stomp boxes played through an outrageously distorted roar. The 535 captures fingering nuances, hand pressure, and reflects your overall level of confidence tansparently. In other words, it's a musical instrument, not an axe.

The factory set-up was very nice. The top E string was a tad low, but easily adjusted. The finish is very nice and the overall quality is obviously very high. I have had very good success with Heritage.

Have played live several times and don't expect to have any problems, but time will tell. I'm very gentle. I also have a Tele -- not really as a back-up but as an alternative sound, but having two guitars does constitute insurance. The finish looks great and the hardware is solid. Rating 8 because I've only had it for a few weeks.

Have never had a problem with Heritage and they answer email questions promptly. I admire their commitment to quality.

Been playing 36 years and have owned all the common styles of electric guiar. The 535 is my main guitar, although I also rely on my trusty Tele for the expression of its own wonderful voice. I compared the 535 to other guitars costing up to twice as much, and it was the hands-down winner.

2003 MODEL MADE IN KALAMAZOO MICHIGAN. YOU KNOW THE HERITAGE STORY. ANTIQUE SUNBIRST FINISH WITH LOTS OF FLAME. ES335 STYLE WITH DUNCAN SETH LOVER PICKUPS. GIBSON TUN-O-MATIC HARDWARE. IVORY BUTTON SPERZEL DELUXE TUNERS. BOUND HEADSTOCK, NECK, BODY. BEAUTIFUL INSTRUMENT.

AMAZING TONE!!! THIS THING NOT ONLY LOOKS GREAT BUT IT SOUNDS EVEN BETTER. RICH, FULL, DUNCAN SETH LOVER PICKUPS ARE GREAT. BETTER THAN MY GIBSON ES335 57' CLASSICS? DAMN CLOSE IF NOT EVEN BETTER. THIS THING REALLY LETS ME PLAY THE BLUES. EVERYTHING FROM SMOOTH TO DOWN AND DIRTY.

JUST A LITTLE TWEEK AND PERFECT. EVERYTHING TOP QUALITY. FINISH IS BEAUTIFUL AND HIGH GLOSS. FIT AND FINISH TOP QUALITY ALL THE WAY.

WILL STAND UP WITH THE BEST.

NO NEED SO FAR, BUT I'VE HEARD ONLY GOOD THINGS

I HAVE HAD A LOT OF GUITARS +35 (FENDER STRATS, GIBSON LES PAULS, ES335,ES135...PAUL REED SMITHS..) THIS IS AS GOOD IF NOT BETTER THAN ALL OF THEM. THE QUALITY IS GREAT. THE FIT AND FINISH IS TOP DRAWER. THE SOUND IS AMAZING. MY NEXT GUITAR WILL BE A HERITAGE H575 CLASSIC. THAT'S HOW IMPRESSED I AM WITH THESE GUITARS.

Model 2004 'Classic' With Duncan '59 pickups
The other features are all well documented below.

The guitar was also set up by Wim Heins, master luthier over here in The Netherlands, but I don't believe he did a lot. The guys in Kalamazoo used a PLEK machine on my Heritage which means very accurate fretwork.
Otherwise the guitar is stunningly beautyful. You could order with 'upgrade top' but I chose a regular one. I have walnut sunburst and it's abslutely gorgeous.
I play 0.10 strings GHS Boomers and at first I had tuning problems with the G-string and the B-string. After Wim Heins treated the nut it's become very steady. But I have to get used to a guitar that is so alive that you need to give it time to get accustomed to a new environment. It has to do with the mahogany neck. It will stabilize in the coming years.

Haven't played live yet but I'm pretty sure it will do the job. It's such a beauty - you want to treat it with care, so it will probably last. The guys who made it know what they're doing. I changed the strap buttons to locking ones.
I think it's very dependable, but anything could happen, so I'd bring my Parker along.

The company replies with ultra short emails, but they answer you. Hats off to Heritage.
Wim Heins will repair it if anything would happen within it's one year warranty. He also will treat the neck when the weather gets warmer. He predicts the neck will react to it. Hell - this guitar lives.

I played for 35 years. Now I'm happy to play the 535 on a Fender Dual Showmaster with red knobs.
I'd order a new one if it got lost. I love the genuine Gibson sound, which of course is more Gibson than Gibson itself!
I own both a Jap JD Tele with Joe Barden pickups and a Parker Fly De Luxe w. vibrato that has replacement Duncans. I use my guitars for chords while I'm singing or playing with other soloists and for soloing - like many people do.
After I got the Heritage I realized there is a distinction: some guitars are ready when you need them to be and some take more turning of various knobs to switch from rythm to lead. Yes, I can get wonderful sounds with both my Tele and Parker, but never with one setting of my amp that would allow both sides of the guitar's sound spectrum to be fully heard. In my opinion we much too often refer to how loud a guitar can scream instead of how gentle it could weep.
The miracle of the Heritage is its ability to switch from one side of the spectrum to the other simply by turning the volume up or down and even by using less pressure on the strings. The Duncan '59 are highly responsible for that.