Heritage H-535

Order placed December 1999, delivered March 2000. Custom ordered: Antique Natural, flame package, MOP fretboard markers and script logo, ebony fretboard, SD Seth Lover pickups, bone nut. I requested a backplate (flush, continuous wood or metal) so I could easily remove and replace wiring harnesses, etc., but dealer said Heritage wouldn't oblige. (I spoke to Ren about this in September 2004 and he said they would have been happy to oblige. Considered ordering a 25.5 neck scale, which was available, but decided against it. Neck shape is very close to a 1959 ES-345 I owned in the early '70s. Essentially I bought this instrument to replace the '59. Came with usual black hard case with large cheesy THe Heritage logo stenciled on it.

Suits my music style just fine. I play blues, raga rock, jazz. I use Blues Pearl Texas Tornado (a splendid boutique replica of a blackface Deluxe Reverb) with an area51 Italian wah, and area51 bias-modulated tremolo. The sounds from this instrument are just beautiful. Acoustiscally it is also very alive. When I first pick it up and play it acoustically it sounds thin, but after it has warmed up a little the sound gets quite rich with overtones and subtle dynamics. The same is true for it plugged in. Behaves more like a solid-top jazz box in this respect. The solid center block (as opposed to the semi-solid center block design that Gibson later used) makes a real positive difference to the electric sound, a more serious rock/blues tone, when pushed. The sensitivity of this instrument is excellent. Even small variations in my right- or left-hand technique are audible and pleasing. Once warmed up, the guitar has a delicious tone. The Duncan Seth Lovers are excellent on this guitar. One reason I have wanted a back plate was so that I could mess with pickup and wiring options, including a Varitone. I loved two of the five notch-filter positions on my '59 Varitone, and really wanted to get those back on the Heritage, but I later found out the Varitone circuits are not the same values as they originally were. There is a reportedly excellent boutique Varitone on the market-- Big D guitars -- it's even affordable and easy to wire up, but I refuse to go that route unless or until I get a proper flush backplate on the guitar. My search for someone who knows how to do such a mod continues. Even then, I wouldn't just drill an extra hole into the top to install the Varitone. I'd probably disable the bridge pickup tone control and install it there so I could audition the Big D and decide whether or not to drill a hole for it. Assuming I liked that varitone and installed it permanently, I'd probably also add a stereo wiring option with an additional TSR side jack, so I could send either a mono or stereo signal. A true stereo signal, sending each pickup through separately powered channels, is a magnificent sound when both pickups are selected -- IMO. I think Gibson's foray into stereo-field guitar sounds (and Varitone filtering for that matter) was a very cool idea. It's bad rap is undeserved, IMO.

Fit and finish are excellent. Nitro finish is sweet, light and even. The guitar had a little too much nitro smell when I first got it, as if it should have stayed in the drying room longer. I was afraid it hadn't cured properly, but everything turned out fine. I think the pickguard is a little subpar. I like that it's color-matched and flamey, but the white binding around it looks a little cheesy to me. (The rest of the guitar is done in cream binding) I also dislike the exposed bracket screws, particularly the lower one. I scrape my right hand against it sometimes. I've considered installing a Gibson B-W-B guard, will probably do this when replacing the bridge (see below).

Of course this guitar will withstand live playing every bit as well as the Gibson. Pickup covers oxidized very quickly. The Grover machines eventually did too. Metal polish works wonders to restore luster and slow real corrosion. I am not thrilled with the Schaller bridge, it buzzes and I think the posts should be fatter. I haven't done anything about this yet. I think I'll replace the bridge with one that has more heft and standard-shape saddles. I can depend on this instrument, no question. I would gig with it and no backup. So far the finish is holding up well, not shrinking back anywhere except at the right forearm.

Real friendly company. I don't recall anything about the warranty. If the neck twisted or the top came unglued I'd look into the warranty. Otherwise, warranty-shmarranty

Been playing 39 years. I also play a 2000 American Deluxe (ash) Stratocaster and 2003 Martin OM-18 GE. I have McIntosh, Eventide and JBL equipment for my electrics also. Were it stolen I'd probably get a custom solidbody or a jazz box. Heritage makes some excellent spruce-top jazz guitars and I would consider them closely. I love this guitar for its sound and its looks, though I play the Strat more these days in part because it's more ergonomic. I plan on keeping the Heritage a long time to come. When I can, I'll upgrade/modify it, just for kicks, but no hack-butchering under any circumstances. In a world where a real-deal vintage dot-neck costs many many thousands, a properly equipped Heritage is real-deal enough for me, and I'm fussy. Before ordering this guitar I did look into getting a Gibson Memphis Custom Shop Historic dot-neck but I couldn't justify the cost and the wait time was too long (something about ceasing production during the move to Memphis). I paid a premium for the upgrades I received, but would have paid even more for them on a Gibson. Nonetheless, this instrument is a superb value.

Nothing new to add here...has stock shallers, and the roller bridge has been replaced with a tune-o-matic.

it's a beautiful jazz machine. use it with both a fender pro jr and a reverend hellhound. seems like the fender was made for it, the tone is rich and satisfying. can also use it with the reverend for some good old fashioned rock and roll sounds. tried a gibson 333 and a gretsch but liked this better.

here's where it beats the gibson 333 easily. flawless finish. excellent setup (although i bought it used from ed roman's and they may have done a setup). everything perfect and the tune-o-matic bridge enhances the sustain a lot.

guitar seems very durable. it's not a heavy plastic finish so it's needs some care, but that finish allows the beautiful wood grain to show. nothing glopped on here. everything shows a pride of craftmanship and quality workmanship.

called the company when I considered the purchase to get some advice. got one of the designers on the phone. Wow! Small US companies are the way to go -- call reverend, and you can talk to Joe directly.

been playing 7 years. have this guitar, a brawley, a Seagull acoustic, a reverend hellhound, full pedal board setup. it's gorgeous and sounds amazing. i'd definitely purchase again, in fact, i'd like to get my hands on some of their other guitars!

There are so many reviews for this guitar where do I begin? It's a basic ES-335 but is it a knock off? It's made at the factory by the very guys who made the classic 335s of the 50's and 60's those dot marker Larry Carlton specials (he is the man who made this guitar IMHO) Well him and John Scofield. Anyway its' a basci H-H setup with volume and tone for each p/u and a 3 way switch. I used the Schallers for a while but had a pair of Seymour Duncan Antiquities and eventually dropped them in and the results in a word are astounding. The sweetest sounding guitar I have ever owned (and I've owned a 60's ES-335 as well as an 80 dot marker re-issue). The neck is incredible and the bridge is ok though a little fragile feeling, This guitar is a trans red and the fit and finish should be giving Gibson sleepless nights.

What can I say? I'm a studio musician and I need lots of sounds. The Schallers were kind of funky sounding and I used them on some big records but the sound now with the antiquities is so creamy it's beyond belief. The guitar has a wonderful acoustic almost transparent sound that the antiquities just transmit straight to the amp.

The factory setup was pretty bad but this guitar was just sort of handed to me and wasn't really setup. Once I had a pro setup done it's just gorgeois. Like a custom made guitar made just for me but at mass produced prices. The body and binding everything is flawless.

this guitar is a semi hollow body so you need to be a little careful but it's solid as a rock and I would gig with it with no backup,

Haven't dealt much directly withthe company and really haven't needed too although I am intrigued by the new pick up and electronic setups they offer.

Hey this guitar is the best semi hollow i've ever used. I've used a few different ES-335s the Howard Roberts fusion and the Ibanez George Benson model but this far and away is the best.

If you buy an H-535 it's because you want a SH bodied guitar, but don't want to pay twice as much for a Gibby that is inferior. Everyone knows the story here with Heritage. My guitar was made at the same factory on the same machinery and quite possibly by some of the same people as the old 335s that cost $10K an up. Schaller TOM bridge, Schaller PAFs, two tone and two volume, solid center block. Neck is a bit fatter than a standard, but Heritage is basically a custom shop and all of the necks will vary a bit. You have to like the fact that you can try four or five and find one that fits your hands.

I play in a Classic Rock/Blues/Country type band and this ax cover all with ease. I play through a Guytron Gt-100 or a Hiwatt DR103. My board has tuner Fulltone Clyde Deluxe, Barber Tone Press, Keeley BD-2, Keeley TS-9. I use the Tone Press as a boost when I'm playing clean. I'll step on the BD-2 and the TS-9 together when I want controlled feedback. One of the things I love about the SH. The Schallers are actually pretty good PAF replicas. I did replace them with Wagner CR Coils Crossroads to clean up the neck pup a bit. I really wouldn't have been necessary to do so. The guitar sounded fine before the change. I put CTS pots and copper foil and oil tone caps in her too. That improved the range and roll off of the tone controls quite a bit. When I bought the 535 I was able to play it side by side with a '66 ES-335. Yes, the '66 had some vibe to it, but not enough to make me think I was getting an inferior product. The H-535 is a bargain in my book with tone that is absolutely equal to any 335 out there with the minor modifications I've made. You would have to go Historic to get a Gibson that even approached this quality.

The set up was great, although I bought mine from Jay Wolfe and he checked it out before I took it home, but the factory setup was fine. I noticed a bit of the Faded Cherry stain on the neck binding, but it came off with my fingernail. Very solid guitar. I always have a backup in case of string breakage. I've broken one string on a gig, but it was the last song and no other problem. Took it to my tech and he fell in love with it. Did I mention it was pretty lightweitht also?

This baby has been gigged from the first week I had it. The nitro is nitro. A thin finish that will show some wear. Haven't worn any of yet, but I don't like the finishes to be trowelled on anyway. This is a a first rate guitar. One note; I like bone nuts and the tone you get with them. The Heritage H-535 has a straight string pull, unlike the Gibbys. The bone nut will last in your Heritage where the nut slots will wallow out on you 335.

I have spoken to and exchanged emails with Ren at the factory. I have another Heritage on order. Have had no issues with this guitar, but have confidence that any problem that could arise would be dealt with professionally and with expedience.

My wife is wonderful. She understands my affliction (GAS) and has even gotten a good case of it herself. I've played for 35 years and I've owned all kinds of guitars. I wish I would have discovered Heritage a long time ago. Would have saved me a lot of time and money. I also own two Melancons, a DeTemple '56 Strat, McInturff Zodiac I play slide on. I have an H-157 (read LP Custom) that is really custom, on order from Jay Wolfe right now. I will use my 535 for many years to come and I'll be happy it's a Heritage. Dollar for dollar they are the finest guitars built today.

It's a great sounding guitar...basic guitar features I guess

Sounds warm and thick, just the way it should! Bluesy rock, can do jazz, country, you name it.

Great action, plays faster and more comfortable than most ES-335s I've played. Great finish...nice color.

Been playing it on gigs for about 3 years, and I've never had any problems. The only reason I'd back it up on a gig would be if I broke a string, which I do quite often on any guitar. Which, come to think of it, I haven't broken too many on this particular guitar, below average string breakage on this guitar compared to other guitars I play just as much and as hard. Very very dependable

N/A

This is a great guitar with a great tone. I've played for about 10 years mostly with this, a custom mexican telecaster, and a Taylor K10. I play electric through a TU2-Guyatone OD2-Keeley RAT-Boss TR2-Line 6 DL4-Silverface Bassman Head through a custom 1x12 cab. Both this and the tele give me great tone through that set-up and the only reason I switch between the two is for a different tone. Great guitar, and a Gibson ES-335 (any year in my opinion) is not worth the dough with a guitar like this out on the market.

Made in 2001, this is a transparent red, highly flamed, thinline double cut away. The single binding on the body and neck is creme colored. The matching wood pickguard is also flamed red. On this guitar, it uses Gibson type tunematic and stop tailpiece. I've seen others with the a Shaller roller bridge and tailpiece. I don't know which is better and I really don't care. Nice rosewood fingerboard once I put some lemon oil on it. The tuners are Grover and are solid. The pickups on my guitar are Shaller built in Germany. They sound good and don't need changing at this time. I straightened the neck lowered the action a bit and it plays good. Buzzes on the top string cause it is hitting the pickup but I will lower it. The scale is the usual 24 3/4", the width at the nut is 1 11/16". Very comfortable like a LP Classic slim taper. This is a beautifully made instrument and it sounds very good to me. I received a TKL case. This may not be the Heritage case but I really don't care. A case is just a case, guys.

It has a very sweet, tone and still has more acoustic sound than a Gibson 335. It also has a decent sound when I play it unplugged around the house.

Very good fit and finish. The flamed wood is awesome and I like the deep cherry finish. Once you get it home adjust the action to whatever you want. The dealer said that they would do a complete setup at no charge.

This guitar is solid, no back up needed.

Need no contact. I did not receive any papers but I registered with Heritage by email.

Been playing for 45 yrs and owned many guitars. This guitar is very good and the workmanship is top notch. I also like the sweet tone of the guitar and it can be used in various venues. I tried about 5 guitars in different colors before picking this.
What's wrong with Ed Roman's? Just don't walk into the store with an attitude and you will be treated with respect. No problem with me, I walked out with a guitar that I wanted.

I'm sure you know the Heritage story. Basically, the Heritage People are the guys who built the vintage Gibsons. I had this guitar custom ordered with a Flamey Burnt Amber Finish, Tone Pros Bridge and tailpiece and Seymour Duncan Seth Lovers Pickups.

This guitar is stunning. The Jumbo frets play amazingly sweet.

I play a Blues/Rock/Outlaw country variety and this guitar suits me perfectly. I have a 1961 50 watt all tube Gibson Falcon and a 1979 Acoustic 124 amp with 4 10s and 100 watts when I am doing a larger gig. The guitar sounds great through both amps.

For effects, I like to use a light overdrive with a Tubescreamer or Blues Driver and some reverb. I will occasionally use a wah.

This guitar is a monster Blues, Rock, Country. IT SOUNDS AMAZING!! It is a true tone machine.

The guitar was set up great but because of our lack of Humidity in New Mexico there is some slight buzzing that is happening. My luthier will take care of it for free next week because he ordered the guitar for me. The finish is outstanding but because of the buzzing, it gets a 9.

The guitar stays in tune niceley and it seems durable. The strat is my main guitar but this guitar does get some playing time for every gig. When I pull it out it gets a lot of comments because of the look.

I bought it from After Midnight Guitars in Santa Fe and the dealer is a super helpful guy. The guitar has a 1 year warrenty.

Ive been playing for 17 years and own a 1991 custom Fender Strat a Charvel 525 D acoustic electric, Fender Gemini I Classical. If this guitar were lost or stolen I would Buy another with the same features. This guitar is highley recommended. If I could give a 12 here I would.

I came across this guitar by accident at the local Guitar Center and took it home after playing it 1 minute and cutting the price by $200. I had read and wondered a lot about the Heritage sequel to the Gibson and I wasn?t disappointed. For those readers that have heard about the Heritage brand and it?s close sibling relation to Gibson and are curious about the H-535, this review is for you. Many details are shared between the ES-335 and the H-535 like the dot marked compound radius 22 fret set-in mahogany neck, identically shaped center blocks and body contours but there are differences also. The thickness of the H-535?s body is 1 5/8? vs. the ES-335?s 1 3/4? making the Heritage guitar about a pound lighter than the Gibson.
In terms of features the Heritage has the standard two pickup configuration, a three way switch, separate volume and tone controls with gold bell hat knobs, a heavily chromed two-way adjustable Schaller bridge and tailpiece, Schaller pick-ups with chrome covers, nickel plated Grover tuners and so forth. Bracing within the guitar appears identical to a 1994 Nashville Custom Shop Dot Reissue and a 2003 Memphis ES-335 Dot Reissue. The bound pickguard is also made from flamed maple like the laminate top of the guitar and has the Almond Sunburst finish. The logo on the headstock is in the form of a decal instead of an inlay.
The roller saddle bridge has been derided elsewhere as being responsible for rattles and buzzes but, if you bend your first three strings a lot, these roller saddles will make your strings last longer. The downside to this set-up is the fact that the saddle height is not adjustable unless you carefully score the entire diameter of the roller saddle. The feature that allows side-to-side adjustment of the individual saddles on the bridge is a useful one as long as you put a little clear thread locker or fingernail polish to keep them in place after adjusting them. A well made arched top black hard shell case included is fitted with burgundy plush with gold script lettering reading ?The Heritage? on the outside.
Overall, most people aren?t particularly fond of the Schaller pickups and the headstock has a decal instead of inlay and these detract from the feature set of this guitar. Like the Gibson counterparts, this guitar?s features would be enhanced by pickup splitting/tapping and phase reversal functions. As modern potentiometers have the ability to incorporate these switching functions into a push-pull pot, there is no need or excuse for extra holes in the top of the guitar (like the Heritage VIP models use). This feature would allow the guitar greater reach in terms of usefulness to the working guitarist who must drag along a Fender now and again. For these reasons the rating for features is an 8.

Much has been said about the Gibson ES-335?s ability to cover a lot of musical ground and this Heritage model is no exception except that the tone and acoustic properties of the H-535 are very different from the typically darker sounding Gibsons. Unplugged this guitar has a warm and open woody sound and the chords in the first position ring long and true; it sounds much more like a true Electro-Spanish guitar than even the ES-335. Plugged into a modeling preamp like the Johnson J Station, many different sounds and styles can be coaxed from this guitar and the Schaller bridge pickup can scream like a banshee from hell, particularly stretching the first and second strings up the neck. I thought the neck pickup was a dud; it had a deadened decay quality that prompted me to swap it for a Seymour Duncan ?59 neck PUP. The resulting mating of the SD and Schaller is a good one with a vibrant and resonant quality with both pickups engaged. Definitely brighter sounding in any pickup position than the Gibson, the Heritage excels at bright chickin? pickin? and funk. The neck pickup does a commendable job on jazz work and working the tone pot around is a must.
The differences in tone between the 335 and 535 can be accounted for not only by the pickups but also by the pot values, impedances, wiring details and capacitor values. For reference the impedances of the Schaller pickups was 7.30 on the bridge and 6.78 on the neck. Note also that the Seymour Duncan pickup magnets needed to be reversed so that they would be in phase with the Schaller bridge pickup. Pickup loading is evident now with both pickups firing and turning the neck volume down 3-4 points actually increased the overall volume. An excellent article by John S. Atchley about impedance loading, typical wiring schemes and work-arounds for these Gibson type guitars can be found at HTTP://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/stockgibson.php
Overall this guitar has a brighter sound than the ES-335?s and I found the bridge and combo settings to be more useful than on the Gibson siblings. This bird can really scream on solos with a wonderful singing, stinging sustain and really nice harmonic overtones when plucking two or three strings together. A real winner. I give it a 9.5.

When I first played the guitar I noticed that playing above the 14th fret resulted in the strings hitting the 20-22 frets above. The luthier dressed the fretboard, adjusted the truss rod and crowned the semi-circular jumbo frets with exceptional results. The guitar now plays effortlessly in the upper registers with perfect intonation and detail. The action is also very fast because of the jumbo frets and you find yourself playing faster and faster up and down the neck. Gibson should be using these frets also.
Here?s where we get down to the devil in the details. I noticed right off that the first string had a tendency to roll off the side of the neck during arpeggios if you weren?t real careful so I measured the string and neck widths of the Gibson ES-335 and the Heritage H-535 at the nut, 5th, 12th, 19th frets. To my surprise the Heritage was actually a little wider in some instances than the Gibson. I was stumped. Then I looked carefully at the frets and neck binding carefully and found that Gibson and Heritage work their necks differently. The 335?s frets are actually extended and made wider by shaping and crowning the binding to match the frets. This results in a wider and more sure-footed fretboard for the Gibson. The frets on the Heritage are also angled rather steeply at their ends making the perceived ?roll-off? problem worse. The result is that the effective width of the Gibson fret at the 5th fret is 1/8? wider than the Heritage model and 1/16? wider at the 12th fret. A noticeable and noteworthy difference.
The other topic is the finish. Although the laminate top has a beautiful Almond Sunburst finish with mild flaming of the maple top, sides and back, the sealing of the wood grain was not completed and number of lacquer coats applied was too few. This is revealed by holding the guitar at an angle and sighting the striations in the finish. Almost identical to faint brush marks, these imperfections run with the grain and result from the wood not being sealed properly and can be made less visible by thorough sanding between finish coats of lacquer which was not done.
Along with the previously mentioned lack of inlay in the headstock these flaws in the action, fretboard and finish reduce the rating in this category to a 7.

Since I?ve only had the guitar for a few months I can?t really comment here except to say that the guitar holds its tune very well and has less string breakage because of the roller saddles used on the bridge. Whereas the Gibson 335?s feel like you?re holding a stone house, the Heritage feels lighter and more delicate and resonant. Since this guitar was built in 1995, it already has it?s quota of belt buckle and peghead dings, dents and imperfections from the previous owner so it will be going out on the road while one of the newer and perfect Gibsons will be staying home.

When I approached Heritage about the neck and pickups they only offered to replace the pickups for $250.00 and ?take a look? at the neck problems with no guarantees. Hell, I can buy the SD?s for 55 bucks a pop pay the luthier $30 bucks to put them in and still go out on the town. Compare this to Gibson where they replaced my guitar (and Case) outright with brand new heavily flamed Memphis Dot with Gold Hardware after 10 years of really hard use because the upper bout of the 335 had a 1? split in the top of the maple laminate. No comparison here. Heritage gets a 6.

Been playing too long to stop nitpicking now .Despite the design flaws and the lack of some details and features that the Gibsons have, I would still heartily recommend this Heritage guitar to anyone who wants to save a grand in money and have a guitar that can cover some of the Fender territory in addition to the traditional tones the ES-335?s are famous for. Both Gibson and Heritage could make their products better by including the split/tap/phase functions into their volume/tone pots as mentioned above.

535 made in 1989

Stock setup was:

Schaller pickups
Schaller roller bridge and tailpiece
ETC....

This guitar was lifeless, and downright dull before my mod's!

Mods:

Swapped the stock 250K pots to 1 Meg (500K would also work)
Swapped the Schaller pup's for Dimarzio PAF Classics (gold covers)
Swapped the Schaller roller bridge and tailpiece for TonePro (save your money)

First thing:

This came with 250K pots all around (what were they thinking?)
Changing them to 1 meg was a drastic improvement. NOT bright and brittle! It is just downright sweet and toneful!

The Dimarzio PAF Classics are superb sounding pup's (not crazy about their standard PAF's)

Bridge pup (809K DC resistance) Neck (743K) Combo (387K)

The Schaller roller bridge was a terrible choice for Heritage to use. Changing this to a standard "tuneomatic" type bridge is a HUGE improvement in tone and sustain.

A little note regarding the Tonepro bridge that so many LOVE.

The folks at tonepro take a Gotoh or Schaller standard "tunomatic" and add a small hex nut to lock to the post.

People swear that they hear an improvement in the tone with this locking hex nut....Save your money! in terms of tone the only difference I noticed was the Gotoh was $20 and the tonePro is over $60

This guitar went from a lifeless, dull sounding guitar to a tonefull singing sweet guitar!

The 2 pup combo sound has a bell like ping to die for.

Tip:

When using both pickups, move the bridge volume control from 10 to 9 to add a touch of depth to the combo tone. This changes the DC resistance from 387K to 433K.

A very nice lacquer finish (natural)

The gold parts look great with the natural finish

Looks like a Gibson from the good ol' days in terms of build.

I have been playing for 34 years and own 18 guitars to date.

I am VERY picky about tone, and find that I mod most of my guitars until I find what I am looking for.

Harry Jacobson
www.harryjguitar.com

This is an update to my previous posting.

Originally, the 535 was kinda rattly and buzzy.

Thanks to Larry Turner (who also posted here) for pointing me to Graphtech graphite saddles for the Schaller bridge. I put new saddles in and took out the roller saddles. WOW!!!!! This improves the sound dramatically. This is an excellent excellent guitar now. Sweet. Clear as a bell. Yummy.

If you get one of these Heritages, putting in the graphite saddles pretty much fixed the buzzy rattly issue. I'm very happy with the guitar now.

Fantastic copy of the Gibson ES335. I prefer it to the new Gibsons themselves and to many if not most older ones I have played. All the usual features in this style of guitar including mahogany neck, rosewood board, maple top back and sides. Mine was made in ?95 and has Grover tuners. One of the things I prefer cosmetically on the Heritage relative to the Gibson is the pickguard. Its shape mimics that of the overall body better than the Gibson, and on mine it is made of stained flamed maple that almost looks like a cat?s eye finish and complements the Antique Sunburst finish of the guitar itself beautifully. Also, the input jack is on the side as opposed to the Gibson which is on the face.

This is the tone by which I now judge all others and the reason I don't give 10's for sound in any other guitar review. Full, rich, creamy, lots of harmonic content, amazing clean or moderately dirty. Clean it is closer to a jazz sound than a rock sound. For my preferred style of music (jazz/rock) I think this is as good as it gets. It is wonderful for lead playing (I haven?t heard a sound I prefer for cleanish to somewhat dirty but not fuzzed jazz/blues lead) but what is really amazing is using it for complexly chorded rhythm work. Playing the constantly shifting chords in ?Deacon Blues? as a solid harmonic backdrop for all the horns, keyboards, and guitar fills on top is a religious experience. Each note is distinctly heard yet organically blends together with everything else. It is a natural for mixing with a brass and horns section. This guitar is also comfortable with straight-ahead jazz. Kenny Burrell, old George Benson, all sound convincing and satisfying.

When I got it, it was set up with 10s. Shortly thereafter I restrung it with Flatwound 12?s and did all the needed set-up adjustments; truss-rod, intonation, widening the nut slots for the thicker strings. It took to the new set up wonderfully. The action is medium and the frets are fairly low and wide. If I had one built from scratch I would request taller frets, but that is simply personal preference based on my style of playing. It plays very well, but the basic design is such that this is not a shredder?s axe.

This is as reliable as any semi-hollowbody out there, but the nature of the beast is such that it is a bit more delicate and sensitive to temperature, humidity and seasonal and geographical changes than a solidbody. If needed, I would gig it without a backup with no worries at all.

On the few occasions I have had to call Heritage they have always been helpful. They instantly sent me a truss-rod adjustment tool (for free, postage paid by them) when I called to ask.

This is the most satisfying guitar I have ever owned or played, mostly based on tone considerations (my Ibanez feels better but sounds worse). I?m sure everyone reading this knows the Heritage story; original Gibson employees who bought the original Gibson factory and use the original Gibson tooling but better woods, at half the price. I?m a believer.

I mostly play jazz/rock such as Steely Dan, Doobies, etc. I play through an Emery Microbaby (fabulous 1-2 watt amp with interchangeable tubes) amp into a 12? Weber speaker through either a Rode NTK tube mic or Shure SM-57. Generally no effects except possibly a compressor on the front end. The sound when mic?d, a touch of reverb added afterwards and then monitored through headphones or recorded is world-class and never ceases to put a huge smile on this tone-freak?s face. My other guitars are an Ibanez S540LTD upgraded with Duncans, a Stewart Travel Strat equipped with Duncans, and a Moonstone Eclipse neck-through with custom Bartolini single-coils. Like most people, in 25 years of hobby playing I?ve owned and played lots of other gear as well, but these are the ?keepers?.

A comment on dealing with the controversial Ed Roman. If you know what you are looking for and why, his shops are great places to go to see lots of top-level gear. Just know in advance what it is you are looking for and how much it should cost and realize that he is about the most opinionated individual on the planet, which is OK if you recognize that and have your own independent opinions as well and don?t let him sway your judgement (he pushed me to buy his ?Blues Deluxe? which he has custom-made by Heritage; I?m sure he makes more $ on those). If like me you want to try out 25 or more different H535s to find the ONE that feels and sounds best to you, it is one of the only places I know to do so.

Paid 1400.00 out the door, Buffalo Bros, Carlsbad,CA. Extra flamepackage and S.D. '59s.

Action was a little high which was to be expected. Took it to www.soestguitar.com for the final dial-in. He loved it nad if you see his client list, that speaks worlds.

Awsome blues machine. The action is all I had hoped for. Better than the old 335s I played in the 60s and 70s.

Slim tapered neck,fast as lightning and the Duncans just howled thru my 4-EL-84 amp with Weber speakers.

I just bought a H-157 and am selling mt LP Custom. I'm a convert.

AS I said, a killer blues machine. Peter Green should have had one in his glory days.

Compared to the 335s I was auditioning - no comparison, especially in the choice of woods. the one piece neck was an added plus.

Rock solid so far.

Not needed yet.

Mine is a 1999 H-535. Nice sunburst model. I traded in my H-550 for this. Pretty standard features. Standard Heritage pickups. It has what it needs so I give it a 9.

My only real complaint with this guitar is with an annoying rattly, buzzing, tinny sound which comes from the guitar when it's played. I can't figure out what causes it. I had an H-550 previously with a similar problem. I also play an American Strat and PRS McCarty which don't have this noise. Perhaps it is common with hollow-bodies and semi-hollows unless you spend several grand. Anyway, it's annoying and takes some of the pleasure out of an otherwise great guitar.

Although I got it used, it has hardly been played. The frets are like new. I had it set up and had a Buzz Fieten nut installed on it. The action and finish are perfect except that the A and D strings sit about 1/64" lower than the others, due to the way they fit into the roller saddles on the bridge. My luthier was unable to set the action as I like on my guitars (12th fret - 4/64" for high E and 5/64" for low E) because of this. I contacted Heritage and they said they would send new rollers. Hope that fixes it. Else I will probably install a new bridge with knife-edge saddles. I like my setup perfect and this one is not there yet. Other than that, the finish, fit and operation of everything is perfect. Very nice. I don't like where they put the strap button at the neck joint. It's uncomfortable after a while, especially compared to a Strat or PRS. Not sure if there is a better place to move the button.

Seems very solid all around.

Every time I have contacted Heritage they have been great. Nothing like the usual large corporation BS you get almost everywhere these days. A definite plus.

I play all kinds of music, currently in a well-paid wedding, evert type band. Also do a fair amount of blues and jazz style. I am now using a Mesa F-50 which is a great, versatile amp. Also play through a Peavey Delta Blues and a Mesa Blue Angel. I have a custom-built pedalboard with a bunch of various stuff on it. Sometimes I go straight to the amp.

You know the features This is an upodate to my below review
This a a Trans Amber , Ultra woods 535

Sound is great- getting better, too.
I'm learning to work the dual vol/tone controls to really dial in some wonderful tones.

I recieved the guitar in Dec, 2002. About one month ago, I brought it in to Joe Pichkur, Floral Park, NY, who did a fret grind and polish. This made a significant improvement in the guitar. Played better, sounded better, I highly recommend this for all 535's. The difference will be worth it.
This shouldn't be needed for a guitar in this range, but that's life.

Jammed lotsx of times-holds up very well.

The company is great to deal with. Bill Paige, you are the best.

Am now searching for an amp to be worthy of this guitar. Thinking of a Bruno Undergroud 30--they sound incredible, but the prices!!

Features are that of a standard ES-335 style guitar. Grover tuners, two Schaller humbuckers. Very nice natural finish, lightly flamed. Two F holes with a center block. All maple body, mahog neck, rosewood fingerboard.

The sound of the guitar is very good. The body resonates the way you'd expect a 335-style to resonate. The sound is brighter than other 335-style guitars I've played.

Very quiet, and the pickups are very good. I might like Duncan 59's a tad better, but the Schallers are still better than, say, normal Gibson pickups.

First, the guitar is finished wonderfully. Excellent gloss lacquer without any flaws in the finish. The wood is good quality, very nicely figured.

The neck feels super and the guitar plays really well.

The buzzy and rattly acoustic sound is where I'm disappointed. See my support story below. The second 535 I got was infinitely better than the first one. However, even the second one was a bit off. The best description I can give is that it sounds "rattely and buzzy". I have a Gibson HR Fusion and it is so solid when I play it. The Heritage sounds like it's rattling all over the place. I took it in for a setup and the luthier said that the 335-style guitar was sometimes intrinsically rattly. I don't know if this is true or not. Most 335-style guitars I've played DON'T rattle. Sigh. I've upped the string guage a couple times and I'm not satisfied with the acoustic sound of the guitar.

Other than the buzzing and rattling, the guitar is very solid. The guitar will last a while.

I bought a gray-black 535 from Ed Roman. It came very quickly and was packed well. And the price was reasonable. However, when I started playing it, it buzzed all over the place. I took the guitar to a local luthier for a professional setup. This guy gold me the neck "looked like the Kent-Narrows bridge", meaning it was totally warped and twisted. I called Mr. Roman back and he pointed me back to Heritage and got me in tough with Bill Page directly. Heritage was extremely supportive and offered a direct replacement. I sent back my Gray 535 and a month later they sent me an antique-natural one without any question or anything. Wonderful!!!!

It's a good guitar in so many ways-- it just seems to rattle a bit. I've taken it a couple of times to other people to try to solve the problem, but it's still rattly. I've yet to have the frets leveled by a pro-- that's probably my next step.

2002 Model in Natural finish purchased directly from UK importers (not many retailers in the UK stock these guitars). Stock Schaller pickups but Gibson style Tunomatic bridge and matching tailpiece.

Sounds a bit more like a solid guitar than i was expecting, but still has that really nice compression on the notes you get on a semi. very usable for the kind of blues/r'n'b we play. I also have a PRS Custom 24 and a Les Paul Standard - compared to these I have to say the Schallers don't seem to have a very distinctive 'voice' of their own, more just a generic humbucker. Perhaps I'll upgrade them in a couple of years...

Cosmetically guite pretty, although a natural finish doesn't do as much for the wood as a deeper colour. A little flamed but not lots. The detailing on this guitar however lets it down. Other reviewers have commented on set up etc and I must agree. The nut was way too high - even for a budget guitar, the fret finishing left a lot to be desired (it seemed like it had been done with a radius block that was different to the actual fingerboard) and there was a real ramp in the fret levels at the body end so that with anthing approaching a sensible action height, bends would choke out. The finish was OK but certainly not up to the standard of my PRS. The saddle notches were inconsistently spaced and the top E was way too close to the edge of the fingerboard (I've now repaced the bridge and saddle with Tone Pros). Finally the positioning of the neck pickup and the cavity rout meant that you couldn't adjust it down without it snagging on the body within the cavity. I had to use a Dremel tool to ease this - not what I would expect on a GBP 1000+ guitar!

I have to say that for a company with Heritage's background position this is unnaceptable. I really love the idea that there are still craftspeople who really care about what they're doing, and that not everything is produced by soul-less machines in the far east, but my experience - particularly of Japanese guitars - is that although they sometimes lack the feel of more handmade stuff, their attention to detail is spot on. Heritage really needs to get its act together on this one.

Semis are less robust than solids but given TLC it should see me out. I always take 2 guitars to gigs, but I'm sure this wouldn't let me down.

Jason at Frontrunner was very helpful. Never dealt with Heritage direct

I have many other guitars - PRS, Gibson, Fender, GandL, Charvel etc and use a Cornford MK50 (UK boutique valve amp) and matching 2x12. The general vibe of the guitar is very god - it's just let down by lack of attention to detail. The fret dress cost me 80 pounds and has made a world of difference. Although I expect to set any guitar up to my taste and style, decent fret dressing should be a give at this level. I would probably buy another (and Gibsons do seem very overpriced) but I'd check it out very carefully first.

This guitar, the Heritage H-535 is very similar to a Gibson ES-335. The same guys that used to make and work for Gibson bought the building and the machinery from Gibson in 1985 and started Heritage Guitars. I bought mine used from Gruhn guitars for 1000.00 and immidiatly changed the pickups, not that the Schaller pickups were bad, but I prefer EMGs. The only problem with this instrument is that I have broken strings at various gigs so I ordered string saver saddles. The finish is what they reffer to as Almond Sunburst and the top and back are laminated curly maple. The year is Feb, 1999. The case is solid but I hate heavy cases so I am buing a Reunion Blues gig bag for this guitar. It came standard with Grover tuners.

I am recording contemporary Jazz music and this guitar works well for this style but since it has a center block, You can play distoted without much feedback. I tried it though alot of amps and my favorite is a Fender Deville 2x12 amp. This Heritage H-535 guitar sounds very fat and sweet with alot of authority but lacks the cutting ability of a tele or a strat. I really like the way it souns turned up because you can get a tone that feeds back when you want it and lots of sustain due to the tilted head-stock.

As I stated before, the Bridge that this guitar came with brakes strings. but the solution is string saver saddles. The finish is great looking especilly is the sun light. There are slight imperfections at the edges at one of the cutaways between the binding and the finish but this is minor. I'm really nit picking. The setup was good but I tweaked it to my taste when I changed strings.

I trust this instrument . It,s top notch except for the string breaking saddles it feels really sturdy. As with any hollow or semi- hollow instrument it is more deliate than say a Fender Strat. If you drop a Heritage H-535 I feel it may get hurt easier than a Fender.

Te guys at Heritage were very friendly and answered all my questions when I called.

I have been playing guitar for 37 years and I am arecording artist, record producer, band leader and teacher. I chose this guitar because after lots of research, I realized that Heritage makes good quality guitars for a reasonable price and many more high profile companys sell based on their name not their top quality. I would buy this guitar again because it lived up to my expectations except for the string breaking saddles.

2002 Model, Beautiful natural maple finish. I ordered from Buffalo Bros. Guitars, they have excellent prices an servcie. It features the option HRW pickups. This is a really beatiful guitar.

I have had this guitar for about a month and I am still amazed at the tones this guitar will get. It will go from purring kitten to roaring lion and everthing in between. I would recommend anyone thinking of getting a heritage guitar to get the HRW pickups. They are the best sounding humbuckers I have ever heard. Very complex and rich. Roll of the tone controls and you can get great jazz sounds. Turn up distortion and it screams. I really love the tone of this guitar. Feeds back a little, but not bad for a semi-hollow guitar.

Setup from factory was too low and buzzy. THe neck had now curve at all so I adjusted this and it plays great how. I am not able to get a real low action with major buzz, but a medium height action works great. I don't like it real low anyway. The finish is absolutely stunning, you can tell this is a handmade high quality instrument.

lOoks like it will last long, hs quality hardware and finish is superb.

Have not dealt with them yet

I have been playing for a year and a half. I have played sax for 25 years. I would reccomend this to anyone wanting a 335 type guitar. I looked at several Gibson 335's and 333's and this guitar beats them all in tone and finish. I also own 3 G&L's, which are also hand made, and it is up with them in quality. I really love this guitar, so much that I have a nickname for it, SWEET!!

This beauty was custom made for me, ordered in 2/02, delivered in 12/02-long time, but worth the wait.
This is a semi-solid thinline (think 335, but only as a start). Laminated top and back, solid rims.
I ordered this in Translucent Amber, with an "Ultra" wood upgrade. This is three upgrades above the standard. The flame is intense, acually 3D in spots, on both top and back. Very rippley, very deep.
I also ordered the pickguard ,which is wood, and the headstock, to match the body.The headstock worked out fine, but not so the color of the pickguard. More on that later.
Instead of "The Heritage" painted (or decal)on the headstock, mine is inlayed abalone. Headstoch is bound, as is neck and body top and back.
I also ordered pearl block markers on the fingerboard. Also Sperzal tuners.
Thsi is why it took nine months!!!!!!
I stayed with the stock pickups-Schallers. Two Hums.
The neck is mahogany, it is beautiful to look at (wonderful medium-dark brown, lots of grain showing.
Overall nitrocellulose finish is deep, smooth-I can't see any flaws.
Tune-o-matic bridge upgrade, as well.
One importentitem. This comes standard with 17 degree headstock. Gibson uses 14 degree. The Heritage is pitched back at a sharper angle, increases the srting pull and sustain-also uses a lot more wood. One of the reasons this baby sounds so good.
Came with a very solid black hardshell case.

The sound of this is beautiful-very clear, very versitle. Not a shreader, but very nice for rock, blues, jazz.
It is very quiet, even on the bridge PU only.
Play through a 2002 Hot Rod Deluxe, an original 65 Deluxe Reverb, and a mutli track recording system using smal powered speakers-sound great each time, every time. I'm not too crazy about just the bridge PU- I prefer to mix them both.

Fit and finish are top notch. I don't know how Heritage does it. I love what they do . If I had ordered a similar guitar through the Gibson Custom Shop, It would have been at least double the cost!
The top is one piece (laminated), so the flame stretches across the full 16 inches. Something to see.

This is a veryhigh quality guitar. I'm kind of surprised it only came with a one year guaranty. Fender gives you five years!!
It is rock solid, and my feeling is that Heritage would stand behind their product.
I would gig W/O a back up. High confidence in this .

I would like to rate Heritage an ELEVEN! They are amazing to deal with, I called the factory several times, and always got an owner on the phone. Helpful, took their time, always treated me very nicely.
Now, about the headstock. I ordered it to match the body, but it came to me several shades darker. Looks good, but not what I ordered. Called them up, and they told me to take a few pictures, send them in, and they would make me one to match. I'm surprised it got out the door without someone looking at the order, but their willingness to fix the problem is commendable. High marks.

Also, Jay Wolfe was a pleasure to deal with. I highly recommend him. Thanks, Jay.

I have been playing for almost 40 years. Saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan and picked up the worst acoustic you ever saw, and wouldn't let go.
I also have a 1966 Gibson ES 125TC, a 1979 Guild D-50N, a 1990 PRS CE, a 1990 Laravee bass, a Dano 12 string, and a 2001 Tele. They go through a 2.3 ver POD.
I gave the decision of what I wanted in this 535 a lot of thought, and it came out great. I now have a custom, one of a kind guitar that I'll never see anywhere else.
Heritage is not well known, but it should be. They do a great job

It's a lefty 1996 535 in antique cherry burst. It had 2 schaller humbuckers in it when i bought it, but i had heritage put in their HRW pickups. 2 volume and 2 tone knobs, 3 way switch. schaller tune-o-maticish bridge and tailpiece and grover tuners. very lovely finish. nice, but pretty basic features.

when i got this guitar i thought it sounded okay, maybe a 5. had heritage put their HRW pickups in and it got sooooooo much better! tone has much more body to it now. i have to play on .008-.038 strings cause of hand problems and i can get decent "big" sounds. clean is nice, the neck pickup is my fav, roll the down back and bring on the jazz. sounds killer with mild distortion (love the middle and bridge combos - hate the neck sound cause i hate that stupid "woman tone") but if you add too much gain it enters generic land. feedback has never been an issue.

the frets on this guitar were not leveled right, cost me $75 for a level. action is super low and doesn't fret out now. finish is nice but scratches and dings very easily. idiot drummer hit my guitar with a cymbal-nasty mark on the side now. i hate the schaller bridge, it's a pain! i'm planning on putting a tonepros bridge on. i'm giving it low marks for the bad frets, but it's about an 8 after the work i've had done on it

aside from the fragile finish, i think it'll hold up fine. gotta watch out for more idiot drummers though. you can't beat this guitar like you can a fender-besides, its too pretty to hit! -2 for the fragile finish

heritage is a great company. i called them and told them i thought the schaller pickups were rubbish and i got to talk to ren, who designs their pickups. very classy. you can actually talk to real people and all of my emails have been answered within a few days.
about the dealer- i bought this from southpaw guitars. big mistake! these guys are crooks! they just want your money! i know someone who bought a 535 new for about $100 less than what i paid. he got it from jay wolfe i think. i thought cause i was lefty i'd have to buy from southpaw, big mistake, there are other dealers who have MUCH better prices and aren't greedy punks. i should have gotten a new guitar for the price i paid. i guess it's my own fault though. oh well, never again!
heritage gets a 10 for service
southpaw guitars gets -99999999999999999999999999999999999999999

i like this guitar, but i'm a small framed guy and it's a big guitar- i've been getting pains in my picking-hand's shoulder from playing this guitar sitting down.
great guitar, as good as the 335s i've played at about $500 cheaper (if you don't buy from the greedy punks at southpaw). heritage's customer service beats gibson's (and southpaw's) like a red-headed step child.
some people say the headstock is ugly and looks like a paddle, just order one with headstock binding.
all and all i'm a stratboy at heart, so i'll give it an 8.

i didn't even know this manufacuter existed prior to spotting this guitar. i have a vintage sunburst model, it's beautiful. it's heavy and solid, stays in tune, neck is straight, beats any overpriced gibson.

i play blues and jazz and rock. it rocks as hard as any les paul, i've played. for blues it's king. when you play the neck pickup and roll back the tone a bit you get a nice jazzy tone, when you play center and roll back the bridge pickup a bit you get a nice sound too. only complaint is there is an awful lot of bass on neck position, i lowered the pickup a bit and seemed to rectify the problem.

this is one great guitar, (cept for the too much bass on the neck pickup, but fixed easy enough with a screwdriver)

this is one solid axe. i've gone through depressive bouts with it, manic anger, everything, and i promise you, it will take a lickin. (yes, i've done that too, got the idea from hendrix, i hurt my nose one time), i've played a lot of strings on it, let me repeat that, A LOT, but if you're looking for the strings that were made for this guitar get a $6 pack of ernie ball rps coustom gaug slinkys. they scream and cry and do whatever you want them too, they're bendable but not too thin and wussy. i've been playing the same set for THREE MONTHS (a actually broke the g yesterday!). i play in a band almost every day, i practice for hours, i take my agressions out on guitar strings, one time after my girlfriend dumped me on my 18th birthday i even TRIED to break these things, and they wouldn't go.

they still sound NEW!!! ( i do wipe them down EVERY time i touch them, and use string cleaner about once a week)

rps coustom slinkys and Heritage H535, match made in heaven

i've never had to deal with the company, but i'm definately dedicated to their product

i started playing back when i was depressed 2 years ago, i played all the time, hours and hours and hours. it's my drug, it keeps me sane. music is religion. i got this guitar a year ago and it's been my best friend ever since.

i'll be good when the guitar melts in my hands.

I was looking for a semi-hollow body guitar for blues and rock and I came upon the Heritage H535 at a guitar show. It is stock with Schaller pickups (I may install Duncan Pearly Gates/'59s in the bridge/neck) and Grover tuners. The selling point of this guitar was the feel. The neck felt wonderful. I have mediunm sized hands and this guitar fit perfect.

Although I'm thinking of changing pickups (I'd like a bit brighter sound), this guitar has a very nice resonance to it. It sustains very well. The neck pickup seems a bit muddy to me, but the bridge pickup does a nice job when cranked. This guitar seems to be built to provide a great bluesy sound.

I lowered the action a bit after I got the guitar home. There were three flaws with this guitar: 1) There was some stain leakage on the neck that produced an inky blotch at the 12th fret; 2)The ground wire attached to the bridge post was not in full contact causing a nasty static when switching from the neck to bridge pickup selection; 3) the b string cut on the nut was not deep enough. Otherwise, the guitar is a beauty.

This guitar seems pretty solid for a semi-hollow body. I've banged it around a few times and it's held up well. I play fairly hard and this guitar seems to take it.

When I called the company regarding the buzz in the switch, I actually spoke with one of the guys in the production department, I was stunned (I thought I'd get a secretary). The were very helpful.

This is one of the best guitars I've owned (an I've had a few). I've been playing off and on for 35 years and I would certainly buy another Heritage. The great points are the weight and sustain of this instrument. Every time I pick it up, I feel I was fortunate to have bought it.

Play BLUES.We all know you can`t beat the sound of a 335 for this style of music.And this baby has IT! SWEET tone. Very full sounding.
Why would you go out and pay the money for a Gibson,when you can wrap your hands around one of this dreams for half the money!! Thank you
Heritage.My set up is very basic,Fulltone Deja vibe,into a Vox 810
overdrive pedal,to a Hughes & kettner 20 watt tube amp. Love the 20 watts, crank the amp up to 8-9, the guitar sounds so awesome !!
I use the gain channel on the amp for solos ,EL 84s break up so nice.
Use the Vox pedal to round out the tone of the dirt,gives it that creamy sound! Like all the sounds the pick ups have to offer. The only BITCH i have, is that the input jack on the guitar was in a different place. Have to be very careful placing it back in the stand,because the input jack is on the side near the strap button. Im going to add a chrome metal imput jack plate to reinforce it,so that it`s solid.

Bought it used.Dont like new guitars,like that broke in feeling.
Plays like a dream. The only ajustment that was made,is i lowered the pick ups. NICE brown sunburst finish !!!

Playing live ,no prob!! This is a guitar you would want to play all night.I would always bring a back up guitar when you gig,because you never know if your going to break a string. Changed the strap buttons to locking ones. The very last thing i want to happen is this guitar
crashing to the floor in the middle of o song!

Playing about 10 yrs.Own a Godin artisan (tele style). and a Alvarez artist acostic. Lets see,if some one stoled my Heritage, # 1, yes i would buy another one in a heart beat !! #2, I would hunt the thief down and give person a beating to a inch of there live for about two weeks straight.LOL. Once again THANK YOU HERITAGE !!!

This is a Heritage (made in USA) version of the Gibson ES 335. Differences are, the 535 is thinner and the neck is more sleek. The body is maple and the color is Heritage's Almond burst. Looks pretty cool. Grover tuners,Schaller rolloer bridge with tail piece. Also, very cool. Gibson scale (24 3/4). Slightly lighter in weight than Es335.See other reviews for indepth details.

This thing sounds smoooooth. It really is the sweetest sounding guitar I own.When I do studio recording, I take that baby with me always.I get compliments from the engineers all the time. They love recording that guitar.Its quiet, clean and the range of tones is ridiculous.I mostly play the Jazz/Fusion thing.However; I have used this guitar to record heavy distorted parts/Blues,Rock and Trad Jazz.
All sound like I'm using different guitars.This guitar really sings.

I bought this guitar used so I dont know how the factory set-up is. I do my own set-ups anyway.I use 11's with a wound G. Bigger strings better tone. Can I get an AMEN? The pick ups are the stock Schallers but they have some kind of mojo going on because they don't sound like typical Schallers. It may have something to do with this guitar being 9 years old. Go figure. I know I wont change anything on this guitar.Speaking of 9 years old....When I got this guitar 1 year ago it was flawless and in mint condition. So I do everything I can to keep it that way.

Appears to be built really well Heritage did a good job with this AX. All the hardware looks great after 9yrs. The finish is still vibrant. I dont think the previous owner did any gigging because this guitar doesnt show the scars that can be acquired from playing out alot.The thing will hold up under most playing conditions. I play it mostly on recording dates. I've used it live several times and it hasn't let me down. I have so many guitars I take backups with me out of habit.

I have never had to deal with the Heritage folks.That's a good thing. But, I've heard that they are the nicest people to deal with.

Been playing forever just look at my other reviews.I compared this Guitar to my PRS HollowBody II and these two couldnt be farther apart. Now, I love my PRS don't get me wrong. But, to compare the two... the PRS is more like a 20 year old Rebel shaking his fist at the world and the 535 is like an Older guy who's seen it all and has become a leader of Rebels.I like this guitar because it can do ES335 and lots more.Its comfortable to play sitting or standing. It works for me ,the thing practically plays itself and I, hang on for the ride.

I got Sperzel non-locking tuner which according to my dealer is better than Grover now on my H535. Stock Schaller Humbuckers, Tune-O-Matic bridge, feels like medium jumbo frets, transparent black wood pickguard. Mahogany neck, laminated maple top/maple body, bound neck/body. Almond Sunburst and Heritage case. Pretty nice flame on top/back of body, not AAA but decent. Pretty much like the Gibson 335 but not as expensive and craftsmanship is almost the same.

Those schaller pu are not bad, when I first got it I played Tom Petty's Maryjane's last stand non-stop..very nice tone, you hear some good high end shimmers, a good overall sound, great for rock/pop/blues and jazz to a certain level..the neck pu is mellow, that's where the mellower/jazzier sound comes in and backing off the tone abit I was able play nice inversion chords..in the middle position rock/blues same for bridge pu..the bridge pu is not too bright sounding and that's not bad thing, some bridge pu's are too bright..I would have to say a good overall sound and compare it to a Blues Deluxe they both even..mine does not have the VIP system, I treid it and it's ok but not great.. just plain Schallers are good enough.

good action, no buzzing or fretting out. some minor flaws on headstock and back of neck like tiny dings..but the body is good with decent flame on top and back. the almond sunburst is a nice looking finish. the size of the body and scale is like the Gibson 335. I had a Blues Deluxe and somehow the smaller body doesn't look right but that may be good for some people..other some dings on headstock and neck..the guitar is beauitful.

all the hardware seems top notch..if you are not abusing it, guitar should last a good long while

spoke w/Heritage who recommend this dealer and he was nice a enough guy, I got the hang tag/warranty/receipt and key for case lock. I didn't get any of this from a previous dealer. but just good this instrument so I didn't need any support yet.

looked at alot of guiatrs..this Heriatge is quality made in the USA..this is a good company and they make good intruments. over 10yrs playing, owned les pauls/sg. epiphone sheridan/riveria, rick 330/620, strats/teles, seen good guitars and some just ok ones..some sound great and some sounded uninspiring..this H535 is among the better ones, it is not perfect and not good for certain styles but versitile enough to cover alot of songs. I good a winner here. If I had one gripe is maybe alittle better on the finer details, the headstock/better nut/no dings on anywhere in guitar, when you get a new one, you want perfection, some minor flaws take away you full pleasure.