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.

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.