Heritage H-550 Custom

Great wood work-as always. Poor tailpiece (96') version. The Shallers are OK-but not the neck PU.

Nice sound-if you find the right amp. It sounds pretty sweet with Polytones, but did not deliver with any tube amps I tried it with. I love the construction though, so I really want to modify this guitar to my needs.

Awsome

Tank, but yet again.I had to re-wire it after.You really need to use it with the L shape cable plug so it will not damage your regular cable. It already killed one of my Planet Waves. Heritage makes a cable input that comes out of the tailpiece plate.

Not happy at all. They are always in a hurry and tell you that they do receive 1000 emails a day(which is a ridiculous). As a small company, they ought to make you feel little bit more special and thankful for endorsing their name.

Remember this:
Heritage=Great wood working and construction. All the other specs need to be closely looked in to. I had the same issues with my H-575-exacly the same!

Follow-up on my January 2008 review.
I need to add the H-550 is different in construction than the late 40/50's Gibson 350, the difference is greater than in some other Heritage guitars that use a similar number scheme to the Gibson they emulate. For example the H-550 fixed bridge adds much more sustain. I fitted a wooden string saddle over the posts and this brought a faster and smoother sounding note decay although not the sound of a floating bridge foot as found on the 350.
Use the 250K (or similar) pots and .47 caps if you go the P-90 route.
As on most boxes heavier strings , flat or wound, help greatly.
The H-550 is a nice instrument, an interesting guitar to play though in reality a very expensive experiment(for me).
If this 550 Custom were gone I would purchase something better suited to my needs.

This is a U.S. Made 17th left handed guitar . It is pretty unique in the way it is built. The top and back are a curly laminate maple, but the sides are solid wood. Two tone and two volume controls. came with two Shaller humbuckers a real solid Grover tuning pegs. It has an amazing long rosewood fret board on a mahagony neck which fits my hand size like a glove. The finish is gorgeous sunburst. No finish flaws-these guy know what they are doing. The bridge is German made roller tune-o-matic . I have tried rosewood bridge to it but went back to this one, because I liked the sustain more. I also replaced the neck pickup to a classic 57' which gave it more of an L-5 kind of edge. The bridge pick up by Shaller is outstanding though!

Great sound versatility. I play jazz, funk and R&B with it, and it never fails to deliver. As someone mentioned before, it is important to EQ it properly. it is an electric guitar first, and then acoustic. If you need a guitar for a big band, get something else like the carved tops. Still, it has an original sound to it which will separate your sound from the over used Gibson bag of sound.

As good as can be !

Solid! a gig ready at anytime.

It used to be much easier to contact heritage by the phone but they are still there to help. Try to talk with Ren, he is the man.

Great guitar if you are looking for a 17' that will not feedback. If it would get stolen, I would be really upset. They are quite rare in left hand, and not so cheap new. I would not buy a new one but that does not mean that it's not worth it.

2006 550 Custom ordered, made in Michigan. Wine red, flamed top,
gold hardware, finger tailpiece and HRW pups, hard case.

Smooth, even, sweet jazz tone. I removed the very good humbuckers
and installed SD Phat-Cat 90 single coils in their place. These
single coils work very well on this guitar if you want that sweet
clear tone of the laminated-top jazz boxes from the late 40's-50's,
especially with a good low-powered tube amp and nearly as good
thru the Acoustic Image Clarus 2R that I have been using. No
dislikes about the sound. It is different in construction than the
late 40's early 50's Gibson 350 and has a different sound. A good
sound that is unique.

Absolutely beautiful guitar to look at.
Action was smooth and low from the factory. Some swirl marks in the
finish on the back. Easier than it should be to pull the high E
string off the fingerboard. Selector switch broke about 3
minutes after I started playing the guitar for the first time.
(The factory replaced the switch.)

Will this guitar withstand live playing? yes
Does the hardware seem like it will last? yes
Is the finish good enough to last, or does it seem thin and easy to wear off with lots of playing? The traditional 'nitro' finish is
very good but can eventually wear off anyway.
Are the strap buttons solid? yes
Can you depend on it? yes
Would you use it on a gig without a backup? yes

Certain individuals will do everything they can. They will
send small parts via the mail or fix a problem if you can get the
guitar back to Kalamazoo. Months went by recently with no real
support. As of this writing significant changes have taken place at
at the factory so time will tell, however, they ARE still at 225
Parsons St. Kalamazoo, Mi.

Playing since early 70's. Many flat-tops, electric archtops and
electrics over the years. Several tube and solid-state amps with
various cabs.
I would purchase again if available at similar price but with
the single coils from the getgo. It is, I believe, a better value
than the more expensive Heritage all solid-wood archtop Super
Eagles I have now or have owned and is better quality and
far better value for a PLAYER than the Gibson Custom shop products
that I have owned or played.
You can not get your money back out of Heritage guitars,
however, this may change.
I also have a less expensive Heritage 535(335 style)guitar
and I believe it is the best value of the five Heritage
archtop or ES style guitars that I have owned in terms of build
quality, sound, ease of use, and price, with this 550 standing next
in line. Though I ordered this 550 I would recommend one pick and
play thru these and any other guitars or amps before purchase if
possible.
#'s average about 8 and a-half but as a musical instrument the 550
rates closer to a 10 so I will give an overall rating of 9.

Year 2000. Made in USA.
20 frets.
Laminated top.
3-way toggle pickup selector switch. Two Volume controls. Two tone controls.
Built-in H/H passive Schaller pickups.
Maple body. 3-piece maple neck.
Gloss lacquer finish.
17" Archtop w cutaway.
Schaller roller saddle intonation adjustable bridge on built-in posts/inserts.
Grover tuning machines.
Medium C shape neck with med/jumbo frets. Bound ebony fretboard.
Heritage archtop hardshell case.

Modern Jazz sound (as opposed to a "Charlie Christian" sound).
I use a Polytone amp for Jazz.
It is not "noisy" at all. The humbuckers and wiring are quite silent almost.
It can be either rich and full, or bright, or midrangey, depending on the guitar settings, strings, and/or amp used.
For me it sits right in the middle for a good Jazz sound, and can be trimmed from the guitar controls be be either brighter or darker without walking over to the amp. The controls are smooth and the range pretty wide. I think it's versatile for Jazz primarily, and maybe some Dwayne Eddy kinds of sounds.
It has a nice acoustic tone for practice, but would need a very quiet environment to pass as an acoustic guitar. It's plywood with two humbuckers screwed into it. Not bad tone though.

Bought used. It's fine as-is. No "humps" or buzzes. The frets are still large and like new.
I raised to action from where it was when I bought it (and removed the Flatwound strings). It wasn't buzzing, just too low for me.
Nothing misaligned or shoddy.

Very stable.
I gig with it all the time.
It is my only guitar.
The hardware is chrome plated. No wear that I can tell on either the finish or the hardware. It has been played, there are some nicks here and there but the finish seems to be standing up (bought used).

Used.
I have had questions answered the following day by E-mail from the factory "feedback" line.

I've been playing since the 1960's. A variety of Musicians Union stuff.
Jazz mostly, now (semi-retired).

This is a beautiful guitar. I love the ebony fretboard and triple bound body.
The bridge has grown on me. I mostly like wooden bridges on archtops, but this one adds some nice sustain, and can't ever move around.
I was looking at the Ibanez line of archtops because I can't see buying another Gibson ES-175 (my usual choice) after a long layoff for medical reasons.
But they didn't sound very good when unplugged for practicing, which comprises most of my playing nowadays, with an occasional Jazz jam.
This was about twice as much money, but seemed more like a real guitar.
Maybe someday I'd order a solid top non-cutaway acoustic archtop from Heritage, as I'm quite impressed with this laminated one, but prices are very high now for anything with solid wood, it seems.

This is a great guitar for half the price of an ES-175. Bigger too.
I've gotten used to the longer scalelength. I just went down to 12's from 13's and have no troubles with hand strength, even with the longer neck.

This is my third Heritage archtop.
First was an '96 Eagle, which had a wonderful acoustic tone but fedback too much with the floating type pickup. I sold it after about a year, but often miss its acoustic personality.
Then I had a H-575, which was a lot like a Gibson ES-175, but better built from all solid maple. But like the ES-175, it also had the shorter 24.75" scalelength. Warm sounding, but though I thought the Gibson style scalelength was fine at first, I began to realize That short scaled 16" archtops were not gonna give me the lush L5 type tone. It was versatile and didn't feedback, and was beautiful natural maple with flame, but in the end I went looking for a longer scale 17" archtop.
The H-575 is all that, even though it's laminated top and back.
This one has "Custom" engraved in the headstock inlay. Another reviewer mentioned his wasn't as deep. Maybe that's why this is a Custom version.
It has a three piece maple neck with single bound ebony fretboard with 20 large and nicely finished frets; single bound large "snakehead" headstock with nickel Grovers; triple bound Almond Sunburst maple top and back (laminate) with shaded solid maple rims.
Two Rendall Wall designed Schaller humbuckers; toggle switch is near the four vol & tone pots; endpin is the plug connector.
The bridge (Schaller, I believe) is roller style adjustable for spacing as well as intonation, and is mounted directly (not on a movable "foot") on wheel adjust posts that go fixed into the top.
Came with The Heritage archtop hardshell case.

Good sanppy Jazz tone with Thomastik-Infeld 0.012" - 0.050" "Be-Bops."
Also versatile for Roots Rock, Rockabilly, Blues, you name it. Good treble pickup tone and sustain, unlike many archtops.
Not quite as sweet or lush as an L5, but not snarky like a Tal Farlow (its closest Gibson counterpart).
Can be Funky (in the good way) with both pickups on.

Perfectly set-up, though I lowered the bridge pickup a tad so my hand wouldn't "ka-chunk" the strings into the pickup, and rebalanced the front pu for the nickel TI strings.
No flaws whatsoever. A beautiful instrument!

Proven design; quality components; excellent build quality and luthiery. Neck is stable and doesn't flex. Stays in tune great.
No buzzes or bad wolf tones. Can be made to feedback. It's not dead.

Typical one year warranty.
I'm not worried about it.

Played guitar since 1960. I also keep a plank guitar around for the loud/processed stuff (a Carvin).
I use tube amps. Clean, or with a bit of Blues "edge."

This is the closest I could afford to an L5. I could have had a Gibson Tal Farlow for about the same price, but I like this better: more sustain, better pickups and prettier (also ebony board).

It sounds like what it is: a 17" laminated archtop with a long scale and humbuckers, ala ES-350, Barney Kessel, etc.
If it's thinner than stock (2.5" vs 3"?) again, the "Custom" thing, it certainly doesn't sound thin.

It has that hornlike lead tone like my H-575 had, but also with a bit more "plonk," and the bridge pickup is actually usable, unlike so many full body archtops that sound choppy and without sustain on the bridge pu alone.
The sound compromised a bit because of the laminate top, both acoustically and for the lushest Jazz flavor, but c'mon, I traded a Telecaster and $1350 for it. It was "slighly used." Not sure what that means, because it hasn't a mark on it and the warranty card is still in the case.

It's the best guitar I've ever had. It's my "L5."
I don't want anything else (unless somebody wants to pay for an L5 and let me have it). Nothing better but that, I figure.

I've had some pretty nice Jazz guitars, even solid ones (as well as Japanese Ibanez ones with Pat Metheny pu's, which was a stellar sounding gigger), but this is the best all around for me, because it will do Jazz great, and is stiil versatile enough to not sound dreadful on other styles. I'm not sure how an L5 sounds on the bridge pickup alone. THIS one is great!

A BEEEEEEEUUUUUTIFIL GUITAR--1996 I THINK---MAPLE BODY SIDES AND NECK--GIANT BODY--2 SCHALLER HUMBUCKERS---BIGSBY----LOVELY WORKMANSHIP--NICE FULL NECK---FEELS LIKE THE GREAT NECKS THAT GIBSON MADE 40 YEARS AGO...THE NECK IS SO EASY TO PLAY..HAS GREAT FRETS...THE NECK ANGLE AND RADIUS IS INCREDIBLE...THESE GUYS AT HERITAGE KNOW WHAT A GUITAR IS SUPPOSED TO BE...INSTEAD OF JUST INSANELY TURNING OUT VOLUME..THESE GUYS GO FOR QUALITY...THAT IS HARD TO SAY OF ANY OTHER MAJOR MANUFACTURER

I CANT FIND ANY PROBLEM WITH THE SCHALLER PICKUPS--THEY SUIT ME JUST FINE----THIS GUITAR CAN ROCK--IT CAN ROLL---I CAN BE SMOOTH AS MOLASSES--SOUNDS GREAT TO ME...I DONT REALLY CARE FOR THE TONE ROLLOFF ON THE NECK PICKUP--IT COULD SOUND DEEPER, TO ME--THAT COULD BE AN EASY MOD..BUT I CAN'T DO IT MYSELF..THIS GUITAR ROCKS WITH EVEN 10-46 GAUGE---YOU CAN USE HEAVY STRINGS TOO---THE NECK IS VERY FORGIVING--IT SEEMS TO LIKE ANY SET UP THAT YOU DO

I BOUGHT MINE USED--THE GUITAR WAS SET UP GREAT ALREADY--ALL I DID WAS LOWER THE ACTION TO SUIT ME..THE WOOD IS UNREAL LOOKING--TONS OF FLAME--AND NOT FAKE FLAME--THE NECK IS ROCK HARD MAPLE THAT RESONATES LIKE A BELL...TRY TO FIND THAT IN A JAPANESE GRETSCH OR THE MISERABLE WAY-OVER-PRICED NEW GIBSONS...THIS IS THE MOST UNDER PRICED GUITAR GOING---PAY 5 GRAND FOR A GIBSON HISTORIC, SIT BACK AND WATCH THE TOP COLLAPSE ON YOU...THIS GUITAR IS EQUAL TO THE BEST VINTAGE GIBSON EVER MADE..NO DOUBT

SEEMS LIKE IT WILL LAST 100 YEARS

ITS...LIKE A GIANT ES-175..EXCEPT IT PLAYS BETTER---

Since completing the below review over a year ago, I've installed Seymour Duncan Seth Lover humbukers in this guitar...thanks to the expert work of Gary Brawer at Real Guitars in SF. What can i say? The weakness of Heritage was always the pikups designed by Schaller. I did not know what I was missing. i loved the tone before, now it is simply to die for.Wow! With the price that I paid for this guitar and then the near 300 bucks for new pikups, I still came out with an incredible value for such a tremendous instrument.

1993 Heritage H-550 Custom with laminated maple top, antique natural finish, 2 Schaller humbuckers, Stop tailpiece, 1 1/2" thick body, 17" lower bout, single Venetian cutaway, abalone inlays, stop tailpiece, independent tone and volume controls for each pickup, three-way pickup selector switch, nickel plated hardware, Grover tuners, multi-laminate neck maple/spruce, mahogany fretboard, bound f-holes, matching antique natural finish wood pickguard, abalone "The Heritage" on headstock with abalone "Custom", back of headstock painted black, thin neck and very flat but wide frets, bone nut.

The "Custom" comes in because this is a very rare model which features a slim 1 1/2" thick body with a center block and x-bracing inside. It is basically an H-550 with the thickness of the Roy Clark models. It is truly not fully hollow, only semi-hollow. No feedback whatsoever. Made in the USA - Kalamazoo, MI.

I wanted a clean, clear jazz tone and the Heritage has all of that. Professional jazz player's sound from the neck pickup and combo of neck and bridge. Bridge pickup yields some very interesting blues tones for leads and can also dial in a very pleasing treble when pickup height is slightly reduced and tone turned down. Bridge pickup does avoid the snarkiness of traditional bridge pickups when height is positioned properly and tone is lowered to around 5. There have been many criticisms on the internet of how these pickups sound, and the relative weakness of them. I found the Schallers to be anything but weak. In fact, setting the neck pickup too close to the strings really yields far too much bass and low end power. I have had some issues with playing it through a hot-rodded amp like my Fender DeVille. For example, any time I play any form of an Fsharp chord, be it major or minor, that F sharp note really buzzes through my DeVille. Played through any amp, you have to tone down the bass to 1 or 2 as well as middle, and hold treble at around 4 to 7 depending on your jazz tastes.

Furthermore, it helps if you are playing through a really clear, transparent tube amp like a Fender Twin, Vibrolux, or a Princeton. I have run this through a more portable Roland BluesCube and have achieved passable jazz tones, but the magic really sets in with a good Fender tube amp with a clear, clean channel and when you roll the bass off. I have also heard these pickups through newer Polytones and you get that classic jazz sound with the option for greater clarity and treble. Run through a nice Fender tube amp and this guitar just shines. Clean, sparkling, lush, and totally expressive.

The only problem I have is with its tendency toward low end "woofiness" from the neck pickup with certain amps. It's a great guitar that demands a great amp to be played through. Anything less and I don't think you're getting the full measure of this instrument. I have a strong feeling that Schaller designed these things for someone playing through a nice Fender tube amp or one of the better solid state amps. Some guitars you can plug into anything. I don't believe that this is one of them.

A nice variety of sounds. This guitar can cover anything from jazz to blues to country. I recently gigged with this thing while accompanying a singer. I needed tone that wasn't muddy or woofy and I got it!!

I bought it used. I play with .11 flatwounds (Thomastik-Infeld) and found the height adjustments on the bridge easy enough to make and the intonation was right on. I was concerned about the low frets but it hasn't caused any problems with sustaining and has actually accentuated my block chording abilities. I have played around with pickup adjustment height and find it better balanced with the neck pickup barely raised and the bridge pickup raised closer to the strings. Internal wiring seems flawless and timeless, reminds me of the wiring inside of an old 50's archtop guitar I once owned.Well soldered, braided wiring, HUGE pots by comparison to another archtop I owned.
The finish is simply beautiful, with a nice grainy maple revealed. It's used so there is a slight finish crack near the pickguard that I only caught after having the guitar for a couple of weeks. The matching pickguard was a brilliant touch.

It's almost 10 years old already and looks as if it were brand new. I would and have gigged without a backup. Look, if you don't know anything about this company, they make guitars the way they were made when big companies like Gibson cared about quality and craftsmanship.

I emailed them for some information about the guitar because it is a rare H-550 model. I got emails back from Rendall Wall who makes their new HRW pickups. He talked to me about the guitar and told me that they really hadn't made a lot of them and that I had something special. These people come across as really caring and I bought this guitar in part because of the reliable customer service that they provide.

This is my third archtop. I've been playing for more years than I would care to state, particularly considering that i am still in pursuit of six string perfection. When I was a teenager I owned a Kay Barney Kessel model. I recently purchased a Fatdog Lowell-an entry level L-5 style deep bodied jazz box guitar with great laminated Samick made body and poorly constructed electronics by a local Bay Area guy who sells on the internet and runs a real junk-o-rama of a shop in Berkeley- with only two P90 pickups but sold that one to purchase this fine guitar. I also own two Fender Stratocasters, one with a Warmoth neck and Van Zandt blues pickups and the other a 2001 American Series Strat. This is simply the finest guitar that I have ever owned. The fact that I got it used for under a grand is simply amazing. I could not turn it down. What the instrument did for me was it turned my sound into something far more professional than it had ever been before. We often give lip service to how we can only improve as players from within, but having the right tools for the job really helps. Now that I have this guitar, I don't see how I went around calling myself a jazzer without it.

1999 Made in the GOOD ole USA. Laminated top. 2 volume control 1 tone control. Nickel plated pickups. Translucent cherry red finish. Maple very flamey front & back. Factory Heritage case.

I play Southern Gospel, mostly old church hymnal music. Play thru a Roland JC 90. Don't use alot of volume, mostly play at church and some nursing homes. Very rich clean sound. Fits my needs to a tee, I love the sound I get when I use the chorus effect on the Roland.

Very low action a pleasure to play, I have had guitars that would eat your fingers for lunch, not so with this one I can play for hours with no side effects. Beautiful craftmanship on this guitar, better than most newer Gibson guitars I have seen. No complaints at all in this department.

The tail piece had some tarnishing, but other than that everything else looks fine.

Like I said above, the tailpiece had some tarnishing. It was that way when I got it. I think the previous owner must have used the wrong polish or cleaner on it. I emailed customer support talked to Ren, he told me to send it to him & he would buff it out for me. One week later I received a brand new one back in the mail (no charge). So in my opinion, customer support provided excellent service.

Been playing for 30 years, have owned several guitars and this is one is the best one yet. I am very pleased with everthing about this guitar. I will probably have this one planted with me. What more can I say?