Heritage H-555

2003 Custom order through Jay Wolfe of Wolfe Guitars, Jupiter, Florida. For those of you contemplating a Heritage guitar, I strongly recommend contacting Jay Wolfe for the best deal around HANDS DOWN, and a guaranteed commitment to customer service. (See commentary below).

Standard Features include: 3-piece Maple neck; Ebony fretboard; Old Style Sunburst finish; AAA Flamed maple top, back, sides (& back of NECK!); Gold Hardware throughout. One Master Volume and One Master Tone Control; Standard 3-way pickup switch; Heritage hardshell case.

Custom ordered features include: Old Style Sunburse Finish, Abalone block fretboard inlays (vs. standard diamonds); Abalone "Heritage" logo inlayed on headstock (vs. standard silk screen); Heritage "HRW" humbucker pickups (vs. standard Schaller); "Gibson" Style Tunomatic Bridge w/Stopbar tailpiece (vs. standard Schaller rollerbridge & tailpiece); Double-Varitone (D-ViP) coil-tap mini-switches (one for each humbucker); One Master Tone Control for each D-ViP mini-switch.

All Heritage guitars are 90% handcrafted by the old Gibson guitar luthiers who decided to remain behind in Kalamazoo, MI., after Gibson moved their production facilities to Nashville, TN. In my case, this is a top-notch quality instrument that completely blows away any Gibson 335 produced!

I currently play jazz-influenced blues and rock (i.e., Steely Dan, Toto, Robbin Ford, etc.) These Heritage HRW pickups are great for all these musical variations and have amazing tonal range, clarity and punch. And the D-ViP electronics are exceptionally well suited for my custom set-up, allowing me to split the humbuckers individually into single-coil twang (up position), out-of-phase "half-tone" (down position), standard full humbucker (mid position), or any combination/mix thereof. Its like having four different guitars in one!

I play her through a Gibson GA-15RV, (15W Class "A" Tube Amp), of which this guitar can really make SING! My effect chain is: > Boss TU-2 Tuner > T-Rex Mudhoney > Carl Martin Boost Kick > Voodoo Lab Analog Chorus > Boss DD-20 TwinPedal Delay > Gibson Amp. She's absolutely noise free and really cranks up nicely without muddying up chord structures, even with the T-Rex on full distortion. Overall amazing variety of tones. I can't say enough good things about these HRW pickups!

My only gripe comes with the volume control when the D-Vip Electronics are used. It seemed that the volume dropped way too quickly on roll-off of the Master Volume knob. I contacted Heritage directly via e-mail and they assisted me on fixing the problem. (See Customer Support below). Although this problem has been corrected, I still give them an 8 rating because of the minor hassle this created in the beginning. But even then, an 8 testifies to this guitar's high level of quality craftsmanship.

Once the guitar was completed, I had it shipped to Jay Wolfe first for initial inspection and set-up. He kept me fully apprised via e-mail from the moment the guitar was ordered until it was finally shipped out of his shop to me. (NOTE: I work/live in Japan and Jay Wolfe's shop is in Jupiter, Florida). Jay wound her up with John Pearce strings (.011's), and made the appropriate neck/bridge/pickup adjustments. Then he packed her up like precious porcelin and shipped her to me via UPS. The overall care and attention to detail that was taken by Jay Wolfe throughout my order was absolutely amazing. Almost as if this was HIS guitar. He's truly an amazing professional in all respects.

The Old Style Sunburst finish on AAA flamed maple is an absolute vision of beauty. It's not too dark around the edges, so the tips of the flame go all the way to the edge. No flaws found anywhere, and believe me, I've looked everywhere! Especially since this was a custom-order on my part. The front is so well done that it looks like one solid sheet of flamed maple, and the back actually IS one solid sheet of flamed maple! (i.e., no electronic covers needed, as the electronics can be accessed via the "f" holes up front). The finish is so deep and rich that the flame almost has a 3D effect under stage lights. Gorgeous!

The action on her is "like but'tah", thanks to Jay Wolfe's careful set-up. She almost plays herself, its so well done.

I've had her now for about a month, and have actually gigged with her 3 times to date. No problems other than other Players wanting to pick her up and give her a test run. Most are players with whom I hold mutual respect, so they're okay. It's those intoxicated, "I'm a better player when I'm drunk" kind of guys that tend to weigh on my patience. But then again, if you're seen with a beauty like this one, I guess it comes with the territory.

The hardware is gold plated and looks like it's going to last a lifetime. But then again, I take extra special care to wipe her down completely after each gig, and then reinspect her when I get home just in case I missed a spot. Afterall, if you're going to invest in a custom-ordered guitar, you'd better take the extra time needed to care for her!

Although I do have a backup guitar, I haven't had a need to open up the case for that one. This Heritage is so well built, I doubt I'm ever gonna have to! Although I do plan to sell my current backup so I can custom-order another Heritage model!

As noted on my "Sound" rating above, I had a problem with a sudden volume drop using the Master Volume knob when the D-ViP switches were used. I contacted Jay Wolfe for initial assistance and he referred my issue directly to Heritage for response. Next thing I know, I received an e-mail from Mr. Rendall Wall, who is the creator of the Heritage HRW pickups and D-ViP system! He apologized for the dissapointment this minor flaw created for me and stated his intent to find a fix immediately. We both went back and forth in great detail via e-mail on my situation, which he immediately identified as a design flaw in the Volume Pot used in my guitar. For the next two weeks, he sent me e-mail updates on his progress to find a fix, until he finally solved what I described as the problem. He then CUSTOM-BUILT and shipped a replacement 500K ohm LINEAR volume control to replace the one shipped with my guitar! How's that for superior customer service? This guy is on the Executive Board of Directors for Heritage, and he was working with me DIRECTLY to fix a minor problem. WOW! You just can't beat that level of pride in ownership anymore! Not only do I have a custom-built guitar, but now I also have a custom-built volume control specifically designed for my needs! And it was absolutely FREE!! These guys have got a customer for life in me!

I've been playing overall for about 20 years, although the last 10 years have been at a semi-professional/gigging level. I bought this guitar based on my previous ownership of a Heritage Classic Eagle jazz body guitar back in 1997. I was STUPID to let that guitar go and totally regret selling it to this day. But as with many of us musicians, I needed the cash at the time! Ultimately however, I couldn't be happier with my recent purchase. This is my ultimate dream machine and has made me sell off other guitars to pay for another custom-ordered model through Jay Wolfe. I've played Gibson LPs & 335s, Ibanez 335 types, and currently own a Brian Moore i2.13 LP. None of which can hold a candle to my new H-555 custom.

Again, for those of you looking for a great deal on either a custom-ordered Heritage, or any assortment of Heritage guitars currently in stock,... you owe it to yourself to contact Jay Wolfe in Jupiter, Florida. He's got honest-to-goodness Christian prices and a solid reputation for Outstanding customer service. Trust me!!

I have a 2000 model, Almond-Burst. Laminated maple top/back/sides, maple neck, ebony fretboard, bound all over, semi-hollow, analogous to the Gibson 355 model. H/H pickup configuration. I got the stock ones (i think schaller). Wonderful flame on ALL sides including the neck. Absolutely stunning. Schaller roller bridge...sometimes I wish is was a tunomatic, as the heavy-gauge strings sometimes won't fit inside the slots at the ball-end. Incredible binding on the neck and body. Heritage case was included...kind of a loose fit on the case though.

I play jazz, use Thomastik Infield flat-wound benson series 12-gauge strings. Play through a fender blues-jr, and sometimes through a Polytone MiniBrute III. The sound is damn good for traditional jazz with the neck pickup and the tone rolled to around 5. Despite the fact that its not a true hollow archtop it sounds very convincing. One thing I'd change: the neck pickup breaks up a little too early, even with the Polytone...this may be good for rock, but in jazz cleanliness is king. I'm considing switching the pickup to something like a Duncan seth lover or a Duncan Jazz. I see now that Heritage is offering a new pickup called the HRW that looks to be exactly what I'm looking for, except that its a different mounting system so I couldn't put that on my H-555. I've used the guitar periodically in a rock band. With the bridge configured properly (not lowered too much so as to stop the top from vibrating), the right strings, and good thick distortion, it sustains forever and a day...its almost uncanny how long I can make an open G ring out with my Sansamp PSA-1/Mesa-Boogie 50/50 rig...it'll feedback beautifully too if the room will allow it.

Finish is breathtaking. Craftsmanship seems flawless. Couldn't find a flaw on it. The action and playability are just wonderful. This is the guitar that has killed my urge to buy lots more guitars, as I doubt they would look and feel as wonderful as this one does.

She's a little tempermental with the weather, as most semi-hollow bodies can be. I live in chicago where the weather can be 102 with 100% humidity or wind-chills of 80 below, and I've seen her shift around some with dramatic weather/temperature changes. Particularly the intonation has gotten a little squirrelly at the major season changes. Some dead-spots have shown up too. I'm not sure what could be done to improve stability on this type of guitar. Taking it in for a setup twice a year (late spring, late fall) has solved this problem completely. Mine seems to be much happier (and sound better) with 12 or 13 gauge strings. The guy I bought it from shipped it to me with 9's, and the neck pulled way back from lack of tension. I suppose a truss rod adjustment could make 9's work...but the second I put 12's on there it seems to settle right to perfect, with action so low I actually raised it out of annoyance.

Haven't needed them yet. Hopefully I won't.

The closest I've ever seen to perfection, but some room for improvement, i.e. stability, annoying bridge, better pickup.

I have the 2001 model in a beautiful Almond Sunburst finish.
All Heritage guitars are made in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
The top is laminated, but I defy anyone to see a seam in either the front or the back; they both appear to be solid sheet of beautifully flamed maple.
Two humbucking pickups, each with separate tone and volume controls and controlled by a 3-way selector.
I don't know why I like semi-hollow bodies, but I just do. This is a beautiful and durable specimen.
Comes with a hard case.
The only other thing I might have gotten on this guitar would be a tremolo bar. I made a decision not to get one, though it was available.

This guitar is convincing whether I'm playing "Sweet Child o' Mine" by Guns 'n' Roses through the boost channel of my Marshall JTM-60 with the 15-inch speaker or "You Do Something to Me" by Chet Atkins, through the clean channel.

First, the bad part. This is the first quality electric guitar that I've owned so, when it wouldn't stay in tune, I figured that it was my fault. After all, every other $200 electric guitar I had owned sounded like cats in heat. So while I was disappointed that a much more expensive guitar didn't sound much better, I convinced myself that this was just how electric guitars were, and regretted that I hadn't gone acoustic. My guitar coach told me, however, that it was not supposed to be like that, and convinced me to call the factory to complain to the customer-service representative. When I did, the representative told me that of all the thousands of customers who have bought this model, I was one of only two who had this complaint. He then went on to tell me that the other customer didn't know how to put the strings on correctly and told me that I probably needed to learn more about putting strings on, too. What a crock! It turns out that even when you buy a guitar for nearly $2,000, the quality control at the factory leaves something to be desired.

The next week, my guitar coach and I tuned it as well as humanly possible, and then he painstakingly showed me how it was not in tune when I played my little Chet Atkins pieces at several places up the neck. He then recommended that I take it to Bill's Music House in Catonsville, Maryland, for a super-tune. Ron, the guitar technician there, took just a few days to do a really super job for $58. Now the guitar sounds like I hoped my first real guitar would. Ron said that, whether you pay $200 or $2,000, more and more factories are delivering guitars that do not meet the manufacturers' own specifications for harmonics.

The finish is lush and should last forever if I store it at the correct humidity. I purposely sought out gold hardware for its superior durability. This guitar holds the strap well and feels solidly anchored to my body. I would play it without a backup, something I could not say for my other guitar.

I'll try to get the company to pay for the super-tune under the 1-year warranty. I'm not encouraged by the customer-service representative's initial reaction to my plea for help and advice, though. They seem to be too busy building guitars to be helpful in servicing them. The warranty says that you have to send the guitar to an authorized service center, but until I got it serviced, I couln't even be sure what the problem was.

Before I recently bought a new electric guitar, I had narrowed my choice to two: the Gibson "Super Lucille" and the Heritage H-555. Both share features that I was seeking: durable gold-plated hardware, semi-hollow bodies with a double-cutaway to allow me to play up to the twenty-second fret, and ebony fingerboards, enabling my fingers to glide over the neck. Both have two pickups, with separate volume and tone controls and a selector that allows me to play solo on one and accompaniment on the other. Finally, both cost about $1,800. What made me choose the H-555, however, was the combination of appearance and craftsmanship. "Super Lucille" comes in only black, while the H-555 comes in many finishes, including my choice, "Almond Sunburst". "Super Lucille" looks rather plain with her solid top, while attractive white binding trims the f-holes on the H-555. "Lucille" has a knob for varying tone. While the H-55 does not have that feature, most amplifiers do. Finally, because "Super Lucille" has a solid top, access to the electronics inside the guitar is through a poorly made panel on the back of the guitar that does not seat correctly. The f-holes on the H-555 not only allow access to the electronics, but also allow the back of the guitar to be a single sheet of brilliantly flamed maple.

Despite all the problems I had in the beginning, this guitar is a great value! I would definitely buy this model again if it were stolen or destroyed. This time though, I would ask if the store where I bought it also services it, and insist that it be set up correctly.

The guitar is beautiful, even hanging next to a D'Angelico. After I tried this at the store, all other guitars were lacking.

2002 Semi-hollow body. Similar to an ES-335, but with more candy. More like a Gibson ES-355. Laminated maple body, Ebony fiingerboard, mother of pearl and abalone inlay, binding everywhere. Mine has the Gibson style tune o matic and stop tailpiece. Schaller pickups. Grover tuners. Neck is three piece maple/mahogany/maple configuration. Made in Kalamazoo.

I'm mainly a Jazz/blues player. Using a Holland Gibb Droll. Very crisp yet full sound. Perfect for Jazz and blues, and not too bad for rock either. I really like the Schaller pickups; clear, no mud, yet rich. Perfect guitar for me. I'm suprised more jazzers don't go the semi route.

It's weird to rate a setup, because one persons bliss is another's hell. Here's how it came from the factory: No relief!, 3 and 5 64ths respectively, and the pickups almost touching the strings when playing on the upper frets. The three piece neck that this guitar has is very strong. When strung with 10's the most relief I can get out of it is .006. A luthier friend of mine told me that it MIGHT loosen up a little over time, but don't count on it. My option is to either live with it, or put on heavier strings.

Everything about the guitar is nearly perfect. I went over it with a magnifying glass and there is a slight rough spot in one section of the binding. As with almost any new guitar, a fret dressing is required, but the frets aren't bad at all.

Hardware, wood, inlay, elctronics... all top notch. This is really a stunningly beautiful guitar.

It's about as heavy duty as you can get for this style guitar. Laminated body: strong. Three piece maple neck: strong. Finish and everything else looks tough. I always gig WITHOUT a backup. Call me dumb, but I've never ran into a problem, and I don't have to worry about getting ripped off quite as much. Many years ago I was at a Howard Roberts concert when his oval hole signature model stopped working. He ended up borrowing a Les Paul from some kid in the crowd who had one in his car. I guess if it's good enough for Howard...

Heritage is truly a great company. Knowledgeable, friendly and glad to chat. These guys love what they do and it shows in both the product and helpfulness.

Heritage only has a one year warranty. Suprising considering the heavy duty construction. Of course if you don't have a problem in the first year, it's doubtful that you would ever need warranty work later.

Purchased at Dave's Guitar in LaCrosse, WI, the holy mecca of guitar stores. Make the effort and head to LaCrosse. Incredible selection, prices and staff. Dave's personal collection of vintage instruments is on display for you to check out. I could vacation in Lacrosse just to go to Dave's. Make sure you have a look at their web site, but remember that it doesn't do justice to the size and selection of guitars of Dave's.

Been "playing" for 35 years. Some of the other instruments I own or have owned: various Les Pauls, SG standard, SG Custom, Epiphone Sheraton, Strats of all varieties, Telecasters, Gibson Country Gentleman, and accoustics by Guild, Gibson and others. This is by far the best sounding, best built and most ornate instrument I've ever owned. A comparable Gibson would probablly be $5 grand or more. Highly recomended.

This was the first Guitar made just for me. I called Heritage about an Alvin Lee signature model they made and spoke directly to Rendal Wall who designed the current VIP electronics and pickups. I'ts great to talk to the man making your guitar. A wood upgrade option brought me a magnificent solid maple top and back with a zebra stripe neck. Solid ebony tuning keys and smoothe as silk machines. The grain of the top and back is clearly one piece. Gold hahdware and a roler type bridge so side to side and intonation is easily adjusted.
The pickups are a Heritage design (Rendall Wall, who together with his father were Gibson makers for years at the plant) twinned with VIP (vairyably in Phase) system can function as single coil, humbucker, and any degree of single coil operation. A single volume and single tone control add to the ease of operation. Each pickup can be in any position desired. The sound from this beauty can be as crisp as a morning cardinal or as rock as Ted Nugents Birdland. The ebony fingerboard and inlays are flawless. Binding arround f holes as well as the entire instrument is perfect! Wood pickguard has binding and the grain of the wood is grand. I own a custom shop es345 and prefer the smoothness of the 555. The neck is about the same as the 345 and thumb E and A string sets are easy and clean. A completion date of 120 days from april 2002 was right on time. I met Ted Nugent in Columbus Ohio during a book signing in August and have pictures of him pickin it as well as his autograph on it. He claimed it played great. (His Birdlands were made in the same house in the 60's when Gibson owned the place)

I am a blues tunes kinda guy with Freddie King at the wheel. Bending steps are smoothe and tunning remains constant. Together with a Zoom 505II unlimited clairity and push are possible. A marshall Bluesbreaker reissue blows the curtains out the window and feedback is very controlable and useable! From glistening clean to Marshall roar Clapton would be proud! This HRW/VIP combination is fantastic!

No adjustments have been made and straight as an arrow neck proove bending strings like butter. Overall finish is beautiful and no flaws can be found. Binding perfect and fit solid top and back great!

I cannot speak high enough of this guitar. Talking to the guys at the plant made this a very personal experience. Allways eager to talk to me and helpfull in my selection. Very solid electrically and I would depend on its reliabillity over and over. The roler type bridge takes a lot of stress off of the strings from the constant bending I so love. They will set up your guitar with any set of strings you send them, so setup is to your preference not theirs.

As I laid out above, the support from German Village Guitar Shop has been great and the factory guys in particular Rendall Wall is outstanding. Haven't needed repairs and don't plan to but I feel it would be the utmost conceern of Heritage.

I have been playen over 30 years and have a Les Paul Florintine, 59 Flametop, 56 strat (time Machine series)NOS, 97 Clapton Strat, 68 quilted LP custom, an 86 LP Custom and a 2000 ebony ES 345. A 12 string yamaha and a Dobro. There are always new tones from the 69 Super lead Marshall ichin ta get out there. The 345 rates towards the top but for crisp and clean fullness I gotta give this honey top marks!

Standard 555 features. I was considering the HRW pickups but went with the standard Shallers. Beautiful Almond Sunburst finish. Gold hardware. Ebony neck. Shaller tuners. Hard shell case. Shaller bridge and tailpiece. Wooden pick guard. See the Heritage website for more details.

I play mainly straight ahead jazz, duo and trio. I traded in a Gibson ES-175 for this guitar. I prefer the thin body and resistance to feedback. I also own an old gibson ES-340. This guitar has a much less "muddy" sound than the Gibsons via the neck pickup. I use .013 Thomastik flatwounds and the sound is warm and clean. I play through a Polytone Minibrute with just reverb. I don't use the bridge pickup much at all.

The action for this guitar is fair. It came with .010s which I changed immediately to .013s. I adjusted the truss rod but found at least 3 high frets which cause buzzing when the action is lowered. Let me say I like very low action. I had to apply some relief to the neck to accomodate this. I may have the frets leveled but I want to break in the guitar first. I do agree with the other reviewer that the low E string tends to slip off the neck. I found one fret marker on the side of the neck sloppily painted. The ebony fretboard is beautiful. If you use a heavy low E string it is difficult to squeeze it into the tailpiece.

The guitar is really a quality instrument. I've played and owned brand new Gibsons costing more that had lousy pots, rattling pickups, awful tuners and all in all cheap hardware. There is not a rattle to be heard. Everything is well made and well put together. All the hardware used seems to be high quality, unlike the ES-175 I had before. The finish is gorgeous, one of the most beautiful I've ever seen.

I dealt directly with Jay Wolfe who seems like a stand up guy. No complaints.

This has to be the best quality 335 type guitar I've ever played. I've owned Gibsons all my life but I think they are now way over priced and the workmanship is not great. If the headstock said Gibson this would be selling in the $3000-$4000 range. I wouldn't hesitate to buy this guitar again. While the pickups are good for me, if you are looking for the standard Gibson humbucking sound you might consider changing them. Great for jazz as is. I wish the fret work was a little better so I could give it a 10.

2001 USA made, thin profile, double cutaway, semi hollow body with laminated curly maple top and bottom, solid curly maple rims. Chestnut burst finish on body and pickguard. Glossy nitro-cellulose finish. Multiple bound rims and F-holes. Curly maple short scale neck, bound ebony fingerboard with abalone and pearl bracketed diamond markers. Plastic nut. 17 degree pitched bound headstock with ebony veneer. Logo and bracketed diamond design in abalone on headstock. Gold plated Grover tuners, Schaller roller bridge and stop bar. Two gold plated HRW humbucker pickups. Volume and tone pots for each p'up and 3-way switch. Came with a good hard shell case. The only thing missing was a splitter for the 'buckers but I could have ordered them if I had wanted.

I'm pretty eclectic in my music...classic rock, blues, country, and recently jazz, so I was looking for something versatile. I play through a Blues Jr. and Delux Reverb with no effects. I've got to say this is the most versatile electric guitar I've ever played. I can coax just about anything out of this guitar except 2nd and 4th position strat "quack". Rich, full, warm neck p'up sounds for blues. Turn the tone pot to 2 and you'll get wonderful woody jazz box tone. The bridge is a little too harsh for me but just roll the tone off a tad and you're in Rockabilly City. The best sound, however is in the middle position. There is a complex, warm, liquid tone that I've never really heard in other 'bucker equipped axes (semi or solid bodies). You can spend days dialing the p'up tone and volume pots in this middle position to get an infinite palate of sounds. Turn the volume up and the sustain is flat amazing. The Heritage sounds as good when overdriven too.

Turn off the amp and the tone quite pleasant; punchy and even. I used to drive the wife nuts with the "tinkley" sound of my unplugged strats. She says of the Heritage,"Now that sounds like a guitar!"

I was well aware of Heritage's problem with set ups so I was ready to have the Buffalo Bros. tweak it when it arrived. No such luck. The action was a tad high but nothing to complain about. I might fool with it when I change strings. It came with 10's and it was still in tune right out of the box!

The wood and finish on this instument are better than any other electric guitar I've ever seen. The chestnut burst on Heritage's Web page does not do justice to the real thing; dark brown edges working to a warm reddish brown in the middle. Think Stradivarius. The neck and headstock were also given a burst. The wood is figured perfectly in my opinion; a lot stronger than Gibsons but less than PRS. Just enough to know its there but not looking like cheesy wallpaper. The Heritage uses a wood pickguard that sets them apart from other "ES-335" style instruments. On other models I've seen, they are finished in dark blue, purple or black and look fairly bad. Mine is chestnut burst that is gorgeous...I wouldn't change it for the world.

The binding, however, on this guitar was disapointing. The body binding is bright white (I hope is will age to cream) and quite thick. I agree with the other reviewer; too much of a good thing. The binding around the f-holes and pickguard was not sanded prior to finishing so there is dirt and paint dust at the joints and along the edges. Just kinda sloppy. The nut was poorly cut on two strings (pings when you tune) and you can see file marks that should have been sanded or polished out. Again, sloppy. I fixed the nut slots when I changed the strings. The binding on the neck also has some rough edges and file marks. The nibs at the ends of the frets also seem unfinished (I'll definitely get rid of these when I get a fret job).

The frets are typical Gibson style; wide, tall and squarish. They are not polished to a high sheen but there are no file marks. I will definitely have them crowned and polished to see if that smooths the action. If it doesn't, I may refret the whole board anyway to get rid of the @#$&ing nibs.

The high and low E's tend to slip off the board fairly easily, which is something I've noticed on ES-335's also. The Gibson's problem is with bridge alignment (big deal problem) whereas the Heritage seems to be a tapering of the frets near the binding. The Heritage has a sweet answer with the Schaller bridge as you can adjust the string spacing (no can do with the Tune-O-Matic). The more you play, however, the less this is a problem as you become used to the quirk.

Bottom line: on first glance and to the audience the Heritage H-555 is a 10+; the gold hardware and chestnut burst really go well with each other. To the player though, the little things add up.

This is a tough one for me. The instrument looks so good it seems like it should be really fragile but I think its tougher than it looks. The gold and nitro-cellulose finish require wipe downs after every session. (I'll wipe it down a couple of times while gigging if I'm sweating too much). The gold plating seems very thick. I keep it in the case most of the time (too bad 'cause it looks so good). I baby the Heritage whereas I don't even think about hurting my Strats.
I haven't broken any strings and the thing never seems to go out of tune.

I've not delt with Heritage but the Buffalo Bros'. sing their praises. They told me it would take at least 5 months to build the guitar so I expected 6-8. It only took 5.5. I should probably bring the guitar back to fix the binding flubs but it's not worth the hassle. All of the Heritages have the same fret design, so that's not something to complain about.

Got to plug Buffalo Brothers. They have a fairly good selection of mostly used electric guitars but an unbelievable selection of acoustics. You've got to see it to believe it. Buffalobrosguitars.com

I've been playing for 35 years and currently own a Martin 000-28EC, Yamaha 12-string, American Standard Strat. I've also owned a Les Paul Studio and a Samick L5 knockoff. I was looking for a versatile humbucker sound that could dial a better jazz tone than I got from the Strat. I tried alot of 335-style guitars including Gibson but I wanted an ebony board. That left me with a Scofield, Gibson Custom Shop or Heritage. I didn't like the Scofield (not as versatile as a Gibby or Heritage). The Gibson would have been $4-6K new (I spent a year trying to find a used one) and most of the cheaper Dots I saw had finish and playability problems. I played alot of H-535's and liked them so I ordered up the H-555.

I've got mixed feelings about this guitar. It looks great, sounds even better (the HRW is magnificent)and is very affordable (compared to Gibson). But I will spend a couple of hours sanding and refinishing the binding. And then there are another couple of days crowning and polishing the frets. Its just the little things that keep this from being the best 335-style out there. A $4K (list price) guitar should not have these problems but for $2K its ok? Still, I would buy one again in a flash.

If you read all of the reviews and comments of anything Heritage and pay close attention to Heritages you can find to play, you will see a common thread. A very good instrument that can be made into the best with a small to moderate investment to fine tune it after you buy.

This is an "upscale" version of Heritage's H-535 - basically a Gibson ES-335. The added appointments mainly consist of a lot of extra binding, abalone inlay, and gold hardware. Here are the specs from the Heritage Website:
Finish: Almond SB, ASB or Natural (mine is the Almond SB - I'd like some red in it as in a Cherry sunburst, but it is still a handsome finish).
Neck: 17-degree peghead pitch; 1-piece curly maple neck.
Head Veneer: Bound, inlaid with mother of pearl and abalone.
Fingerboard: 24-3/4" scale, bound ebony board with mother of pearl abalone inlays.
Body: 16-inch semi hollow body; laminated curly maple top and back; bound f-holes; solid curly maple rim; multiple bound top; single white bound back; 1-1/2 inch body thickness.
Hardware: Individual gold plated machine heads; gold platedstop bar tailpiece and adjustable bridge; bound curly maple pickguard.
Electronics: Two gold plated humbucking pickups; two volume and two tone controls and selector switch.
This is a beautiful guitar that after trying many vintage and newer Gibson ES-335's, beats the Gibsons on playability handsdown. Add in the price differential and the picture becomes all that more clear that Heritage simply does not have the market power of Gibson or other manufacturers. There is no way that Heritage's craftsmanship would be overlooked if it were not for the fact that their marketing department and budget is (likely of necessity) extremely small. These guys are some of Gibson's finest craftsmen from the old-days. You owe it to yourself to give their instruments a listen - they are as fine as any instruments on the market today for any price below the $5,000 mark. I give the features mark only a "6" because it is such a standard setup.

I'm an 80's kid that never liked Prince or U2, but was into Led Zeppelin and BB King - and Stevie Ray was my hero. So now a decade later, I play mostly blues and fusion/jazz music at home and with a few jam sessions per month thrown in with other musicians.
This guitar plays really superb: the action is low, chords are accesible in all positions, and the neck is almost "Strat-like" in that it has a fairly oval profile. The ebony fingerboard really is refreshing to play over "sticky" gloss-finish maple or rough rosewood.
The only real surprise that I had to get used to was that the humbuckers are fairly hot - not like a PRS, but they will push a Fender Deluxe, Fender Super Reverb, or other Fender small wattage amps into the distorted zone very quickly. There is little clean headroom. However, I found that if I kept the pickup selector in the middle position and adjusted the volumes, I was able to get a great blues tone for either rythym or lead. The Rock tones (such as Neil Young early years) had to rely mainly on the bridge pickup.
Otherwise, this guitar is a really great bargain for a high quality semi-hollowbody tone. There is nothing like a hollowbody or semi-hollowbody to add some dimension to your playing. Again, the Heritage series guitars are of the highest quality (versus Gibson especially) and offer greater playability and looks for the buck than anything else out there (ok, check out Guild too!).

The finish on this guitar is excellent and really fits in that vintage "understated" category as far as figuring, etc. goes. Personally, I really dislike heavily figured guitars like PRS or Hamer, as I think that they are just way too flashy and take away from the overall aesthetics of the guitar. Heritage really strikes a fine balance between way too much and boring in the finish category. I'm not really a fan of their figured wood pickguards or of the extreme binding on this guitar - the binding is about 3/4" thick top and bottom on the guitar and is a bit sloppy in the sharp curves. Too much with the binding in my opinion.
Action is smooth as can be with a set of 10's or 11's - I mean really good versus the Gibsons as this is why I bought the guitar.

I do not doubt that this guitar will likely last me a lifetime and may be a strong candidate for a future heirloom...excellent work.

I tried to raise Heirtage on e-mail to get a year of manufacture of this guitar - no response. I doubt this is any sign of lack of support as they must get thousands of e-mails per day and probably do not have the resources to respond to them all. Keep spending the money on building great guitars!

I have been playing for around 14 years now and have owned only one guitar for the first 12 years - a 1970 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe. However, over the last two years I have had the opportunity to own about a dozen other guitars ranging from Gibson, Fender, PRS, Parker, EB/Musicman, Guild, etc. and the Heritage guitars are the best playing and looking for the money. They play better than 90% of the Gibsons currently available and only lack more money for marketing before they really catch on. I really urge you to try a Heritage if you are looking for a fine instrument at a value price that is only rivaled by Guild guitars (but I still like the Heritage's better).
I would definitely buy another Heirtage again. I have also indicated that Guild guitars are also a great value - I did not buy one because I do not like the small frets that most Guilds come equipped with. Some may find this great though and I also urge you to try a Guild.