Gibson vs Heritage

BELOW IS SIMPLY A POSTING TAKEN FROM A DISCUSSION FORUM AND IT ECHOS WHAT I HAVE BEEN SAYING FOR YEARS. I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST GIBSON PER SAY BUT I DO HAVE A HABIT FOR CUTTING THROUGH THE MARKETING AND FINDING THE TRUTH WHEN IT COMES TO TONE.

I have been on a mission since I bought my 150 recently to compare it against some of the "finest" Les
Pauls out there. I know I'm probably gonna upset somebody and someone will say I'm lying but here's the truth.

For starters I have owned hundreds of guitars old and new and have been a semi- pro studio guitar player for over 20 years. In that time I have played many vintage guitars that were rented or borrowed for the session. When I bought my recent 150 I was able to play it at a big dealer so I had about 20 to pick from. I bought the one that clearly was a tone winner. A bit heavy at 9.1, no biggie for me.

It blows away my current owned G# paul in tone and I was floored how it sounded like a great 50's LP. I took it to Nashville with me on vacation and directly compared it to the Historics at the G# shop and then took it to Gruhns to compare it against some 50's goldtops.

In every case the 150 was superior in tone to the Historics and was dead even with the 54 goldtop.

I was a big believer in the long neck tenon theory until that comparison test. Mainly because the Historics on the most part do sound a bit better than standard lp's and I thought that was the difference. Keep in mind 150's do NOT have a long tenon. So to make a long day short I thought I would tap on the back of every guitar I played and without a doubt it's the WOOD. Heritage uses Honduran Mahagony like the vintage Lp's and Im convinced this is the difference. The 150 has a very clear well balanced tone, great sustain. On many Historics the guitars are "dampened" sounding to me almost sounds as the tone is just the nut and the bridge and no body sound at all. They also have a "thud" tapping the back of the body not a clear crisp "pop" for lack of a better term. The 54 LP did have the same tonal aspect as the 150 by tapping the wood.

I put a good couple of knuckle raps on the back right below where the neck meets the body, the guitar facing away . I put my ear real close but not on the body itself and you can hear the overtones in the wood. This takes pickups out of play. The 150 and the vintage pauls had the same tonality where the historics were mostly dead and "thumpy"

That's just wood to wood testing without paf's or other things in play.

The biggest tonal difference is clarity and balance, the 150 and 54 LP had clearer fuller lows, clearer highs and no midrange congestion, clear and open sounding with a "woodier' tone. Great sustain with more complex overtones also.

This is my experience with my guitar and I'm just stating the honest facts of direct a/b testing. I wish everyone could hear what I was able to hear. Heritage makes a great guitar and to me sounds way way closer to the great 50's G#, IF you can find the gems that are out there.

Great job Heritage

There's simply is no better way to compare instruments than direct a/b testing, it can really be an eye opener

plexi

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AND YET ANOTHER EXPERIENCED GIBSON PLAYER"S OBSERVATIONS:

I have a H150 Class of '59 with a limba back and neck. The neck profile is pretty far from being like a real '59, more like a 60 slim. But that's what I prefer anyway so it feels great to me. The top has a pretty decent flame and is finished in almond burst with a nitro clear coat. It came with standard Gibson type bridge and tail but I swapped it out for Tone Pros (as I have done with all my guitars). It also has Duncan "Black Back" pickups which leads me to believe it originally sold out of Roman's store. I got it off ebay.

I've been playing for 26 years and have been a Les Paul type a guy pretty much the whole time. I have gone through a bunch of Les Pauls and have narrowed my collection down to three that I've decided have a place in my life. This Heritage beats them all hands down. The tone is ferocious. It sustains for days. Notes really pop of of this thing and then ring with definition. I swear it's that limba. I would probably never buy another Les Paul at this point unless it was a real old one that someone else has already beaten up so I wouldn't be afraid to play it. It just seems like to me the older they are and the more played they are the better they sound. I haven't played a new Gibson Les Paul in 15 years that lit my world on fire. I own a '94 Studio that I've modified the bugeezes out of to get it to sound any good and it's still at the bottom of the pile.

On the used market you get more for your money with a Heritage H150 than with a Gibson Les Paul Standard ("Plus" or whatever). If you are looking at an H140 though, you can't really do an acurate comparsion with a Les Paul. Totally different animals.

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I took the Heritage tour today and it just confirms to me that if you buy a Heritage you are getting a top quality guitar hand made by a group that really knows how to produce an amazing guitar and does every day. The owners are very friendly and are a real living History of the old Gibson.

I took a pic one of the founders, JP Moats, who was conducting the tour and a shot of the Gary Moore prototype from their reference room. Also a shot from the old Gibson offices where the walls were paneled with wood species samples. Another shot of some guitars in the white including a single pickup version of the H-137/2nd addition for all of you Les Paul Junior fans looking for aHeritage alternative.
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I took the tour when I was in eastern MI earlier this year. they do it every Wed. so plan accordingly. Very cool to walk around and see the various tools, jigs, etc that they've used since back in the day.

Very cool guys too, they had an old unfinished firebird neck sitting there. I inquired about it, and was referred to Marv Lamb, I think one of the original DESIGNERS of the Firebird who said, "oh yeah, I'll get around to finishing that one of these years" I tried to give him my address for shipping when he did, he just laughed.

last random Heritage note...they have a vintage room...you can't touch the candy, but some very nice specimens. And get this, covered in dust! Not kidding, there's a Rosewood early sixties strat with so much sawdust on it you can barely see the decal. They keep them for neck radius reference and other design comparisons.

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The maple cap on the 150's are 3/4, same as standard G LP's. 58-60 Bursts are a bit thinner at 1/2"

Many Greco's, Burnys, Tokais and Edwards have the correct maple thickness. I just kills me when these brands get wragged on for the thinner tops, they are actually to vintage spec Grin

Regarding the long neck tenon debate. It's about a tight neck fit, not so much the tenon length.

I have had the pleasure years ago when I was doing studio work to rent/play many vintage Gibby's. The current Heritage 150's are as good as any of them, probally more consistant and they intonate correctly. Grin

IMO the Heritage stuff has the real/true vintage tone. Grab a set of real good clone PAF's and you got it.They are the only company that really nails it. A few great replica builders can do the trick also, but that's a LOT more dough.

After playing many killer old strats and teles and poor ones too, I went on a mission to find a affordable alternative to them. Fernandes guitars from the early 80's are the real deal, closest you'll get for cheap. Heritage is the closest you'll get to the Gibby stuff, no contest. IMO The current Historic stuff isn't even close.

It's ALL in the WOOD!!!!!!!!!! It's Gotta be Honduran. Actually maple cap thickness,tenons and the like are secondary.
Wood and pickups is the key.

plexi