tbh not enough guitar players realize you can adjust your flat head screws on both pickups to finetune what tone you want to get, so if the bridge pickup is too thin, adjust the flat head screws on the E, A, D, G and that is one under rated way to make your pickups and guitar sound totally better..

I really like both Heritage and G&L instruments. I hope they continue to grow and have success. I had hoped to tour the Kalamazoo factory before moving from Michigan to Arizona, but it didn't work out. I love the story behind how Heritage started. Maybe a video on that subject would do well.

RIP Dickey Betts ❤❤❤❤

Just like a feeling, but knowing the history of Gibson with highs and lows thru the years, I believe that some of its former team that parted ways and founded Heritage guitars took with them the real Gibson essence. This Heritage to me looks and sounds "more Gibson than a Gibson", at about half the price nobody can beat that. Great video Phil and thanks.

Having played a bunch of 50’s Gibsons, the Heritage guitars are the closest. Old Gibsons had low frets like that too so it’s just how they make them in Kalamazoo.

@Phillip McKnight - Why not take your digital calipers and measure the fret heights of both Gibson and Heritage.

I have the same guitar, Heritage Custom Core H-150, but in cherry burst. It is excellent, and the top is stunning! Came off the line late January 2024. For what it's worth, i do not have any issues with the frets. They definitely feel like medium jumbos to me. Great video as always, Phil!

$500 to relic a guitar. I'll fuck it up for free.

Understandable. Low frets are a deal breaker for me.

I came across a 1978 Les Paul Standard way back in about 1987 at a pawn shop and it played amazing. I thought to myself, why does this play better than any other Les Paul I have ever played. As I brought up the guitar to the counter to buy it, the pawn shop owner who knew the history of the guitar said it had been refretted. I'm like, oh that makes sense. Turns out it was refretted with taller non original fret wire, of which i prefer.

Awesome guitars made authentic at Kalamazoo. I want a LP jr. from heritage P-90s. Someday...

I appreciate your reviews. Great info. Thanks. ✌️🎶

I have the H-150 Gold Top and it is here to stay. I was able to compere it here amongst some other "custom shop" level guitars and this was a clear winner.

I recently picked up an H-150 custom core, and I happen to be a big fan of the frets as they are. I also learned as a kid on a 12 string with a neck bow so I crush the strings down. The quality of the sound of the guitar is just on another level from anything else I have ever had. I am a huge fan of the 225 pickups. I’m considering keeping an eye out for an H-535 CC rather than a standard to stick with those pickups.

I bought my first Heritage H140 back in 1988. It's still a killer guitar!

My dirty lemon burst standard is my favorite guitar. Highly recommend. I own a “play authentic”, an Eastman SB59 and a few others. The Heritage is awesome.

Hey Philip ❤, thx for the update ❤ . Tim piece is GENIUS 😮❤️🎸 . Bridge pickup sounds like a telecaster.

A very close old friend of mine who passed away had a signature model Blind Kahuna Les Paul made exclusively for him by Heritage. He was one of the finest bluesman on the planet RIP Chris Bovard 😢 He played on a Magnum Pi episode back in the 80s

I've got a Heritage H140, which is lighter than the average Les Paul by quite a bit (because it is thinner) and it IS magical. The sound is wonderful. The frets on mine are low too, but I like that, it plays great. It sings! I was never a fan of high frets, so the feel of the Heritage was what I was looking for. At this point it has been heavily gigged and is pretty road worn. Love your guitars and they will love you back.

Entirely agree about the sound. The pickups are definitely on the money, I hope they have the recipe for them stored away. The clean is sweet, reminds me of Atlantic Rhythm Section sounds and Charlie Daniels tones (all of which I love). It's a very classic early 1970s rock sound with gain as well, definitely the sound I seek in Les Pauls. That's a sound type I've always sought but simple can't find anymore in almost any Gibson Les Paul. This guitar in a three-pickup 'Custom' version with a proper tremolo, and coil-taps on all the pickups, would be a dream come true. That would get closer to the Alan Parsons Project lead tones that I love (Ian Bairnson that is). I would buy that instrument without hesitation. But yeah, the fingers have to clear the fretboard. Would love a tapped triple mini-humbucker version of this guitar too. What a sound that would make. Lovely instrument! Well done Heritage.

Man, I thought the same thing when I tried the H-150 CC. I thought “not immediately bonding with it” - don’t drop 4 grand. But I loved the way it looked so much I bought it. And after a day or so I didn’t even notice the fret issue again. Even played it back to back with my R9 and I love ‘em both - but the Heritage is new go to.

You're right Phil, the pickups in that Heritage are _outstanding!_ They seem to have the balance and voice of those old PAF's, the sound that they acquire over lots of time and slight & slow de-gaussing. Many describe the sound as a "Tele-on-steroids" lol...

Dang sounds incredible great playing.. I may part with my O1 standard.. thanks for this.👍

Heavy is good, heavy is reliable. If it doesn't work, you can always hit them with it.

I agree 100% I love the look and its awesome but I hate small frets - I would need to refret out the box.

1998 H150CM in vintage faded sunburst here. Came factory with Duncan '59 pickups, nashville type bridge and standard stop bar tailpiece. It weighs just a smidge over 9lbs with Grover Rotomatics (heavy!) and heavy stop bar. Swapping an aluminum stop bar and vintage style tuners would put it under 9lbs.

I LOVE the red back with dirty lemon burst!! one of my local shops (twin towns guitars) has about a dozen heritage guitars on their wall... they are FANTASTIC. lower frets don't bother me at all as I have a '78 deluxe "fretless wonder"!! one of those might be mine one of these days...

Great guitar made in my state about 3 hours from my home. It's kind of a bummer if they say that they are equipped with jumbo frets and they aren't. I don't need one, but I sure do want one! I prefer the plain top models these days.

What a phenomenal review Phil, your videos always amaze me whether I agree or not, just great. I have several Les Pauls and once I got my aged Heritage H-150 I stopped chasing after my ideal LP. That was it. The tone is better, manufacturing quality was above and beyond my most expensive Gibson and stays in tune better than any other guitar I own. It's a real shame more people don't know they have such alternatives and your video is of great value and a service to the community.

In 2008, I picked up a three-pickup H-150 Heritage in mint condition for $1500 and flipped it. Walnut brown. Flipping gorgeous. To this day, it's still the only three-pickup of theirs I've ever seen. One of the best-sounding guitars I've ever heard. Still regret selling it.

Glad I saw this. I've been interested in Heritage for a while but haven't seen one to feel the neck. Thanks for answering some questions. I'm just glad you didn't say fretless wonder.

I absolutely like that color and design of the head stock , the sound is nice and warm amazing guitar

At time stamp 9:40 you sounded like you were about to play the lead intro from interstate love song! Beautiful guitar!

Great show - honest and informative.

After hearing the bridge pickup- sounds like a Tele - the tone is what I hoped for from my LP Signature. I may have to sell my 120 th Anniversary LP and get one. Thanks for the Demo.

Awesome guitar and thank you for your honesty

Started playing jumbo frets in the mid 80's and still do, I don't get why anyone would want tiny frets.

I think it is awesome love the pickups

I have an H-150 Custom Core Gold Top w/ P90s and I absolutely love it. I have a Gibson Les Paul Custom Shop R9 (actually spec'ed as a transition from R9 to R0, so with a slightly slimmer neck) and I absolutely think Heritage guitars are all that and a bag of chips. Agree about preferring chambered and/or slightly taller frets, but neither of those things were gatekeepers to me keeping my H-150.

The pickups sound really good! Bridge isn't harsh or nasal, neck has good clarity, not wooly.

3:20 - I'm always thinking of guitar designs and I came up with that pickguard design a long time ago. I also came up with and cut out the design of the Dean Cadillac LP shape on a 2" thick piece of wood I had lying around, but that was as far as I got with that project. I'm pretty sure that this happens to a lot of like-minded people though.

Good honest review. I love it.

I had a 98 R8 with a baseball bat neck that I loved. It looks just like this top. Sold it years ago and have a plain top R8 that I also love. Superb looking guitar.

Watched this live, I would definitely be interested if they would chamber their guitars because I could find nothing close to 7 1/2 pounds.

Phil, I call that finger drag. I agree, for me, those vintage frets don't cut it.

Wow Phillip that is an amazing sounding Axe and the harmonics are so sweet. ❤

that heritage is damn hot man , that bridge pickup is warm , not overly warm , slight bit of treb and not muddy. The you hit that Hotter neck , I feel its almost exactly the same as the bridge but a tad bit more bass , and then they just made it about 125 percent hotter than the bridge. Astounding and rich sound on both pickups. Oh man those Little Wing vibes..........dude , killer guitar. Jimmi would be happy to play that over his strat.

Custom Core are intentionally lower weight, target is 8.5 pounds or less. Chambering isn’t necessary. A actually bought a standard model H150, frets must be different because they are large frets. Mine was a Sweetwater exclusive in Oxblood. I love how it plays.

4:41 Probably vintage thin 6320 are my favorite

I can see why you prefer taller frets...you play lightly on you finger tension..Great sounding guitar...thank you

Hi- its been a while since i watched ( i cant play guitar) but i see you have upgraded your studio, walls, lights, etc. It looks great. (from your "neighbor" Dino in Fountain Hills.)

I have a Gibson Standard 2008 with weight relief and I love it. Can totally relate with the weight thing. Heritage seems to be really cool, doubt if Gibson would have done the same.

I just love the tone of that guitar! The bursts, 1957-1960, when they got the design sorted, were some of the best sounding guitars ever. The "wood buyer" for Gibson had found a large quantity of mahogany harvested in the 1890's. So the bursts were built with ~70 year old mahogany to start with!! There was even some left, and a guy bought it at auction. I think his name was Max or something like that? He built some guitars from it, and turned some of it into "kit's", that some reputable luthier bought and built. There is a great video at the NRG channel, where Norm and the other burst brain trust explain all that. Sorry this got long, if your still here thanks for reading!! 8) --gary

My local shop carries them. Played quite a few and walked away with a 530, definitely my favorite guitar now!

That Heritage is a beautiful guitar. If I was in the market, it would be in the top. Sold most of my Gibsons, save one with P90s, and bought a cheap Agile. I had an Agile years ago and thought they were great for the $s. They still are. Real maple cap, good tuners, ebony board, nice binding, etc. Put some nice pickups in it and it's a great guitar.

Great, great guitars but also had the fret rub thing with both of the Custom Cores I bought.

I’ve been playing Heritage guitars for years. The Heritage headstock has a straighter pull on the strings and the guitar stays in tune better. Once the strings are broken in on either of my two H-150’s they rarely need to be retuned. I love the necks.

That's why Tokai and Eastman are great alternatives to the US made brands. They can be ordered with many different modern specs not offered by Gibson or Heritage. They cost half as much.

Shame the frets are small because it really does impede the smooth ride if you love bending a lot. Maybe for that price you could just request med jumbo instead? That top looks great. I always preferred the look of those trapezoid inlays instead of the rectangular ones.

Hey Heritage - nice guitar!! Hey Phillip - nice job of playing it!!

I'm in the market for a Les Paul but can't spend over 1,000 and I'm not sure what to go with. I'm considering either a PRS SE Singlecut McCarty594, a used 2023 Epiphone '59, or a used Gibson Tribute. I'd like the newer Epiphone '59 model with the updated pickups, headstock and VOS finish, but I can't justify 1,300 for one and I doubt it'll show up for 1,000 on Reverb anytime soon so I'll probably go with one of the other 3 models I listed. That same price barrier is also why when I was recently in the market for a Les Paul with a Floyd Rose, I bought a used discontinued Epiphone Plus Top Pro/FX for 600 on Reverb instead of 1,300 for a new Ruby Alex Lifeson model from Sweetwater. I really wanted the Lifeson model, but 1,300 for a Chinese Epiphone is too much. Unless the ruby finish is made with actual rubies, or they're paying Alex Lifeson considerably more than they did with the previous model, I just don't see how they can justify that price. I can understand 1,300 for the new Epiphone 355 model, or maybe even for the new Les Paul with VOS finish, but not when the guitar still has Epiphone pickups, even if it does have a Floyd Rose. A Floyd Rose doesn't cost nearly as much as those $500 Gibson pickups from the newer Epiphone Les Pauls.

I bought a limited edition H150 for about 3200 new. I agree about the frets but I love this guitar. It's the best in all respects and although I don't play it all the time I wouldn't part with it. The build quality is exceptional and it plays like a dream.

What i don't like firstly about Heritage, is that back, on every guitar they have that very very red back with no details in the wood, its smth i care about after a certain price range, wished they did smth different with the back

The more i see it. The more i want one. Beautiful! Play authentic is spot on with the factory.

I know how you feel, exactly .. I have and have had gibson les paul/ guitar’s that I played for less than two hours total because I was afraid to put oils from my hands into the fretboard.. I was concerned about having it show ware pn the frets.. I was concerned about getting skin from my fingers when I play with my fingers on the body that could put tiny tiny scratches in the finish when I wipe it off.. I was also afraid to touch the bridge, tailpiece, pick ups with my fingers, putting hand oils and acids on them, causing tarnish to the finish.. I was afraid to take them out of the case in case I might bump them. I never took them on a gig… as a result, I bought several epiphone les Pauls that I didn’t have a lot of money invested in. And those are the guitars that I play. The gibson‘s are more or less investments that I hope will go up in value… they don’t feel any different from the gibson’s. They don’t sound any different to me, and I’m not considering getting an insurance policy rider that covers them like I have on my gibson’s… about 10 years ago I had a special order fender Stratocaster that my buddy since high school in the 1960s Bought right after he came home from Vietnam in the 70s. He said, if I live to get home, I’m buying myself a new Strat.. So he bought a special order stretch sort of a royal blue with a white pick guard, maple neck, and he had fender, locking tuners installed.. He never even opened an amplifier. He just always wanted a brand new Strat.. I don’t think he played it for more than an hour total. He just wanted to earn it. years later, he ran into financial problems, mainly because he met a single mom through a dating site with two older kids. She left him after the youngest one was off of his health benefits plan at work. Stuck him with a big Mortgage for the big house he had to buy five for his ready-made new family, he had to sell his car that he loved, he had to sell his motorcycle, and he was going to sell his Stratocaster to a coworker for his 11-year-old daughter to take a lessons to learn how to play the guitar.. I screamed at him on the phone, “you’re selling that guitar to me, not to that child”.. so I bought the guitar. And it was so perfect in the original case, it still had the original strings on it, and I was afraid to play it, because it was perfect… I finally convinced myself that it was useless to me, because it was just for lookin-not for playin- ended up, swapping it for a Gibson, Les Paul classic, that was also perfect. I ended up not playing that for about six years… until I swapped it for a Gibson, Les Paul, classic Ebony, P 90s. Now I’m not playing that one, especially that one, since it is all black, glossy, and scratch free… it’s just not worth having an expensive guitar when Les or Guitars are good enough.. By the way, my newest addition is a D Angelico guitar with pick ups that switch from being humbuckers to P 90s.. it is without a doubt, not even close, the most beautiful guitar I ever owned. Is a satin blue, shaped pretty much just like my gibson 335 excepted this guitar has no F holes.. No holes at all in The semi hollow Body, like a 335, not completely hollow.. It is also perfect, but I’m determined to play this one

Great video, I would totally consider a chambered Les Paul with taller frets

This is an exciting guitar - I'm a big fan of Heritage, having bought a new used H-535 with medium jumbo frets, and much happier buying one from an ethical company with strong QC. The frets are medium jumbo, which I thought most/all Heritage guitars were, and they seem reasonably tall, though I'd love jumbo frets like I have on my Strat. It'd be great to know what the fret measurements are on this one, as well as the one that you'll receive soon. BTW, the used H-535 was a financial stretch for me - I wanted one because I'm a Justin Hayward fan, and I'm very happy with it - but I'd love a standard H-150 with Heritage pickups (or Lollar) and isn't a back breaker. Or perhaps I should get a lighter PRS S2 McCarty with the US pickups - I'd be curious how it compares with the Heritage.

Thanks Phil the truth is always smart!!! Great commentary!

That Les Paul has a special sound. It rings like a bell! What a beast.

Beautiful guitar, and total class act by Heritage. I prefer their headstock shape as well.

Sounds excellent with that bit of OD. Ive played some 2500 to 4500 Gibsons at the store but never was tempted. I'd love to try one of these in the 4k range. Gimmie the pups and lightweight. Keep the top.

I know that pain of an otherwise exceptional guitar not working out. I won a Heritage H535, and I ended up having to sell it because the neck was too wide. I play a lot of chord voicings that require my thumb over the top of the neck, and I was getting a lot of pain that I don't normally experience. Otherwise, it was an exceptional guitar that I was really hoping to make memories with.

I've got one of those vietnamese emeral IYV les pauls and it's got a wider cutaway too, but you can't really tell unless you put it next to a gibson les paul standard. it's definitely easier to play though

Had one heritage, the 335 style. The guitar sounded good clean. For distortion was little bit muddy even when swapped with lollar humbuckers. The intonation wasn’t stellar in my opinion also. Tried tried but also after all these issues headstock and looks also ended up getting inside my mind. Lived in New York for a while and a lot of guys were trying heritage and lots of them sold them too.. that was like ten years ago and at the time they weren’t expensive as a Gibson but still a $2200 guitar. I understand they have their custom shop right now I will give em a go one day!

I played a used one of these a few years ago and it sounded massive. It was a steal at $1500.

Maik, nice tones. One of the hardest things, for me, is hearing the broken in sound. Good speakers sound better as they get used more, kinda' like how salsa and chili (soup) taste better many hours after they have been made. The flavors take time to develop. The nerd living inside of me goes crazy with all the variables. I enjoyed your comparison. It would be interesting to see if you played them each for a long period and then did it again how much different the counds would be, but it would take months to get them all broken in really well. Sorry, I'm nerdy like that. Thanks for the good video again.

I have two Les Pauls and 4 Heritages. Two are H-555s and one is a double cut. The H-157CM I have is a Custom, so their Les Paul. It stacks up in every way compared to my Gibsons. I think Heritage make a fantastic guitar and I'm glad I got mine before their prices started to climb!

I love the Heritage head stock, it’s the inverse of the Gibson open book headstock.

In shocked that for a chambered/ weight reliefived Les Paul, that it still came in at 7.5lbs. I got a Gibson 60s standard Unburst (great AA-figured top…looks like a mix between a lemmon burst and a honey burst lol great visually, had grover tuners, also the knobs personally i like better with the 60s reflective knobs (the sides match the body, but with the silver hardware, i find it looks like it matches up beauty. All that being said, my Non-Weight relief Gibson 60s LP standard unburst only weighs in at 8.5 lbs (been told i got lucky). Love the 60s slim profile neck vs rhe wider 50s style neck and i prefer the 50s alnico 2 BB’s vs the 61’ BB alnico 5’s, which i ended up swapping out for a new set of Seymour Duncan Slash 2.0 alnico 2 humbuckers (i guess what slash legit has in many of his guitars because he felt his original Seymour Duncan APH-2’s were slightly quieter then the newer SD slash 2.0’s…they sound like a pefect les paul fit, they handle gain and pedals great, but are not overkill and they also clean up nicely. Side note, i know my guitar and the 50s standard both have 50s style wiring & orange drop caps., ive only swapped the 61 BB pups for the SD slash 2.0’s and happy with the swap but the 61’ BBs do grow on you (mostly rhe neck pup). Also i would prefer if these ‘Med/Jumbo’ stock frets were a little taller, but theyre not low enough that it bothers me (i play with low action with a set or 9 guage strings). Overall i have a 2004 beautyful herritage cherry SG (490r/498t) which plays and also sounds great! Out of all my guitars, ive always been drawn to burst Gibson LP standards that are bursts & im very happy with mine and rhe pup upgrade…although i still feel easiest on my SG, but after 20 yrs, im not gonna feel as comfortable (eapecially playing high notes and having your hand get closer to the heel, takes a bit to get used to the harder accessability on the LP , but just love my new 2023 Lp, i really wanted a burst or thay honey/lemmonish type burst, snd i think the SD slash 2.0 alnico 2’s are an upgrade then the stoxk 61 burtbuckers. Really wanted my LP to have old school set up (2 proper sounding humbuckers with a simple 50s style wiring and no push pull or weight relief , etc). I feel like besieses my neck profille, i tried to find and swap pups ro make it feel and sound like a solid original burst

wow, what a beauty Phil! Sounds as great as she looks

Try a medium width, tall height fret job. Makes both gibson and heritage play really nice.

Gorgeous guitar and it sounds amazing!!!!

Unfortunately, the second you walk out of the shop with that axe, it's instantly loses a ton of its value, much more than a Gib. Try to find a buyer for a used Heritage LP. Too much competition and the market is flooded.

the pickups sound sweet. really surprised with the bridge pickup.

I am from Detroit, Michigan. I love your content & I would love to have one of these solid body guitars from Heritage. I swear it's a personal goal of mine after spending 8 weeks in U of M hospital. I'm thankful I learned how to walk all over.

That's really cool of Heritage to not only have no issue with you telling people you refretted the guitar, but actually making you a second one.

Everything but the Headstock (Which I'm actually cool with, it has it's own thing) looks and sounds like what Gibson should be doing on their Traditional/Vintage Line. The fact that both you and Tim Pierce vouched for it and gave the SAME pointers tells me this is the guitar Gibson must be afraid of. Excellent video, as always.

That’s an incredible looking and sounding guitar! Sounds like Heritage is really responsive too. Is it an optical illusion or are the pickup surrounds and the pickguard different colors? 🤔

Great response from Heritage! What size fret wire would be recommended? By Phil and Heritage...... It comes with medium jumbo jescar frets that are Plek'd...... Link to model shows solid body. 8 lbs 10 oz......

For a guitarists wih vicegrip fingerings, instead of a light touch, would the low frets help mitigate pressing chords out of tune?

it's a strange thing about frets.. not only the height and width counts, but also the shape.. and it depends on your personal style and on your personal fingers :) regarding Les Pauls I love my 2016 Tribute Gold Top Gibson, it has the perfect Frets (for me).. pretty tall, that makes bending and vibrato more easy for me... I once had a Gibson Midtown, that sounded great, but had more low frets... maybe great for Jazz guys who slide much upon the fretboard, but not my thing... it's all personal!

What color/model is that bronze strat behind you? It looks sick

10:55 those frets look fine to me, especially compared to some of the lp customs with vintage frets

What is that metallic red/orange guitar to the left???

Love the balance of the P/Us.

Not sure if I have played a guitar with low frets, always been medium or jumbo

My Eastman SB59/v is 7.5 lbs. and it's all solid.

I have a (plain top) CC and it is imo a more enjoyable playing experience than a Gibson CS. Their pickups are nice but I wish they were unpotted. Still gives a unique sound, well voiced… I don’t find the frets too low at all, either. They’re right in the middle of my collection, maybe even on the larger end

Heritage can experiment with a slightly shorter headstock while maintaining the shape. That will work surely.

Personally I like the headstock. Just think the truss cover could be a bit more ornate but that’s all nit-picking. Stunning instrument!!! I have a Les Paul Tribute that is chambered and 7.4 pounds. The guitar does everything a good LP should do. Great sustain and harmonic richness. Excellent intonation all over the neck. It’s my go to when I get calls for session work and a good humbucker tone is required.