Heritage Custom Core Collection H-150 Gold Top Electric w/Hardshell Case *Authorized Dealer*

• Nitrocellulose Gold finish, 8.6 pounds
• Redesigned carved maple top
• Natural finish Mahogany back
• Cream binding
• One piece 50's Mahogany set neck, 1-11/16" nut width, 24.75" scale
• Approx .890" depth at the first fret, .980" at the 12th
• Bound Rosewood fretboard, 22 frets, 12" radius
• Trapezoid inlays
• TonePros locking bridge and aluminum stop bar
• Bone nut
• Proprietary Heritage logo tuners
• Proprietary Parsons Street humbucking pickups
• Special Heritage Custom Shop headstock logo
• Custom CTS pots and Vishay orange drop .022uf capacitors
• 3-way Switchcraft pickup switch and jack
• Custom Shop hardshell case with certificate of authenticity 

Since Bandlab acquired Heritage and the historic Kalamazoo factory, they have continued to up their game in terms of build quality and consistency. And Custom Core series represents the top of the line production guitars coming out of Parsons Street. To insure optimal tone and weight, all materials are specifically selected for this series of guitars. From what we can tell  Heritage has determined 8.6 pounds is the optimal weight for this type of guitar; as any Custom Core H-150 we've had has been +/- a smidge around 8.6. And the H-150 balances nicely on the shoulder, and it's a very acceptable weight for a full thickness, non-contoured body. As you expect at this price point, fit and finish is spot-on, and we love the look of the natural finish mahogany back and neck.

Instead of the usual Seymour Duncan '59's, for the Custom Core series Heritage has designed their own humbuckers, fittingly call the 225 Classic humbuckers. Here is what they have to say about them:

"The guitar also marks the debut of our signature 225 Classic humbuckers. Designed by Edwin Wilson, and wound in-house to our strictest standards, these vintage-inspired pickups are tuned specifically for the Heritage Custom Core H-150 and excel tremendously in both clean and overdriven tones, making them perfect for any music genre."

Heritage does not say much else about these chrome-covered pickups but they have a DC resistance of ~7.5K ohms, and like the original Les Paul guitars the same pickup is used in both positions. The pickups are wonderfully balanced with a great blend of high end clarity, percussive lows and moderate midrange emphasis. We're long past the days when "hot" pickups were needed to overdrive amplifiers, and moderate output tonally balanced humbuckers are the secret sauce for great clean tones and musical rock crunch. And while "specifically tuned" pickups may sound like marketing hype, carefully controlling body weight and wood selection does allow for optimizing the pickup for the guitar. Ditto for the electronics, which utilize custom-spec CTS pots, orange drop capacitors and vintage-type wiring. 

For the Custom Core series, Heritage opted for a 50's neck profile instead of the C profile used on their standard series. The profile depths at the first and twelfth frets are pretty similar and our hands don't detect a significant difference between the 50's and their standard C. In either case the generous profile dimensions provide great hand support, and makes a good argument that thinner is not always better. And neck mass is also related to tone, and we can only assume that Heritage took that into consideration too. 

Guitars of this calibre have a certain intangible "feel" that is hard to describe, but it also sets them apart from their more mass-produced counterparts. The Heritage Custom Core H-150 is not just a fancy paint job and certificate, but a carefully engineering instrument that offers classic vibe, expansive tonal flexibility, and exceptional playability.