Heritage H-530 Original Sunburst Hollow Body Electric w/Hardshell Case *Authorized Dealer*

This new Heritage H-530 features:

• Original Sunburst Nitrocellulose finish, 6.4 pounds
• Curly maple laminate top and back
• Solid maple sides
• Cream binding
• One piece Mahogany set neck, 1-11/16" nut width, 24.75" scale
• Bound Rosewood fingerboard, 22 frets
• TonePros locking bridge and stop bar
• Corian nut
• Heritage-spec tuners
• Lollar P-90 pickups
• Separate volume and tone controls (CTS pots and Orange drop caps)
• 3-way pickup switch
• Hardshell case

To many players, the real guitars still come from Kalamazoo, where Heritage Guitars still operates out the historic former Gibson facility. But history is more than a building, and under Bandlab ownership Heritage has improved consistency, quality and reduced delivery times. With more marketing savvy and social media presence, the New Heritage is working hard to be more accessible and spread the good news.

Overshadowed by the better known and more ubiquitous H-535 (or 335) design, the Heritage H-530 swaps out the semi-hollow construction and humbucking pickups for a true hollow body and Lollar P-90's. The H-530 also sports a trapeze tailpiece instead of a TonePros tailpiece. Other construction features are similar to the H-535 including one-piece mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard, exacting workmanship, and elegant nitrocellulose lacquer finish.

While we are already lovers of a good P-90 guitar, the H-530 really stole our hearts. The true hollow construction really shimmers acoustically, with plenty of natural volume, and an unplugged tone all its own. If you are used to this type of guitar in its usual semi-hollow format the H-530 is very different indeed.

The moderate output Lollar P-90 pickups provide a punchy clarity, and the hollow body construction adds depth, spaciousness, and shimmer. There is not a hint of midrange heaviness or treble snarl that players often associate with P-90 pickups (usually ones that are too hot to begin with). The P-90 attack is there, but it's balanced and round in the neck position, and sparkly and crisp at the bridge. Blended tones between the two pickups have a sweet bell-like tone that is shift-able to suit your desire for enhanced bass or treble response. It's our opinion that P-90's are at their best when not full up, and the CTS pots and individual volume and tone controls have plenty of usable sweep and a smooth feel.

The H-530 strikes us as a superlative rhythm guitar. The snappy attack, great note separation, and luxurious ring and shimmer work perfectly for sweeping chords or picking. No slathering of effects is needed, as the body of the guitar adds its own depth and sense of reverberation. Adding some distortion or gain tends to bring out a little of that P-90 edge and bark, and the tone is very old school; much like what you'd hear on old records when there were no amps over 20 watts and no such thing as stomp boxes. But we prefer the H-530 mostly clean with a touch of reverb or vibrato....or both.

The beautifully finished and bound mahogany set neck is Medium C sized at approx. .840 at the first fret and .960 at the 12th. Fret finish is excellent, and the fairly low fret height of .040", moderate string tension and low break angle over the bridge made the guitar feel effortless to play.

Great rhythm guitar is greatly under appreciated, and while the H-530 is not the guitar for shredders or soaring blues sidemen, it fills a critical role of providing superior tone for laying down seriously good rhythm tracks and single note lines. Plus punch in a little distortion and it has a slightly Low-Fi tone that's equal parts Jack White, Bill Haley, and George Harrison. The Heritage H-530 really made an impression on us as visually classic, sonically unique, and extremely usable in a variety of situations.