This New Heritage H-535 features:
- Translucent Cherry Nitrocellulose finish
- 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
- Bone nut
- Grover Rotomatic tuners
- Seymour Duncan '59 Pickups made on the classic Leesona 102 pickup winding machine from the Kalamazoo factory
- Separate volume and tone controls (CTS pots and Orange drop caps)
- Plek laser guided fret finishing
- 3-way pickup switch
- Heritage 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 Heritage under the ownership of BandLab has made the needed investments to improve consistency and reduce delivery times. With more marketing savvy and social media presence, the New Heritage is working hard to respect tradition but not be a prisoner of it.
This model speaks to the best of what Heritage has to offer: Flawless workmanship and finish, quality woods, rock-solid hardware and electronics. As of 2018 the beautifully finished and bound mahogany set neck has slimmed down to approx. .822 at the first fret and .912 at the 12th. Fret finish is excellent, and the fairly low fret height of .035 - .040", moderate string tension and low break angle over the bridge made the guitar feel effortless to play.
Heritage made the change a couple years back from Duncan Seth Lover pickups to the Seymour Duncan '59 series, and for most players this is a good move. The Alnico 2 Seth Lovers definitely trended towards the warm and woody spectrum, and for many players lacked attack and note definition, especially at the neck. The Alnico Duncan 59's have a brighter top end, a bit of midrange scoop to clean up the mids, and overall better attack. The CTS pots and orange drop tone capacitors provide plenty of usable tone shaping, and it's a cinch to roll off a little high end for warmer smokey jazz tones.
With the change to the '59 series pickups we'd say the neck pickup is the star of the show...except that some of the best tones are with both pickups combined. There are four knobs; use them and you'll find a treasure trove of tones that truly unlock the versatility of this design. The CTS pots have a nice taper and usable range, and if you just play this guitar wide open, you are missing a lot.
The thinline semi-hollow design has a great history, and players like Larry Carlton and Lee Ritenour literally put this guitar on the map as the ultimate jazz/rock crossover guitar. The Heritage H-535 does not break any new ground, but for the player looking for a "destination" guitar, the H-535 provides the quality, tone and playability equal to the best of the breed, at a very attainable price.
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