Heritage got its start when some former senior employees of Gibson wanted to continue making handcrafted guitars in Kalamazoo, Michigan, following the company’s move to Nashville in 1984. They leased space at the iconic guitar factory located at 225 Parsons Street, along with much of the original guitar-making equipment, and the first Heritage guitar, the H-140 solidbody, was introduced at the 1985 NAMM show in New Orleans. After building a variety of instruments over the ensuing years, Heritage now focuses exclusively on hollow, semi-hollow, and solidbody electric guitars in both its standard and custom lines.
The H-535 reviewed here is a standard production model that follows the design specs of one of Gibson’s most popular electrics, the ES-335. As such, it features a top and back of laminated curly maple and a rim of solid curly maple. The solid center block is one of the key elements of this “thinline” design, allowing a solid mount for the hardware that enhances sustain and makes it possible to play at much higher volumes without the uncontrollable feedback issues that plague typical archtop guitars.
The H-535 carries a set mahogany neck and a 24.74-inch-scale rosewood fretboard with a comfortable 12-inch radius. The cosmetics on our Cherry review model (other colors are Antique Natural, Original Sunburst and Ebony) consist of cream binding on the body and neck, pearl dots on the fretboard, and a “The Heritage” decal on the gloss-black headstock facing. The five-ply pickguard has a Gibson-style support bracket, and all of the finish work is top notch.
The hardware package includes Grover tuners and a Tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece with locking screws. Two Duncan Seth Lover humbuckers with nickel-plated covers feed dual volume and tone controls and a three-way switch. Heritage ups the ante in the wiring department via the use