Heritage Standard H-535 Semi-hollowbody Review

A Longing Fulfilled!

I'm sure we've all experienced this if we've lived long enough as a musician. But when I first started playing a college roommate of my best friend in High School sold me an old vintage Gibson ES-335 at the time. Being a dumb kid and not knowing what I had, I sold it. The kid who sold it to me called me back in a year or two begging to get it back as it was a family heirloom… read more and I had to tell him I was just as stupid as he was. So getting this guitar is coming back full circle to recover what was once lost. On to the guitar review. This guitar design is an all time classic of pure versatility. If you had to only own one guitar, this would be it. After doing some research I decided to go with Heritage because of great reviews and coming from the tradition of luthiers who made the original Gibsons in the Kalamazoo factory. I also liked the idea of the jack being in the body's rim as opposed to the top. Heritage's workmanship is stellar they make flawless looking instruments that play fantastic and sound awesome. I'm kind of rock and roll rhythm guy and also love jazz chord melody playing etc. Having been a praise and worship leader much of my life, my history is more acoustic playing and larger f-hole guitars. So I'm not so much of blues lead player etc. Therefore I tend to like a heavier string and use 11's on strat and tele. This comes with 10's which are a bit light for my taste. I put 12's on this instrument because when playing my jazz stuff I need some fat in my sound. This guitar can even get a decent jazz tone with 10's which isn't easy to do but its awesome with heavier strings too. With 12's it has a pleasing growl on the bridge pickup and yet you can dial in a beautiful jazz tone for chord melody playing and lead improvising. Middle position is sweet as well with that pretty country lead sound. Keep in mind guitars don't come with a setup unless you ask for one. So putting on heavier strings requires a little nut filing by a reputable luthier. The guitars are made so well that you can dial them into your preference with ease. The frets are nice and low so you can get an excellent low action without fret buzz. Get a good Peterson strobe tuner to be able to set perfect intonation yourself. The neck is perfectly comfortable. The volume and tone control work nice and gradual, the way they should, unlike cheap electronics. The guitar has an excellent acoustic property and I really noticed the extra sustain as well. It's a difficult instrument to put down and leaves you wondering how you will share the attention with your other guitars that you told your spouse you had to have LOL. There are no negatives to this guitar. They are pricey but a correct value in terms of the guitar market for such a well made instrument. If you're disappointed with this instrument you might just be a dumb kid who doesn't know any better LOL. Just teasing of course!

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Amazing

I have nothing but praise for this guitar. The detail is amazing. It sounds, looks, and plays so beautifully. The only con I can think of is the price, but you really get what you paid for. The craftsmanship is out of this world. My face lights up every time I open the case.

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Fantastic guitar!

I was looking for an affordable semi hollow body and decided on the Heritage 535 based on multiple rave reviews. Wow, what a great guitar! I played it for 30 minutes before realizing the action was super low and the guitar was easy to play. That was a great sign because I was playing, not thinking. The SD 59 pickups are stellar. Super high quality build, guitar is flawless. Stays… read more in tune great. Now I'm considering another Heritage like the 150.

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Awesome

I own a 94 H-535 it is easily one of the best guitars I have ever owned. The only reason this is not 5 stars is because I know an ownership change happened, and I dont know how the modern ones play. Otherwise, these are amazing guitars regardless

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Heritage H535 Sweetwater

The Guitar Quality components and a beautiful build and finish. I've had this guitar for a week and I've picked it up everyday and played it for hours. I've had several Gibson 335 guitars and this Heritage is a step up. The Seymour Duncan Seth Lover pickups are perfect in this guitar. The tone spectrum is varied by volume and tone which are very effective. From growling blues to… read more subdued jazz this guitar fits the required playing profile. I really love the guitar input jack is put out of the way and placed in a better position than the ES335. Comes with nice case! Loving the high quality that Heritage builds into their guitars. Sweetwater Bart Amburn is my sales engineer. As always he followed my order and made the transaction very nice and smooth. The guitar arrived quickly and was packed perfectly in a double box. Out of the case and in tune. The setup was ready to go! I am very pleased with my purchase from Sweetwater and my dealings with Bart Amburn.

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