“If you’re in the market for a single-cut on steroids with vintage charm, this is the one to wield”: Heritage Guitars Custom Shop Core Collection H-137 review

What is it?

By now, any review you’ve read concerning Heritage Guitars will include the storied background of the company founded in 1985 by former Gibson employees in Kalamazoo, Michigan, who continue to build outstanding guitars that follow the original Gibson recipe of craftsmanship.

Yes, that’s right: all the notable guitar models from Heritage today are made in the same factory and on the original machinery used to handcraft late-’50s Les Pauls and ES models.

We already knew this because Heritage Guitars has been no stranger to Guitar World since we reviewed its “truly impressive” Standard H-150 – a guitar that can give a ’50s-era Les Paul a run for its money.

Now I’m about to take a stab at a “Special” single-cut model that genuinely epitomizes the impeccable quality and tone that Heritage Guitars is consistently churning out from its Custom Shop with the Core Collection H-137 electric guitar.

As a Custom Shop guitar, the Core Collection H-137 is a stunning work of craftsmanship and nearly impossible to fault outside of its “Custom Shop” price tag, which is twice as much as other rival “Special” guitars.

While there is no denying the H-137 visibly shares a resemblance to an LP Special – outside of Heritage’s signature headstock shape and logo with twin arrow inlay – no one can disagree Heritage’s clear-cut refinements turn this time-tested design into a classically refined and remarkable instrument.

For example, what could’ve been a wraparound bridge is upgraded to a tune-o-matic bridge and an aluminum stopbar tailpiece for precise intonation and unabating sustain, and the laser-etched “Heritage” logo Grover-style tuners (instead of button-style) turn with reliable tuning accuracy.

To capture that authentic P-90 tone, Heritage’s 225 Classic P-90 pickups are wound in-house and wired to dual volume and tone controls. What’s more, the guitar’s premium electronics and upgraded hardware consist of CTS 500K potentiometers and Orange Drop .022uF capacitors, a Switchcraft toggle switch and a Pure Tone input jack.

In hand, the H-137’s single-cutaway slab mahogany body is well-balanced and midweight, with a thinly applied nitrocellulose lacquer in Faded Cherry that mirrors a factory-fresh ’50s-era patina (TV Yellow and Olive Drab finishes are also available).

And in the “feel” department, the H-137 is very much a standard-issue Special with a 24 ¾-inch scale length, a mahogany neck with a palm-filling ’50s C-profile, rosewood fingerboard with 22 medium jumbo frets, dot inlays and a bone nut.

Specs

• Launch price: $3,299/£2,989
• Made: USA
• Type: Single-cut solidbody electric guitar
• Body: Ultra-light mahogany
• Neck: Mahogany, '50s ‘C’
• Fingerboard: Rosewood, 12" radius
• Scale length: 24.75", 628.7mm
• Nut/width: Bone, 42.86mm
• Frets: 22, Medium Jumbo
• Hardware: Heritage' Branded Tuners, Tune-O-Matic and Aluminum tailpiece, nickel
• Electrics: 2x 225 P-90s, 2 x Volume, 2 x Tone, 3-Way Toggle
• Left-handed options: No
• Finishes: Faded Cherry [as reviewed], TV Yellow, Olive Drab
• Case/gig bag: Custom Shop hard-shell guitar case
• Contact: Heritage Guitars

Usability and sounds

I own and have sold many guitars throughout my career, and at one point, I played an LP Special religiously – as the rough-and-tumble live guitar that handled all the biting, single-coil snarl instead of humbuckers. Right now, this H-137 brings back all the joy I remembered from that experience.

Strumming it acoustically, it rings like a bell, and the flat, single-slab of its mahogany body sounds fully resonant and responsive plugged in. Running it through a combo platter of a Marshall Jubilee and a Fender Deluxe Reverb, the H-137 is a firecracker, where you hear the raw power exploding from the guitar’s dual P-90 voice.

The custom-wound 225 Classic P-90 pickups capture all the vintage mojo and touch-sensitive expressiveness you’d expect from these warmer and punchier single coils. The bridge delivers snappy definition and bite when overdriven, making it slice through any mix with swagger.

Having both pickups at play makes the H-137 sound gutsy and full, and once I ran it through my Matchless DC-30, I got all the bell-like jangle you could ask for.

Flipping up to the neck pickup reveals a fattened voice with lush articulation and body. Wherever you set the toggle, you have three tonal positions of snappy, gutsy and juicy at your disposal – poised to cover any of the raucous sides of rock, blues and country.

Verdict

Verdict: ★★★★★

Of course, playing the H-137 is all about exploiting its stripped-down nature, and it delivers on all fronts. It has a Custom Shop setup; so action and playability are dialed in perfectly.

Usually on an LP 3+3 headstock, a common hassle is the G-string often gets snagged out of tune, and what’s great here is that the nut slots are cut properly, so you can go ahead and play with aggression and abandon and still stay smoothly in tune.

Simply put, Heritage’s Custom Shop H-137 is a guitar that’s been flawlessly executed to deliver raw power and dynamic response, and if you’re in the market for a single-cut on steroids with vintage charm, this is the one to wield.

Guitar World verdict: The Heritage Core Collection H-137 offers all the classic styling, key playability and powerfully raw tones delivered with aplomb in a Custom Shop “Special” model that exudes simplicity and elegance.

Hands-on videos

Heritage Guitars

Matt Hoopes Performs with the Heritage Custom Shop Core Collection H-137 - YouTube

Watch On

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.
• Heritage Guitars Standard H-150 review