1989 Heritage Eagle – £1499

NEW ARRIVAL  Heritage is the company that formed when Gibson moved factories from Kalamazoo, Michigan to Nashville, Tennessee in September 1984, by three senior employees who chose not to move. These men bought the original Kalamazoo factory plus much of the machinery. Each man had in excess of 25 years guitar building experience, and to this day are still directly involved in each guitar’s production. Heritage guitars have the handmade quality Gibson used to have, built in the Gibson factory by the same guys that built the classic Gibsons of the 50’s and 60’s. With that kind of pedigree, Heritage guitars are considered future classics. The Heritage Eagle is their take on a Gibson L5-C, and is essentially like a Gibson Custom Shop model, the attention to detail and finish quality are excellent. The guitar is all solid Mahogany, with a hand carved top, and features a Kent Armstrong pickup with tone control mounted on the Mahogany pickguard. Tonally it’s everything you’d hope for in such an iconic guitar, smooth and rich sounding, equally happy with blues and jazz. The neck is very comfortable with easy playing action. For a 32 year old guitar, it’s in good condition, with just a couple of tightly repaired top cracks near the F holes. The guitar comes in (what I believe is) an original Gibson hard case.