Heritage Standard II H-150 review: “It screams, it roars, it purrs”
Editor’s note: Heritage Guitars and Guitar.com are both part of the Caldecott Music Group.
$2,599, heritageguitars.com
As a company, Heritage has had to tread a fine line over the years. Formed by a bunch of former Gibson employees who didn’t want to leave the brand’s iconic Kalamazoo, Michigan home when the Big G decided to shift operations to Nashville in the 80s, there was always going to be a certain familiarity there in terms of design.
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In fact, this evolved into an agreement signed between the two brands back in 1991 that effectively gave Gibson’s ascent to Heritage, continuing to produce instruments that were inspired by the guitars originally built in that famous 225 Parsons Street factory back in the 50s.
All this has meant that for the last 30-plus years, Heritage has focused primarily on producing high-quality instruments that have one foot rooted in that established tradition, albeit with its own personality and vibe.
Now however, Heritage has launched the Standard II – a new take on the brand’s flagship H-150 model that keeps things suitably classic in the visual sense, while evolving things under the hood to move away from the vintage revivalism that dominates much of Gibson’s current outlook and move in a more player-centric direction.
This feels like a savvy move. There’s no doubt that Gibson’s pivot away from Robot Guitars and Firebird X’s to focus primarily on instruments that are recreating the feel, look and sound of the Golden Era classics has been hugely successful both in the hands and on the balance sheet.
But there are also players out there for whom baseball bat necks and hulking great slabs of mahogany and maple are not the holy grail. It’s these players that the Standard II H-150 is trying to tempt in.
Image: Adam Gasson
Heritage Standard II H-150 – what is it?
Like all H-150s, this Standard II is a close cousin to the Les Paul, and much of the same basic recipe has been retained for this new model. That means you get a 24.75” scale length, a single cut mahogany body with a carved figured maple cap and a glued-in mahogany neck.
Unlike your Les Paul Standard however, the Heritage equivalent isn’t a fully solid body – it’s been weight-relieved to take the edge off the heft that often accompanies Gibson’s favoured son. Anyone who has worn an LP or similar guitar for any length of time will breathe a sigh of relief here.
This is something that was also a feature of the Asian-made Ascent+ H-535 Ed Oleszko looked at for us earlier this year, so we can probably say that Heritage wants this whole ‘LP-style guitar that doesn’t give you a sore shoulder’ thing to be part of the brand’s identity going forward.
Another thing that emulates that Ascent+ guitar is the internal wiring – you get a pair of push/pull tone pots to activate series/parallel mode to enhance the tonal options of the two humbuckers.
Heritage describes this wiring tweak as offering the benefits of coil tapping bit without the resulting drop in volume. Could this hint at a more versatile tonal palette than we might expect from a double-humbucker guitar? I’m going to have to find out the fun way!
Finally, whereas the original Standard series guitars came with Seymour Duncan humbuckers, the Standard IIs are fitted with Heritage’s own USA-made Custom Shop units – the aptly named 225 models.
Image: Adam Gasson
Heritage Standard II H-150 – build quality and playability
In the past I have taken issue with some elements of the Heritage aesthetic, but in this case the lines of the guitar are balanced and well judged. The deep, brooding Chestnut Sunburst finish is excellent and tiny nuances such as the new headstock veneer and truss-rod cover tie the look together as a cohesive whole.
The mahogany neck is also obviously carved with comfort in mind. Based on a 1960s shape, it is a lot more immediate than the blunderbuss feel of a ’58 original. Heritage has always done this sort of thing very well and this feels great from the first position all the way to the body join. There is a handsome rosewood fretboard too with an excellent fret job.
Strapping it on, the difference between the Standard II and its antecedents are subtle but immediately tangible. That chambered mahogany body really does make this feel like a different beast to a Les Paul – removing some of the deep, dead weight that you often feel when hanging one over your shoulder, tipping the scales at the good end of 9lbs.
Image: Adam Gasson
Heritage Standard II H-150 – sounds
There are very few instances where an LP-style guitar would be your first choice for a clean sound. The H-150 Standard II however greets us with a surprisingly polished and articulate voice straight into the amp. The neck humbucker remains open and detailed throughout making it a beautiful choice for neo-soul explorations. I pulled out my most expensive chords and can confirm.
The middle position is flutey and engaging – Jimi-style double stops always feel slightly naughty on anything other than a Strat but that organic bluesy approach really works here. Nudging the push/pull tone knobs flips the wiring and brings out some extraordinary jangle tones too and as ever, the joy of blending the pickup volumes and tone controls comes into its own here and there is wide scope to get creative. You can get your stutter on with the selector switch too. Go on, you might like it.
Even clean I can tell that the bridge unit is a beauty. There’s a snarl to it that I haven’t heard before in a Heritage guitar. It’s not just brute force though, there’s something else going on here. Is it the chambered body? The new pickups? All of the above? Either way this is an immediately pleasing squeeze.
Clean tones dissected, it’s time to hit the dirt and give it the thrashing it obviously deserves. Standing on an enraged Crowther Hotcake is always very revealing – I plug in to see how the H-150 Standard II responds. Put simply, it loves the filth.
Image: Adam Gasson
The neck humbucker loses very little of its clarity as the gain hits. It barks and snarls like a good ‘un without getting muddy. In the interests of science I also hit it with a Bigfoot Engineering King Fuzz pedal which smears hairy chunks of saw-toothed glory up the walls of my studio in a delightful manner.
The middle position can take a surprising amount of gain before it dawns on me that the bridge alone might be a kinder choice. For pick-free blues explorations à la Jared James Nichols however, it is excellent. Grunty and responsive with a lot of grip.
Given that so many iconic performances have involved a bridge-mounted humbucker fired in anger you could be forgiven for feeling a little overwhelmed, jaded even. The bridge position on this H-150 Standard II reminds us what this sort of thing is all about.
From chunky, muscular rhythmic playing to soaring lead lines, this guitar does it all elegantly. It even supports my enthusiasm when I abandon all sense of decorum and go for some widdly nonsense above the neck join. It screams, it roars, it purrs. In fact, it is surprisingly vocal throughout.
The series/parallel switching is a very good idea, which not only allows for snappier sounds but also brings out all manner of delicious overtones and harmonic feedback when you wind up the gain and find the sweet spot on the tone control.
Image: Adam Gasson
Heritage Standard II H-150 – should I buy one?
While many of the Heritage guitars I’ve reviewed in recent years have been vintage-inspired custom shop beauties, it’s interesting to see Heritage take an intentional and pointed step to the left with its flagship production instrument like this.
There’s no doubt that by blending traditional aesthetics with more modern ergonomic and sonic appointments under the hood, the brand is attempting to carve its own niche – and it does so extremely well – while also being a fair wedge cheaper than a Les Paul Standard.
The new Standard II H-150 offers more than just tonal variety. It is an immediately engaging and rewarding instrument that feels as good as it sounds.
Heritage Standard II H-150 – alternatives
The elephant in the room is always going to be Gibson, but it’s notable that nothing in the current Standard range has the same blend of old-school looks and modern convenience as the Standard II H-150. The Les Paul Standard 60s ($2,999/£2,239) offers classic looks and a skinny neck, but no series/parallel wiring. If you want that, you’ll have to tap the Les Paul Modern ($2,999/£2,239) but with that comes a full modern aesthetic (and clear plastic knobs) that you may come to regret. If you want a muscular modern take on the single-cut from a USA brand, the PRS Mark Tremonti Signature ($4,079) is a mean, lean rock machine.
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