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Review: The Heritage Henry Johnson model guitar
By Wolf Marshall
 The
Heritage Guitar Company has been making some truly wondrous
instruments for the last two decades. In case you haven't
heard the news, the luthiers responsible for the most sought-after
arch-top jazz guitars in history acquired the original Gibson
factory back in 1985, called themselves The Heritage and
have been taking some of the genre's timeless designs to
new heights. In a sense they've got to-they have quite a
legacy to match. And match it they have. In fact they've
surpassed themselves with the recently introduced Henry Johnson
Signature model.
Henry Johnson needs no introduction to the
guitar playing world. His credentials and reputation precede
him. But for the uninitiated... Henry came up through the
ranks with the likes of Ramsey Lewis and Joe Williams, and
currently can be heard at the top of his game on Organic-a
current release which features duets with Nancy Wilson and
glowing liner notes by George Benson.
 About
the guitar: At first sight the Heritage HJ takes your breath
away. There's no other way to put it. Nostalgia runs rampant
as visions and memories of Wes Montgomery's Movin' Wes come
flooding back. This was the iconic album cover that turned
budding jazz guitarists to mush because ofthat multi-frame
sequence of Wes and his gorgeous sunburst L-5. With the HJ
you are miraculously transported back to that golden age
of the world's greatest jazz guitars.
Like the Heritage Kenny Burrell model (the Super KB), the
HJ epitomizes the interaction of artist and artisan. The
basic design suggests the next evolutionary step forward
of the famed L-5 ofthe mid-sixties. It is a beautifully crafted
and exquisitely appointed electric archtop. The 17-inch body
features a solid carved spruce top and solid curly maple
back and rims with two built-in humbucking pickups. Eye-catching
cosmetic touches include gold-plated hardware, multiple binding
on the head, neck and body, bound F-holes, and an ebony fingerboard
with pearl block inlays and a pointed end-and that iconic
Florentine cutaway. Design refinements include moving the
three-way pickup selector switch to the top of the guitar,
Henry's preferred roller bridge, the proprietary HRW humbuckers
and the curly maple pickguard-a work of art in itself. Even
with a cursory glance you know this is a serious jazz guitar.
What does it sound like? I was lucky enough to have the
HJ in my home studio for a couple of days right after 2005
NAMM, along with her proud daddy. We road tested the HJ strung
with Thomastik-Infeld Swing Series JSI13 flat-wounds through
an Acoustic-Image Clams 1 amp and a Rich Raezer Raezer's
Edge cabinet with a 12-inch speaker as well as a black-face
Fender Deluxe-Reverb reissue--and in both instances it delivered
pure, although remarkably fat and resonant, arch-top tone
heaven. Complex chords like an A13b9 sounded like a string
section, octaves were as fat as chords and single notes were
so big you'd drive your truck around them. A few thumb-plucked
bop lines reinforce the Montgomery sonic connection admirably
while strumming some block chords with a pick brought to
mind rich tones a la Johnny Smith and Kenny Burrell.
How does it play? The HJ has one of the most playable fingerboards
around and the 17 -inch body is comfortable and well-balanced,
just slightly thinner than the original. And that's good
to know because the HJ is nearly impossible to put down once
you've begun to play it. For those of us who wax rhapsodic
about the bygone golden era of jazz guitar-making this instrument
delivers the goods. Luthier made and sensibly priced the
Heritage Henry Johnson is destined to be a contemporary classic.
- Wolf Marshall |
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| Wolf Marshall is internationally
acclaimed as both a guitarist and a celebrity educator.
He set the standards for modern guitar education in
the eighties. Then, his innovative transcription books,
audio "licks" releases
(on Star Licks, Music Sales, Cherry Lane and Hal Leonard
labels), and videos created the basis for an industry
which continues to boom today and shows no signs of abating.
He is also a highly respected music author, contributing
long-running articles and columns to Guitar World, Guitarfor
the Practicing Musician (currently re-named Guitar),
and Guitar School since 1984. Visit Wolf at www.wolfmarshall.com |
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