Heritage Custom Shop (heritageguitars.com) is proud to announce two exceptional additions to the flagship Core Collection - the Custom Core H-535 Semi-Hollow Body and the H-530 Hollow Body electric guitars. Crafted at the historic 225Parsons Street factory, these instruments are a testament to Heritage Custom Shop's unwavering commitment to quality, blending advanced performance features with the most exquisite tone woods available. Each Custom Core guitar represents Heritage's passion and pride in their craftsmanship and storied history.
The Custom Core H-535 is a masterpiece that blends vintage charm with modern prowess. Crafted with meticulous attention to detail by master artisans, this semi-hollow electric boasts a laminated premium curly maple top and back and is available in three captivating colors. Its solid curly maple rim enhances resonance, while the rosewood fretboard ensures a comfortable playing experience. The 50s C-shaped neck profile offers comfort, and the Heritage Custom Shop 225 ClassicHumbuckers deliver a versatile tonal spectrum. Premium components like CTS 500K potentiometers and a locking bridge guarantee quality and tuning stability.
The Custom Core H-530 is a blend of tradition and innovation. This fully hollow, double cutaway features a laminated premium curly maple top and back, and solid curly maple rim, and comes in three custom colors. The Custom Core H-530 is fitted with the recently released Heritage Custom Shop225 Classic Dogear P90 pickups, delivering resonance, sustain, and a broad spectrum of tones. Every detail, from the Holly veneer headstock to the rosewood fretboard, is crafted for a world-class playing experience.
Heritage Custom Shop pickups are designed and wound in-house at their iconic facility in Kalamazoo. Versatile to the core, the 225 Classic P90s capture the essence of the P90 single coil chime and body, with a dynamic range that can transition seamlessly from shimmering cleans to robust distortion. The 225 Classic Humbuckers produce a warm, full-bodied tone with pronounced sustain and clarity, offering a versatile sound that ranges from smooth jazz nuances to crunchy rock overdrive.
Custom Core H-535 Key Features:
- Pickups: Heritage Custom Shop 225 ClassicHumbuckers
- Body Construction: Semi-hollow
- Body Woods: Laminated Premium Curly Maple(Top & Back) with Solid Curly Maple sides
- Neck: Mahogany; 50s C (.8910"– .9805")
- Bridge: Locking Bridge and Tailpiece
Custom Core H-530 Key Features:
- Pickups: Heritage Custom Shop 225 Classic Dogear P90s
- Body Construction: Hollow body
- Body Woods: Laminated Premium Curly Maple(Top & Back) with Solid Curly Maple sides
- Neck: Mahogany; 50s C (.8910" – .9805")
- Bridge: Locking Bridge and Trapeze Tailpiece
Both the Custom Core H-535 and H-530 electric guitars are available in Dark Cherry Sunburst, Antique Natural, or Trans Cherry and come complete with a Heritage Custom Shop hard case.
The Heritage Custom Core H-535 and H-530 models are available at $4,799 (US MAP).
For more information, please visit heritageguitars.com.
Heritage Custom Core H-535 Semi-hollowbody Electric Guitar - Trans Cherry
"I wanted this record to feel alive," said Zane Carney. "This is the first time my actual improvisational spirit is being expressed in recorded format. I wanted to capture the sparks that fly when Jerry, Gene, Katisse, and I improvise together, and document the untamed, almost manic spirit that LA's late night jazz scene has produced: there is a certain energy and freedom that transcends genre. West Coast jazz is genreless, it's reckless, it's audacious, and it pushes boundaries. In order to summon that ferocity, we approached this session as one might approach an unmoderated debate: no judgement or rules, freely exploring new lands harmonically, whenever a member felt like leading the charge. I wanted us to be as nimble and agile as possible, so we could access that core flow state more readily. Every one of us served as a conversation-leader at different points on the record, and I think you hear that especially on songs like 'Alter' and 'Lost.'"
The jazz-guitar geek virtually welcomed PG's Chris Kies into his Cali-based home jam space (and Twitch studio).
In this episode, the lively guitarist shows off the two guitars (and others) used for Alter Ego, divulges the Deluxe Memory Man settings disclosed to him by U2's The Edge while working on Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, and he briefly explains how he uses musical emotions and "feelings" as a Trojan horse to explain theory.
[ Brought to you by: D'Addario XS Strings]
1999 Fender Jerry Donahue Telecaster
At first glance, you see a well-loved 1999 Fender Jerry Donahue Telecaster, but as Carney discusses in the Rundown, it's more his signature now than Donahue's. The original formula had a Strat-style neck pickup with a Tele-style bridge pickup controlled by a 5-way selector. The blue bombshell now has a Broadcaster-style neck pickup and a 3-way selector switch. He also sanded down the neck after playing producer David Kahne's 1952 Broadcaster that was worn and torn. And topped it off with a new Buzz Feiten Tuning System Shelf Nut. He used this guitar for every track on the new album except for "Things You Aren't" where he used his Gibson 335. This sweet dream stays in standard and takes D'Addario NYXL (.010–.046) strings.
2004 Antique Violin Finish Hofner Jazzica
Here's Zane's actual signature guitar … well not quite—this is a 2004 Antique Violin Finish Hofner Jazzica that Carney modified with a custom Buscarino pickup. It was the archetype for Zane's eventual Signature Model Hofner Jazzica (that has now been sold out). Highlights include a carved spruce top, laminated flamed maple sides and back, one-piece flame maple neck, ebony fretboard with 24 frets, ebony tailpiece cap, knobs, tuner buttons, truss rod cover, bridge, Schaller M6 tuners, and (the same) custom Buscarino pickup. This one has been modified to have an Earvana nut. Like the one before and the rest coming up, they're all laced up with D'Addario NYXL strings.
2001 Gibson Beale Street Blue Limited-Edition ES-335
Around 16 or 17, while Carney was immersed in jazz guitar, his mother gifted him this 2001 Gibson Beale Street Blue Limited-Edition ES-335. This semi-hollow is all original like the day Mama Carney bought it.
2020 Artisan Aged Heritage H-575
Keeping the jazz-guitar theme rolling, above is a 2020 Artisan Aged Heritage H-575.The hollowbody is built with a carved curly maple top that's matched with solid curly maple back and sides. The moody, warm sounds come through thanks to its Seymour Duncan Seth Lover humbuckers. Making Carney work for it, this one employs D'Addario NYXL .013s.
2003 Hofner New President Archtop Jazz Guitar
"This is the guitar that started it all," declares Carney. The above 2003 Hofner New President Archtop Jazz Guitar helped him cut his teeth and they spent countless hours together to sharpen Zane's chops. Key appointments include a handcarved German spruce top, flame maple back and sides, European hard-rock maple neck with an ebony fretboard, the bridge, tailpiece, and pickguard are all ebony, and he swapped out the floating Hofner H514/FN-G humbucker for his preferred custom Buscarino pickup.
Siegmund Sound King 300
As a proud owner of seven Siegmund amps, it's no surprise he paired one of them with his blue Tele for Alter Ego. The choice amp for those live sessions was a Sound King 300 model. It has a unique recipe that involves 300B Genalex Gold Lion output tubes, 6SL7/6SN7 preamp tubes, and NOS 83 Mercury Vapor rectifier tube. Adding to the insular mojo is the matching cab that is home to a 15" field-coil speaker. (What you heard during the Rundown was Carney's Siegmund Midnight Blues—a lower-powered, lower-volume option he can mic up without being kicked out of his residence.)
Here's the backside of the Sound King 300 and its glassy oddballs.
Carney's Pedalboard
For a dude steeped in jazz, this is a line-crossingly large pedalboard. (At age 16, he won the Guitar Center Guitarmageddon contest and was commended by judge Steve Vai for not using a single pedal. He's a long way from there now with owning over 215 stomps!)
Here's what's cooking: Starting with the Quarantine Effects USA Time Machine Preamplifier "The Three" (smaller grey box in lower right) designed/built by Zane's brother, Grammy-winning Reeve Carney. (His brother's company started during 2020's lockdown.) The rest of those lower-right-corner pedals comprise his signal sizzlers—HAO Rumble MOD (still one of his favorite gain stages—especially when paired with his Hofner Zane Carney Signature Model Jazzica), SIB Electronics Nick Nitro Fuzz, EMMA Electronic ReezaFRATzitz Overdrive/Distortion V1, ZVEX Super Duper 2-in-1. Above there he has a pair of vintage Electro-Harmonix units—a Deluxe Memory Man and a POG. Closing out this half the board are the Boss VB-2 Vibrato and EHX Pitch Fork (used prominently on the Alter Ego track with the same name).
At the top left we have twins—two Maxon AD999 bucket-brigade delays (Zane's favorite slapback in all the world)—followed by a Keeley Compressor Pro, EHX Mel9, JHS Unicorn V1, Strymon Flint, EHX Freeze, and a Wampler Tumnus round out the flush board. Off to the side rests a TC Electronic Ditto X4 Looper, while utilitarian pedals include an Ernie Ball VPJr Volume Pedal and a TC Electronic PolyTune2 Noir.