Gibson R9 vs Heritage Custom Core H150

  • Thread starter Thread starter BRENTrocks
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BRENTrocks

BRENTrocks

Well-known member
I have been wanting to get an R9 so that I could compare and contrast the differences between it and the Heritage Custom Core H150.

Here are my findings/opinions between the two…

CASES: Heritage

Yes, I’m comparing the cases. Lol. The cases that the Heritage CS are using are built like a tank. Plush green crushed velvet. Very heavy. Very solid.

The replica Lifton cases are nice. Not as solid and heavy duty. I realize they are trying to replicate the old ones.


WEIGHT: Heritage

Between these two guitars, it was very close. The Gibson weighs 8 lbs. 10 oz. The Heritage weighs 8 lbs. 5 oz. So between these two particular guitars, it’s pretty close, but nevertheless, the Heritage does weigh less.


PICKUPS: Neither

I’m not impressed with either set of stock pickups.

Gibson. These pickups squeal like stuck hog.

Heritage. These were an alnico III. They were very bright and lacking bottom end.


TUNERS: Gibson

The tuners that Gibson uses are far superior. Heritage used sone cheap Gotoh tuners that really suck.


BRIDGE/TAILPIECE: Heritage

They both use lightweight aluminum. The one thing that tipped the scale for me, was the Pinnacle locking bridge that Heritage uses.


FIT AND FINISH: Tie

Both of these guitars are EXTREMELY GOOD QUALITY!!! Neck pitch is perfect on both. Setup is perfect on both. (Both PLEKed). They both feature a VOS style finish. The paint itself, both bursts are spectacular!!!!


ELECTRONICS: Gibson

I’m basing this basically on the pots. Both used Switchcraft toggles and jacks. Both used vintage style braided wire. But the posts that Gibson used have a much better taper. And Gibson used much better capacitors than Heritage did. Heritage only used orange drops, while Gibson used bumblebees.


WOODS: Tie

The quality of woods used in these guitars are incredible. I mean, look at those fretboards and tops!! Both feature lightweight mahogany. Both have a holly head veneer.

NECK CARVE: Heritage

I realize this category is purely opinion driven. But I do prefer the neck on the Heritage. My reason is that the Heritage neck is a bit fuller and fills my hand better. It has a tad more shoulder. The Gibson neck is not terrible. I do like it.

TONE: Tie

Both of these guitars, with pickups of my choice, sound incredible!!! Pickups are SO IMPORTANT when you get into this tier of instrument!! My initial reaction is that the Gibson is a tad brighter. But that could vary from guitar to guitar. You can’t go wrong with either as far as the sound!!!


PLAYABILITY: Heritage

This is really close for me. What it really came down to was the height of action achieved, how much relief was necessary in the neck to achieve a low action and the nut cut. Also the overall finished fretwork. The Heritage just feels better to me when cranking out a tune. Not that the R9 is terrible, it’s also very good.

PRICE AS TESTED: Heritage

Gibson CS R9 new….$6699
Heritage CC H150 new….$4199


In conclusion, these are both great guitars. I’m giving the Heritage the nod. Mainly because of price and playability. The main reason that I did this comparison is because I have been getting asked a lot lately, hey man, how old do the Heritage Custom Cores compare to the Gibson R9? You would not believe how many times I have been asked this in the past year. I don’t want this to turn into a Gibson or Heritage, bashing thread! That is not my intention, my intention is to do an honest unbiased comparison of two high-end single cut, solid body electric guitars.



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Does the Heritage have slightly better upper fret access…looks like it might?
 
Is there a reason why no other company other than Gibson puts the bridge pickup as close to the bridge as Gibson does on their Les Pauls?

Not Epi, not ESP, seems like not even Heritage.
 
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I realize this is trivial, but it's bugged me that the Heritage Cores don't use the sharper trap inlays. I guess no Heritage does, but in this price bracket, Gibson and all the Japanese brands do, and IMHO they look much more premium.
 
I’ve played some epic heritage but a lot of guys don’t want to try because it’s not Gibson nor does it have the headstock shape. I have played heritage single cuts and 335 types that were every bit as good. But, I think the pickups were replaced. The guy I know who is a heritage fan said the stock pickups aren’t too good. I haven’t a clue what they are, but whatever pickups he has in them are epic and the guitars play and sound as good as an r9. I have owned a couple r9’s that were flat out duds. Had an r8 that was outstanding.
 
What kind of pickups are in a 6k Gibson like that?
 
I just noticed the Heritage doesn’t have nibs which is probably a non-issue it just looks a little different.
 
Rex Rocker said:
Is there a reason why no other company other than Gibson puts the bridge pickup as close to the bridge as Gibson does on their Les Pauls?

Not Epi, not ESP, seems like not even Heritage.
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Isn't that particular pickup placement a historic '59 feature? LPs that aren't a '59 reissue just probably aren't built that way.
SpiderWars said:
I just noticed the Heritage doesn’t have nibs which is probably a non-issue it just looks a little different.
Click to expand...
I think Heritage still has the fret end binding.
 
The regular Heritage standards I’ve played I enjoy more than a Gibby Lp standard. The neck carve on the 150 is really nice for my hand. I don’t mind the 50’s carve on a Gibby (60’s a little too narrow) but they use tiny ass frets which pisses me off. The heritage fretwire is a little bigger but it’s the smallest “medium jumbo” I’ve ever played. Both guitars would need refrets. Don’t they use Duncan Antiquities in the Core models? I know it’s 59’s in the regular 150. Serviceable pickups but could be better. I feel I see more nicer tops on regular 150’s as well. Not so much on Gibson LP standards where a killer top is rare. Heritage is at the top of my list for a possible LP purchase.
 
cardinal said:
Isn't that particular pickup placement a historic '59 feature? LPs that aren't a '59 reissue just probably aren't built that way.

I think Heritage still has the fret end binding.
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Well, the Heritage isn't like that, and it's going after that as well, no?

Even so, I'm comparing my Gibson Les Paul Tribute and my Epiphone 1959 side by side, and the Epi's bridge is further away from the bridge pickup.
 
skoora said:
The regular Heritage standards I’ve played I enjoy more than a Gibby Lp standard. The neck carve on the 150 is really nice for my hand. I don’t mind the 50’s carve on a Gibby (60’s a little too narrow) but they use tiny ass frets which pisses me off. The heritage fretwire is a little bigger but it’s the smallest “medium jumbo” I’ve ever played. Both guitars would need refrets. Don’t they use Duncan Antiquities in the Core models? I know it’s 59’s in the regular 150. Serviceable pickups but could be better. I feel I see more nicer tops on regular 150’s as well. Not so much on Gibson LP standards where a killer top is rare. Heritage is at the top of my list for a possible LP purchase.
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Heritage has their own pickups in the core model. I don’t like them.
 
Brent, is there a specific pup/hb you prefer to use in this style of guitar?
 
Rex Rocker said:
Well, the Heritage isn't like that, and it's going after that as well, no?

Even so, I'm comparing my Gibson Les Paul Tribute and my Epiphone 1959 side by side, and the Epi's bridge is further away from the bridge pickup.
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I don't think the Heritage Core is supposed to be historically accurate for any particular guitar (hence the rounded inlay, too). It's just supposed to be a higher quality H150.

I'm not sure the Epiphone is all that accurate either? I always assumed it was marketing but I don't really know.

And I should add that I could be wrong about this; but I think I've read that the '59 spec typically has the bridge pickup farther back compared to the typical modern LP.
 
cardinal said:
I'm not sure the Epiphone is all that accurate either? I always assumed it was marketing but I don't really know.
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It's not. The body shape is not the same. Nor is the thickness.

Well, and countless other more blatant well-known details like the Zinc metric bridge, the big paddle headstock, the Laurel boards, the poly finish, etc.

cardinal said:
And I should add that I could be wrong about this; but I think I've read that the '59 spec typically has the bridge pickup farther back compared to the typical modern LP.
Click to expand...
I hadn't noticed that. I hadn't compared them side by side, TBH. I've always just noticed Gibson LP's in general have the bridge PU closer to the bridge than... I dunno... pretty much everyone else.

The tell tale comparing Epi, Gibson USA, and GIbson Custom is the higher up you go, the sharpet the lower horn is on a LP too, for some reason.
 
I didn’t include resale values, simply because, it’s a given.

I realize this wasn’t the best comparison in the world but I hope it was somewhat informative to most.
 
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