Heritage Guitar Inc. of 225 Parsons Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan was incorporated on April 1, 1985, but it's status as one of the premier guitar companies in the world today is no April Fools joke. Heritage Guitars are the new instruments handled by coutless vintage shops throughout the world, indicating that they are thought of as the collectible guitar of the future.
The idea to start Heritage Guitar began when Gibson Guitar closed its Kalamazoo factory in September of 1984 and moved all production to its other plant in Nashville, Tennessee. Some Kalamazoo employees were asked to move to Nashville, but many chose to stay rather than move their families to a new city. Jim Deurloo, Marvin Lamb and JP Moats were among those that decided to stay, and rather than look for new work they chose to remain where they were and doing what they loved - building guitars. By April 1985 when the company was incorporated they were joined by Bill Paige and Mike Korpak, two more former Gibson employees, as partners in the business. Mike left the company later that year.
The founders biggest resource was and is the group of craftsman they drew on to begin operation. The owners themselves each had in excess of 25 years of hands-on experience in building guitars, and each of them are still directly involved in the manufacture of every instrument to leave the factory.
Heritage operates in the oldest of five buildings formerly owned and occupied by Gibson. The building was completed in 1917 and has served as a center for guitar building ever since. Much of the equipment that Heritage uses today was purchased from Gibson.
The first guitar introduced by Heritage was the H-140 solid body single cutaway electric guitar, and was unveiled at the NAMM show in June of 1985. Since that time Heritage has added many instruments. Heritage currently builds Custom Carved Hollow Body Guitars, Semi-Hollow Body Guitars and Solid Body Guitars. In addition to the standard models of each guitar, all are available as fully custom instruments.
Heritage is proud to say that each of their luthiers has on average more than 25 years of experience building guitars, and that they are continuing the tradition by training young luthiers in this fine art of craftsmanship.