Heritage Guitars

Heritage Guitar was founded in 1985 by three former employees of the Gibson factory, Jim Deurloo, Marv Lamb, and JP Moats. Two other former Gibson employees that took part in the company were Bill Paige and Mike Korpak.

In the early 1980s, Gibson closed its historic Parsons Street factory in Kalamazoo due to excess production, and relocated much of its production to its factory in Nashville, Tennessee. Some of the Gibson employees who did not move to Tennessee started production of guitars under a new name, "Heritage," which was likely meant to stake a claim to their guitar-making tradition. The company produced instruments in much smaller numbers than Gibson had.

The Heritage line initially consisted of electric and acoustic guitars, electric basses, mandolins, and a banjo. The line was eventually narrowed to electric guitars only. Although most of Heritage's guitars were based on Gibson designs, a few of their early guitars were based on other designs.

In 2024, Heritage launched a new budget line known as the Ascent Collection. These instruments are made in China with more affordable woods, finishes, and electronics. They also lean heavily into bolt-on neck construction, features not typically associated with the Heritage lineup.