2005 Heritage Golden Eagle Archtop Guitar Sunburst w/ Benedetto Pickup, Kalamazoo USA

Up for sale, a 2005 Heritage Golden Eagle in excellent condition and in perfect working order, complete with the original hardshell case. A marriage of two Jazz archtop heavyweights, this Golden Eagle has been fitted with a floating Benedetto neck position single coil and distinctive bound carved ebony pickguard. A direct descendant of Gibson, Heritage guitars are still handcrafted under the guidance of original Gibson employees at the Kalamazoo, Michigan factory. After Gibson left their original factory in 1984, their employees purchased it and have continued the legacy and pioneering spirit that defined Gibson's golden age.Analogous to Gibson's L-5 in construction and craftsmanship, the Golden Eagle features a solid bookmatched handcarved fine grain quartersawn spruce top paired with heavily figured and carved tiger flame maple back and sides. The 17" wide body features a Venetian cutaway for easy access to the highest frets, and the body has a relatively slender 2 7/8" depth. The three-piece tiger flame maple neck with walnut stringers is topped off with a solid ebony fingerboard with pearl cloud inlay. Voiced to mirror the balance, warmth and richness of a fine acoustic archtop guitar, the floating Benedetto humbucker is sweet, clear and dynamic, providing the ideal complement to the Golden Eagle's prodigious acoustic properties. Dynamic and sparkling, notes simply leap from this lively instrument, with the smooth, broad character of the flatwound strings and a pronounced midrange cut. The guitar offers an exquisite string-to-string clarity and an even voice in every register, weighing a mere 7lbs 1oz. We've had this Heritage professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar with flatwound 12-52 strings and low action.The maple neck has a round medium C-shaped profile carve with moderate shoulder and just enough substance to feel both substantial and effortless, measuring .850" deep at the 1st fret and .950" at the 9th. The ebony fingerboard features five-ply binding with pearl cloud inlays and original medium jumbo frets which have their full factory height and well-rounded crowns. The frets are practically perfect, with notes that ring out clearly in every register up the straight neck. The guitar features a full 25 1/2" scale length and a unique, special ordered 1.650" wide carved bone nut. The headstock features five-ply binding, pearl eagle inlay and Heritage script, and gold Grover Rotomatic tuning machines with stair-stepped Imperial buttons.On the body, the Benedetto pickup is mounted to the matching carved ebony pickguard, with Volume and Tone knobs mounted directly to the guard. The original carved ebony bridge with pearl wing inlay and gold "finger" tailpiece round out the hardware complement. The original Heritage label is intact, visible through the F hole, with a V-prefix serial that dates to '05. The label also has a USB abbreviation for a specific (and elusive) pale Sunburst.The Sunburst highlights the tight curly flame figuring which extends across every inch of the back with exquisite dimension. There is one very slender cleanly repaired split on top beneath the pickguard, extending from the edge of the F hole to the treble-side foot of the bridge, and a couple scuffs through the finish in this area, ostensibly from contact with the pots of a different pickguard assembly. Cosmetic wear is otherwise limited to a couple small shallow marks on the back, and one nick on the edge of the cutaway on top. A strap button has been added to the neck heel, and the gloss finish on the neck profile is clean and smooth.The original black tolex hardshell case is included, equally as clean as the guitar with gold "the Heritage" script text on the lid.