335 type MIJ with the most glamorous body, Herrby.

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jselect

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The bulge of Mickey Mouse ears boasts a height that exceeds the original. The area near the outer circumference of the body drops once and draws a sharp curve.
It's hard to see in the image, but it's a demon-like curve.
The Heerby was only produced for a few years from 1980, but it was a high-end handmade guitar.

This guitar features custom-built Maxon pickups with performance close to DRY-Z, which I consider to be one of MIJ's greatest machines. Heerby used their advanced woodworking skills to build ESP's 335 type luxury guitars on an OEM basis.
It's a pity that the brand has passed away.

Gaze at the thickness of the top board. The normal 335 type is usually 3-ply, but this Heerby is 6-ply and twice as thick to ensure the strength to create glamorous curves. This chunky top and back helps to produce a more solid sound, and it sounds great.

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Heerby is a brand Kasuga created in the late 70s for the typical price segments on the JDM (48,000-90,000JPY). Your guitar would be an "SA-700" and the pronounced body shaping can also be found on Navigators that were made by Kasuga for them at that time. Like most JDM brands only few examples left Japan in their heyday, so this is not something you would have found in shops to try and find out how you feel about it over here in Europe. :) I'm pretty sure they are great though!

The 6-ply tops/backs would be typical for the era, most Japanese factories still copied the contemporary versions of the original guitars (including their sometimes questionable features) at that time, which meant thicker laminates for Norlin-era 335s. Gibson started with a 4th ply around 1960 and soon added more, only in the past years they returned to the original 3-ply laminate.
 
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Homer J. Simpson said:
Heerby is a brand Kasuga created in the late 70s for the typical price segments on the JDM (48,000-90,000JPY). Your guitar would be an "SA-700" and the pronounced body shaping can also be found on Navigators that were made by Kasuga for them at that time. Like most JDM brands only few examples left Japan in their heyday, so this is not something you would have found in shops to try and find out how you feel about it over here in Europe. :) I'm pretty sure they are great though!

The 6-ply tops/backs would be typical for the era, most Japanese factories still copied the contemporary versions of the original guitars (including their sometimes questionable features) at that time, which meant thicker laminates for Norlin-era 335s. Gibson started with a 4th ply around 1960 and soon added more, only in the past years they returned to the original 3-ply laminate.
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As with your comments on ELK, thank you for your in-depth knowledge of Heerby. I learned a lot.

I think the craft technology of Kasuga Musical Instruments at that time was quite excellent. Owning this guitar, I realized it.
 
guitar hiro said:
that girl has some serious curves :cool:

what is the neck thickness like at the 1st to 3rd fret area?
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I don't have a caliper on hand right now, so I can't give you the exact figure, but it's moderately thick and very easy to play.
 
Homer J. Simpson said:
Heerby is a brand Kasuga created in the late 70s for the typical price segments on the JDM (48,000-90,000JPY). Your guitar would be an "SA-700" and the pronounced body shaping can also be found on Navigators that were made by Kasuga for them at that time. Like most JDM brands only few examples left Japan in their heyday, so this is not something you would have found in shops to try and find out how you feel about it over here in Europe. I'm pretty sure they are great though!:)

The 6-ply tops/backs would be typical for the era, most Japanese factories still copied the contemporary versions of the original guitars (including their sometimes questionable features) at that time, which meant thicker laminates for Norlin-era 335s. Gibson started with a 4th ply around 1960 and soon added more, only in the past years they returned to the original 3-ply laminate.
Click to expand...
I will get a top of the line, SA-900, with ultra flame top, back, side, soon.
 
6983D-new3.jpg6983D-new2.jpg
This is a close-up image of the Heerby SA-900BS that will be sent to me next week.
Looking at these alone, it looks like a Les Paul type with a strong flame.
 

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