Heritage Guitars
Randy Dorman joined Kenny Rogers' road band in 1977 and worked with the legendary country singer until his last tour in 2017. Along the way Randy performed with each one of Kenny’s guest artists (including Willie Nelson, George Burns, Dolly Parton and Ray Charles) and also appeared on Kenny’s many...
Tim Shaw is the Chief Engineer-Guitars for Fender Musical Instruments, helping the company create guitars, pickups and other products. Tim’s career began when Charlie Wicks hired him to repair guitars for his retail store. He found his way to R&D at Gibson in Kalamazoo in 1978 and worked with...
Sharon De Lorto truly discovered her passion for music upon marrying her husband, Greg, and was introduced to the culture behind Heritage Guitars, Gibson, and the iconic factory at 225 Parsons St. With a desire to understand the history and preserve the legacy of Orville Gibson, Sharon has...
Gregg De Lorto has had a passion for music and playing the guitar from a young age. Growing up playing in multiple bands and feeling the influence of popular music, Gregg eventually entered into a career in sales, working for companies like Music Man, Rickenbacker, and Gibson. Now with Heritage...
Bill Paige is one of the six founders of Heritage Guitars! The idea to start Heritage Guitar began when the Gibson Guitar Corporation closed its Kalamazoo, Michigan factory in September of 1984 and moved all production to its other plant in Nashville, Tennessee (in operation since 1975). When this...
Lane Zastrow was playing professionally and even teaching music as a teenager. His main instrument, the accordion! After years on the road, Lane made his way into the print world. In 1967, Lane joined Sight & Sound, which was owned by Zeb Billings. He later worked for the famed Chicago...
Ren Wall proudly followed his father's footsteps and worked in the Gibson Guitar Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He began working for the company in 1960 and continued until 1982. A few years later he returned to the very same factory to work for Heritage Guitar Company, which was formed by...
Mary Lou Hoogenboom was a factory worker for the Gibson Guitar Company when it was located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She was hired in 1951 and began working in the sanding department, but found that she worked in every department before she retired in 1985. Her retirement occurred the same year the...
Maudie Moore was hired by Gibson Guitars in 1962 to do small piece work and soon branched out to engraving, which became a specialty for her over the next several decades. In fact, she opened her own shop called Moore’s Engraving in Kalamazoo in 1972, which allowed her to work with several other...
Roy Clark, the Country Music Hall of Fame guitar player, was always proud of his connection with the music products industry. In addition to the products he endorsed over his long career, Roy helped design his signature model for Heritage Guitars. Roy also was close to many in the music publishing...