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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2016 9:39:42 GMT
Before recording some soundbites, we checked the relief and measured the setup using Stewmac's String Action Gauge and the Understring Radius Gauges: Scale Length: 25.5" (648 mm) Fretboard Radius: 9,5” Relief (fret 8): 0,012” Nut (open strings fret 1): string 1 0,028” string 2 0,025” string 3 0,030” string 4 0,025" string 5 0,025" string 6 0,025" Bridge height (open strings fret 12) string 1 0,090” string 6 0,092” For our personal playing preference, we would setup the guitar differently, but she plays decent enough to give you an idea how she sounds. Stay tuned!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2016 9:51:42 GMT
Hi there and welcome. Thanks for this review, we've all been waiting for better pics from Thomman. In addition to weight saving, how much effect do you think the hollow chambers have on the balance of the guitar and the resonance from the body? With regards to the sound quality when rolling off the volume or tone control, that might improve with a swap of potentiometers and capacitor, the stock ones are a little small and might be choking the output a little? I guess you have to consider the warranty before swapping to much stuff. Thanks again. That's a very interesting question! We are still struggling to find a clearcut answer, but let's try: The first thing we notice is the absolute weight compared to the relative weight. Knowing that the guitar is chambered and weighs 4,1kg, she does not feel like she is ankered to the stand when picking the guitar up (which some other 4+kg guitars certainly do). This might the balance: we never encountered a Tele that is neck heavy, but some feel like they have big bottoms. This cabronita copy doesn't and that translates into a very balanced feel when playing standing up or sitting down. Good point regarding the pots. We always swap out pots when setting up a guitar, but only after we are sure we do not want to return her. Over the years we have gotten a preference for linear volume pots and log tone pots from either CTS or Alpha (depending on stock but also on knob (diameter) preference). For us an electronics upgrade is a given, but when telling other forum users how the guitar sounds, we thought we should mention how the pots feel and sound, especially for stock users.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2016 10:03:38 GMT
Yes indeed - a great first post! Welcome to the board Mr. and Mrs. Boozyfllozy. Like you I'm not a fan of the belly cut or the reversed headstock. I'll go out on a limb here and say that as a Lefty I almost find reverse headstocks to be kind of insulting. Us Lefties had to put up with them for years, not by choice but by the necessity of having to reverse right handed guitars. If the right handed guitar community wants to experience the lefty experience (even the Jimi Hendrix Experience .. forgive the pun ) then lobby the guitar manufacturers to make more left handed models for all the right handed players who want to feel what it's like to slum it with us lefties! Luckily I've moved on from having to reverse righty strats and indeed if Jimi had the same choice in the 50s and 60s as we have today today I'm sure he wouldn't have had to either...and the legacy of the 'sexy' reverse head stock would never had happened. Thank you! Haha, point taken. We still don't know what to think about the headstock and the belly cut. But we will try to listen with our ears, not between our ears like us guitar players do so often. If she sounds good and we have fun playing her, the esthetics are not the deciding factor. On a cynical side note: knowing the guitar producing companies, is it the sexy image of the lefty headstock or the surplus of lefty necks they had to get rid of? But maybe we got too cynical after going through F and G guitar after guitar to prevent from buying an absolute dog. Luckily there are still people and companies who seem to be making guitars with love. That's probably the only explanation for the fact that Harley Benton does a copy of the solid body resonator that is used in the Plug in Baby clip from Muse.
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Post by john on Jun 3, 2016 13:14:24 GMT
Some great info here @bloozyfloozy, thanks. I was looking at mine arriving in the UK on Tuesday and guess what? I'm in the Netherlands until Thursday. I'll pop round and have a listen if you don't mind. Groeten.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2016 16:26:54 GMT
Some great info here @bloozyfloozy , thanks. I was looking at mine arriving in the UK on Tuesday and guess what? I'm in the Netherlands until Thursday. I'll pop round and have a listen if you don't mind. Groeten. Hey john! That's a bummer. But look at it this way: when you get back home, there is a cool guitar waiting! Whereabout's do you need to go for your work? It is only a small country, but it takes hours to get to the hole we live in. But you never know and we could share a musical cup of coffee!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2016 17:07:56 GMT
We made some recordings for all you GAS-ers out there! You will hear mr Bloozy on the stock Harley Benton Guitar (even the foil is still on the pickups) in standard tuning and mrs Floozy on drums. Some clean sounds, some driven sounds, some sounds with switching between the pickups.
For all you gearheads, this was the signal chain: stock Harley Benton TE-90FLT > Tone City King of Blues > Way Huge Aqua Puss > Fender Princeton Reverb >> Shure SM57 > Presonus Audiobox USB > Studio One 2 (no post fxs, raw recording with some fades for your listening pleasure) drumkit is mic-ed with 1 Samson C03 in figure 8 setting
For both youtube and soundcloud users:
https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/267305926
We had a lot fun with the guitar already, so she is going to stay. There are few things we are going to change, but these changes are based on our personal preference and would be applied to almost every new (or old) guitar we buy: - string change to heavier gauge with wound third for that vintage sound; - upgrade of electronics; - bone nut; - setup for our personal preference. Like we said before, quality is like the other Harley Benton guitars we own(ed), some cosmetics could be tidier, but there is never a problem we have not encountered with other brands as well.
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Post by john on Jun 3, 2016 17:28:31 GMT
Hey john ! That's a bummer. But look at it this way: when you get back home, there is a cool guitar waiting! Whereabout's do you need to go for your work? It is only a small country, but it takes hours to get to the hole we live in. But you never know and we could share a musical cup of coffee! I have to go to Born but I stay in Sitard. Love the square there. I'm running out of bars and restaurants though. I'm really liking the sound of her, thanks for taking the time to do that. She's got some meat on them bones. Great week ahead. The Netherlands then home to a TE-90. Win Win.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2016 18:50:30 GMT
Hey john ! That's a bummer. But look at it this way: when you get back home, there is a cool guitar waiting! Whereabout's do you need to go for your work? It is only a small country, but it takes hours to get to the hole we live in. But you never know and we could share a musical cup of coffee! I have to go to Born but I stay in Sitard. Love the square there. I'm running out of bars and restaurants though. I'm really liking the sound of her, thanks for taking the time to do that. She's got some meat on them bones. Great week ahead. The Netherlands then home to a TE-90. Win Win. We are originally from the south, but now live at least 1,5 hours from Sittard (that's by car, don't even think about public transport). If you like Sittard, you will probably enjoy Maastricht very much. It's a short ride, in this case even by train (15-20 minutes). Lovely city, good food. Whereas most of Limburg is more oriented towards Germany, Maastricht is more what they call 'Bourgondisch': enjoying life in a French style.
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Post by john on Jun 3, 2016 19:14:15 GMT
I like Maastricht. I usually sail across to Rotterdam or the Horne then take the train. About 2 hours to Sittard, pretty chilled. When I fly I go to Dusseldorf then into Born by road or stay in Wessberg. I could quite easily live over there. You have a beautiful country @bloozyfloozy.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2016 21:01:46 GMT
Thanks for the recording! Love the sound!
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Post by john on Jun 3, 2016 21:40:06 GMT
Thanks for the recording! Love the sound! Buy one then papache, they don't have pockets in shrouds.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2016 21:55:47 GMT
At the moment I am investing 130.000 danish crown into re-building the old part of our farm house only nails and screws in my pockets now Im afraid
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Post by john on Jun 3, 2016 22:14:26 GMT
At the moment I am investing 130.000 danish crown into re-building the old part of our farm house only nails and screws in my pockets now Im afraid Respect Sir.
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3,968 posts
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Post by salteedog on Jun 4, 2016 10:59:12 GMT
I like Maastricht. I usually sail across to Rotterdam or the Horne then take the train. About 2 hours to Sittard, pretty chilled. When I fly I go to Dusseldorf then into Born by road or stay in Wessberg. I could quite easily live over there. You have a beautiful country @bloozyfloozy . I agree. Made more beautiful by the people who live there. I lived in Uden near den'Bosch for a while back in the 90s. I still have a soft spot for the Dutch.
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Post by nicod98 on Jun 4, 2016 15:57:34 GMT
This guitar looks good (except for the reverse headstock)... I suppose the factory had a lot of lefty necks lying around, and made a deal with Thoman The sound is great, but I'm not really sure about the weight... 4.1 kgs is a lot! How is the fretwork?
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