|
Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2016 16:48:27 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? Yes indeed, the Harley Benton guitars are on the heavy side. At the moment it doesn't bother me, but I can imagine there a players and situations where the weight of the guitar is a deciding factor. Fretwork is very good. There are no frets sticking out and they are all level with their neighbouring frets.
|
|
|
Post by john on Jun 4, 2016 17:44:12 GMT
Respectable weight that. Les Paul territory is good How have they packed that into that body?
|
|
|
Post by marit on Jun 4, 2016 19:19:33 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. Why thank you
|
|
|
Post by john on Jun 10, 2016 16:19:42 GMT
Well, mine arrived Monday, the day I left for the Netherlands so Thursday night was NGD. A few faults, small dent in the back & the paint in the horn inner was thin with runs. I don't care, it sounds amazing. One thing that does bother me is the pick up screws are out of line and the heads are mashed up making adjustment impossible. I've mailed Thomann to see if they keep screws so I can do a swap out. I doubt I'd get any over the counter.
|
|
|
Post by john on Jun 11, 2016 12:56:57 GMT
Does anyone have any idea of the screw size for these type of pick ups? I haven't had a reply yet but want to set it up. I've tried turning one screw with pliers but it feels like its going to shear off. I don't really want to do that if I don't have spares. Might look at Torx or Cap Heads and grind the outer Ø down to sit in the pick up right. My heads telling me to return it but I'm trying to avoid that.
|
|
|
Post by DerAlex on Jun 11, 2016 13:39:59 GMT
john, this looks to me as if the hole is not deep enough to get all of the screw into the wood. Then probably the wood is too dense for the small screws. I wouldn´t tinker with that until I got feedback from Thomann. Looks like a big flaw to me (and explains why the head is so messed up because someone already tried to force it in).
|
|
|
Post by john on Jun 11, 2016 15:22:34 GMT
DerAlex, 3 out of 4 screws are totally mashed up and they're not in square so the one I can turn makes no difference to the pick up position as the pup just stays put on the screw side. I'm also thinking the suspension isn't right, don't know if its rubber or springs yet until I rip it down. I've no problem with filling / drilling if needed but I gave one of the screws a slight turn with needle nose pliers and it just twisted a bit but stayed solid. I'd really rather not shear half of it into the body. At the end of the day this is my 4th HB and the only one with issues really so I'm not majorly upset And it plays and sounds excellent.
|
|
|
|
Post by john on Jun 11, 2016 16:20:37 GMT
No DefJef, I'd not even noticed due to pouring my emotion into the pick up issue. Now you've noticed it I screwed it down and the screws went in fine, fully seated and true. Now its flat and where it should be its got a bow of about 1mm in the middle. This is becoming a bit of a lemon. 1) Screw holes on pick ups not aligned & too shallow. 2) Screw heads mashed up. 3) Paint run going into too thin coverage on inner horn. 4) Dent in back. 5) Slight misalignment of neck in pocket (1/2mm)I think that's just a body error as the neck is true. I really didn't want to send this back but it's starting to become a worry whats going to go wrong pretty soon. All the issues are minor but add them all together and its a bit of a turkey.
|
|
|
Post by john on Jun 11, 2016 17:25:04 GMT
I've got a clicky pick up selector too so the deed is done. Return applied for. I'm not sure I'll get another of these until they've bottomed the initial production problems out but I still stand by the fact that the sound was very very good. Nothing else I fancy in the TE style so might give an SC a go. Stock levels are the lowest I've ever seen at the minute though.
|
|
DefJef
THBC Moderator
Due to musical differences I've decided I can't work with myself any more.
|
Post by DefJef on Jun 11, 2016 17:45:02 GMT
I've got a clicky pick up selector too so the deed is done. Return applied for. I'm not sure I'll get another of these until they've bottomed the initial production problems out but I still stand by the fact that the sound was very very good. Nothing else I fancy in the TE style so might give an SC a go. Stock levels are the lowest I've ever seen at the minute though. Awww, what a shame john. It's probably for the best unless they're willing to reduce it to B stock/deko level - then it might be a steal. What a poop.
|
|
|
Post by john on Jun 11, 2016 18:25:51 GMT
To be honest DefJef I'm sat here looking at her and kinda trying to talk myself into keeping. Probably needs a bit of wiring sorting, a new bridge and pup cavities filling & re-drilling. Maybe a new selector switch. Paint & dent I can live with, I think she'd be battered soon anyway. She certainly lives up to the true "La Cabronita" meaning.
|
|
DefJef
THBC Moderator
Due to musical differences I've decided I can't work with myself any more.
|
Post by DefJef on Jun 11, 2016 18:30:35 GMT
To be honest DefJef I'm sat here looking at her and kinda trying to talk myself into keeping. Probably needs a bit of wiring sorting, a new bridge and pup cavities filling & re-drilling. Maybe a new selector switch. Paint & dent I can live with, I think she'd be battered soon anyway. She certainly lives up to the true "La Cabronita" meaning. Hmm. That's what I mean by B stock/deko making it a steal. Why not see how far they'll push at Thomann considering they can hardly re-sell it as new in this condition. I'd love to pick this guitar up at a reduced price with a view to working it over.
|
|
|
Post by tarn on Jun 11, 2016 19:35:06 GMT
from what i read, there is no structural problem.
so depending on what thomann propose!
and you decide to keep it, the following options are possible depending on your skill level.
1) Screw holes on pick ups not aligned & too shallow. plug and re-drill 2) Screw heads mashed up. new screws 3) Paint run going into too thin coverage on inner horn.personal opinion you can live with it or you don't. 4) Dent in back. can be steamed out, needs refinishing afterward. ore leave it like it is. 5) Slight misalignment of neck in pocket (1/2mm)I think that's just a body error as the neck is true. 0,5mm can be compensated when you loosen the neck.
the box switch types aren't the most reliable things, mine didn't last long. and was replaced by a beter quality HB one.
put it aside for a while, and wait for thomannn's answer which won't be before Monday at the earliest anyway.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2016 20:27:14 GMT
To be honest DefJef I'm sat here looking at her and kinda trying to talk myself into keeping. Probably needs a bit of wiring sorting, a new bridge and pup cavities filling & re-drilling. Maybe a new selector switch. Paint & dent I can live with, I think she'd be battered soon anyway. She certainly lives up to the true "La Cabronita" meaning. hey john! That's a big bummer! We will try to give some advice, but keep in mind these are our personal opinions. We think the advice given above is solid: just let it rest for a couple of days, it might give you to time to find the reason to make a definite decision. The arguments we would use: we guitar players always listen with our heads, not with our ears. Gut feeling has to be right, but the first and foremost reason to use an instrument is to make music. That's the biggest reason we are keeping ours: she just sounds terribly good. On our 'let's keep the guitar' list that is the main reason. Second thing however is the possibility to do a proper setup to make the best music possible. In our case we always work the trussrod a bit to see if it works. In your case there a some flaws that wouldn't bother your ears (paint), but pickup adjustments can make a huge difference. If you are willing to remove the broken screws and have the possibilty to drill and plug, go for it. But be careful, needle nose pliers on chrome pickups can easily create more esthetic flaws! Plugs aren't going to be visible beneath the pickups, but we would predrill holes before installing new screws. Another argument is the financial side of things: can you have fun despite these flaws at this pricepoint? There isn't anything remotely close to this shape and form for this price available? If you have to take the guitar to a luthier, the pricepoint perspective changes drastically. But if you willing to take the blues route (also known as the Seasick Steve guitar route): just get some screws from your local hardware store. As long as they are chrome and fit through the holes of the pickups, you will not notice the difference? One tip we would give to maybe make a better decision ('een knoop doorhakken' as the Dutch say): did you check to see if the frets are level? Just take something that spans 3 frets and is straight. Listen for a rocking sound. If there is, that could be another hickup in an easy setup. Combined with other setup problems, you get a better picture?
|
|