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Post by zombieralph on Mar 3, 2019 18:06:59 GMT
Hello, I'm new to the board (been reading a while), and have a number of guitars, and am looking to replace one that I'm selling with something better (namely HB). I've been building/re-building guitars for a few years, but am pretty much looking to just get a nice one out of the box (honestly, if I had known about HB, I wouldn't have spent so much time and money building some of them).
I had originally decided that I wanted the DC 600 VI and was waiting for it to be in stock, but came across a few recent pics where it looked much different from what is on the Thomann website:
Notice how far the neck goes into the body and how high the toggle switch is, and the pickguard is way smaller than on Thomann's website. I thought that this may have been an anomaly, but also found this one:
I had emailed Thomann regarding this, but they said that although the model had undergone re-designs in the past, the current model being sold is the same as on their website.
I didn't want go through the entire process of buying and paying a large shipping charge only to find out that these pictures are reflective of what the guitar looks like in person (while being far more difficult to reach the upper frets). I decided to look at the SC450plus VB. After researching, I found a picture that made me question the newest production models of this one as well:
Notice how far over to the left the toggle switch is.
All of these are guitars with the "H3" on the truss rod cover and the new Harley Benton headstock logo (pointy/italicized). I had read that they changed suppliers, and am now wondering that any HB that I buy will look/function drastically different from what is on their website. Has anyone noticed this?
Thanks!
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Post by Vincent on Mar 3, 2019 19:08:25 GMT
Interesting observations. I think the solid black at the edge of the burst makes the switch appear more to the left than it really is. LeoThunder will be here soon and he is a master of geometry and scaling all things guitar related.
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Post by zombieralph on Mar 3, 2019 19:17:13 GMT
Interesting observations. I think the solid black at the edge of the burst makes the switch appear more to the left than it really is. LeoThunder will be here soon and he is a master of geometry and scaling all things guitar related. Thanks, saw this very recent youtube video that makes me feel a little more optimistic:
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Post by LeoThunder on Mar 4, 2019 2:31:05 GMT
This is next to mine, which is from last summer with the new logo but "VT Series" on the truss rod cover, not "HB". Angle skews proportions but the pick-up selector looks closer to the side on the new model. Mine has barely any red and the rest is very orange, more than on the picture. I guess it makes it special.
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Mar 4, 2019 2:45:47 GMT
That DC-600 clearly has a different geometry than on the web site. Controls have all moved closer to the pick-ups. You cannot trust the old pictures. Guitars are evolving things. Better get what you can before they grow pink feathers or something…
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Post by zombieralph on Mar 4, 2019 4:22:23 GMT
While it definitely appears the DC has changed (regardless of what Thomann told me), it could be that the SC VB was a one off mistake (thus why it’s for sale). The video of the LD above is from last week and has the ‘hb’ truss rod cover, yet seems normal. True, though, if you wait too long, you’ll be left with a lesser choice...
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Post by LeoThunder on Mar 4, 2019 9:40:14 GMT
I was looking at the DC-600 last night and was looking at that control knob cluster in the Thomann photo. To me they seemed too close together and a bit small. I even started to wonder if it was a photo mock-up. Something about it just seems very 'off'. That's the way it still looked back in 2017: I like the "offset" look, which I remember reading or hearing was done to escape legal action from Gibson. I suppose the new placement is an improvement. Most guitars have the switch closer to the picking hand.
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DefJef
THBC Moderator
Due to musical differences I've decided I can't work with myself any more.
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Post by DefJef on Mar 4, 2019 11:47:51 GMT
I always imagined the offset design was to help throw the balance towards the top horn. This can't be the case on the SG as the strap, annoyingly for me, goes to the heel of the guitar, hence me shifting mine to the top horn with a very long screw. I wonder if the HB Custom DCs are still as unbalanced as the Gibson originals. Talking of what happened to Gibson, I found this news article.
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Post by salteedog on Mar 4, 2019 13:08:59 GMT
Re. the new Gibson.... I read some of that article and when I see the new CEO talking about the company now being a '125 year old startup', well thats just bollox corporate speak right there and it does not bode well for the brand or the employees. VC funds and investors love startups and startup culture - it's effectively shorthand for high risk, high intensity, selling on a promise with the chance of huge gains. Expect a strategy based on outsourcing everything as much as possible while maintaining the 'True American built' selling point.
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Post by Vincent on Mar 4, 2019 13:19:30 GMT
Re. the new Gibson.... Expect a strategy based on outsourcing everything as much as possible while maintaining the 'True American built' selling point. I think he did that when he was the man at Levi. Here is a recent interview with the new Gibson CEO at Thomann HQ.
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Post by blindwilly3fingers on Mar 4, 2019 13:25:03 GMT
I've seen a couple of interviews with the new CEO or whatever you want to call him. Apparently they have cut a guitar frome being handled 74 time during production in half. It was suggested this was a QC measure (less chance of accidental damage). No mention of this being about improving productivity? The guy is much more user friendly than old Henry, apparently he restored Levi's to former glory?
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Post by Vincent on Mar 4, 2019 13:53:37 GMT
I've seen a couple of interviews with the new CEO or whatever you want to call him. Apparently they have cut a guitar frome being handled 74 time during production in half. It was suggested this was a QC measure (less chance of accidental damage). No mention of this being about improving productivity? The guy is much more user friendly than old Henry, apparently he restored Levi's to former glory? He mentions reducing the number of times that the guitars are touched by human hands as a QC measure in this interview at Thomann. So it must mean less hands, less damage. Going by some of the many QC complaints about Gibson guitars that I have read about in recent times I would have thought they need more hands on their guitars not less. Or maybe they just need a workforce that takes pride in their work but for this to happen we need to have a comfortable environment. Seemingly old Henry micro-managed everything and was not pleasant to be around. Gibson had, and maybe still has a high turnover of staff throughout the company. There is somewhere on YouTube a interview with an ex Gibson employee. It was his job to install the pickups. He was expected to complete four hundred guitars a day. I have read that Levi's fortunes are better since James Curleigh's term with them.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2019 14:17:38 GMT
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