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Post by bbmusic on Jun 23, 2019 15:56:01 GMT
Hi guys,
I'm sure everyone browsing Thomann for Harley Benton guitars or basses has also seen the 'non functional', 'non playable', 'decoration only' instruments and wondered how bad they could actually be.
I mean Harley Bentons are probably the best instruments in their price range because they cut out distributor, retailer, advertising and endorsement costs and pass the savings onto us but there's still the opportunity to save a bit more cash and buy b-stock....or even a demo instrument.
Long story short, I bought a deko guitar because they discontinued the model I wanted but I have also reviewed it and every flaw in detail for others to see because the posts I've read online about people buying these deko instruments just say they're okay but not really going into specifics, not even some pictures.
So, if you're interested you can check out my YouTube review below.
And yes, I am aware that this is sort of self promoting but because there isn't any detailed information on these guitars I thought that I should share my experience of Harley Benton's 'worst' guitars and not just their best
Thanks for your time everyone!
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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 Jun 23, 2019 16:14:03 GMT
You're lucky to get a deko, bbmusic . They're usually gone quicker than a hen in a fox raid. Those who do manage to snaffle one seem to invariably find them perfectly acceptable. I'm not sure what Thomann's thinking is with deko instruments other than a decision that whatever needs fixing isn't cost effective for them so they'd rather offload it without a warranty and it's out the door. I wouldn't gamble on anything acoustic as fixes can end up being a real specialist job, certainly tools-wise. But as far as something electric goes it seems to be worth a punt. The worst that could happen is, I suppose, a warped neck or a broken truss rod. Anything actually broken, like a neck or headstock would surely be chucked away. Most other things are reasonably cheaply salvageable. I wish they would say what was wrong but by the time we'd read the explanation the thing would be in someone else's shopping basket anyway I guess. A case of not looking gift horses in mouths. One thing I wouldn't do (couldn't do actually) is hang a completely useless one on my wall.
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Post by bbmusic on Jun 23, 2019 16:33:48 GMT
My one was acceptable for the price I paid because I setup and fix all of my instruments myself and I enjoy doing it (for the most part), it's all relative to that though, I couldn't recommend one of these guitars to someone who sends all of their guitars to a luthier or technician when there's a problem or it needs an adjustment. But then again, there's always Thomann's generous returns policy if someone wants to try one out.
I also wish they'd put a small write up in the description of each deko instrument, maybe something like a form with checked boxes that indicate the flaws in terms of scratches / dents / cracks / intonation / nut / truss rod etc
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Jun 23, 2019 17:12:04 GMT
Is there still a returns policy on dekos? Fair enough if there is. I guess they won't cover the return costs though. Yes. I ordered and returned one without cost. Not sure if that would work outside of Germany but anyway, there are none left on the Thomann site. They found a better use for them as shown here:
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Jun 23, 2019 17:26:33 GMT
Oh, it's an SC-7! I saw them and went for a B-stock instead, which had none of the defects shown here, apart from a little dirt at the binding and non centred dots. Frets were fine but the guitar was badly set up, which I suspect had been the return reason for the first buyer, who had raised the action to avoid fret buzz and left screwdriver marks on one of the screws of the bridge.
Thank you for this video, it is worthy information, in case Thomann resumes offering such items.
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Post by bbmusic on Jun 23, 2019 22:22:29 GMT
Is there still a returns policy on dekos? Fair enough if there is. I guess they won't cover the return costs though. EU distance selling regulations say they must provide a 14 day returns policy, Thomann does one better and offers free returns within those 14 days, the website also says it applies to all their items so one could interpret that as deko items too
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Post by bbmusic on Jun 23, 2019 22:29:43 GMT
Oh, it's an SC-7! I saw them and went for a B-stock instead, which had none of the defects shown here, apart from a little dirt at the binding and non centred dots. Frets were fine but the guitar was badly set up, which I suspect had been the return reason for the first buyer, who had raised the action to avoid fret buzz and left screwdriver marks on one of the screws of the bridge. Thank you for this video, it is worthy information, in case Thomann resumes offering such items. The dirty binding is common enough, it was even on my Epiphone Futura Custom which is supposed to be the best of the best in terms of Epiphones. Just FYI, you can buy new 7 string tune o matic bridge sets on AliExpress. Were you able to intonate yours properly? Mine might just need new strings get perfect intonation on the low b Thanks for your feedback and for watching, I have similar videos planned for the future
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Jun 24, 2019 2:04:53 GMT
Were you able to intonate yours properly? Mine might just need new strings get perfect intonation on the low b No and new strings won't help you, nor will lighter ones. I could not intonate the low E either. The bridge is too narrow for this angle and a sharper one would have reduced the string spacing further. This is a design flaw of this model. I have wondered why it was discontinued so quick. Maybe it sells badly but I suspect it saw a high return rate.
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Jun 24, 2019 7:43:53 GMT
Is there still a returns policy on dekos? Fair enough if there is. I guess they won't cover the return costs though. EU distance selling regulations say they must provide a 14 day returns policy, Thomann does one better and offers free returns within those 14 days, the website also says it applies to all their items so one could interpret that as deko items too To be completely accurate, Thomann does not openly offer "free returns" outside of Germany. They do it within Europe without saying they do in their conditions. The return policy applies to "deko" articles, meaning they would have to take them back and refund but they could decide not to subsidise the return shipping without violating anything they say. I am actually very surprised they ever offered such items because it was a real invitation to order and keep returning them until you got a good one. Last summer, they were selling damaged items on ebay, with description of the issues. Some were Harley Benton, some were from other brands. They even sold a Gibson with its broken headstock. They no longer do. I ordered a "deko" Harley Benton Custom Line Nashville-Steel to find the same issue they had described in one of these ebay auctions. It was a bad batch of guitars with a table giving way and sinking under string pressure to the bridge. Not knowing how to fix it, I returned it immediately.
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Post by bbmusic on Jun 27, 2019 14:26:17 GMT
Were you able to intonate yours properly? Mine might just need new strings get perfect intonation on the low b No and new strings won't help you, nor will lighter ones. I could not intonate the low E either. The bridge is too narrow for this angle and a sharper one would have reduced the string spacing further. This is a design flaw of this model. I have wondered why it was discontinued so quick. Maybe it sells badly but I suspect it saw a high return rate. I also has the same thought about the design, I think this fanfret angle and the tune o magic bridge was a mistake, I really don't like the tune o magic on anything anyway, I might be able to fix it at the nut end by filing away at it (I need to make the scale length longer but I'm out of room at the saddle), but hey I got a decent 7 string guitar at a good price
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Jun 27, 2019 14:54:15 GMT
No and new strings won't help you, nor will lighter ones. I could not intonate the low E either. The bridge is too narrow for this angle and a sharper one would have reduced the string spacing further. This is a design flaw of this model. I have wondered why it was discontinued so quick. Maybe it sells badly but I suspect it saw a high return rate. I also has the same thought about the design, I think this fanfret angle and the tune o magic bridge was a mistake, I really don't like the tune o magic on anything anyway, I might be able to fix it at the nut end by filing away at it (I need to make the scale length longer but I'm out of room at the saddle), but hey I got a decent 7 string guitar at a good price This would put the string out of tune in the lower frets, as if they had all been moved up the neck. Better live with a B string that does not properly intonate where it is seldom used. For a real fix you'll need a bigger bridge, if that exists. Nevertheless, I am quite happy with it and even more now that is is discontinued. A 7-string fan-fret Les Paul is not something I see everywhere.
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