Post by LeoThunder on Aug 8, 2019 11:33:33 GMT
I got this on ebay for 125€ shipped, which is 56% of the new price. It comes without guarantee or return rights.
It has the new Harley Benton logo, is "made in Vietnam" and has a Roseacer fingerboard, now replaced with Jatoba on recent models. I have no date for it but it must be 2018-19.
Very first impressions:
"Wow, that top is magnificent, what a beauty!"
That picture isn't good enough, there is sunshine in there. This is more like it:
"What's wrong with that fingerboard, why does it look as if salt water had been left to dry on it?"
What can I do?
"Oh, the action is high."
At least there's room for the bridge to go down. Neck angle will be fine. Hopefully.
Holding it: nice feeling. Light and balanced. Well shaped too. I was very worried about that, not liking Les Pauls, but this works. It's thinner too.
The neck is a little thick, not a Wizard, feels thicker than that of the SC-450 Plus. I'll measure it later.
Tuning up: very nice tuners. They feel like Grover but they're not, I'll check the ratio later. They work. One more corroded D'Addario plain string. GHS don't do that, or Pyramid, or Harley Benton… Does it matter?
The low E is not intonated. Yes, that sort of bridge isn't great for this and low E strings are not meant to be played that high. But I do. I even play my F# string above the 15th fret when I have one. Don't ask me…
Looking a little closer, the other two wound strings are a bit off too. That's good, it means it can be fixed. I play the E string on my fretless there too.
Inspecting. There's not a flaw on the finish (beside the stamped D's). Dots are almost centred. Black paint inside, dark f-holes look good. Knobs work nicely. Switch too.
Time to plug in. Oh, it's nice!
There's more high end than on the SC-450 Plus. But they're the same Roswell LAF pick-ups so what's up? New strings? Maybe… Or maybe pick-ups vary too, as in the grand old days of hand winding, uncertain magnetising and who knows what they did with the wire suppliers? Nah, it must be the strings. But there's more edge on the CST. I don't get that softened, truncated impression. Same pick, same cable, same amp settings… less capacitance somewhere. Could be the wire, or the volume pot is 1M. I'm not looking it up.
Analysis.
String action is ridiculous. It's playable but there's no way I'm keeping it that high. It's 2.3 mm at the 12th fret across the neck. I don't even have a bass that high.
Let's go fret rocking. Oh, I see. There's a high one, and another, and another… half the frets are high. That's it. This and the salty fingerboard are the reasons why this is a "deko". That's fine, I can level frets. I'll get this sorted out, even if it takes me a couple of hours.
Measurements:
Weight: ~3.75 Kg
Neck: 21.3 mm at 1st fret, 23.5 mm at 12th fret
Tuner ratio: 15:1
Action after set-up: 1.25-1.45 mm at 12th fret
I'm only bothered about the "salt". Is Vietnam on the coast? Yes it is
How do I get this thing to look dark? It's ugly as it is now. Not from across the room but at playing distance.
Should I take this to the bathroom and expose it to shower steam? I know oil makes it darker but it's never been persistent and if it seals the board, as people say, it would be doing the opposite of what I want. Any idea anyone?
If I had bought this from Thomann I would still be reluctant to return it because the top is so nice.
If this is Roseacer it looks nothing like the one on my SC-7:
I want to get this dark…
By the way, this guy most likely had similar issues:
I'm going to fix this.
It has the new Harley Benton logo, is "made in Vietnam" and has a Roseacer fingerboard, now replaced with Jatoba on recent models. I have no date for it but it must be 2018-19.
Very first impressions:
"Wow, that top is magnificent, what a beauty!"
That picture isn't good enough, there is sunshine in there. This is more like it:
"What's wrong with that fingerboard, why does it look as if salt water had been left to dry on it?"
What can I do?
"Oh, the action is high."
At least there's room for the bridge to go down. Neck angle will be fine. Hopefully.
Holding it: nice feeling. Light and balanced. Well shaped too. I was very worried about that, not liking Les Pauls, but this works. It's thinner too.
The neck is a little thick, not a Wizard, feels thicker than that of the SC-450 Plus. I'll measure it later.
Tuning up: very nice tuners. They feel like Grover but they're not, I'll check the ratio later. They work. One more corroded D'Addario plain string. GHS don't do that, or Pyramid, or Harley Benton… Does it matter?
The low E is not intonated. Yes, that sort of bridge isn't great for this and low E strings are not meant to be played that high. But I do. I even play my F# string above the 15th fret when I have one. Don't ask me…
Looking a little closer, the other two wound strings are a bit off too. That's good, it means it can be fixed. I play the E string on my fretless there too.
Inspecting. There's not a flaw on the finish (beside the stamped D's). Dots are almost centred. Black paint inside, dark f-holes look good. Knobs work nicely. Switch too.
Time to plug in. Oh, it's nice!
There's more high end than on the SC-450 Plus. But they're the same Roswell LAF pick-ups so what's up? New strings? Maybe… Or maybe pick-ups vary too, as in the grand old days of hand winding, uncertain magnetising and who knows what they did with the wire suppliers? Nah, it must be the strings. But there's more edge on the CST. I don't get that softened, truncated impression. Same pick, same cable, same amp settings… less capacitance somewhere. Could be the wire, or the volume pot is 1M. I'm not looking it up.
Analysis.
String action is ridiculous. It's playable but there's no way I'm keeping it that high. It's 2.3 mm at the 12th fret across the neck. I don't even have a bass that high.
Let's go fret rocking. Oh, I see. There's a high one, and another, and another… half the frets are high. That's it. This and the salty fingerboard are the reasons why this is a "deko". That's fine, I can level frets. I'll get this sorted out, even if it takes me a couple of hours.
Measurements:
Weight: ~3.75 Kg
Neck: 21.3 mm at 1st fret, 23.5 mm at 12th fret
Tuner ratio: 15:1
Action after set-up: 1.25-1.45 mm at 12th fret
I'm only bothered about the "salt". Is Vietnam on the coast? Yes it is
How do I get this thing to look dark? It's ugly as it is now. Not from across the room but at playing distance.
Should I take this to the bathroom and expose it to shower steam? I know oil makes it darker but it's never been persistent and if it seals the board, as people say, it would be doing the opposite of what I want. Any idea anyone?
If I had bought this from Thomann I would still be reluctant to return it because the top is so nice.
If this is Roseacer it looks nothing like the one on my SC-7:
I want to get this dark…
By the way, this guy most likely had similar issues:
I'm going to fix this.