52 posts
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Post by simontemplar on Mar 2, 2020 23:04:28 GMT
I have one, but no idea to answer your question all I can say is I too was going to mod it, but quite frankly it sounds so flipping good I'm leaving well alone ..... Man I'm glad you said that. I got one today and I was thinking basically the same thing. For the cost of it, I was expecting to have to replace the pickups, but those P90s sound so bloody good! I'm blown away by it so far- setup was good, intonation was bang on, hell it was barely out of tune! Amazing. Well done Herr Thomann! ST
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freeman
Harley Benton Club Junior Member
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Post by freeman on Mar 3, 2020 8:17:22 GMT
Upon reading through this thread, I thought I'd get my SC-450plus VB out, after neglecting it for a few months. I forgot how good it was. I do sometimes think I should have bought the LD instead, as the color of the VB is bit on the orange side but not really in a good way. Even the bindings were orange, but that seems to have faded into a type of cream, after hanging on the sunny side wall for two years. Initially I was going to send it back but it played so well I kept it, as it's a rare thing to open a box and you say "wow". It has this level roundness, for want of better words. Chords come out as one sound. No single string is dominant. It's just round. It's brilliant for playing open chords. I've left it stock, apart from a graphite nut. Mainly because it sounds good like it is. The Roswell PU's sound fine, especially in single coil mode, which was one of the reasons for buying this instead of the SC-550.
The question is: How much money am I going to invest in a budget guitar? A friend of mine bought the SC-400 in matt black. He liked the finish. He's just about replaced everything on it. A bit like Triggers broom: For the money he's invested he could have probably bought a low level Gibson or an upper tier Epi, which are, contrary to what some people here might say, still better guitars overall. I don't know.
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Mar 3, 2020 9:09:49 GMT
The question is: How much money am I going to invest in a budget guitar? None, because it's not an investment. It's only a spending. You're not getting any of it back unless you turn it into a work of art. Dali could have screwed a mustache on a Harley Benton and sold it for thousands. Normal people can't do that. Now, how much you spend on something you want is completely up to the spender. Those who compare the price of their updates to the original price of the instrument don't understand that simple thing. The man who spent effort into cutting the tree down wasn't stopped by the thought that it had grown there for free. The only truly valid question is whether there is a cheaper way of getting what you want. In most cases, to the tinkerer who likes to build his own thing with the parts he's chosen, there is often no better way. That Gibson or that Epiphone wouldn't have had the parts he wanted on it, so even if he had got the finish he liked, he would still have spent more money.
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chubbles
Harley Benton Club Junior Member
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Post by chubbles on Mar 4, 2020 5:27:27 GMT
Agreed. I love to mod my guitars. It's something I enjoy. I have guitars that have had everything stripped and replaced. But my 450 plus is an excellent player. I bought that nut because it was at the store I was at. I only replace things when it would be an improvement. I have absolutely no issues. I may just be lucky.
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52 posts
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Post by simontemplar on Mar 4, 2020 14:23:13 GMT
Agreed. I love to mod my guitars. It's something I enjoy. I have guitars that have had everything stripped and replaced. But my 450 plus is an excellent player. I bought that nut because it was at the store I was at. I only replace things when it would be an improvement. I have absolutely no issues. I may just be lucky. I don't know if it's luck. My 450 (not the cool plus version, but I did get the P90s) came in, and it's such a great player. I don't intend to change anything. I was skeptical about the sort of neck you'd get on an LP style guitar, because I usually play Telecasters, but yeah man, no issues.
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Mar 4, 2020 14:58:23 GMT
I was skeptical about the sort of neck you'd get on an LP style guitar, because I usually play Telecasters, but yeah man, no issues. As far as I know, both types have come with various profiles along the ages. Early Les Pauls had thick necks then the so-called 60s profile was thinner and I think this is what we get on the SC-450s. The same ought to apply to Telecasters. The TE-52 is a thick thing but a Squier Affinity will be a much thinner, modern C.
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52 posts
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Post by simontemplar on Mar 4, 2020 15:06:25 GMT
I was skeptical about the sort of neck you'd get on an LP style guitar, because I usually play Telecasters, but yeah man, no issues. As far as I know, both types have come with various profiles along the ages. Early Les Pauls had thick necks then the so-called 60s profile was thinner and I think this is what we get on the SC-450s. The same ought to apply to Telecasters. The TE-52 is a thick thing but a Squier Affinity will be a much thinner, modern C. Man.. you know your stuff. All exactly right- most of the Teles I play are modded Squiers, Indios, or my HB. I don't think I ever owned a proper Fender Tele. That said, yeah, I've played a Baja Telecaster and that felt like a dang baseball bat. Affinity necks are small; I think the Bullet necks are even smaller.
Whatever profile they used on the SC-450, it's comfortable for sure. That guitar seems like it was made to play hard luck outlaw ballads.
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Mar 4, 2020 15:35:27 GMT
As far as I know, both types have come with various profiles along the ages. Early Les Pauls had thick necks then the so-called 60s profile was thinner and I think this is what we get on the SC-450s. The same ought to apply to Telecasters. The TE-52 is a thick thing but a Squier Affinity will be a much thinner, modern C. Man.. you know your stuff. All exactly right- most of the Teles I play are modded Squiers, Indios, or my HB. I don't think I ever owned a proper Fender Tele. That said, yeah, I've played a Baja Telecaster and that felt like a dang baseball bat. Affinity necks are small; I think the Bullet necks are even smaller.
Whatever profile they used on the SC-450, it's comfortable for sure. That guitar seems like it was made to play hard luck outlaw ballads.
Comfortable is what feels like my first guitar. Whenever I pick it up, it's home. I suppose it's the same for everyone who spent time learning on one instrument before trying things out. Mine happened to be on the thin side, so that's what I prefer but I found I'm not too bothered by the much thicker neck of an ST-62 and I find it's just a matter of playing long enough on one, then I forget it's different. I think it depends a lot on fretting hand habits. My untested theory on this is that classical players who keep the thumb on the back are less sensitive to profiles than adepts of the Hendrix Grip who bring the thumb over the bass strings..
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52 posts
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Post by simontemplar on Mar 4, 2020 16:15:18 GMT
Man.. you know your stuff. All exactly right- most of the Teles I play are modded Squiers, Indios, or my HB. I don't think I ever owned a proper Fender Tele. That said, yeah, I've played a Baja Telecaster and that felt like a dang baseball bat. Affinity necks are small; I think the Bullet necks are even smaller.
Whatever profile they used on the SC-450, it's comfortable for sure. That guitar seems like it was made to play hard luck outlaw ballads.
Comfortable is what feels like my first guitar. Whenever I pick it up, it's home. I suppose it's the same for everyone who spent time learning on one instrument before trying things out. Mine happened to be on the thin side, so that's what I prefer but I found I'm not too bothered by the much thicker neck of an ST-62 and I find it's just a matter of playing long enough on one, then I forget it's different. I think it depends a lot on fretting hand habits. My untested theory on this is that classical players who keep the thumb on the back are less sensitive to profiles than adepts of the Hendrix Grip who bring the thumb over the bass strings.. That's cool. And I think you're correct. The thumb on the back is how I was taught, but of course now I cheat like Hendrix did. He was such a maniac though. Easily one of my favorites. I forgot to ask, what kind of stuff do you like to play?
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Mar 4, 2020 17:27:18 GMT
Oops, careful with that word 'comfortable' simontemplar . LeoThunder has a special place for those who use it.Oh and then he goes and uses it himself! The word doesn't mean anything to anyone else. If I say I have comfortable shoes, you have learned nothing that you can translate to your own situation.
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Mar 4, 2020 17:29:51 GMT
Comfortable is what feels like my first guitar. Whenever I pick it up, it's home. I suppose it's the same for everyone who spent time learning on one instrument before trying things out. Mine happened to be on the thin side, so that's what I prefer but I found I'm not too bothered by the much thicker neck of an ST-62 and I find it's just a matter of playing long enough on one, then I forget it's different. I think it depends a lot on fretting hand habits. My untested theory on this is that classical players who keep the thumb on the back are less sensitive to profiles than adepts of the Hendrix Grip who bring the thumb over the bass strings.. That's cool. And I think you're correct. The thumb on the back is how I was taught, but of course now I cheat like Hendrix did. He was such a maniac though. Easily one of my favorites. I forgot to ask, what kind of stuff do you like to play? I don't think Hendrix was cheating, it's just a technique fulfilling a different function. I like this guy, by the way: I ought to play chords and scales and exercises but it's mostly mindless noodling…
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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, 2020 20:37:05 GMT
Oops, careful with that word 'comfortable' simontemplar . LeoThunder has a special place for those who use it.Oh and then he goes and uses it himself! The word doesn't mean anything to anyone else. If I say I have comfortable shoes, you have learned nothing that you can translate to your own situation. Adjectives can often be like that. Usually comparative and of more accuracy to the person using them than the person expected to interpret them. The cause of a good deal of miscommunication. Yet we use them all day long. I suppose, eventually we learn to receive them with a certain amount of subjectivity understood. One person's 'fun' holiday or 'tasty' meal may not be another's. A 'small' elephant can look pretty big if you find one in your fridge. But is he comfortable?
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52 posts
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Post by simontemplar on Mar 5, 2020 3:10:11 GMT
That's cool. And I think you're correct. The thumb on the back is how I was taught, but of course now I cheat like Hendrix did. He was such a maniac though. Easily one of my favorites. I forgot to ask, what kind of stuff do you like to play? I don't think Hendrix was cheating, it's just a technique fulfilling a different function. I like this guy, by the way: I ought to play chords and scales and exercises but it's mostly mindless noodling… I've seen him before, but haven't really looked through a ton of it. I'll check him out. Ever see PapaStache? That guy's fantastic.
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Mar 5, 2020 4:30:40 GMT
Ever see PapaStache? That guy's fantastic. Never. I'll give him a chance at showing me something ;-)
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