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Post by daveb on Jan 11, 2017 16:16:05 GMT
DefJef, it's possible I got the last guitar from the old batch - they went out of stock immediately after I placed my order.
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Post by daveb on Jan 12, 2017 18:50:52 GMT
I've emailed Thomann, will be interested in their reply. Oh, and here is a photo of the pickup cavity, apparently routed by a child with a blunt spoon.
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Post by tarn on Jan 12, 2017 19:58:22 GMT
seems i got lucky with my B stock order it basically had the same problems of the screws sticking out but at least they serve the purpose of spreading the strings so its easier to work on the neck. and the neck needed some serious work, 1 in 2 frets where either not seated properly or not level or both. had to superglue some just to keep them in place. the fret ends where barely worked on, and nothing that could be called finished. yet the frets where polished. but was kind of expecting this when i pulled it out of the box, looked at the string action. and said to my self damn thats high, and at 2,5mm that the lowest it could get without having a whole colony of bea's living on the neck. luckily the body is nice, and almost looks like a one piece. the inverted headstock on the other hand is still can't figure out why they did it this way. add's nothing to the look and is a bugger to tune as its against the shape of ones hand.
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thunderbird
Harley Benton Expert
Less purchase, more practice
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Post by thunderbird on Jan 13, 2017 10:47:17 GMT
the inverted headstock on the other hand is still can't figure out why they did it this way. add's nothing to the look and is a bugger to tune as its against the shape of ones hand. It's a lefty conspiracy
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Post by daveb on Jan 13, 2017 13:37:48 GMT
the inverted headstock on the other hand is still can't figure out why they did it this way. add's nothing to the look and is a bugger to tune as its against the shape of ones hand. I like the reverse headstock, it's different . Granted, it takes a little time to get used to the flipped orientation. But I honestly don't find it harder to tune than my TE-70 (which has the same tuners and spacing).
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Post by tarn on Jan 15, 2017 12:05:00 GMT
after a week of ownership i thought of writing a couple of the good and pad points. starting whit the good: the body is nicely finished, no specs of dust or other blemishes. pick guard is wel shaped, it follows the contours of the body. tuners are good, with only one having minimal play and smooth action. the nut is well cut, both in spacing and action at the first fret(no binding of strings). nut is clearly not plastic nor bone, feels more like tusk or variant! neck has a hight fit in the body, with a clean routed neck pocket in the body. all electronics work as intended. the strap pins are of the nice big sort, contrary to the ridiculously tiny ones on my TE52. trap pins are mounted with a felt underneath, contrary to more common bit of plastic. neck is nor to thick nor to thin, feels good. routed cavities( pickups, weight relief, pots) are all clean. these a decent amount of isolating paint in the electronic cavities. soldering is good, wires have been routed nice and bound together. strings where not rusted. strings ferules are almost drilled correctly, contrary to the wacky drilling on my TE52. sustains is very good. the bad points: starting with the frets, of which the finishing was plain and simply awful. yet the were polish to a mirror state, go figure. the by now legendary bad pickup screws, which concern me less as the pickups will be changed for mini humbuckers. the bridge plate is bent curved upwards so when i screw the 3 rear ones down the front sits up, if a screw the 2 front ones down the rears sits up. have to take it of and flatten it. the tuning peg are all a bit not fitted straight on the headstock of which the last is the most noticeable. the jack plate is also a bit of center on one side. its a heavy bugger at 3,8 kg. what worries me more is that form time to time theres a cracking noise in the neck. i hope its not the fret bord thats starting to unglue, ore worse. theres a nice flame on the neck.
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Post by john on Jan 15, 2017 14:21:20 GMT
Keep a close eye on the "cracking" tarn, mine had the same faults as yours, which seem pretty standard, but I finally returned it for the neck. It had a small crack appear at the bottom of the 5th fret slot which spread out and started to delaminate the fretboard.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2017 14:36:32 GMT
Holy cow guys this model is giving me creeps I have never heard so many bad points on any HB guitar not even the cheap ST-20 series. W T F is going on with this one? Some f up factory Im sure. This Lasse guy should find another factory for this model or simply discontinue it.
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Post by daveb on Jan 15, 2017 16:49:03 GMT
There's no consistency - they seem to be building it with whatever is lying around the factory. Mine has a single piece body (ash allegedly) and weighs 3kg. tarn reports his weighs 3.8kg. In another thread, llauma reports his weighs 4kg and has a veneer top?
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Post by nicod98 on Jan 16, 2017 13:36:32 GMT
Am I the only one that is afraid now? I got a TE-30 and while everything functions, more and more defects caused by low quality are coming out. But that was to be expected at that price point. I did not expect the fret problems and the terrible routing shown above on the "higher end" of the HB price scale. I'd want a TE-90 with the dual P90's and one with the dual HB-configuration, but now I am having more and more second thoughts...
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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 Jan 16, 2017 14:51:38 GMT
I think, perhaps, we have been spoiled nicod98 . For some years Harley Benton have been supplying incredible quality at low price points well below their rivals. They perhaps realised that they could not rely on customer brand loyalty so had to use quality as their USP to swing potential customers away from big name competitors. We guitarists tend to be a bit snobby about brands and you read a lot of bad mouthing of perfectly good instruments simply because they are not made by north of the border US citizens. These prices have been mostly realised through shrewd manufacturer sourcing in the Far East and strong currency exchange rates. This, combined with excellent quality control and customer service, has led to a winning formula for us. BUT. unless something is done fairly quickly about these frequent quality control issues and slow response to complaints. the tide will turn against them and they will see a gradual drifting away of the incredible customer loyalty they have so far achieved. They need to stay that notch above J&D and their ilk for customers to resist browsing elsewhere. We've been lucky and plead with Thomann to stick with what has served them best to date. Utter focus on service and quality.
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Post by john on Jan 16, 2017 16:27:36 GMT
I agree DefJef, recently I've had both ends of the Thomann experience. The TE-90 had issues and when I 1st reported them I basically got the arrogant reply of "what do you expect at that price, send it back or repair it yourself & void the warranty". To be honest that made my **** fizz. I kept it for a while but the Gremlins had got in the joints. When I got back in touch the service was outstanding & quick. The replacement, XT-22, is faultless. Maybe they had an influx of staff that didn't really care, maybe also in QC? Maybe they deliberately dropped the ball to try and save some costs? I don't know but I hope it was as it seems, a temporary glitch.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2017 18:39:12 GMT
I got that reply once also, like "what do you expect for such low price, its not a Martin or Taylor guitars" when I complained about one of the HB acoustic. It was not about the sound/tone you see (I told them) its about frets buzzing and truss rod not working ... any who, they made no fuss about returning it though, as per usual hence me trusting Thomann and am ready to order my 4th HB Acoustic in about 4 days time in hope that this new one will stay with me.
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Post by nicod98 on Jan 16, 2017 22:15:39 GMT
That's why I don't understand it... I can get over an 88 euro guitar having its problems, but a 180+ euro guitar should be all right... I've got about 20 Squiers, and even the cheapest were always OK on the basics: trusrod, tuners, electronics, pickups, clean visible routing. Frest would have to be dressed, but I've never seen a fret coming loose. And that's the guitars that are in the same price range as the more expensive HB's like the TE-90.
They look perfect, I've been gassing for a few, but these quality issues are too much... Even if Thomann would accept returns , which I don't doubt, then it would be expensive to return them, right? I've bought other house brands from them, and I love most of their cheap, but high quality t.Bone-microphones. Never had an issue.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2017 6:26:16 GMT
Thomann pays return within the first 14 days. They also pay if there is an issue with the guitar/gear.
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