1 posts
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Post by arkibrainchild on Jun 5, 2017 1:36:46 GMT
Any of you had experience buying B- stock Harley Bentons? I'm on a tight budget for buying my first electric guitar and I'm eyeing for the HB SC-Custom for its looks and sound (new stock VOX VXI for amps). I'm not very picky as long as it works and sounds fine and playable. Difference in price is around 17 euros for a brand new,I know its not that much but unfortunately I cannot exceed my budget due to added costs, shipping, tax etc. I reside in the Middle East so i guess it would be not be easy and time consuming to return an item that is unacceptable.
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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 5, 2017 9:07:30 GMT
What's your experience and confidence in fixing minor issues? They are B stock either because Thomman have found something they don't like or else they have been returned by customers for something they don't like. Now, those reasons can simply be that the guitar now looks played, or it can be purely a cosmetic issue (less than perfect grain for instance or a lacquer blemish), almost imperceptible (somebody could see some misaligned tuner with their bionic eyes) or structurally a bit odd (offset bridges, pickups slightly out of alignment etc).
If its an electric guitar an awful lot can be rectified quite simply but not always for the 17 euros that you saved in the first place. If it's worse than this, Thomann have a 'for decoration only' section for instruments that they say are beyond playable and have no warranty (unlike B stock, which come with the same warranty as A Grade instruments). In your location this might not be a game changer anyway as you may not fancy attempting to return an instrument to Germany. Having said that, people on this forum have bought 'decoration only' (deko) guitars and can't find a thing wrong with them.
My experience with B Stock was fine. I bought an MS60 VW. After a short bit of playing I noticed that the tremolo arm, which passes between the E and B strings on this kind of trem system, was rubbing on the E string when pushed down. The trem was out of alignment which required me to remove it, fill the drilled holes with superglue and matchsticks and move the assembly only about 1mm south, re-drill and re-screw.Now it's perfect, plus I got to know my instrument inside out, allowing me to understand it better, bond with it and tweak it to my taste.
You will find people who have bought A grade instruments and found worse so, if the above sounds like a lot of hard work, then you may want to assess how likely you are to use the returns facility when making your decision. For me, my experience wouldn't put me off buying another B stock at all.
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Post by trb on Jun 6, 2017 6:30:28 GMT
Hi Bought a dc custom cherry bstock 3 months ago. Very pleased with, no problems, even not any scratches ...play fine As usual i made my mods: new pu's with pots and caps.
Now a very good axe for 158€ in b stock.
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Post by trb on Jun 6, 2017 6:33:02 GMT
Btw, this is my 3rd HB with a cst24hb and a te90.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2017 13:47:44 GMT
I bought a roundback acoustic that was B stock and it had a deformed neck! There are no rules with HB! It's a lottery!
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