Post by tarn on Oct 25, 2019 10:41:52 GMT
as is has been more than a month that i have bought the HB DC junior, ill wright a small review.
first impression can be found on the thomann site, il add them in this post at the bottom.
as of today there a few remarks on cosmetic and basic build details ill add
the staining of the fret board is a bit weird as its only stained on the top an not the sides, and even the staining on the top is not even.
Several spots mis staining.
under the scratch plate the guitar is well finished.
contrary to other big brands
the color on the other hand is difficult to make look true in a picture, but in reality is rather this color than TV Yellow.
now for the most annoying problem is the bad drilling of the bridge/tail pice.
the mounting points have been drilled straight, which means that your stuck with the standard crappy bridge or expensive ones.
as an example here I've mounted a PRS type stop tail bridge, if the mounting point would have been drilled correctly pushing the bass side out would not be necessary.
the fixing point bass side should be drilled about 4.25mm further from the neck than the treble side.
at that time a wide choice of stop tails would be available.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Thomas site review"
just a short review whit pros and cons.
pros:
overall finish is good
setup on delivery close to perfect.
low overal action 1.5mm E, 1mm e --> no fret buss.
fret ends rounded.
fret's where polished.
very little fret unevenness.
action a the first fret correct.
no string binding in the nut.
intonation was spot on.
truss rod adjustment is smooth --> neck relief was correct.
tuners are wilkinson's and work correctly.
stays in tune very well.
alpha pots --> all soldering correct.--> good sensitivity
shielding paint in both cavities (see cons) --> pots and pickup.
neck has the exact same chunkiness as my TE52.
has a low weight at 3.05kg
cons:
is mostly related to on issue, the standard pickup adjustment.
as the pick up is of the dog ear type it has the basic flaw that its mounted directly to the body with no direct adjustment possible.
so it sits to low, which results in very low sustain and poor sound.
most noticeable on the low E with sounds muffled.
the pole pieces had been screwed out to compensate for this,
but you can't compensate this distance.
the pick up as mounted standard has the pole pieces(screwed out) sit about 7mm from the strings.
raised the pick up with shim's (+- 3,5mm), which immediately solved the above problems.
this is still with the pole pieces screwed out as was done by the factory.
as it is now it's a great improvement to the standard set up, but pick up height/pole pieces will need a fine tune.
which is a fiddly thing to do, due to the reason as mentioned in the above.
shielding paint can use a second coat.
the fret board is a stain finish on top, which makes it look weird when viewed from the side.
should have left it unstained, now it looks like its laminated.
or the side should have been stained all so.
the bridge does what it is supposed to do, but on looks alone is an abomination on this type of guitar.
the saddles are sharp, not sharp enough to actually cut you but sharp enough to be annoying/hurt.
will change the bridge in the future.
if you can look/work beyond the cons, the feel and playability is very good.
the only standard limiting factor is the pickup height.
and last of all be aware that the COLLOR IS NOT TV YELLOW at all BUT ACTUALLY MUSTARD YELLOW.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
had to take several stars of, as i found that the stud at the E string side is not drilled at the correcte distance.
with a wrap around bridge this stud should be about 4.25 mm further away form the neck than the e-string stud.
this to ensure that the bridge intonate's at a correct angle.
on this guitar the 2 studs are drilled in line, meaning that your stuck with the more expensive bridges if you want to upgrade the original one.
a prs style wrap around bridge will fit but its barely resting on the stud.
or alternately you fill up the original bushing hole, re drill at the correct spot and refinish the top.
in both cases its a expensive mod, ones better of in spending a little more on other brands where you halve from the start a better guitar for in the end less money.
first impression can be found on the thomann site, il add them in this post at the bottom.
as of today there a few remarks on cosmetic and basic build details ill add
the staining of the fret board is a bit weird as its only stained on the top an not the sides, and even the staining on the top is not even.
Several spots mis staining.
under the scratch plate the guitar is well finished.
contrary to other big brands
the color on the other hand is difficult to make look true in a picture, but in reality is rather this color than TV Yellow.
now for the most annoying problem is the bad drilling of the bridge/tail pice.
the mounting points have been drilled straight, which means that your stuck with the standard crappy bridge or expensive ones.
as an example here I've mounted a PRS type stop tail bridge, if the mounting point would have been drilled correctly pushing the bass side out would not be necessary.
the fixing point bass side should be drilled about 4.25mm further from the neck than the treble side.
at that time a wide choice of stop tails would be available.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Thomas site review"
just a short review whit pros and cons.
pros:
overall finish is good
setup on delivery close to perfect.
low overal action 1.5mm E, 1mm e --> no fret buss.
fret ends rounded.
fret's where polished.
very little fret unevenness.
action a the first fret correct.
no string binding in the nut.
intonation was spot on.
truss rod adjustment is smooth --> neck relief was correct.
tuners are wilkinson's and work correctly.
stays in tune very well.
alpha pots --> all soldering correct.--> good sensitivity
shielding paint in both cavities (see cons) --> pots and pickup.
neck has the exact same chunkiness as my TE52.
has a low weight at 3.05kg
cons:
is mostly related to on issue, the standard pickup adjustment.
as the pick up is of the dog ear type it has the basic flaw that its mounted directly to the body with no direct adjustment possible.
so it sits to low, which results in very low sustain and poor sound.
most noticeable on the low E with sounds muffled.
the pole pieces had been screwed out to compensate for this,
but you can't compensate this distance.
the pick up as mounted standard has the pole pieces(screwed out) sit about 7mm from the strings.
raised the pick up with shim's (+- 3,5mm), which immediately solved the above problems.
this is still with the pole pieces screwed out as was done by the factory.
as it is now it's a great improvement to the standard set up, but pick up height/pole pieces will need a fine tune.
which is a fiddly thing to do, due to the reason as mentioned in the above.
shielding paint can use a second coat.
the fret board is a stain finish on top, which makes it look weird when viewed from the side.
should have left it unstained, now it looks like its laminated.
or the side should have been stained all so.
the bridge does what it is supposed to do, but on looks alone is an abomination on this type of guitar.
the saddles are sharp, not sharp enough to actually cut you but sharp enough to be annoying/hurt.
will change the bridge in the future.
if you can look/work beyond the cons, the feel and playability is very good.
the only standard limiting factor is the pickup height.
and last of all be aware that the COLLOR IS NOT TV YELLOW at all BUT ACTUALLY MUSTARD YELLOW.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
had to take several stars of, as i found that the stud at the E string side is not drilled at the correcte distance.
with a wrap around bridge this stud should be about 4.25 mm further away form the neck than the e-string stud.
this to ensure that the bridge intonate's at a correct angle.
on this guitar the 2 studs are drilled in line, meaning that your stuck with the more expensive bridges if you want to upgrade the original one.
a prs style wrap around bridge will fit but its barely resting on the stud.
or alternately you fill up the original bushing hole, re drill at the correct spot and refinish the top.
in both cases its a expensive mod, ones better of in spending a little more on other brands where you halve from the start a better guitar for in the end less money.