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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on May 12, 2020 13:35:25 GMT
The retainer bar was a problem on the Fusion without a locking nut.
Since you cannot fix the fine tuning screws and will always be bothered by them, you'd better not fix the other half of the problems and keep an unsatisfying guitar. They will honour their return policy, I wouldn't worry about that. You'll just have to wait until you can order what you want again but it's likely a blessing if you had a bad batch. You don't want another one of those.
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on May 12, 2020 13:54:21 GMT
On the other hand, I wonder why the fine tuning screws could not be lubed. This should be worth a try.
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Joe
Harley Benton Club Junior Member
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Post by Joe on May 12, 2020 15:26:16 GMT
Posts like this scare the hell out of me.. I just ordered 3 guitars in the US.
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Donut
Harley Benton Club Member
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Post by Donut on May 12, 2020 17:28:08 GMT
Posts like this scare the hell out of me.. I just ordered 3 guitars in the US. The Fusion-II is a great guitar and pretty much faultless, except it won't hold tune! Being a Seymour Duncan fanboy, I'd assumed I'd have to change at least the bridge pickup but the Roswell HAFs are very good indeed. If there was an identical one in stock I would swap it. The closest is m.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_fusion_ii_hh_fr_mn_fbb.htm?o=80&search=1589302412 which has the same specs apart from being flame Bengal as opposed to the flame cherry mine has. The SC-Custom VB FR was a B stock so I knew it wouldn't be perfect however it is much worse than a B stock. The fretboard is stained patchily, some fret inlays are very badly done, the lower strap button was hanging off, the allen keys are missing, the side fretboard dots are off center, the neck pickup ring is broken, both volume pots are faulty, both pickups are faulty and the cable to the jack was damaged as it was forced through a hole that was a shade too small. I'd paid £216 which was a decent discount. Initially Thomann said that they would refund me £50 and supply the faulty parts. I could easily overlook the cosmetic problems given that would make it £166 and some elbow grease for a fully functional well specced guitar. However, when I sent them the list of parts I needed they replied that they wouldn't have the pickups in stock for a while and I'd have to send the guitar back anyway. Since then the bridge pick up ring has broken; they've put flat pick up rings on an arched body and then tightened the screws down to make it conform to shape, not a good idea. I'm still debating whether or not to keep it as I had a spare Seymour Duncan and the other parts add up to around £10, so at £176 it's still a good-ish deal. Apologies for another essay!
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Post by blindwilly3fingers on May 12, 2020 18:50:49 GMT
I think it say SC Custom prior to info regarding broken pick up ring.
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Post by blindwilly3fingers on May 12, 2020 20:06:37 GMT
As it was B stock I can only speculate it was a return? And again this is pure speculation but the original buyer/trier could have swapped the pick up rings. Its not beyond the realms of possibility someone was swapping parts or experimenting with a couple of guitars and cocked up which bits went on which?
I believe the saying is "there's nout as strange as folk" or something like that.
Not being funny but that's what puts me off B stock, you don't know who's messed with it. I can understand checking it thoroughly but some take it beyond that to a total dismantle and reassembly!
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Post by blindwilly3fingers on May 12, 2020 22:03:59 GMT
I believe the saying is "there's nout as strange as folk" or something like that. Close! I believe our Northern friends spell it "nowt" (nothing) and "owt" (something). Geology was never my strong point 🤔
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on May 13, 2020 3:32:43 GMT
What a bizarre thing to use the wrong pickup rings. You wouldn't normally expect that to be a one-off mistake on a production line unless some got into the wrong bin. I don't believe much in things "getting in the wrong bin". Especially two of them and even less when both are different parts, because a bridge pick-up ring is much thicker than one for the neck on a Les Paul. What we see here is likely someone deciding to use half-way fitting parts after the proper ones have run out to keep fulfilling planned deliveries. These are products built for the low end of the price range and one cannot stress enough how much the free return policy is part of the product. They go through unexpected changes (here's a new bridge, there's a different finish and now for some completely different wood on the fingerboard: do you like the new colour?) and there are bad batches from time to time. The customer is the actual quality control and I would not advise anyone outside of Europe to order a Harley Benton.
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