47 posts
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Post by barnsleyboy on Jan 21, 2021 13:33:56 GMT
TE-52 finally arrived yesterday. I was a bit worried about the glossy body, but it actually looks better than I thought it would. The neck though is a different story. On the Thomann website the neck looks a lot paler than the body so there is a nice contrast. On mine, the neck is the same colour as the body, prompting my son to say "Yuk, what's that orange thing. It's more orange than Donald Trump". The neck profile feels great, quite chunky and satin finish, but the colour is a bit "Meh". My original plan before it arrived was to either dull down the body to make it less shiny, or strip the finish and re-paint in nitro, thin varnish coat or stain and oil. I may also have to strip the neck too. If anybody has done this, any tips would be appreciated.
No sharp fret edges, but they are scratchy as hell and need a decent polish to smooth them out. The tuners seem great - better than I expected, but there might be some issues later on with use as the gearing wears a little. The pots and switch also feel really good, although I am going to change the switch for a 4 way to add the extra pickup configuration, and put an orange drop in. I've changed the saddles for a set of Wilkinson brass compensated ones which are a vast improvement on the stock non-compensated. Jury's out on the pickups, I haven't really had a chance to give them a proper test run, so they may get swapped out at some point.
On the whole, a very nice guitar for not much money which has filled a tele shaped gap!
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47 posts
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Post by barnsleyboy on Jan 21, 2021 17:08:31 GMT
As you can see, it's proper orange!!!
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Post by blindwilly3fingers on Jan 21, 2021 19:17:24 GMT
Wow is that vintage Amber barnsleyboy? 😜 Sometimes the colours are proper naff on some HB's. I wonder if they tint it to the extreme to try and match different woods? In theory sounds sensible to make it uniform but can look hideous in certain cases. Congrats on the guitar being a keeper. 👍
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kz
Harley Benton Club Junior Member
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Post by kz on Jan 21, 2021 19:58:41 GMT
Well, I assume, that they ordering these in batches and sometimes they may change specifications (feedback) a little and sometimes they try to save costs, or they change a factory, or the guy with the spray gun just filled the color into the paintgun and badly adjusted the flow... This TE-52 form 2018 has a quite different color of a neck...
I have checked on YouTube and this one seems to be similar to your case...
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47 posts
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Post by barnsleyboy on Jan 21, 2021 23:04:24 GMT
Yep, one of the many TE-52 vids that I watched before putting the order through! It's also worth watching this one:
Where he makes a proper hash of relic-ing the guitar!
The neck was the thing that I hadn't anticipated touching. When I strip it down to change the switch and put some shielding in, I might whip the neck off and do a little test run on an area hidden by the neck pocket to see what the wood underneath is like and how easy the finish is to remove.
I had a similar issue on colouration with an HB-35 Vintage Burst which I returned bacause of multiple faults. It was really not a nice colour compared to vids of others that I had seen. I think they must switch the factories around so the pigments in the paint aren't consistent. But Hey, you pays your money and you take your chances. For the money it's a cracking guitar. I'm really tempted by a TE-30 BE when they re-stock and that elusive black satin one with the humbuckers. Whichever I go for, it will have to be below the £135 threshold to the messy VAT issue post Brexit.
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47 posts
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Post by barnsleyboy on Jan 22, 2021 14:57:50 GMT
There's a fair weight to them too - really resonant. Give it a strum and you can really feel the vibrations. I'm definitely starting to see the tele attraction. Totally unlike any of the other guitars I own.
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47 posts
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Post by barnsleyboy on Nov 21, 2021 13:03:55 GMT
Finally got round to doing something about the orange neck and shiny finish. Before:
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608 posts
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Post by oghkhood on Nov 21, 2021 13:41:41 GMT
Every one of these seems to have a really nice body grain. Yes, I confirm. Mine has a superb look, even more with the TE70 neck on, "rosewood" fingerboard fits even better I think.
And do not forget that Fender has totally stopped top produce ash boddies, thus no more 52' RI
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47 posts
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Post by barnsleyboy on Nov 21, 2021 13:51:18 GMT
After:
There was an intermediate phase where the neck turned out really pale:
Despite applying Danish Oil - then I discovered the delights of Kiwi!!!
So from stock, the mods and adjustments are:
Graphtec string trees Schaller strap locks Brass barrel saddles Switch replaced with Oak Grigsby 4 way selector switch (adds additional series and parallel selection in the middle two positions) Orange drop capacitor Puretone jack socket Gloss body finish dulled down with scotchbrite pad on electric sander Same with pickguard Pickguard shielded Replaced stock pickups with Tonerider Hot Classics Nut slots filed, Levelled, crowned and polished frets Neck shimmed to ease action at bridge Replaced grub screws on saddles for slightly shorter ones
Ghastly orange finish stripped from neck and fingerboard Applied Danish Oil mixed with raw sienna oil paint to try to tint the pale stripped
wood. This turned out too subtle, so tried Kiwi tan boot polish working up from
light, to medium to dark tan. Really good results, but perhaps I should have done
this first, then oiled the neck.
Overall, I'm very pleased with the results. It definitely has much more of a premium feel to it.
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608 posts
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Post by oghkhood on Nov 21, 2021 14:06:53 GMT
Then a pair of these gems, and you won't regret it :
EDIT ; just saw you opted for the Hot Classics .... good pups too but the AC2 are better for this guitar imho. Divine deep blues tones, but not only. It sounded incredible when I started to play The Smith's Charming Man riff on a Champ Clone
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47 posts
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Post by barnsleyboy on Nov 21, 2021 15:20:26 GMT
I'm actually tempted by the Irongear Steel Foundry Overwound (at least for the bridge) www.irongear.co.uk/irongear_pickups_014.htmI like the idea of engaging the additional winds using maybe a push pull pot for a bit of extra oomph. I have their Blues Engine humbuckers in my HB-35, and the Platinum 90's in my Gibson LP 50's Tribute. Great pickups for not much cash!
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