EdwardMarlowe

On 12/03/2024 at 14:12, ezbass said:

As do/did Music Man.

Basswood is another one a lot of people get sniffy about, though Fender Japan used that in a lot of solid colour bodies over the years. Mosrite too, as I recall... both the original US guitars and the Japanese product that later adopted the "Mosrite of California" name. I have at least one guitar I know to be basswood, and it's grand. 

9 hours ago, Musical Mystery Tour said:

Well, when I first read on the specs that it had a poplar fretboard, I was a bit 'oh, erm....', because poplar isn't a particularly hard wood as far as I'm aware, but in fact it's fine. Dunno whether they've treated it in some way to make it tougher or something, but it seems okay

Poplar does have the reputation, though Fender used it in Mexican made guitars for years on the bodies, so it can't be all that problematic! Bee interesting to compare it to laurel and rosewood. I've got both of those in fingerboards on different guitars, and I'm not convinced there's any particularly appreciable difference. 

On 09/03/2024 at 12:16, Musical Mystery Tour said:

 

That is a Fazley Midas FLP318GT. Fazley is Bax Music's own in-house brand of guitars; they are pretty decent guitars for the money, and that one sounds great. Mahogany body and neck, poplar fretboard. I was considering swapping the P90s on it when I ordered it, but when I plugged it in, the  P90s surprised me with how good they sounded, so they are staying. I will be putting some Grover tuners on it though and I might stick some upgraded wiring, pots and switches in, but for the moment it's doing okay as it came..

 

Considering they are 143 quid new (I paid a 126 quid for that one because it had a minor blemish on it), you can't really go wrong with them. I paid a ton for a second-hand plywood Columbus Les Paul copy with a bolt-on neck nearly forty years ago, so it just goes to show how far we've come these days in terms of bang for your buck.

 

:

 

 

Thanks. Wow, looks like something much pricier - there's no obvious "budget" tell up against, well... something much pricier right beside it! Sounds like a HB type approach. Enjoy! How are you finding the poplar on the fretboard? 

On 16/02/2024 at 17:42, Musical Mystery Tour said:

On a strat-type vibrato it would effectively lower the action a touch and make the strings ever-so-slightly flatter in pitch because it would lengthen them a bit and lower them, meaning you might have to raise the action a touch and possibly adjust the intonation slightly' on a Bigsby, it'd make no real difference since the lever action is after the bridge (although as you say, it's a floating type, so not a Bigsby).

 

I do that on my LP with a Bigsby - i.e. lock it back by spinning the vibrato arm all the way round to jam it in position on the bck of the mount because I have that vibrato on the guitar for the effect extra mass of it has on the tone, rather than for actually using it. And because you have to have at least one LP with a Bigsby on it (I'm pretty sure that's the law):

 

 

 

What is the gold top? Nice looking machine. 

Tanglewood make a lovely acoustic. Their dedicated a/e models are also nicely appointed with the appropriate Fishman guts. The buzz about the Harley Benton brand seems to include their acoustics - I've yet to try one. Simon & Patrick make nice acoustics. 

Although there's still imo a bigger quality gap between the two ends of the acoustic market than there is with electrics now, I lean to the view that it's not as big as once it was. As with electrics, which you can get for two to three ton these days is ridiculously impressive compared to where the market was thirty odd years ago. 

14 hours ago, Musical Mystery Tour said:

Was originally an HB TE52, but I added a neck PAF:

 

https://i.imgur.com/nOhln0N.jpg

Nicely done. The paint job looks great - like a 'closet classic' relic. 

On 29/12/2023 at 23:45, sundayguitar said:

I'm really amazed by this HB collection. It's kinda off topic, but they also have multi fx now:

Harley Benton DNAfx GiT https://thmn.to/thoprod/478040?offid=1&affid=1771

 

And they don't seem to worse than an ampero or something similar. Crazy times

I'm loving this all. For years I've wanted something very much like that for plugging in headphones or hooking up to the PC at home. I've not bought anything as yet because I'm not really interested in most of the potential they have - years ago, I bought a Vox Valvetronix (still got it). The original, blue cloth one, size of an AC30, 2x12. Thing is I only ever used one amp model, and I don't bother with the built in effects. Something like this, though, I might be more inclined towards as at that price, as long as the sound I want is good, it doesn't matter so much more of it is "wasted".... 

On 23/12/2023 at 22:13, Crusoe said:

Would you get one of those for under £300? You might even struggle to get one second-hand, especially Epiphone.

Not new, no. I still can't get over how Epiphone prices have skyrocketed.... Never understood why Gibson would never produce a 'Gibson Japan' or similar, rather than keep pushing on with runs of YouWHATnow? expensive Epiphones (there's brand perception for you!), but they must know the business better than I do. 


Used, well..  Tokai you occasionally see a used bargain on one of the Chinese or Korean models, though Tokai seem to be increasingly rare over here now. I have a Korean Epiphone Std, a really nice one, from 1998 I bought new for about £350. I wouldn't be confident of getting north of £250 for it (hell, if it would sell for £500+ it'd have been on eBay long ago!). Vintage still seem to come in under £300 here and there used - I've seem some as low as £150 or so, but the brand is definitely picking up recognition. 

New, all three are much pricier than HB, though I'd consider them its direct competition still in term of instruments as distinct from price band... (back to the benefit of Thomann's business model for these!). 

4 minutes ago, Paolo85 said:

Oh yes! How did I not spot the Wilkinson logo! @EdwardMarlowe I think you are right somebody loved this guitar. Before they sold to somebody who just dumped it in a filthy corner (it was in a terrible state when I bought it).

Nut slots could have easily been cut to a good height by the owner who installed the new bridge.

I suppose there may be a small chsnce that dmall frets and good fretwork overall have to do with a fret dressing.

Unlikely though st this price point. I once had a cheap Squier P bass made in China from early 2000s and it had small frets. Maybe it was the fashion back then?

I'll have a look under the pickguard at the first string change (not very soon I hope/guess as I have put some Thomastick flatwounds on!

 

Could be. If this one was intended to be a more 'vintage' spec, they might have installed narrow / tall frets like Fender did way back when. Medium-Jumbo and Jumbo frets seem to have started becoming much more of a norm on everything into the 90s? 

On 24/08/2021 at 15:10, Stub Mandrel said:

My Shubb is nearly 40 years old.

 

The nylon tip of the adjuster unscrewed and got lost a couple of years ago.

 

I was able to buy a spare for not very much.

 

Any questions?

 

 

(the 'beak with handle' type are second best.

Edit: I misread your post, but you're right - the big plus of Shubb is all the spares available! 

https://shubb.com/support/

https://shubb.com/product-category/replacement-parts/

hubb.com/product/delrin-cap-dc/

On 11/02/2022 at 20:31, DozeyGit said:

There are headphones designed for gamers, and studio professionals. Is it a reasonable assumption to say there are headphones made for electric guitarists? Or, are all those gamer headphones and studio professional headphones fabricated sales points? Why wouldn't a £280 pair of Sony WH100XM4 headphones be up to the job? What would be unique about the sound of an electric guitar that it warrants some special headphones? Surely, once a level of technological quality has been reached, say £280 worth, then those headphones can be used for accurate sound reproduction, right? Afterall, sound is sound, right? What don't I know about this topic of conversation, and need to learn, so I can answer these questions? Keep it civil, please. [Now he's gonna get it!]

Well, if you think about it, headphones are, ultimately, just a pair of stereo speakers. I've played my LP through my Vox bass amp. It does sound a touch different than via a guitar amp, but it works. Similarly, I have a Vox 2x12 stereo cab that I keep toying with the idea of trying out with a hifi. It will work. It'll sound different than a hifi speaker set, because it is voice primarily with a guitar's frequencies in mind. Same with headphones. I would expect guitar-specific headphones to be designed to specifically work well for the frequencies a guitar runs at, whereas hifi headphones are designed to cover a wider range of sounds well. TBh, though, I doubt I could tell you which was which in isolation. I'd expect to hear a *difference* against each other, but what sounds *better* will depend on the individual human ear, and the subjective preferences to which it is attached. All done and said, if I was sinking serious money into headphones dedicated to use with a guitar amp, I'd at least look at guitar-specific phones. If I wanted phones I could also use for more general purposes, I'd probably be looking at the hifi stuff. Both will do the job for a guitar amp just fine, they'll jut be voiced slightly differently. 

I think it matters more for some types of sound. There's a Rick Beato vid on Youtube where he shows how, contrary to the popular opinion that "heavy equals teh tonez", if you're a shredder playing with a lot of gain and distortion, lighter strings actually give you a clearer tone. Maybe that's why Brian May plays, if memory serves, eights (how he doesn't snap strings all the time mystifies me, especially given what he uses for picks...). 

I started out with 9s. The first thing I did with my first electric was restring it (it was right handed, I'm a southpaw and Hendrixed it - left-handed guitars were a whole lot rarer, especially used, in 1991). I kept snapping the high e, so after a bit I started buying a separate 10 and putting that on for the high E. Meant it was a lot close what I was using for a B from a 9 set, and felt a little different, though no derogatory effect on the sound. Eventually I just switched up to tens all over, and have been happy with that since. Over time my pick of choice also went up from a .46 to, nowadays, anything from 1mm to 2mm, which works fine with 10s - guess I've figures out the right 'grip' as to not snap 'em all the time now. 

Indeed. I'd be looking at a quality steel (or brass?) trem block replacement if it's the cheaper zinc type in there. Otherwise, don't see any need to replace the whole thing, unless you luck into a deal where the whole unit with a quality block is cheaper than the block alone. 

Yeah, I spotted that bridge too. I did wonder whether Aria had done a series where they used better hardware, but you are probably right it's a later replacement. Which suggests a previous owner enjoyed this guitar well enough to take the time, effort and expense of that modification. There may be others - I would expect they at least did a good set-up on it, but I wonder too if any of the other big plus points you've noticed were down to the same owner's investment? Be interesting to have a look under the guard to see if there are any signs of anything being changed there. 

Yes, Epiphone, Tokai and Vintage also all make a great LP type, but HB's vfm is such a no-brainer, that'd be where I'd start too. 

On 18/12/2023 at 16:55, LaupMcr said:

Yeah, that all makes sense. It's definitely a feel thing, even the fact that it's rosewood compared to maple makes a difference to me (i know it also makes a difference to the sound). There is something about certain guitars (look and feel) that somehow connect with your character.

TBh, I think for me personally the feel - and even the look of a guitar - makes as much of a difference, maybe, more, than the sound. When I life an LP style guitar, my approach, my own associations, both conscious and unconscious, with that style as distinct from a Strat, a Tele, my HB JA or MR Classic are so specific that I approach the instrument in a different way, and that every much informs what and how I play. There are guitars out there I could never play my best on because I hate how they look so much. (Though that can be overcome: years ago I bought a Steinberger Spirit as a travel guitar, before the restrictions changed and anything bigger than a violin case had to be checked in hold baggage - and although it was a purely utilitarian choice, an appreciation for how it actually worked so well gave me a new appreciation for its aesthetics.)

On 19/12/2023 at 09:58, Paolo85 said:

I don't know anything about guitars, I just play a Fazley telecaster copy, but if the two things I have learnt about bass guitars can be of help, over such a long period of time Fender is likely to have made small changes in terms of some of these factors:

-neck radius

-neck depth and overall shape

-neck finish

-fret size (which for the older strat may have also been affected by fret dressing at some point?)

-pickup winding

 

Any of those things would make a massive difference in feel, and the pickups would make a massive difference in terms of sound.

Then there is QC. No two industrially made guitars have the same quality in terms of fretwork, which affects playability and even sound.

On that front, there are simple but big things like nut slots. Any chanche they are cut a bit lower in the older guitar?

 

Possibly a bit down in the list there is the fretboard material, which feels different under the fingers, especially if frets are not big. And maybe feels different as the wood ages.

 

Also, I personally tend to fall in love with naturally aged necks. I am pretty sure technically it does not make any difference in terms of amplified sound nor in terms of playability (unless it's bare wood, which is never the case). But it just feels nice to hold them in my hand.

 

Yes. Look and feel are, if anything, underrated as reasons to buy / not buy particular guitars. 

I think sometimes guitars also change a little over time. It's much more obvious with acoustics, but pickups and things age over time too... 

I think too there is just a lot to be said for how a guitar wears in ,feels in the hand over time. The hand will sense those tiny, minor differences that the eye can't see. It's like when you have a favourite pair of shoes, and you buy an identical pair from the same brand a few years later, they'll not be quite the same or feel just quite the same until broken in. 

A lot if it is also psychological, imo. I once had the opportunity to play Hendrix's Black Angel, the custom lefty Flying Vee. When I played Purple Haze on it, it felt like that song was just in there. Part of that will doubtless be that Jimi played that number on there so many times, there will be those wear patterns, for want of a better way of putting it, but also - handling a hero's guitar? A mystical object like that? Bound to be something all in the mind with it. I don't even like  other flying Vs.... 

Yeah, looks just like natural wood figuring to me. Nothing to worry about. 

On 14/12/2023 at 19:40, JamesC01 said:

It's strange they don't put those little upgrades in their cheaper guitars. A graphtek nut only costs about £13, and they could put their own harley benton brand locking tuners (that are only £30). I'm sure loads of people would be willing to spend an extra £45 to get some upgrades on some of the cheaper guitars (TE62 for example). If they made a version the TE-62, TE-62 plus, say, with some upgrades, I'm sure loads of people would be willing to pay £200 for it. They could stick a load of good upgrades in it for the extra £70, and I'd imagine it would sell very well considering it would be miles ahead of competition in that price range, like squier affinity.

 

You're right about not needing to upgrade it. I probably won't (at least for quite a while). I've been content with my yamaha pacfica so far, so I'll probably be fine with the stock stuff on the HB. I suppose it would be nice to put a graphtek nut on it. I'm not a big pickup person, so I'll probably be fine with them unless I AB tested it with some other pickups.

I expect initially it was down to building down to a price point. With the growing reputation of the brand and the buzz around the spec of the 25th range, though, they'd surely be mad not to at least consider a 'plus' version. 

14 hours ago, randythoades said:

I think this applies to a lot of the 'cheaper' brands. Competition is fierce so the aim is to sell more instruments, albeit at a lower margin, by including half decent hardware and electrics that there isn't any immediate need to uprgrade. Probably costs them 10% more to build. Such a difference compared to the 80s and 90s when a beginner guitar was almost unplayable at times.

 

But interesting also to note that now Vintage have been doing this for a number of years and have a reputation for good quality guitars, that they are no longer actually very cheap just good value and another raft of brands are now the cheaper end. Vintage even have their own cheaper alternative (Coaster series), I wonder if HB will end up gaining market ground and pushing up prices of regular models, just to bring in a more pocket friendly range?

It'll be interesting to see where it goes. Vintage feel like a clear direct competitor for the higher end HBS, at least, bearing in mind that's probably what they'd retail at if being sold via the normal wholesale / retail distribution model. I'd be very happy to see more HBs of a type I fancy in and around the £250 mark (in the real world, that would be £400-450ish in the usual retail chain) if it meant just enough of an upgrade spec. I'm hoping they eventually do more of the Grestch-style Big Tone in CC colours, and left handed... 

I remember when I was first learning, guys who'd been playing since the seventies waxing lyrical about the quality of 'beginner; instruments. Squier especially - and that was the early nineties, when pretty much all Squiers were plywood bodied, not something I could see them being able to sell now... The really interesting thing is how many more affordable brands that would once have been "or beginners" are now repositioning themselves as "serious" instruments. Vintage are a little more expensive than once they were, yes - though still cheaper than the top end Squiers and middle-range Epiphones as appropriate. Notably, thought, their marketing has them as "guitars for the working musician". It feels to me like the days when guys in bands felt they had to have a Fender or a Gibson to be seen as serious are behind us, and the more expensive, US-built stuff especially is increasingly viewed as luxury rather than 'professional musician's necessity'. Part of it of course is how manufacturing has come on  - with advances in CNC, and designs like the Tele having been around so long, the actual cost of putting together a good working tele type now, for example, isn't what it was. 

Certainly be interesting to see what happens with HB like this. Given how much cheaper their business model lets them be, can you imagine what HB could do with, say, an ST type they could sell for £400? I just hope if they go that way they do their higher end versions of the same wide range, and don't make it all about SCs, or Fusions, or any one type. 

6 hours ago, JamesC01 said:

I pulled the trigger on the harley benton yesterday. I prefer the body shape of the HB. The sharp horn on the vintage doesn't look as good to me. HB's horn is a little more rounded, like a real les paul. And the HB has the easier access to the higher frets, which is a bonus. The SC25th looks nice, but I was more interested in the flamed maple finish ones. I went with the SC-550 ii gotoh in PAF. What areas do you think it could be improved in?

They've rolled out the SS frets across a few of the SCs, I see; nice stuff. I hope they do that with some of the other, bolt-neck styles, STs, TEs, JAs especially! 

TBh, I wouldn't think about any upgrades for a while - just live with it for a bit and see what you think. If you find you want some specific other pickups then I might throw in a new wiring loom at the same time, but in truth I'd just live with it for a bit and see i you feel it needs any actual changes - a lot of folks who have them don't seem to want to switch anything out. 

TBH, when it comes to something in the Strat mould, I would tend just to replace the whole lot (with a new plate, ideally, if you can get one that fits right). That way if it doesn't work out as planned, it is a matter of a few screws and a single soldering end with the jack socket to revert to standard. Handy if you wanted to sell later on and not lose on the cost of those mods - or I suppose you could also sell the original plate and put tht towards offsetting the cost of the changes. 

Stainless steel frets aside, I suspect the most obvious difference in the end will be which version of the LP shape you prefer, given that (for legal reasons) both vary the outline somewhat. The SC series is one of the HBs I've not handled in person, but online it does look like the body doesn't nip in *just* so much as the original in the middle, and the upper bought comes out further and then back in, rather than round - think a Les Paul trying to be a Telecaster in that specific area of the body shape. The Vintage to my eye is somewhat closer to the shape of the LP, with the only really obvious difference being the sharper horn. Of course, if being as close as possible to the Gibson is what you wanted, you'd probably be looking elsewhere. That said, I really like that the HB does vary that little bit more - it gives it a feel of being it's own take on the LP style, much like the LTD LP style guitar. YMMV. 

Quality wise, without having played both back to back, there's room for the HB to be a little better imo. Bear in mind they're basically offering you wholesale prices at retail: I suspect this would be a more expensive guitar than the Vintage were it retailed under the traditional model. 

The TL/DR version is that if I were looking for a new LP style guitar without spending crazy money, I'd be looking seriously at the HB. If you[re going to be pulling the trigger in the next week or so, do look at the 25th Anniversary model - the spec on that range is impressive (I have the JA25th and it is a lovely, lovely thing indeed), and it's only available until end 2023. 

On 06/12/2023 at 14:28, randythoades said:

That's a good point really. At those costs, you can upgrade all the hardware and electronics if you want to, and get some good experience at the same time.

 

I have looked at the HB but don't have one myself. Do you get people turn their noses up when you bring one out or are people a bit more accepting during our times of austerity?

It's a very long time since I played out anywhere, so can't comment on direct experience. I suspect were I to be a gigger, the average punter wouldn't notice. It'd be interesting to get an impression from players who do but don't know the brand before... Online, views seem to be split between those who've played them and think they're very decent for the money, putting them up against Vintage (by JHS), Squier CV, Fender player Series... directly, and as "upgradeable" to hold their own against much more - and on the other hand. those rubbishing them because 'Made in China + racist idiot', or a refusal to believe anything cheap could be good. I've yet to see anyone from the latter group who'd actually played one... 

FWIW, though, while I can't comment directly on experience with HB, I tend to find musicians who actually play out for a living are vastly more open minded about instruments, and themselves vastly more likely to be playing "budget" gear. The gearsnobs I've encountered have almost exclusively been comfortably-off hobby players, or sometimes guys in originals bands who sneer at anyone who plays covers, and are bitter that "wedding bands" can make a living while nobody wants to hear their obscure prog originals.... :D 

 

20 hours ago, sundayguitar said:

For what it's worth, I did make my own Harley Benton in the past, with a kit like this:

https://thmn.to/thoprod/115992?offid=1&affid=1771

 

It's really cool to make and I gotta say you learn a lot by building your own guitar.

And tbh the quality of HBs now are insane for the price... I'd recommend that to anyone who wants to start or needs a cheap guitar on the side (travel etc).

It's not Fender quality of course, but it's still pretty, pretty good

Yeah, was just saying this to a guy on the Facebook HB owners' group page. He's done all sorts of mods to his TEs - basically treated them as buying a neck and a body pre-attached. Even if that's all you use from the original, it compares very well to the likes of Warmoth imo, and you can probably put some very nice guts in it without spending more than the difference. I think last I looked the necks I was interested in on Warmoth were alone well over the cost of a TE52 or the likes.