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NBD -- Harley Benton JB-20, a Thomann 'Deko' special


UglyDog
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Well, as per my post in the Thomann decoration thread, there's really nothing wrong with this other than a bit of slackness in the D string tuner, crap strings and a few rough edges on the pickguard. All of which is easily solved. I have to say, this thing is really lovely -- the woods are nice, fit and finish is great (neck joint is as tight as a gnat's chuff), it sounds good and balances well, I mean it was 28 quid for god's sake. Mrs Dog was all set to rip my nads off for buying another bass until I told her how much it had cost, at which point she decided it was a great idea :)
Immediate plans are 1) replace the tuners with some nice Wilkinson ones from the spares box, 2) fit some Schaller JB6 pups I've had for ages and that I'm dying to finally use in something, and 3) replace the w/b/w pickguard with a b/w/b one I've also had for a while. I [i]might[/i] add a neck ashtray too, still in two minds about that one. I rather like it, but check the mockup pics and gimme some opinions :) Longer term plan is to make a 2-band EQ for it, cloned from either a Stingray or Sadowsky schematic. Haven't decided which yet. For now I'll leave it passive.
[i]Very[/i] happy dog :D
EDIT: another 'at some point' mod will be a decent bridge. I'm not a BBOT fan.

[attachment=180740:whole.jpg] [attachment=180739:body white pg.jpg]

[attachment=180741:pguard.jpg] [attachment=180742:stamps.jpg]

[attachment=180743:body black pg.jpg] [attachment=180744:DSC_0099.JPG]

Edited by UglyDog
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[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1421062094' post='2656614']
Personally I think the black pick guard would work better with a black control plate.
[/quote]
Heh -- and as luck would have it, I've got one of those in the spares box too :lol:

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1421062353' post='2656621']
I must have missed this - are you saying this is one of those 'for decoration only' basses costing a few quid, but is actually playable?
[/quote]
Yup
[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/227421-thomann-selling-basses-as-decoration-only/"]http://basschat.co.u...ecoration-only/[/url]

Edited by UglyDog
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[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1421063056' post='2656634']
I think I read somewhere that the HB jazz basses will fit a Fender neck, albeit with some new hole drilling. That should make them excellent starting points for various degrees of bitsa creation, I would think.
[/quote]
I'll be taking the neck off mine at some point, when I fit the new tuners. I'll measure the heel & pocket and report back. :)

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AT

It's the same JB-75 from a few months back. Had it handy as I was checking if it was a photo veneer ( it's not )
for someone on another forum. Think mines was £33 with the 10 euro voucher.

Must have posted these before but any old excuse will do :)

[attachment=180755:Jazz Bass (1).jpg][attachment=180756:Jazz Bass (4).jpg]

Back photo is reversed for some reason :unsure:

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  • 3 weeks later...

After much mucking about, I decided I couldn't live with the higher-than-I-would-like action so I've fitted my spare neck to my JB20. Alas, my nice big Wilko tuners are too big for the smaller headstock, but I've had the previously slack Harley tuner apart and managed to get it working properly. The black pickguard and ashtray are in place, and so is the black control plate I mentioned in #6 above. If I say so myself, it looks the dog's parts B) and through headphones it sounds killer, even with the stock pickups.
OK so it's a bit "Trigger's broom" with all the replacement bits, but apart from the neck it's just cosmetic preference, and the neck is just me being picky. It was workable as it was, and I already had the parts to hand so it still doesn't owe me anything apart from the original purchase price.
Pics coming. :)

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[quote name='UglyDog' timestamp='1422620141' post='2674673']
I might just stick it on here in the Recycled section :D
[/quote]

Neck now up for grabs. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/254590-harley-benton-jb-20-deko-bass-neck/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/254590-harley-benton-jb-20-deko-bass-neck/[/url]

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To be honest I have no idea, I haven't bothered offering the others up because a} the stock ones sound ok and b} I found a wire had come off one of the Schallers :angry: thus rendering it (temporarily at least) useless.
Pic as promised. Poor quality, sorry, but you get the idea. Done now except for the planned DIY Sadowsk-ish active EQ. Original alongside for comparison.
[attachment=182807:nearly finished.JPG] [attachment=182808:whole.jpg]

Edited by UglyDog
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  • 8 months later...

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