lemmywinks

Maybe he just didn't hear you properly due to ear wax build up? Try him again, should be clear as a bell now if that bridge is anything to go by! To be fair he does take clear photos of the dubious workmanship and people can choose to buy them or not, the bits that bother me are the over zealous sales patter and hyperboly which verges on (and is sometimes outright) dishonesty, whether the intention is to deceive or he genuinely believes it. I don't think you need to know anything about guitars to looks at some of his work and make a fair assessment of his woodworking abilities.

On the Sires the dual concentric pots are hex bolt fit and the standard ones are split shaft, also you're better off with slimmer stacked knobs due to the cramped nature of the bell plate. If you want flat top knobs (and you should, it looks better) then the dual concentric EMG ones are a great fit (Allparts do 'em) and are very slim/tall, standard Tele knobs off eBay will do for the other 3 pots. Be careful with some of the eBay cheapy stacked knobs though, I got some (standard dome type) a while ago and they were a bit loose on the Sire and sat at an angle even though the measurements were correct, could probably be rectified with some tinkering though. I guess the EMG ones are manufactured to tighter tolerances - not cheap though especially as you need two of them. Here's a poor photo of mine with flat top knobs, you can see how the slim/tall EMG make things easier: Also notice how much nicer flat tops look! EDIT: If you're eBay shopping then you might want to break the calipers out as not all dual concentric pots are created equal, there are a few configurations regarding height and diameter of the two shafts.

He's going off a post here: http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/52660-legacy-epiphone/ Apparently a forum post from Australia saying a Legacy is made by Ephiphone means the ultra cheapo firewood line of Legacy branded guitars we get over here are all made by Epiphone too, even though nowadays Epi is just a brand itself slapped on Samicks and they don't actually build guitars. The model he has is an LED30 which is made in China so didn't come out of the Samick factory and is nothing to do with Epiphone, something that doesn't really need pointing out when you look at the construction of the guitar around the nut and on the rear of the headstock. I don't think he's being deceptive here, I just don't think he knows.

Also what's going on here? Before any mods start getting a tingly feeling in their pants I'm not having a go, I genuinely want to know what is going on here. Is that ear wax? Is he using ear wax to make candles in the bridges of guitars?

On a serious note there must be a more elegant way to make that a 6 string by going 3 a side. Anyhow MDP has 6 acoustic machine heads in his parts drawer now, I wonder what guitar/bass they'll turn up on?

I hope that nut is glued in properly otherwise it's going to be catapulted through the ceiling when you tune up!

That's the best description of his wares I've seen yet!

No fancy screen either, which is actually really handy and intuitive. haven't managed to smash it yet!

I wouldn't use Royal Mail for anything fragile. We stopped using them for everything aside from letters at work as the service was so poor, far too many lost and damaged packages to make them viable and trying to get any form of recompense out of them is like getting blood out of a stone. Like Parcel Force their customer services are designed to discourage rather than to assist. Shame as they used to be pretty good.

Absolutely spot on, the MIJ Yamaha TRB is still the best 6er I've played bar none and is the benchmark I judge others by, if wide spacing is for you then it should be the first bass you try.

I think part of the problem is that he has obviously never really played a well made instrument with a proper setup, being brutally honest the instruments in his videos sound woeful IMO (particularly the basses) and definitely aren't set up hence all the choking and buzzing. The sad fact is if he actually ordered a Harley Benton new from Thomann instead of getting knackered ones he would be in for a shock as it would put his creations to shame in terms of playability and sound.

Incidentally I found it as I was looking for other examples of 7 to 6 string conversions as it does seem to be something that has a niche market and almost all roads lead back to threads like this one albeit on other forums. There was one fella on YouTube who'd done a full conversion (on a Peaver Predator IIRC) but he was a luthier who made a replacement bridge etc. He did say the out of whack pole pieces weren't an issue though so maybe MDP's wouldn't be totally unusable.

I'll just leave this here and be off then, not my work btw (I'm not that clever):

You missed the bit about the raked back tuners, that's the most puzzling part! Anyway if he replies tell him there's a solid £110 offer on that 5 string Peavey sitting here provided he has the original pickup and knobs, been looking for a mistreated one of those to do up.

This is what he's bought: https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_baritone_7sb_dlx_serie_deko.htm?sid=553157f82f9c4050bf30a19d8025e769 Here's what I don't understand - the guitar comes with matching knobs and rail humbuckers so why have these been changed for odd parts drawer knobs and a Jazz bass pickup? Instead of spending £20 on a bass pickup he could have bought 6 individual bridge saddles and done the job properly.

Good point, there's a "D" stamped here: That's a bit naughty really.

Exactly, it would be easier to do this and the end result would be better especially on his 7 to 6 string conversions. You can get single saddle bridge pieces for guitar (like the bass ones) for a couple of quid on AliExpress, he could buy or make a nut blank and use hot rail pickups so the pole pieces aren't out of whack. He could even look at making pickup surrounds or putting his slanty single coils into appropriate humbucker cases which sit properly in the routs. All of this would and make for a cleaner looking instrument which hasn't had any damaged parts, he could even include the original bridge etc. in case the owner wanted to take it back to stock for resale value.

I find his bodgery harmless enough, it is a shame when he destroys or removes parts from solid beginner instruments but not the end of the world even when his spiel goes a bit far in extolling the virtues of what is essentially an incomplete/damaged bargain basement guitar. Given the prices I assume his listings are targeted at older beginners with more disposable income anyway, maybe people who are less internet savvy, still rely on sales patter to make decisions and are more likely to place trust in a perceived local expert than a faceless chain store. Where I think he crosses the line is with comments like "even if you buy from a shop and they offer a free set up or you pay for a set up... that is likely to mean the guitar is taken out the back where someone sees how low they can screw the bridge down." which gives the impression that music shops are not to be trusted and the only place to guarantee a good setup is with him. Going by some of the videos he's posted I think the opposite is true, one in particular (an acoustic IIRC) sounded unplayable. Similarly some of the nuts in his pictures are absolutely ruined, big deep trenches cut at angles with rough edges. Cutting a nut isn't particularly difficult, I have no idea how they turn out like that. As it is I think we should be free to criticise his listings on here like any other bit of misguided bodgery we see on eBay as long as things are in good spirits and don't become personal. A bit like that crazy German seller who lists £3000 planks of wood that may once have been Gibsons, the reputation is deserved and it's quite funny to see what they come up with next.

Failing a more appropriate mechanical solution maybe just using adhesive velcro on the main pole and legs would work? Obviously put the hook part on the legs to avoid carpet fluff transfer!

May just be larger ball ends on those strings, some ferrules are slightly smaller and aren't wide enough for them. Then again he might have swapped them out for odd ones from his parts drawer just for the sake of it which actually seems more likely.

Also the posh sounding neck pick up is apparently "from John Hutchinson at Janika Guitars in Nottingham", sounds like a hand wound bespoke unit from a luthier no? I think what he means by that is he bought a cheap generic pickup from the Janika store on eBay, doesn't sound quite as fancy though.................. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-string-jazz-bass-style-guitar-chrome-hot-rail-pickup-neck-position-new-JB/161217875506?hash=item2589558e32:g:UUsAAOSwnDZUJWtA

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-string-bass-by-Peavey-set-neck-with-single-and-twin-coil-pickups/192659707678?_trkparms=aid%3D888007%26algo%3DDISC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140328180637%26meid%3Dccb38ec3e9d64198bfee8889bb590c64%26pid%3D100009%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D2%26sd%3D292733454061%26itm%3D192659707678&_trksid=p2047675.c100009.m1982 Complete with needlessly raked back tuners, odd aftermarket control knobs which don't suit the instrument and a single coil shoved into a humbucker rout - the holy trinity of mdp conversions. Decent budget beginner basses in their unbutchered state and at the correct (£160-£200) price, bit of a shame really.

Gonna remember that response the next time I hear that excuse!

I never thought these had a reputation for failing, I'm no fan of Behringer pedals as a whole but these ones generally seem to be pretty reliable. I think if they did a metal cased version with a better footswitch for some extra £ then it would be even better, DIY rehousing would be an interesting project.

If you have Amazon Prime there is a £17 option here apparently: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B000KIPUQG/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new EDIT: Not in stock for a few days, very cheap though. I got mine when they were on sale for £18 a while ago and it's a great sounding backup DI.