Maude Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 A box is waiting at home for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UglyDog Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 [quote name='UglyDog' timestamp='1421947235' post='2667011'] As promised, I have taken some pics of my Tanglewood 4-string ABG next to my Yam RBX765 for comparison. Ongoing PC problems mean that I can't upload them until I get to work tomorrow. Bah. By way of comparison, my Tanglewood 4-string is: Lower bout 42.5cm Tail to head 116cm Maximum body depth 13cm So it would seem that the Harleys ain't all that big after all? [/quote] Here are the pics. As you can see, my RBX is somewhat dwarfed too My ABG has never struck me as being over-large compared to others I've tried. [attachment=181816:DSC_0102.JPG] [attachment=181817:DSC_0105.JPG] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UglyDog Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 [quote name='Moos3h' timestamp='1422000661' post='2667494'] Well my Deko arrived and the neck was HORRIBLY 'S' shaped - I've adjusted it and it's improved a bit but there's still a massive dip in only part of the neck. Overall, I still reckon great VFM and I will be able to get it playable, just not with the action I'd ideally like. In other news, the body grain is something else and is REALLY well matched. I'm impressed! I've already done a rough re-shaping of the headstock (hate that headstock shape) and will be removing the logo (blank headstock FTW) when I come to tidy it properly. Pics will follow [/quote] Yes, on attempting to set up my JB20 I've found much the same. There is a pronounced weirdness in the neck that I can't quite compensate for. Luckily I do have another Jazz neck lurking around the place -- I've offered it up to the HB neck pocket and it's a lovely tight fit -- so if I can't get on with the setup I have another avenue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted January 23, 2015 Author Share Posted January 23, 2015 (edited) £14 quid!!!! http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_cg_45_ns_deko.htm OK, so it's a low end acoustic guitar. But, ..., £14 quid! EDIT: Sorry to hear about the jazz bass neck weirdness. If I had one of the JB75 dekos and it had a bad neck, I'd be thinking very seriously about one of those fretless mighty mite necks that appear on ebay. Or, I'd return it under the Consumer Contracts Regulations. Edited January 23, 2015 by Annoying Twit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfretrock Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 [quote name='UglyDog' timestamp='1422012687' post='2667698'] ...I've offered it up to the HB neck pocket and it's a lovely tight fit... [/quote] It does look like HB neck pockets are made to Fender dimensions, not checked mine but it looks close. Don't want to take 2 basses apart to check! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subdude Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 [quote name='pfretrock' timestamp='1422026295' post='2667932'] It does look like HB neck pockets are made to Fender dimensions, not checked mine but it looks close. Don't want to take 2 basses apart to check! [/quote] I had put a Fender neck onto a HB bass and it fitted perfectly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 (edited) First impressions with the CLB-10S as opposed to the HBB30 FL (slightly upgraded acoustic compared to the basic one), Nicer shaped headstock with nicer decal, nicer shaped bridge with pins rather than through bridge stringing, Fishman electrics, all over satin finish rather than gloss, MOP soundhole binding. All this is personal preference but I really like the CLB-10S, it seems a much higher end instrument, so much so that if a fretless came up I might get it and sell the HBB30 FL, that's not to say the cheaper one isn't good, I took it to rehearsal yesterday instead of my DB and it was fantastic plugged in. Only fault I can find on the CLB-10S is the (usual) 17th fret being slightly raised, buzzing. I cant find anything else. I'm off to rehearsal now but will report back over the weekend with comparison photos. Edited January 23, 2015 by Maude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted January 23, 2015 Author Share Posted January 23, 2015 Happy New Bass Day! Great to hear that you're happy with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted January 23, 2015 Author Share Posted January 23, 2015 (edited) A number of guitars up as of a few seconds ago. Nothing particularly notable, but I'll post as there are a number of them. Edit: This nylon string guitar seems to have a reasonable spec. Solid spruce top, Fishman pickup, tusque nut. [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_santos_series_c_40scedeko.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...c_40scedeko.htm[/url] Edit: All still there. That's a first. Edited January 23, 2015 by Annoying Twit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JazzyYama Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 (edited) Thanks for the updates here, I chanced my arm with the nylon string - I was surprised to see it had a truss rod too. Has anyone found any of the decoration only items to be totally unplayable yet? [i]- I now see the comments about neck weirdness, oh well, lets see what happens[/i] Edited January 25, 2015 by JazzyYama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UglyDog Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Mine certainly isn't totally unplayable, it's just proving difficult to get down to my preferred fag-paper action. I might just be expecting too much of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted January 25, 2015 Author Share Posted January 25, 2015 (edited) [quote name='JazzyYama' timestamp='1422143102' post='2669281'] Thanks for the updates here, I chanced my arm with the nylon string - I was surprised to see it had a truss rod too. Has anyone found any of the decoration only items to be totally unplayable yet? [i]- I now see the comments about neck weirdness, oh well, lets see what happens[/i] [/quote] I'll be interested to hear what it sounds like. Particularly the DI sound. I'm not likely to buy one, but I must admit that my curiosity is raised. If you don't like it when it arrives, you can always return it under the terms of the Consumer Contract Regulations. Edited January 25, 2015 by Annoying Twit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 [quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1421956314' post='2667157'] I have one of the early V-Amp2 units. One of the amp models, as written on the front, is "Amercian Deluxe". I noticed later models being spelled correctly. I held onto it hoping one day it would become rare and sought after [/quote] It could be desirable to anyone who lives in Mercia... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 [quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1422362265' post='2671567'] It could be desirable to anyone who lives in Mercia... [/quote] I got it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 (edited) LOADS UP in the last few seconds including 1975 bass. And including PJ bass. [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_pj_4_htr_deluxe_series_deko.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...series_deko.htm[/url] [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_jb_75_na_vintage_serie_deko.htm"]http://www.thomann.d..._serie_deko.htm[/url] EDIT: GONE ALREADY!!!! There's not much left apart from a pink acoustic and a standard strat. It's a guitar, but there was one of these too. [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_te_90qm_trans_red.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...m_trans_red.htm[/url] And one of the 335 copies. Edited January 28, 2015 by Annoying Twit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 (edited) It's my birthday, so I've unboxed my deko bass and had a fiddle with it. I tapped down the high fret to check it was seated fully, then gave it a couple of swipes with a file as it was still a little proud. I should probably give it a full fret dress some time, but it plays fine for the moment. I've taken down the nut slots a little and the bass is playing quite well now. I think I may actually stick with the bronze strings as the brightness of them helps the bass to sound a little fuller. With the high fret fettled it's quite fun to play. The only other thing I can spot which might be considered a flaw are what look like sanding marks under the finish on the top, as in this picture. It's visible from an angle but less so straight on. The preamp is different to the one pictured on the non-deko model. I haven't tried it yet as I don't have a spare battery in the house. Sorry about the blurry photo: Overall it seems excellent for the £32 I paid for it. It's not a world class instrument, but I'll certainly get some use out of it. Edited January 29, 2015 by Beer of the Bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 (edited) Happy Birthday & NBD! Looks like yet another bargain. My fretless has similar light patches on the top. I suspect that you are as unworried by this as I am My preamp looks the same as in the pictures on Thomann's website. Edited January 29, 2015 by Annoying Twit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Hey, Happy Birthday, Martin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 My fretless 5-string acoustic arrived today too. It has a very small ding on the back at the heel of the neck. Other than that it seems great. I'm not sure about the strings myself. They sound very buzzy, like growlly, but bright at the same time. So I might change them for some Fender flats to see what the effect is. I've got the EQ with the built in tuner. Not sure about the accuracy though and the EQ control is next to useless, but for the money it's amazing value. It sounds ok acoustically, but better amplified. Good all round really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 [quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1422571214' post='2674321'] My fretless 5-string acoustic arrived today too. It has a very small ding on the back at the heel of the neck. Other than that it seems great. [/quote] Is that small ding in the shape of a 'D' for 'deko'? I made that mistake too. They stamp them so they can't be returned as full price instruments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 (edited) Happy New Bass Day Grangur. When I put Fender flats on my four string fretless, it did lose a bit of the more distinctive sound of the original strings. But if you find them buzzy, then the Fenders may be just what you want. I really liked the sound of the original strings, but I'm enjoying little to no string noise even more. The flats give a nice DI sound, IMHO. Given how fast things disappear, I'm having to think about what I'm likely to want to get to that I'm ready to hit the buy button ultra quick. I"d like one of these: [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_kahuna_clu_32c.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...una_clu_32c.htm[/url] This looks good, but there are no sound samples [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_bju_10_banjo_ukulele.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...njo_ukulele.htm[/url] No sound samples for this. The Fishman pickup should be a plus, but some acoustic-electrics don't sound right to me. Hence, I'd like to hear the samples. [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_kahuna_clu_60c.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...una_clu_60c.htm[/url] [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_eluke_50c_nt.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...luke_50c_nt.htm[/url] Unless anyone wants a cheap pink acoustic guitar. That's still up there for ... some reason Of course, I could just buy the non-Deko versions of the above. But, it's a challenge to get another Deko. Also, for those who bought the standard (not the 1975) jazz bass. I was playing the samples of that bass through some good monitor speakers today. IMHO the anonymous pickups on the standard model sound pretty good. What do owners think? Edited January 29, 2015 by Annoying Twit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vixivi Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 I'll probably order some stuff in one of the next weeks, if the pink guitar is still available by then i might actually get it just for giggles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 The price of the pink guitar has gone down. It was £17.49, now it's £16.68. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 [quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1422608215' post='2674473'] The price of the pink guitar has gone down. It was £17.49, now it's £16.68. [/quote] Probably due to exchange rate fluctuations as the euro goes through the floor! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyboy Rotten Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I guess I already know the answer to this but when I bought my Ibby SR300 it came with a free Ibanez branded padded gig bag (which wasn't mentioned in the spec so it was a pleasant surprise when I received it). Have any of these decoration basses also come with a gigbag/padded case? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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