Thomann selling Harley Benton basses as 'Decoration only'

[Annoying Twit]

I'll make a very firm statement then - read my lips - I will not be buying any more basses for the remainder of 2014.

[kodiakblair]

Bold statement AT

I said that last week

[Annoying Twit]

What sort of bass do I need now? I've finally got a fretless and an acoustic at the same time. All my boxes are ticked.

[yorks5stringer]

[sub]Try as they might, that Warwick Thumb is not attracting any interest...![/sub]

[Annoying Twit]

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1419205743' post='2637673']
[sub]Try as they might, that Warwick Thumb is not attracting any interest...![/sub]
[/quote]

I'm a little bit concerned that someone will see them, and fail to notice exactly how short-scale they are

"The Real Hustle" demonstrated a scam once when they were selling chairs online, and then delivering the same chair in the photo, but it's only a few inches high.

Edited December 21, 2014 by Annoying Twit

[pfretrock]

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1419205743' post='2637673']
[sub]Try as they might, that Warwick Thumb is not attracting any interest...![/sub]
[/quote]
Not on here, but it is listed as the top seller in the deko category.

[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/decorative_guitars_and_basses.html"]http://www.thomann.d...and_basses.html[/url]

[pfretrock]

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1419068163' post='2636135']
Strings are bronze and rather heavy for my liking, so they'll get replaced sometime soon (which will double the price of the bass). Well worth £26.
[/quote]

What are the string options for these? Never owned an acoustic before and I have flats on all my electrics - anything similar available? Or is it limited to nylon/bronze rounds for the tension.

[pfretrock]

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1419205986' post='2637677']
I'm a little bit concerned that someone will see them, and fail to notice exactly how short-scale they are

"The Real Hustle" demonstrated a scam once when they were selling chairs online, and then delivering the same chair in the photo, but it's only a few inches high.
[/quote]

Was there a similar scam in the '60, someone selling 'Cup Final Seats'? You got a small fold up seat for rather a lot of money.

[kodiakblair]

Is it a cultural thing , these Warwick models ?

Do German bass players buy them and put them on the mantle ?

pfretrock

I just looked at stringsdirect. Seemed to be mainly bronze or nylon. They use bronze cause they're louder,so I've heard,.
Can't see the harm in trying others though.

[UglyDog]

[quote name='UglyDog' timestamp='1419180170' post='2637294']
[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_jb_20_sb_standard_seri_deko.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...d_seri_deko.htm[/url]

Trigger pulled. For 37 quid delivered, I couldn't resist.
[/quote]

[size=4]Email arrives this morning...
[quote name='Thomann']
Thank you for your recent order. Unfortunately the item you have ordered has already been sold out and we were not able to process your order. No funds have been taken on this occasion, the pre-authorisation on your card will clear shortly.[/quote]

Oh terrific. Spiffing. Bang goes the one little bit of enjoyment I was looking forward to over the holiday. F***ing marvellous. Thanks a bunch Thomann. [/size]

Edited December 22, 2014 by UglyDog

[pfretrock]

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1419242712' post='2637835']
I just looked at stringsdirect. Seemed to be mainly bronze or nylon. They use bronze cause they're louder,so I've heard,.
Can't see the harm in trying others though.
[/quote]

Just found LaBella black nylon tapewound, at £47 for a set of 5ive. Any others?

UD:
Bad luck, probably only had one. Would have thought the website worked fast in real time, perhaps not. Must be a shed load of acoustics, but the 4our strings went fast, did not fancy a black one - not my favorite guitar color.

[Annoying Twit]

[quote name='pfretrock' timestamp='1419242323' post='2637828']
What are the string options for these? Never owned an acoustic before and I have flats on all my electrics - anything similar available? Or is it limited to nylon/bronze rounds for the tension.
[/quote]

I have Fender flat wound strings on mine. I'm very happy with the result. A small amount of volume and character has been lost compared to the phosphor bronze strings when the bass is played acoustically. IMHO they sound great plugged in, and the lack of string noise (as I'm surely you're familiar with) is a big plus. They were inexpensive, bought from Thomann at the same time as the bass.

Sorry to hear about you missing out on the bass, Ugly Dog. A bit disappointing that their website doesn't handle stock control properly. Since it was Thomann's mistake, I'm also disappointed that they didn't just ship out one of the regular jazz basses to you instead.

Edited December 22, 2014 by Annoying Twit

[kodiakblair]

UD

That's a damn shame and a crap start to your week. Hope it gets better.

pfretrock

Status do their Hot Wire strings in black nylon. I've got a set on a P bass and they sound good. Developed to
work with piezo and magnetic pickups it says on their site. £21.50 for a set of 5 plus vat and postage be nearer £30

http://www.status-graphite.com/status/frames/index_home.html

[pfretrock]

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1419248129' post='2637899']
Status do their Hot Wire strings in black nylon. I've got a set on a P bass and they sound good. Developed to
work with piezo and magnetic pickups it says on their site. £21.50 for a set of 5 plus vat and postage be nearer £30
[/quote]

Thanks, I'll give these a go, price looks good.

[pfretrock]

A big THANK YOU to Status for delivering Hot Wire strings in under 48 hours, arrived mid day Christmas Eve. The neck had been adjusted for a correct relief on the HB strings, when I put the Status strings on (one at a time) it was convex. A few adjustments of the double acting truss rod fixed that. Had problems getting the B string on, had to undwind the nylon/silk to get the string end into the peg hole. B Should make a good thumb rest They do sound good though. If I get GAS (again) I'll get another set. Thanks kodiakblair.

[mr pablo]

Been having a look at one of these for a little while and if you compare the models on the thomman website the main difference is tbe decoration basses have 23 frets to the standard models having 24 frets.

This is the 'decorative' bass
http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_b_30_bk_acoustic_bassdeko.htm

This is the normal model
http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_hbb30bk_akustikbass.htm

Identical apart from the number of frets

[Annoying Twit]

That's unusual. I wonder if the basses actually have a different number of frets, or whether it's just a typo on one of the descriptions. My decorative bass is a fretless, so I can't check myself.

[Dad3353]

Well, one has certainly a fret less than the other, I suppose. [size=4] [/size]

[kodiakblair]

Must be a typo. My deko BK-30 has 24 frets but the picture in the link shows 22.

Old stock photo perhaps.

[pfretrock]

My Deko B-35 NT has 24 frets. Label inside says '5 String [u]Fretless[/u] Acoustic Bass Guitar'. Can't see any faults, scratches or dents. Fret 17 is a bit high.

[pfretrock]

The relief has moved since I adjusted it a few days ago, now very high. I've applied some 'righty-tighty' and it's fine now and easier to play. If you did not get a key (mine was in a plastic bag taped inside the inner box) it is 4mm and slightly longer than a standard Allen key, but a standard key will reach - be careful you don't scrunch up the strings.

[UglyDog]

Might have been successful this time thanks to KB. Watch this space

[tauzero]

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1419242712' post='2637835']
Is it a cultural thing , these Warwick models ?

Do German bass players buy them and put them on the mantle ?
[/quote]

Look at my mahoosive GK combo:

[Annoying Twit]

I remember doing a definite double take when I saw that photo the first time

Good to see the forum functioning in a collaborative manner concerning UglyDog getting his deko bass. (I presume a jazzer).

I've just been playing my deko. The more I play it, the more I think it's a pretty nice bass.

[mr pablo]

I caved and ordered one of the black 4string fretted ones. It should be here soon