I am still waiting from the Harley Benton TE-80 I ordered as well, maybe tomorrow. The problem is, I know it's gonna need a setup and as I can setup a guitar for shit that means I will have to take it to my luthier and that means at least another week wait.
Guitar Acquisition Syndrome is fucking hard, I need a support group.
Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2013 1:57 pm
by timhulio
Setup how? If the strings are too high, lower them. If the intonation is off, adjust the saddles. Ten minutes work.
Teach a man to fish and all that.
WTR, did yours arrive?
Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2013 2:00 pm
by pumpkin
timhulio wrote:Setup how? If the strings are too high, lower them. If the intonation is off, adjust the saddles. Ten minutes work.
Teach a man to fish and all that.
WTR, did yours arrive?
Not arrived yet, probably tomorrow.
I am shit at setting up guitars... I am into playing them, not guitar tech-ing. I have a guy I use a really good luthier, I give him instructions for what i want and he makes it happen. For this Harley Benton, I think this will be the starting point... but he know's best. After I get stuff back from him it usually plays how it want it to.
Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 3:55 pm
by pumpkin
Okay, got mine today... First impressions... this mother bitch weights a metric ton, shit is heavier than my Les Paul.
The pickups sound nice, definitely get Strat and of course Tele tones. What blows me away about this guitar is how well it's made. It feels like a €1000 or more guitar. The neck isn't sticky at all and it feels really solid. It slips out of tune but that's just because the strings are new and need the slack played out of them.
It needs a bit of setup, a couple of sharp frets... but really this is not a €149 guitar, I would pay easily €600 for this in the shop. Really really pleasantly surprised. This is by and far the best Telecaster I have ever owned and I have had a couple of Made in the U.S.A. Telecasters.
The ash and alder Teles I've had have been heavier than the [non-chambered] Gibson and Epi LPs I have, so with a maple on ash body it's hardly a shock to me that this would weigh a ton.
Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 8:17 pm
by westtexasred
Wow...it looks great! I am still waiting from mine to come.I think the sent it bt boat,lol.
Samick, great quality
Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 10:11 pm
by Doug
[/quote]
The one at the bottom, that headstock looks classic Samick. Might this one be made by Samick?
Re: Samick, great quality
Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2013 12:44 am
by westtexasred
Doug wrote:
The one at the bottom, that headstock looks classic Samick. Might this one be made by Samick?[/quote]
I thought they were made by Cort,but I'm not sure.
Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2013 8:16 am
by Johno
pumpkin wrote:It slips out of tune but that's just because the strings are new and need the slack played out of them.
No need to play in new strings.
Tune a string to pitch, then yank it away from the fretboard it. It will go flat. Tune to pitch again & give it another yank repeate 3 - 4 times per string then they are set to go.
Also agree with Timhulio, learn how to set up your guitar it takes 10mins. Taking a guitar to a 'Luthier' for a set up is like paying someone to tie your shoes.
Loads of good books out there on guiitar maintenance/set up & more..... the Dan Erlwine book is great
Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2013 11:24 am
by pumpkin
Johno wrote:
pumpkin wrote:It slips out of tune but that's just because the strings are new and need the slack played out of them.
No need to play in new strings.
Tune a string to pitch, then yank it away from the fretboard it. It will go flat. Tune to pitch again & give it another yank repeate 3 - 4 times per string then they are set to go.
Also agree with Timhulio, learn how to set up your guitar it takes 10mins. Taking a guitar to a 'Luthier' for a set up is like paying someone to tie your shoes.
Loads of good books out there on guiitar maintenance/set up & more..... the Dan Erlwine book is great
Meh. Not my thing.
Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2013 11:33 am
by Dave
I can understand that. Whilst I think basic set ups are easy enough, there are elements that definitely come with time and practice. As with anything that requires servicing sometimes it's just nice to lose money and not time and hassles. in fact there are some things I COULD learn to do (like refretting and binding my Yamaha neck) but to be honest given the amount of effort, and my perfectionism, the hassle will be way more than bunging £160 quid at a guy I know)
Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2013 12:11 pm
by ekwatts
Learning to set a guitar up isn't the same as refretting a neck or something, though. It's basic maintenance. It did with time for me; it became far, far easier to do once I'd started to properly understand how a guitar works, what the hardware does, how different setups affect the sound and so on. I'm not perfect; I'm good at setting my guitars up to feel correct for myself, so I'm a bit of a one-trick pony, but it's worth putting that effort in.
Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2013 9:05 pm
by mkt3000
Hey westy, let me know which shipping method they used to bring it to you. I'm seriously considering ordering one, but I need to know how bad I'm going to get dinged on local non-US import duties (which USPS doesn't charge, but Fedex/UPS/DHL do).
Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2013 9:26 pm
by westtexasred
mkt3000 wrote:Hey westy, let me know which shipping method they used to bring it to you. I'm seriously considering ordering one, but I need to know how bad I'm going to get dinged on local non-US import duties (which USPS doesn't charge, but Fedex/UPS/DHL do).
I'm not sure it is German mail to DHL but then I don't know who delivers it here DHL or USPS? Either way there shouldn't be any import duty because the the guitar is under $200.
Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2013 10:29 pm
by mkt3000
westtexasred wrote:
mkt3000 wrote:Hey westy, let me know which shipping method they used to bring it to you. I'm seriously considering ordering one, but I need to know how bad I'm going to get dinged on local non-US import duties (which USPS doesn't charge, but Fedex/UPS/DHL do).
I'm not sure it is German mail to DHL but then I don't know who delivers it here DHL or USPS? Either way there shouldn't be any import duty because the the guitar is under $200.
The rules in PR are a little different... it's the local government that can charge it
Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 5:47 am
by sunshiner
German state postal sevice is called DHL as a well known non-state service. In my experience, if you're package is shipped via state DHL, then it will come via your state postal service, not via DHL.
Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 2:53 pm
by mkt3000
westtexasred wrote:
mkt3000 wrote:Hey westy, let me know which shipping method they used to bring it to you. I'm seriously considering ordering one, but I need to know how bad I'm going to get dinged on local non-US import duties (which USPS doesn't charge, but Fedex/UPS/DHL do).
I'm not sure it is German mail to DHL but then I don't know who delivers it here DHL or USPS? Either way there shouldn't be any import duty because the the guitar is under $200.
I made a call to Deutschland. Seriously, I called Thomann and asked.
[/quote]