Vixivi

Recorded some stuff really fast, just to give an impression as to how it sounds. Everything is stock, except for the strings. They are some older d'addario nickels i had lying around. [url="https://soundcloud.com/vixivi/harley-benton-jb-20"]https://soundcloud.c...ey-benton-jb-20[/url] recording is simply bass => Focusrite scarlett 2i4 => PC. Without any equalization or such.

[quote name='RickyV' timestamp='1431459576' post='2771640'] Out of interest, is your JB-20 still stock or have you modded it? I modded my deko JB-20 as the electronics were shot when I got it but interested in how you think a standard JB-20 sounds? [/quote] Still stock. I think it sounds quite good, only other jazz bass i can compare it too is my Harley Benton JB-75 with Wilkinson pups. In comparison to that one it sound warmer, more low mids present i think. I'll try to record a soundclip one of these days.

Beware tho, once you realize how much fun it is to buy these cheap basses and mod them, you're hooked. I'm already owner of 5 Harley Benton basses and i still want (need) more. On topic of the deko's: I gigged my deko JB-20 today and i got a funny comment from the drummer. He said: "so you're not playing bass, you're playing decoration? sounds pretty good for decoration" And further about the PB-20: The buzzing was caused by a slight warp in the neck. Raising the action fixes it, so the bass can't have ultra low action but plays great aside from that.

The A strings was indeed lower and the truss rod was a little too tight. So i raised the A string and loosened up the truss a bit and no more buzz! Aside from the D stamps i dont think anyone would recognize this as a deko. It's a perfectly fine bass now. And about the pot: adding a washer fixed the scratching.

My 2 deko's arrived today! I haven't played around with them alot yet but these are my findings so far: PB-20: No faults in finish, electronics work fine. I suspect the reason this one may be a deko is that the shaft of the volume pot has been cut slightly too short causing the knob to slightly scratch against the pickguard. No big deal tho, i have a spare pot laying around somewhere which i will probably pop in there. The other thing i noticed is terrible buzzing which is only present on the 8th fret of the A string. Anybody has any ideas what this might be and how to fix it? I only did a fast inspection so far,so it might just be a raised fret but i'm asking anyways. JB-20: Only thing i could find that was wrong with this one is that the pickguard has been cut terribly. Nothing i cant fix with some sanding paper tho. Aside from that electronics are fine, finish is nice. All in all, another great deko buy! Will post pictures later.

Last night before going to bed i saw that the JB-20 was still available and well i couldn't resist so i ordered that aswell. Got confirmation of my order on JB and PB this morning. I'm a happy boy now!

Well, it all comes down to personal taste. Everytime i listen to Leprous i gas for an 8 string.. They can make theirs sound so mighty. btw: P bass listed as sold out

I was also tempted by the 8 string, i like me some djent/prog metal from time to time. But i already have my hands full with 6 strings on a guitar. I also checked out some soundclips and some sounded pretty crappy while others sounded quite decent, i think a pup change would make a world of difference tho.

I'll await an order confirmation first. If they seem to be out of stock again, i'll be tempted to ask Grangur for more info.

I ordered the p bass. Hope i dont receive a mail tomorrow saying it's out of stock tho (had this with the pj-5). Thanks for sharing AT

Oh, didnt notice it was a double humbucker model. Just gassing for a classic style tele.

Too bad the telecaster disappeared so fast, i've been gassing for one of those.

Lack of money and abundance of gas makes me check the deko page (and the basschat topic) quite often. Since you hadn't posted yet, i did. They were online quite long (for deko guitars that is) at least half an hour or so.

some deko guitars just popped up: http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_hbx5t_bk_deko.htm http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_rx_10_bk_rock_series_deko.htm http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_hbo600_bk_deko.htm

I also have no idea how it got through QC, good thing i love tweaking with and setting up instruments tho. On a side note: the deko classical guitar i ordered a while back was setup just fine when i got it. Only some slight faults in the finish. But nothing that affected playability.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1427991259' post='2736821'] Mine says 11th of November 2014, passed by "Jack". What does yours say? I'm wondering if the instruments that have been returned that are found to have been docked about with by the purchasers are the ones that become dekos. They passed quality control at one time, I presume. But why would mine have such high action if it had passed QC? [/quote] A while ago i received a brand new harley benton B550 FL which also passed QC but the setup was terrible, the bass was unplayable out of the box. When i took off the strings the nut fell out, nut also wasnt properly filed, trussrod was tightened waay to much making first few 'frets' unplayable, intonation was off, strings way to high,.. I couldn't make out who set it up, it was just some scribble signature on the paper. This was a brand new one, so i don't think their QC is that strict? I have nothing against harley bentons tho, the last one (not deko) i received was setup perfectly. And the previous ones only needed slight adjustments. But the B550-Fl was setup much worse than my fretless acoustic deko.

About £19.7 pounds including shipping (27.80 euro). I personally still find your posts very usefull, i actually always check basschat first. The notification system is quite helpfull, whenever i see 'Annoying Twit replied to ... ' i'm hoping for some deko's

Your post made me buy it. Always fun to have another guitar, and for this price ill probably use it a lot and take it with me alot. I wouldnt worry as much about it getting beat up or such. (although i treat all my instruments with a lot of respect)

Just ordered the nylon electro acoustic guitar. Will just use it to fool around and probably use as a festival guitar, for 20 euro's it doesnt really matter if it has a few flaws.

[quote name='theyellowcar' timestamp='1423413584' post='2684492'] Can anyone share their experiences of the 75 Jazz copy? Incredibly tempting at that price. I had a J&D for a little while which was ace, but I'm sort of sold on the ash body on the natural model, and having Wilko pickups in there is reassuring. [/quote] I have one and i love it, already gigged it and it sounded great! It just needed a basic setup, i needed to lower strings and setup intonation. Controls don't feel cheap (which is often the case with budget basses) pickups sound quite good. Neck, fretwork,... all feels good. So i don't have anything negative to say. All in all great bass!

[quote name='Mark_88MPH' timestamp='1422884209' post='2677834'] I don't know to be honest, this is my first t-bird and only ever played one Gibson Thunderbird for about 10 minutes. However from what I have heard from mine is that the sound isn't as big as the gibsons but there are a few factors that could explain that: I can only play through headphones at home and they were on the way out so it probably wasn't handling the HB very well. When I tried the Gibson I was plugged into the new fender rumble head and 115 cab in a sound proof room so could really ramp the volume. So I haven't really been able to give it a fair comparison. But the HB does sound good even with busted headphones! In terms of playability, I would say they are the same Hope that answers your question! [/quote] If it sounds good even through busted headphones, i think it would be killer through a big rig! Must save up money first tho..

[quote name='Mark_88MPH' timestamp='1422869045' post='2677605'] I've recently got the HB T-bird. It is great, plays nicely, looks good and sounds good too. The only thing I would say is that the pickups perhaps are a little weak but then my headphones died so it could just be that the headphones weren't showing the true sound. I also got the HB E335 guitar, that's great too and I would say there's nothing that I don't like about it. For just over £100 it plays and sounds just as good as a Hofner version I played recently which was about £500! [/quote] I've been wondering about the harley benton t bird, does it have that typical growl associated with t birds?

[quote name='streather' timestamp='1417566014' post='2621928'] [size=3][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]It was the B-550FL progressive, not sure if it's the older or newer model though, I bought it in september if that's much help. I'd have bought the fretted version but I absolutely hated the way the fret markers looked in the photos, and i figured I can scratch the 5 string and the fretless itches in one go[/font][/size] [/quote] My battery seems to run out really fast, after about a week. I always unplug my bass after playing but it still seems to happen. Did you have this issue too? [quote name='miles'tone' timestamp='1419248125' post='2637898'] I would still love to know how heavy the B-550's are if anyone can help... Boat anchors? neck divers? [/quote] I havent weighed mine yet but it's pretty light and has no neck dive. I'll try and weigh it later today.

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 name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1421618122' post='2663415'] I've put black nylon-covered D'addarios on mine and it has transformed the sound, the playability and the feel [/quote] How does the it affect the acoustic volume? I've been thinking of putting black nylons on my fretless deko, but i'm a bit concerned about the acoustic volume.