Annoying Twit Posted April 2, 2015 Author Share Posted April 2, 2015 (edited) [quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1427972849' post='2736457'] Yes, mine had a QC hang tag dated late last year. [/quote] 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? Edited April 2, 2015 by Annoying Twit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vixivi Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 [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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted April 2, 2015 Author Share Posted April 2, 2015 My acoustic fretless was 'set up' similar to your B550-FL. That was a Deko however. If I received a non-deko set up like that, I'd query it passing through QC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vixivi Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 [quote name='Vixivi' timestamp='1427994027' post='2736874'] 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] +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooks79 Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 randomly saw a Black SG Deko for £21 this morning. Would be rude not to try it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted April 3, 2015 Author Share Posted April 3, 2015 [quote name='Wooks79' timestamp='1428057080' post='2737516'] randomly saw a Black SG Deko for £21 this morning. Would be rude not to try it. [/quote] Is that the S200? If so, it's a bolt on. The reviews are good, but I must admit to a personal prejudice that if I bought an SG guitar, I'd really want a set neck. I've removed the neck from my PJ5, and have taped it up so that I can practice polishing frets on it. (Erm, my reason for purchasing it might just have been ... a cheap bass to practice 'stuff' on - sorry Deko fans). I do not believe that this is an alder body. It is a light coloured wood with very little visible grain. It looks very much like basswood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooks79 Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 [quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1428070308' post='2737739'] Is that the S200? If so, it's a bolt on. The reviews are good, but I must admit to a personal prejudice that if I bought an SG guitar, I'd really want a set neck. [/quote] Yeah the S200, but for £21, I'm not fussy as I'm no guitarist If it turns up and is nasty, like really is decorative at best, I'll pass it over to my SG playing guitarist to smash up if he likes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted April 3, 2015 Author Share Posted April 3, 2015 (edited) The reviews are good, and the sound clips sound convincing. It's just me being fussy. Congratulations on the purchase, I hope it arrives quicker than mine did! EDIT: For my own bass, I'm not convinced that this is alder. Edited April 3, 2015 by Annoying Twit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooks79 Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 I forgot to mention, I had a rehearsal last night and took my PJ5 along, and I really cant fault it for the price! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 (edited) [quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1428071750' post='2737776'] The reviews are good, and the sound clips sound convincing. It's just me being fussy. Congratulations on the purchase, I hope it arrives quicker than mine did! EDIT: For my own bass, I'm not convinced that this is alder. [/quote] Mine weighed a ton which was why I thought it may be Alder rather than Basswood, but it was over a year ago and they may have changed woods. Actually remembering the first one I got was a B Stock and was heavier, I then sent it back and got an A stock which was lighter...but I think that was just individual variance Edited April 3, 2015 by yorks5stringer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 [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] Mine got wrapped up and is en route to Malta so can't remember who QC'd it, it could have been Jack too, but he may not be happy.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted April 3, 2015 Author Share Posted April 3, 2015 [quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1428074921' post='2737837'] Mine weighed a ton which was why I thought it may be Alder rather than Basswood, but it was over a year ago and they may have changed woods. Actually remembering the first one I got was a B Stock and was heavier, I then sent it back and got an A stock which was lighter...but I think that was just individual variance [/quote] Mine feels reasonably light for a fiver. It's not as light as one cheap bass that I've encountered which I suspect was Pawlownia. But, I don't think anyone would think this heavy for a five string. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooks79 Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 [quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1427991259' post='2736821'] Mine says 11th of November 2014, passed by "Jack". What does yours say? [/quote] Mine is "Jack" as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted April 3, 2015 Author Share Posted April 3, 2015 Deko LH acoustic bass sold for £87! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Harley-Benton-Electro-Acoustic-Bass-Guitar-Left-Handed-/131472342122?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1e9c5cbc6a&nma=true&si=2TlSpK28TZJYBigw1V%252Fjws4ZqDo%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 (edited) Looking at his past feedback simon020166 has been selling an awful lot of Harley Bentons. I counted 3 LH acoustic basses all sold for £87. I think you've unearthed who's buying up the "dekos" AT,or at least some of them I zoomed in on the neck pocket,what makes you think it's not alder ? http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/red-alder/ http://www.kneguitars.com/woods.php Edited April 3, 2015 by kodiakblair Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted April 3, 2015 Author Share Posted April 3, 2015 @KB - there's almost no grain there. Comparing your samples to my natural Yamaha Pacifica (made from five different bits of alder with varying grain ) they look much more like your samples than the wood I saw in the neck pocket of my PJ5. This sample of basswood looks a much better match to my bass: I used a high powered light to examine the grain in the main guitar body, and there's not very much there. What is there looks like basswood to me. Alder instruments I've seen have had more grain, and different looking grain. E.g. more similar to your second wood grain example in particular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 They were the 1st 2 examples of alder grain Google threw up on an alder wood grain image search Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 [quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1428089910' post='2738053'] Deko LH acoustic bass sold for £87! [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Harley-Benton-Electro-Acoustic-Bass-Guitar-Left-Handed-/131472342122?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1e9c5cbc6a&nma=true&si=2TlSpK28TZJYBigw1V%252Fjws4ZqDo%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=p2047675.l2557[/url] [/quote] Ah, yes I remember him. I see he's still using the "German Engineered" misnomer. When I contacted him he would not admit they were B Stocks he was buying in and was emailing me into the early hours with abuse....! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 That seller has been knocking out Dekos for a while. I was looking for a cheap P bass for a project and was going to get an HB, then I saw he was selling them cheaper than the Thomann retail price and he's just down the road so no postage,couldn't understand how until this thread came along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted April 3, 2015 Author Share Posted April 3, 2015 [quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1428099359' post='2738172'] Ah, yes I remember him. I see he's still using the "German Engineered" misnomer. When I contacted him he would not admit they were B Stocks he was buying in and was emailing me into the early hours with abuse....! [/quote] That guy! I remember him now that you point it out! I sent him a message and got a very strange stream of consciousness reply from him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted April 4, 2015 Author Share Posted April 4, 2015 (edited) [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_e_35_bk_vintage_series_deko.htm?sid=dd8f56911636cb339ddd417af2e1feb7"]http://www.thomann.d...ddd417af2e1feb7[/url] [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_d_120ce_nt_deko.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...0ce_nt_deko.htm[/url] EDIT: Gone in seconds again. Edited April 4, 2015 by Annoying Twit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 (edited) Baritone guitar deko. [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_mr_63bk_baritone_vintage_serie.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...ntage_serie.htm[/url] EDIT: Baritone still available, at £64 something. Someone made their own baritone guitar out of a HB Beatles Bass. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmrHoele130&spfreload=10[/media] Edited April 9, 2015 by Annoying Twit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted April 10, 2015 Author Share Posted April 10, 2015 (edited) [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_pb_20_bk_standard_seri_deko.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...d_seri_deko.htm[/url] P-Bass Deko. Also, some others. EDIT: Some guitars including a LP copy and a 'Vintage strat', but they disappeared quickly. P-Bass still there. £19 I think. EDIT: P-bass gone. Edited April 10, 2015 by Annoying Twit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 That Baritone seems to be sticking, and looks quite expensive against a £19 P-bass! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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