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Thomann selling Harley Benton basses as 'Decoration only'


Annoying Twit

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I said that I would buy one of these if they came up 'Deko', but I just can't today.

http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_r_458_bk_progressiv_se_deko.htm

There are a whole lot of other things that have gone up within the last minute (Kodiakblair knows why I'm being literal about 'the last minute' :) ). E.g.

http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_jb_75_na_vintage_serie_deko.htm

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[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1420802311' post='2653533']
The R458 8 string guitar deko has sold already!!!!! Looks like someone else is tracking these instruments in real time :o

EDIT: A few minutes later, the stratocaster guitar has already sold. The 1975 Vintage Jazz bass is still there.
[/quote]

It's all down to science. Remember where they are.

[url="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/9326045/Why-German-tourists-get-their-towels-down-first.html"]LINK[/url]

Edited by pfretrock
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I've got technology on my side. But it seems even then I'd have to sit around with a Thomann shopping basket open and ready to pounce to have any chance. I had sort of decided that I would go for a Deko R458 if one came up. It disappeared so quickly that even if I had pounced it would probably have been gone.

The Deko 1975 bass(es?) have all sold out now. At least they stayed available for an hour or so.

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[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1420810228' post='2653719']
Hmm, I really shouldn't be buying instruments. But it's occurred to me, I have a birthday this month, and I could totally use an acoustic bass guitar as a party jamming instrument for the times when I don't want to bring my double bass. I'm kind of tempted...
[/quote]

....and there, ladies and gentlemen, we have a master-class in justification for another bass. You, Sir, are a genius! :D

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[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1420809865' post='2653709']
I've got technology on my side. But it seems even then I'd have to sit around with a Thomann shopping basket open and ready to pounce to have any chance. I had sort of decided that I would go for a Deko R458 if one came up. It disappeared so quickly that even if I had pounced it would probably have been gone.

The Deko 1975 bass(es?) have all sold out now. At least they stayed available for an hour or so.
[/quote]

I got one!

Full report to follow when it arrives. I also have an AliExpress bass on the way too....oops!

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Chris - with reference to the 4 string I got, my wife DID kill me...they are SOOOOOOOO big!

[size=2]This message was posted automatically on notification of the sad demise of Andyjr1515 who met an unusual end accidentally falling headfirst onto a hard metal object 128 times in 4/4 time at 120 beats / minute.[/size]

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Just how big are the acoustics? (Say in terms of how wide the lower bout is). Is the unplugged volume reasonable? I don't expect one to be nearly as loud as a double bass, but some ABGs are more useful than others, and big is good in that respect. I had fun jamming with a cheap ABG I borrowed from a friend last year, so I know I could get some use out of one...

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[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1420836040' post='2654167']
Just how big are the acoustics? (Say in terms of how wide the lower bout is).
[/quote]
5 string:
Lower bout 42cm
Tail to head 124cm
Maximum body depth 12cm

[quote]
Is the unplugged volume reasonable?
[/quote]
Not sure how to define reasonable...

Edited by pfretrock
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Well, my JB-20 has arrived :)
Very quick onceover reveals the following issues:
1. The D tuner has a lot of slack in it -- it doesn't slip and is holding tune ok, but it's definitely not quite healthy compared to the other 3.
2. The strings are/were dreadful. The E was rattling and dead, and they were all feeble when amplified.
3. The pickguard has a bit of a ragged edge round the end of the neck.
4. It needs a setup.
5. Errm...
6. That's it.
The fretwork is perfect, no sharp ends or loose frets. The finish is flawless, blemish-free gloss on the body and a nice smooth satin on the neck. The body wood looks great, nice grain showing through and the join between the body pieces is very hard to spot -- it almost looks like a one piece body. The pots are smooth and expensive-feeling. Amplified with different strings on (some old Swing Bass steels I had knocking about), it sounds great -- classic J sounds. The controls are crackle free and have a perfect taper. Honestly, now it's got decent strings on, there's really nothing wrong with it other than the slack tuner.
My original idea was to use as a project base -- I have some Schaller JB6 pups that i'm just dying to use, and I'm planning to make a 2 band eq for it following a Sadowsky schematic. But I'm going to give it a good whirl in its stock state first. Overall, I am absolutely chuffed to bits so far. Best 38 quid I've spent in years. Pics will follow soon.
Happy dog :D

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A whole lot of Harley Benton deko instruments have just gone up within the last 30 seconds....

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

Some highlights: Jazz bass, 4 string solid body fretless, PJ. (following links are not in that order)

[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_pj_4_htr_deluxe_series_deko.htm?sid=01cb064e7bf55ca58868cccd92302448"]http://www.thomann.d...868cccd92302448[/url]

[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_b_450fl_bk_progressive_deko.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...essive_deko.htm[/url]

[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_jb_20_sb_standard_seri_deko.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...d_seri_deko.htm[/url]

EDIT: PJ is already sold out! Must be less than a minute after it went up. There was a Les Paul-a-like and a 7 string guitar. They both went within a minute too.

My program only lists the instruments which are currently up there. I wonder if I'm missing instruments which appear, then disappear again. I'm going to modify it so that instruments that were up but have disappeared can also be seen.

Edited by Annoying Twit
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[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1420836040' post='2654167']
Just how big are the acoustics? (Say in terms of how wide the lower bout is). Is the unplugged volume reasonable? I don't expect one to be nearly as loud as a double bass, but some ABGs are more useful than others, and big is good in that respect. I had fun jamming with a cheap ABG I borrowed from a friend last year, so I know I could get some use out of one...
[/quote]

My acoustic bass doesn't seem that big, or that loud, to me. I have the four string, and perhaps the five string is bigger. But, mine seems to be pretty much a regular acoustic bass size. E.g. comparable to a Tanglewood fretless bass I played.

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It's a bummer that they're selling so quick, I'm after a B30NT to go with my fretless.
I've also been sort of on the lookout for a very cheap but useable P bass to chop up for a project, that PJ would have been prefect.

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I've actually made a basschat account simply cause i was always checking out this thread.

I got a Deko 5 string fretless bass a while ago, great instrument needed a bit of a setup.
The only real fault is that the side dot markings are wrongly positioned, which is not really a problem once you get used to it.




[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1420891351' post='2654609']
A whole lot of Harley Benton deko instruments have just gone up within the last 30 seconds....

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

Some highlights: Jazz bass, 4 string solid body fretless, PJ. (following links are not in that order)

[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_pj_4_htr_deluxe_series_deko.htm?sid=01cb064e7bf55ca58868cccd92302448"]http://www.thomann.d...868cccd92302448[/url]

[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_b_450fl_bk_progressive_deko.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...essive_deko.htm[/url]

[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_jb_20_sb_standard_seri_deko.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...d_seri_deko.htm[/url]

EDIT: PJ is already sold out! Must be less than a minute after it went up. There was a Les Paul-a-like and a 7 string guitar. They both went within a minute too.

My program only lists the instruments which are currently up there. I wonder if I'm missing instruments which appear, then disappear again. I'm going to modify it so that instruments that were up but have disappeared can also be seen.
[/quote]

Annoying Twit I'm really interested in your program, how did you make it if I may ask. I doubt I could make something like since i've only just started to learn basic programming but it interests me nonetheless. :D
Since I'm always too late to order the cool deko stuff :(

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It's written in Java. Every ten seconds it downloads the contents of Thomann's page listing Decoration Guitars and Basses. It then looks into the webpage source using the methods of java's standard String class and finds the brand names and model numbers of the basses listed. It puts these into a text pane of the program's GUI. If any of the instruments are new, then it uses Mac OSX's built in speech synthesiser to speak the brand/model number of the newly listed instruments. The speech synthesiser is important, as I don't have to watch the program. If anything turns up when I'm near the computer, I'll hear the instruments being read out which tells me that there's something new.

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