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Thomann selling Harley Benton basses as 'Decoration only'


Annoying Twit

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[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1424199563' post='2693800']
My bass ukulele came today. So that was an order placed at 9.30 on Saturday, shipped and delivered for when I got into the office 9am this morning (Tuesday). That's pretty good.

The uke is bigger than I expected. I've put a pic below of it resting against my Squier VM jazz.

There's an ever so slight mark on the front of the bass which is barely noticeable. If I'd bought a "proper" version I'd probably not notice it nor would I send it back for that.

The A string rattles a lot. I'd call it fret buzz but rubber strings don't buzz, they kinda boing off the frets a bit. The E string is a little like that, and the D and G to a much lesser extent. It came with a truss-rod tool so I tried loosening off the truss rod as there's a bit of back bow on the neck. The neck doesn't seem to be moving at all though. Also 5-6 of the frets are too high up the neck but I've got the tools to fix that.

I plugged it in and the D and G strings sound great but you can barely hear the E and A strings. It's not a slight difference, it's a "is it on? oh wait, yes, that's loud" difference when going from the A to the D string. I read about someone having an issue in the reviews of the non-deko ones. A quick read of the B-band website (the pickup/preamp maker) says that an incorrectly sat pickup can do this.

So at the moment it's unplayable due to the rattly A string and can't be amped due to the difference in string volumes. At the moment though, I think I can solve these. For £42 delivered it's probably not worth sending back if I think I can turn it into a bit of a project. I could even rip the frets out and turn it fretless. Not sure if that would solve the rattly A string though.

Reckon I should try and fix the issues or send it back? I've got the (huge) box it came in at work still but will have to recycle it in the next day or two so I'll need to decide today or tomorrow.

Here's the pic:

[attachment=184154:DSC_0459.JPG]
[/quote]

Sorry If I am missing something, but on what grounds could you return it anyway? I would have thought these would be strictly no returns given they are sold as defect items?

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[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1424465069' post='2696730']
Sorry If I am missing something, but on what grounds could you return it anyway? I would have thought these would be strictly no returns given they are sold as defect items?
[/quote]

You can't return it as a faulty item, but under the distance seller's regulations, any item bought online can be returned within 14 days without having to give a reason. Some retailers charge a restocking fee for this which will be buried in their terms and conditions somewhere.

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Loads of comparatively boring guitars just went up now.
[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/decorative_guitars_and_basses.html"]http://www.thomann.d...and_basses.html[/url]

Includes a P-bass. Not so boring.

EDIT: P-Bass is £19 pounds something. Isn't that cheaper than before?

Most of the guitars have gone now, but the P-Bass is still there. C'mon guys. We've got to show those guitarists that we can be as fast as they can.

Edited by Annoying Twit
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[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1424465387' post='2696735']
any item bought online can be returned within 14 days without having to give a reason
[/quote]

To me, that just isn't morally right. I know it doesn't mean much to companies like Thomann, but why should a buyer have that right? Faulty, of course, wrong size, understandable, but simply because you changed your mind or another reason that is just down to your decision making? Why should a shop have to accept that?

Edited by Kev
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[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1424467336' post='2696776']
Because you're buying goods unseen is why. Perfectly morally acceptable.
[/quote]
It really is not that black and white. But this isn't the thread for the conversation so I will leave it here :)

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[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1424465416' post='2696737']
Loads of comparatively boring guitars just went up now.
[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/decorative_guitars_and_basses.html"]http://www.thomann.d...and_basses.html[/url]

Includes a P-bass. Not so boring.

EDIT: P-Bass is £19 pounds something. Isn't that cheaper than before?

Most of the guitars have gone now, but the P-Bass is still there. C'mon guys. We've got to show those guitarists that we can be as fast as they can.
[/quote]

Gutted, I'm after a bitsa project :( be others surely.

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[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1424467579' post='2696782']

It really is not that black and white. But this isn't the thread for the conversation so I will leave it here :)
[/quote]

Indeed :) besides, I knew it might not be playable so it's a project now. At the very least I'll learn something.

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[quote name='stubass' timestamp='1424470509' post='2696808']
Gutted, I'm after a bitsa project :( be others surely.
[/quote]

P-Basses come up moderately regularly. It is of course only £65 for the non-deko version, or £80 for the PJ. [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_pj_4_htr_deluxe_series_b_stock.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...ies_b_stock.htm[/url]

The P-Bass was up for over half an hour I think. That's a long time in deko-land.

[Following is in reply to other posts]

I'd be interested in participating in a discussion on the morals of returning items under the consumer contracts regulations if one is started in the off-topic (or for instruments general discussion) section.

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1424472132' post='2696826']
I am tempted to grab an acoustic if one comes up, but by the time I get round to checking they are long gone!
[/quote]

Which acoustic do you want? There are always a few acoustic basses available, including four string fretted and five string fretted/fretless versions.

[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_b_35nt_acoustic_bass_s_deko.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...bass_s_deko.htm[/url]

Look at the photos of that one. I really don't like where they stamped the 'D' into that bass.

Edited by Annoying Twit
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[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1424513719' post='2697082']
The 4 string acoustic one.
[/quote]

Sorry. Possibly due to morningitis, I completely missed the word 'uke' in your post.

How is yours? I've heard mixed reviews. Some people say they're great. Some people have been more critical of them.

[quote name='irvined' timestamp='1424514113' post='2697090']
The precision I bought was 37 Euros which my web converter recons is £27.36.

If it was up for £19 that's a real bargain.
[/quote]

I wonder if this is a permanent price change, or whether they are pricing depending on how much is wrong with them. The PB did stick around for quite some time compared to others (The L500 LP copy disappeared so quickly it wasn't even on the list when the deco page was auto-loaded in my browser), even at that price.

Edited by Annoying Twit
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[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1424507934' post='2696987']
Nor is mine stamped there. Having thought about it, it probably wouldn't weaken the bass. But, I'm very pleased that they are stamping the heel now, not the actual wood.
[/quote]

Mine has two stamps, one on the heel and one on the body like in the photo. The stamp on the body is over where the neck block is, so I wouldn't worry about it weakening anything.

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My 5 string fretted acoustic arrived today. I actually bought it for a friend but needed to check it first :) I cannot find anything wrong with it at all. All very confusing. It is enormous though!

Edited by owen
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[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1424696424' post='2699194']
Thanks BotB.

The five string fretless acoustic has sold out. The basic six decos have been around so long that I guessed that there were loads of them. Not any more it seems.
[/quote]

Thankfully. I check the deko page constantly and I've just been hovering over that fretless 5. So glad that temptation is gone.

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