Harley Benton FV-430 (flying V) mod thread

Guitar arrived earlier this morning.  I'm still at work at the moment and have band practice tonight but I'll get some pictures up as soon as I can.  Stock photo for now

http://www.thomann.de/thumb/bdbmagic/pics/bdb/151035/7301583_800.jpg

It's only had a visual inspection so far but initial impressions are good - no obvious flaws to the finish, no sharp fret ends, nice low action (might be too low for me but I'll reserve judgement until I've got some heavier strings on there), what appears to be a perfectly straight neck.  The only small issue I can spot is that the frets are a bit dull so will presumably need a good polish.

I'm not sure what I'll be modding yet.  I'll mainly just be replacing anything that isn't up to scratch.  I suspect the pickups will be coming out but it could surprise me.

It'll be coming along with me to rehearsal tonight so it can be tested through my full rig.
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Comments

  • Excellent, welcome aboard! 
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  • @RedRabbit Wow, looking forward to this. I think you're the only flying V so far. The Flying V is a guitar i've never owned one of or never even played actually. But I love the look of them. Can't wait to see what you're gonna do with it.
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  • I went for the V just because I've never laid hands on one before.  People in the office have already told me that it's "too cool" for me - I suspect they may have a point.

    Had a bit of a play at lunch.  When I ordered it I thought it had a rubber strip on it to grip to your leg but looking again now it's just how the shadow falls.  Might have to be my first mod if I can't get used to playing it with my right leg in the V.

    The frets definitely need a polish.  Bends are a little scratchy at the moment.

    The fingerboard isn't as tidy as I first thought.  It's nothing drastic but the edges are a little untidy, almost like someone's done a bad job of rounding it off.  The bottom edge of the fingerboard is also a bit wonky but it's purely cosmetic and pretty minor.

    Machine heads felt solid enough when I tuned up.  It's not great at holding tune but I'm not sure if that's down to the tuners or the strings though I think it's probably the latter.
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  • The strings on mine were almost entirely made of dirt and corrosion, it plays much better with fresh ones on there. (It's a convenient time to give the frets a wee buff too).
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  • Yeah, strings on mine where cheaper than cheap. 
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