New cheap guitar day

grungebob

I took a punt on this guitar as it was cheap and I loved the way it looks. 

I thought as I bought it online at the very least I can return it if it turns out to be a turd. 

Well it’s not perfect, it’s needed some work just to make it playable but it’s a lot of fun already. 

So light, great neck carve. I think it has potential. 

A 24 fret offset guitar with a trem and 24.75” scale length with my favourite pickup config. 

Would it be crazy to put 50% of the guitars value into upgrades?

anyway here’s some quick pics

mudslide73

I like that - some nice little touches that make it different but it looks familiar also. 24.75 and 24 frets used to be the preserve of a few shredders (Jackson/Charvel Fusion etc.) but the offset form factor gives it a nice classic look. Nice.

What are you thinking of upgrading? 

grungebob

@mudslide73 yeah the see through blonde gives it some class I think. 

The bridge has a very skinny block so I’m going to start there I think and perhaps see if I can add an earvana nut also and some roller string trees. 

The switch needs changing and the pots. Surprisingly the tuners and pickups are decent enough for now. 

munckee

I’ve spent nearly £200 on a Harley Benton I bought for £110. 

It is of course now better than the Gibson equivalent so worth every penny.....

DiscoStu

Depends on how much it cost you? List price new is £249 so 50% on upgrades takes you to £375 which then begs the question what could you buy for £375?

But if you got it for say £150 and you want to upgrade the bridge and machine heads, or put some Hot Gears in or something, then go for it.

grungebob

It ended up costing me £200 and I’d be happy to put £1-150 into it. I’ve had a look at the £350 mark but nothing with the spec I’d want. 

DiscoStu

Well if the neck is good and it feels right to play then go for it. Make a monster!

PonchoGreg

I think that looks very cool! (and I'm not a fan of offsets). Nice headstock shape, too.

usedtobe

I like the look of that!

DB1

Looks really nice, that.

Keefy

The snob in me would normally walk past something like an Aria, but that guitar does have a lot of plus points for me:
- Bridge HB, neck SC
- 6-point trem
- Simple control layout
- Easy access truss rod
- Attractive offset body
- Good upper fret access

I'm sure that would be worth spending a few quid on to get it just how you want.

grungebob

Well this sucks. 

I still love the guitar. I changed the cheap string trees for some roller Gotoh’s, swapped out the cheap tuners for some locking tuners and really started to enjoy the guitar until tonight when frets 17-19 seem to have started to lift on the bass side making it unplayable. 

The price of the guitar isn’t worth the cost to remedy I don’t think or at least I’d find it hard to justify. 

So annoying, it’s a looker (for me anyway) and I really enjoyed playing it. 

WezV

Can you press them back in and run some superglue under the tang.

grungebob

WezV said:

Can you press them back in and run some superglue under the tang.

They all look seated. 

  Last few days I’ve tweaked the rod and adjusted the action to get it just so. 

First I notice ghost note/wobble so lowered the neck pickup some, that cured that.

 It allowed me to take the E&A lower to where I’d want it but now I had rattle which seemed odd. Working my way along the neck the rattle stops after fret 19 but fret 17 or 18 and it’s buzz/ choke central. 

I think these high frets where there since I got it but the high action it came with masked it. 

I’ve some of those Crimson fret dress blocks but judging by how bad the choke it there’s a lot of material to be removed. 

If I bend the notes towards the centre of the neck on those frets they ring true. I might be imagining it but it feels like there might be a jump in the neck at the same area. 

Now the guitar when I got it had terrible oxidation on the frets, a high action and marking to the fretboard around the 3rd plus 2 tiny holes in the fretboard. 

The seller immediately said he’d take it back but also offered a decent discount.  I do like the guitar a lot and was planning upgrading the electronics but with this new issue it’s kinda took the wind out my sails on it. 

Tall_martin

I modded a Harley Benton and spent ages on the fretwork to get it just right.

It probably would have been "better" to buy a more expensive guitar.

If I sell it, it would have been better to buy a more expensive guitar. 

I enjoyed learning how to fix all the problems and change the pick ups. So it's a win for me. Did some fun stuff and have a lovely guitar that is perfect for me.

If you enjoy fixing/ learning to fix stuff sounds like it's a cheap enough guitar to learn the skills on. 

If you just want to play, get rid and get something better set up out the box.

Have fun whichever path you take

grungebob

Well. 

I missed this guitar so I took a punt and bought the model again. 

So far so good.  Not obvious flaws like the last one and all the frets are level and the nut is cut really well, like really well!

ive rolled the fingerboard edges and it’ll be getting a fret polish later plus some roller string trees and locking tuners. 

For the price it’s great. I’ll take a picture of the rosewood bird later as it’s a real looker. 

icu81b4

Goes well with the rug. 

darthed1981

munckee said:

I’ve spent nearly £200 on a Harley Benton I bought for £110. 

It is of course now better than the Gibson equivalent so worth every penny.....

Wis'd

grungebob

Here it is after a fret polish. Lovely looking rosewood board

And I added another hanger for my room so it’s definitely staying now 

TDubs

grungebob said:

Here it is after a fret polish. Lovely looking rosewood board

And I added another hanger for my room so it’s definitely staying now 

Have you built yourself your own stage?

grungebob

Ha ha no, this is upstairs of a loft conversion, that box is the top of the hall way windows. In this room I guess it looks like a stage but in the other room it’s part of a bed.