A 2015 mod a Harley Benton guitar challenge?

sinbaadi

So great that there is such enthusiasm for this.

Maynehead

What's the entry criteria? I'm pretty good at making a crappy guitar play and sound amazing, but I don't have the means to do any big structural mods like routing, painting or refinishing.

Would a fret level, pickup swap and proper set up be enough?

TTony

Maynehead said:

What's the entry criteria?

It's really open-ended.

Both ends.

Do as little or as much as you feel is necessary to make it into a "good" guitar - something that you'd be happy gigging (if your'e a gigger) or passing to a mate and saying "have a play on this, it's great".

I'm guessing that we'll see a re-finish or two, a lot of p'up & electrics swapping, and a goodly amount of nut & fret work ... 

Lixarto

Maybe.

Megii

This is a great idea for a challenge, sadly I don't think I can allow myself to take part, but will follow with some interest - especially if you actually are pulling the trigger on the P90 tele thinline @hobbio

hobbio

@Megii I'll be doing it, and it'll be the thinline

I would have done the Cornell rep 335 like I was talking about a while ago, but someone else has called it. To be honest I wouldn't be surprised to see an Olive Drab Epi 335 out in a year or two anyway now that there's a very similar guitar in Gibson's 2015 line up.

Maybe a nice veneered top on the thinline is the way to go for this competition.

Megii

hobbio said:

@Megii I'll be doing it, and it'll be the thinline

I would have done the Cornell rep 335 like I was talking about a while ago, but someone else has called it. To be honest I wouldn't be surprised to see an Olive Drab Epi 335 out in a year or two anyway now that there's a very similar guitar in Gibson's 2015 line up.

Maybe a nice veneered top on the thinline is the way to go for this competition.

Boringly, I kind of like the stock finish, going by the pics. I also like the headstock shape, and the rosewood fingerboard looks like decent wood, and I like those abalone dots they've used. The bridge looks similar to the one I fitted to my wave guitar, and I find that to be very good. Like the fact it's chambered on both sides as well. So for me, the specs seem pretty good as sold - I'd probably do the frets, set it up for 11's or possibly even 12's, and see what I reckoned re the pickups - boring or what?... . But the world's your oyster of course. Do wonder what those Wilkinson pickups are like and if worth upgrading.

guitargeek62

TTony said:

Go ferret.

Alright then, Lil & I are in - she's as interested in learning to play it as I am! It's not due in stock for a month though, but if that doesn't affect any potential "deal" of sorts with Thomann then the wait's not problem for us. Linky for the model (if needed?)

TTony

guitargeek62 said:

TTony said:

Go ferret.

Alright then, Lil & I are in - she's as interested in learning to play it as I am! It's not due in stock for a month though, but if that doesn't affect any potential "deal" of sorts with Thomann then the wait's not problem for us. Linky for the model (if needed?)

You're on the list

First mod:  add some fret markers.

sinbaadi

hobbio said:

@Megii I'll be doing it, and it'll be the thinline

I would have done the Cornell rep 335 like I was talking about a while ago, but someone else has called it. To be honest I wouldn't be surprised to see an Olive Drab Epi 335 out in a year or two anyway now that there's a very similar guitar in Gibson's 2015 line up.

Maybe a nice veneered top on the thinline is the way to go for this competition.

I'm not going for a replica job.  Just something similar, taking inspiration from the Cornell guitars.  It probably will be Olive Drab Green because that colour really grabbed me, but besides that I'm not going to fixate on details at all.  I still want to buy the real thing and I'm not kidding myself that a modified Harley Benton will serve as a replacement.  So feel free to go down whichever road you wish, do not feel that because I'm doing a 335 type like this that you can't.

guitargeek62

TTony said:

guitargeek62 said:

TTony said:

Go ferret.

Alright then, Lil & I are in - she's as interested in learning to play it as I am! It's not due in stock for a month though, but if that doesn't affect any potential "deal" of sorts with Thomann then the wait's not problem for us. Linky for the model (if needed?)

You're on the list

First mod:  add some fret markers.

Easy;

TTony

So you've already got this all planned out.

The jobs as good as done.

hobbio

sinbaadi said:

hobbio said:

@Megii I'll be doing it, and it'll be the thinline

I would have done the Cornell rep 335 like I was talking about a while ago, but someone else has called it. To be honest I wouldn't be surprised to see an Olive Drab Epi 335 out in a year or two anyway now that there's a very similar guitar in Gibson's 2015 line up.

Maybe a nice veneered top on the thinline is the way to go for this competition.

I'm not going for a replica job.  Just something similar, taking inspiration from the Cornell guitars.  It probably will be Olive Drab Green because that colour really grabbed me, but besides that I'm not going to fixate on details at all.  I still want to buy the real thing and I'm not kidding myself that a modified Harley Benton will serve as a replacement.  So feel free to go down whichever road you wish, do not feel that because I'm doing a 335 type like this that you can't.

@sinbaadi My post sounds bitchier than I meant it too, sorry. I was considering a CC rep from an Epi 335, but that was before I saw the new 2015 line up and that pretty much put the kaibosh on the idea for me anyway.

guitargeek62

TTony said:

So you've already got this all planned out.

The jobs as good as done.

Always! I've been reading up on violin pickups/preamps, working out what strings I need, and trying to figure out what effect the material for the tuning pegs etc have on the tone. I suppose I could make a new body for it as well at some point!

ToneControl

TTony said:

This is tempting me ...

do you have the link for this one please?

cbilly22

ThePrettyDamned said:

WezV said:

I'm in - tempted to do one of these for my daughter

http://www.thomann.de/thumb/bdbmagic/pics/bdb/172086/7413085_800.jpg

I'm also tempted to do one of those, refinish it and gut it. 

Maybe tune it quite a bit higher than a regular guitar - make it a more folksy instrument. What say you?

If either of you do, I have one kicking around that I'm selling. It's still in the classifieds somewhere. Won't post the link here as don't want to hijack the thread too much.

cbilly22

I'm in. 

Might have to be an explorer style one for me

Hyster

ToneControl said:

TTony said:

This is tempting me ...

do you have the link for this one please?

I think this is the one TTony posted a pic of.

ToneControl

Hyster said:

ToneControl said:

TTony said:

This is tempting me ...

do you have the link for this one please?

I think this is the one TTony posted a pic of.

thanks
an amazing price
how good are wilkinson Alnico humbickers does anyone know?

Nomad

ToneControl said:

how good are wilkinson Alnico humbickers does anyone know?

I would say that they're decent - better than the ceramic affairs that appear on less well specced instruments. How decent will depend on the model. I don't know what differences there are in coils for the A5 pickups (some will be similar to vintage PAF spec, some will be hotter), but some have nickel-silver covers and baseplates, and some have a different metal which might affect the tone.

The Wilkinson MVCs in my Vintage Lemon Drop were okay (nickel-silver covers), but improved markedly when I changed the A5 magnets to A2. The result was a sweeter and clearer tone. I'm not a fan of bridge pickups because I often find them sharp and harsh, but the change in this case actually made it usable to my ears - brighter than the neck, of course, but still sweet. The neck is creamy and smooth.