I see what you did thier. 
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Getting back to the off topic discussion…
I think my peeps said that 68 is sus but it might make you sugoi boyeee.
(Dang, that was terrible.)
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Bwahahahahaha 
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Thank you for your impressions on the instrument. It seems pretty good for the price, so I went on and ordered one myself 
Just one question, perhaps I missed it in one of the posts: did you need to modify the nut in some way for the new flatwound strings? They are a different gauge as well, right?
Hey mate, my flats fit all right, no dramas.
I have had to file the nut on other basses with tapewounds.
Easy if you are careful- I use a rat tail file with small movements and make sure not to push down to avoid making it deeper.
It is a very good instrument.
I am still struggling with my strangle switch mod but that is because I can’t get the right size capacitor at the local electronics shop and the ebay one the just arrived was wrong-randomly sent a 102K rather than the 223 (0.022) i ordered
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Oh well, it arrived today and apparently, mine is a return or something similar, I have to complain and hopefully get a few euros back from Thomann.
From the first impressions, however, I’d keep it. It’s definitely an interesting instrument, it works decently as bass but with a few more options. It doesn’t feel like it’s a short scale tough…
However, it is far from great, just okay for the price. Above all, the neck sits rather deep/tilted, and after a quick setup (practice may not always make perfect, but it makes fast 
), it looks like there is no chance to get a playable instrument and all 3 pickups at the right distance from the strings.
Is it the first known example of a tone washer? 
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Shims are common in neck pockets, and I would suggest you get something more proper in there vs. that washer that might ruin the edge of the finish at some point.
A properly shimmed neck might solve you pickup height issue, or, more foam underneath the pickups.
Yeah sure, that was just a quick way for troubleshooting. @Gloucestre had the same issue with the pickup height, so asking for a replacement probably wouldn’t help. But I bought it knowing that some work might be needed. I don’t mind some DIY 
The bridge was also incredibly high, so foam underneath the pickups isn’t the best solution probably. But the washer is also not staying there for long
Strings and tuners are now also on the upgrade/replacement list too…
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I think my pickup height can be solved at the bridge: still playing with it as I need to get into the electrics to play with the capacitors again.
The angle from the bridge is what makes mine so high.
When I am happy there I will set a final bridge height.
I have no neck issues sofar.
Mine plays very well and I am happy.
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Oh, sure, it’s a lot of fun.
But Harley Benton has delivered quite a few great instruments for bargain prices, or at least ready to play out of the box… this isn’t one of them. Maybe I’ve been unlucky, but the way the bridge was set up is suspicious.
Arguably the Squire might need even more work than this one to function properly. But I expected better quality (although not perfection 
) to begin with.
Still, it’s not going back.
The instrument settled down a bit, but the intonation is still a bit off on the low E. I’ve read that there is a Gotoh bridge (edit: the GE103B-T - but not verified personally) which is an easy replacement. Also, the LaBella strings for the Schechter Hellcat VI are a suitable replacement for the Harley Benton.
One upgrade at the time until it’s perfect
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I think these are round aren’t they? Not sure they are still making them either.
I asked Kallium and they won’t do flats.
The LaBella flats above seem to work even though they are long.
I forgot to add above that it seems difficult to raise the pickups due to the way they are attached to the pickguard, I will have another look when I pull it off again soon but mine are up as far as I can get them presently-foam won’t help in this case.
I think yours is one with issues-I am really happy with the quality of mine.
I am no where near good enough yet to take full advantage of it yet.
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Thanks, I didn’t realize that the Labella are out of production, both rounds and flats. Maybe there is something left out there in a warehouse in Europe…
Otherwise, the Ernie Ball EB2837 is probably the best bet for rounds, at least with a relatively light gauge. And a cheap one too. Hopefully, the low E string fits in the tuning peg, apparently it isn’t tapered.
If I ever want to try flats, the Pyramid set suggested for the instrument by Thomann would probably be my choice.
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Those are still pretty light and reviews vary.
The ones I got are long but good, just be careful winding the low E and A
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Well, I like low-tension strings. At least on this instrument.
My main problem is that the intonation of the low E is poor, and the tuning stability is not great either. The bridge (and the tuners) may actually be responsible for the issue, but a slightly more substantial E string should help as well.
I am not going to mount Labella flats that way. Given their price, for me, it’s not worth the risk of damaging one or more strings. And would probably be happy with lighter strings anyway.
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No worries,
I think you really need to talk to Thomaan about these issues on your bass.
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Probably the stock strings were the main issue - they were rated terribly in every review, so not a surprise there
The EB2837 strings fit fine and feel good. The 0.90 for the low E is ok. The bridge might not have been necessary, but since the Gotoh GE103B-T was a perfect fit, I didn’t think twice and replaced that as well (not the screws).
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I have yet to find a guitar where I like the stock strings. Even my Spector came with strings I hated. After I got that experience, I started ordering a pack of my favorite strings at the same time I ordered a new bass. I would play with the stock strings long enough to say “ok, the guitar works. These strings suck.” and then swap them out.
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I pretty much do the same thing.
I finally got a 333 capacitor (.033uF).
Tiny little thing it is too.
Put it in yesty.
I am pretty happy with this.
What it does is just take the very bottom bass/mud out without appreciably affecting the volume.
I looked at some Youtube vids of the Squier VI and it sounds basically the same. It is like having a Solo/Rhythm switch.
Strangely the best effect is on the middle or mid/bridge setting with the tone rolled down.
With the other cap I had turning the tone down gave no sound.
@paolo.pfm While I was under the hood I removed the springs under the bridge pickup which let me raise it something like 3-5mm and now it is outputting like a champion, nice and loud where previously it was pretty pathetic.
I’ll add some pics when I get home after work.
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