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Nice guitar for the money, but don't expect miracles
I ordered this guitar based on the reviews on YouTube. Generally the people reviewing it are very impressed. I have to say I was surprised, but not impressed. But in all honesty I also have an Eastman acoustic and Eastmans just beats ALL acoustic guitars out there in terms of qc, playability and sound. Honest comparison could be Recording King. I've had a Recording King before and that one needed a lot more work as opposed to the HB in order to make it playable!
Truth be told: if you buy this guitar, just know it needs a bit of TLC.
1) the frets are not polished. This is an easy task you just use 0000 steel wool. Kudos to Thomann regarding the fret ends. These are nicely dressed, not sharp just a bit rough, but this you can solve this using the steel wool I just mentioned.
2) string height at 12th fret. There is a qc card which says 2.5mm at 6th string 12th fret. This wasn't the case, it was 3mm. The relief is good and the action at the first fret is about 0.6mm which is fine, especially since this is a short scale guitar (easier to fret).
I have to see if I'm going to sand the saddle down, there is a bit of saddle height you can work with, but it's not a lot. Maybe there are some shims underneath but I don't know yet.
3) the frets are pretty much even! I have a fret rocker and it didn't rock, only at the 14th fret or so. No one cares about that ;).
Overall it is a nice guitar for the money. If you know your way with setting up guitars yourself you can't go wrong. The price doesn't justify going to a luthier which is a shame really, but I do think that if you work a bit on this guitar you have an absolute belter. I'm not sure I will keep it though. I will decide within a week or so.
EDIT: So after 3 months of owning this guitar, I decided it needed a new owner. It still was amazing for the price but a parlor guitar isn't for me. I bought a harley benton st-90 in return :D
Truth be told: if you buy this guitar, just know it needs a bit of TLC.
1) the frets are not polished. This is an easy task you just use 0000 steel wool. Kudos to Thomann regarding the fret ends. These are nicely dressed, not sharp just a bit rough, but this you can solve this using the steel wool I just mentioned.
2) string height at 12th fret. There is a qc card which says 2.5mm at 6th string 12th fret. This wasn't the case, it was 3mm. The relief is good and the action at the first fret is about 0.6mm which is fine, especially since this is a short scale guitar (easier to fret).
I have to see if I'm going to sand the saddle down, there is a bit of saddle height you can work with, but it's not a lot. Maybe there are some shims underneath but I don't know yet.
3) the frets are pretty much even! I have a fret rocker and it didn't rock, only at the 14th fret or so. No one cares about that ;).
Overall it is a nice guitar for the money. If you know your way with setting up guitars yourself you can't go wrong. The price doesn't justify going to a luthier which is a shame really, but I do think that if you work a bit on this guitar you have an absolute belter. I'm not sure I will keep it though. I will decide within a week or so.
EDIT: So after 3 months of owning this guitar, I decided it needed a new owner. It still was amazing for the price but a parlor guitar isn't for me. I bought a harley benton st-90 in return :D
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