I bought a Harley Benton TE20HH at the same time as my HB35Plus. While the 35Plus was perfect out of the box (and I mean that!) the TE20HH had a bowed neck and fret sprout up and down both sides of the guitar, pretty much from top to bottom. So, I got one of those emery block sponge thingies and did the 45 degree angle with it and went up and down the fretboard for about ten minutes on each side. Worked like a charm. As an aside about Temu ads, I don't know if you can set the app for children's eyes, if you know what I mean. I had a look around their site a few times and came away unimpressed. Sure, there are useful products, but the site reminds of those overstock warehouses filled with stuff no one wants for cheap. Rock on, Ted!
It's good to hear you talk guitars and life. The neck and inlays look nice - Maybe you can black out the headstock? You did a great job on that SG! Cheers, man!
I told you Jack that that was a pain touch up on the headstock and if you took it off you were going to find a crack or bare wood. If you send off the white on the headstock you'll get to bare wood and you'll need to seal that with either Pauly or some wipe on poly or something that will seal that wood so that it doesn't absorb moisture from humidity and the like and possibly affect your tuning holes and or crack in the headstock. I know you live in a humid climate down there in Houston you get a lot of rain. On some guitars that I've had specifically issues with the higher frets of beyond 12 I have done the fall away a couple of times but most often if I just level them all it works out fine and I don't have any issues. That unflat neck pocket is going to be your nemesis. That was really shoty of them to put that balancing shim on the lower side instead of fixing the pocket. I've had issues like that on even more expensive guitars than those. I always include the first threat on my fretboards in the leveling process. Zero fret is right next to the nut. That neck does not have a zero thread it has a first fret. Now because you can't check the height of the first fret in relation to the other frets I always color the top to make sure my sanding beam either is taking the meat off equal with the other ones or it isn't. And after all of the threats two to 21 or 22 are level I use my rocker and run it up the frets towards number one and if it clicks or stops that means fret one is still higher than numbers two and three and needs to be fixed otherwise when you cut your nut for the right action over the first threat it will be too high for the rest of the frets and will still go out of tune when you play. It will also affect the action you set where the neck meets the body fret which is usually on a strat around number 17. I usually like to set my action height there at 3 or 4/ 64th's maximum. But to do that that first fret with the string action from your nut must be done first as jman has pointed out in his t r a i n
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, Mike. I always appreciate your thoughts. I felt like I needed to know if it was covering a crack or what under there. I don't mind the blemish. Still thinking about sanding the head stock. Not sure if I will. Thanks for the thoughts about the fret leveling, etc. Rock on!
So the question is, did you get a good one or a bad one haha... The next person could get one with perfectly level frets clean fret board etc.... Or they could receive one much worse than the one you got. At that price point I would think that the consistency from one to the other would be, well, inconsistent hahaha. I would not remove the paint from the headstock. It may not be perfect, but it's sealed and that is ultimately what you want! Guyker makes radiused aluminium sanding blocks. I have 2 home. Awesome for leveling and for getting that radius perfect from one end of the neck to the other. I'll often use the 12 beam to the 12 fret then use the 14 for the last 10. Instant compound radius hahaha! And just FYI, you don't have to tape the board when leveling... The leveling beam and the crowning file (if it's a good one) will never touch the board. I only cover the board for polishing. But you do you! 😃
Thanks, brother. You had me at Guyker. I know a guy with a code (smile). I taped the board up for the polishing which I knew would follow the leveling, etc. But truthfully, with a rosewood board I almost never do even to polish, but with this maple board I wanted to protect it as much as possible. I am not sure if they are all like this, if I got a used one or B stock, or some combo of the two. I don't have the heart or room in the shop to order another one to find out (smile). And I certainly would not pay $149 for one. Rock on!
I bought a Harley Benton TE20HH at the same time as my HB35Plus. While the 35Plus was perfect out of the box (and I mean that!) the TE20HH had a bowed neck and fret sprout up and down both sides of the guitar, pretty much from top to bottom. So, I got one of those emery block sponge thingies and did the 45 degree angle with it and went up and down the fretboard for about ten minutes on each side. Worked like a charm. As an aside about Temu ads, I don't know if you can set the app for children's eyes, if you know what I mean. I had a look around their site a few times and came away unimpressed. Sure, there are useful products, but the site reminds of those overstock warehouses filled with stuff no one wants for cheap. Rock on, Ted!
Thanks for hanging out, Cal. And sharing more of your journey. Rock on, my friend!
It's good to hear you talk guitars and life. The neck and inlays look nice - Maybe you can black out the headstock? You did a great job on that SG! Cheers, man!
Thanks for being on the journey with me, brother. You know how much I love to sand (smile). Rock on!
I told you Jack that that was a pain touch up on the headstock and if you took it off you were going to find a crack or bare wood.
If you send off the white on the headstock you'll get to bare wood and you'll need to seal that with either Pauly or some wipe on poly or something that will seal that wood so that it doesn't absorb moisture from humidity and the like and possibly affect your tuning holes and or crack in the headstock. I know you live in a humid climate down there in Houston you get a lot of rain. On some guitars that I've had specifically issues with the higher frets of beyond 12 I have done the fall away a couple of times but most often if I just level them all it works out fine and I don't have any issues. That unflat neck pocket is going to be your nemesis. That was really shoty of them to put that balancing shim on the lower side instead of fixing the pocket. I've had issues like that on even more expensive guitars than those. I always include the first threat on my fretboards in the leveling process. Zero fret is right next to the nut. That neck does not have a zero thread it has a first fret. Now because you can't check the height of the first fret in relation to the other frets I always color the top to make sure my sanding beam either is taking the meat off equal with the other ones or it isn't. And after all of the threats two to 21 or 22 are level I use my rocker and run it up the frets towards number one and if it clicks or stops that means fret one is still higher than numbers two and three and needs to be fixed otherwise when you cut your nut for the right action over the first threat it will be too high for the rest of the frets and will still go out of tune when you play. It will also affect the action you set where the neck meets the body fret which is usually on a strat around number 17. I usually like to set my action height there at 3 or 4/ 64th's maximum. But to do that that first fret with the string action from your nut must be done first as jman has pointed out in his t r a i n
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, Mike. I always appreciate your thoughts. I felt like I needed to know if it was covering a crack or what under there. I don't mind the blemish. Still thinking about sanding the head stock. Not sure if I will. Thanks for the thoughts about the fret leveling, etc. Rock on!
So the question is, did you get a good one or a bad one haha... The next person could get one with perfectly level frets clean fret board etc.... Or they could receive one much worse than the one you got. At that price point I would think that the consistency from one to the other would be, well, inconsistent hahaha.
I would not remove the paint from the headstock. It may not be perfect, but it's sealed and that is ultimately what you want!
Guyker makes radiused aluminium sanding blocks. I have 2 home. Awesome for leveling and for getting that radius perfect from one end of the neck to the other. I'll often use the 12 beam to the 12 fret then use the 14 for the last 10. Instant compound radius hahaha!
And just FYI, you don't have to tape the board when leveling... The leveling beam and the crowning file (if it's a good one) will never touch the board. I only cover the board for polishing.
But you do you! 😃
Thanks, brother. You had me at Guyker. I know a guy with a code (smile). I taped the board up for the polishing which I knew would follow the leveling, etc. But truthfully, with a rosewood board I almost never do even to polish, but with this maple board I wanted to protect it as much as possible.
I am not sure if they are all like this, if I got a used one or B stock, or some combo of the two. I don't have the heart or room in the shop to order another one to find out (smile). And I certainly would not pay $149 for one. Rock on!
Not crazy - it's good for a man to know where NOT to go.
Thanks for hanging out on the channel and for the comment. I appreciate it. Rock on!