REVIEW of Thomann Customer Service about the Quality Control of a Harley Benton SC 500 : PART TWO

[@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic]

I added the ending of the SAGA to the ending of part 2 instead of making a part 3... make things easy for future viewers, thank you! UPDATE on 10/28, the 35 dollar credit appeared on my credit card account.

[@mshapirouk1]

Excellent little segment. Observations: A technically near-perfect video. Clear/crisp/excellent sound/brief/perfect overview - 5-Stars! Resolution of the problem. Perfect!

[@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic]

Many thanks for your kind comments

[@NawImNate]

Thank you so much for your diligence to remain professional, reasonable, innovative, and accountable. Im worried about my HB Sc500WH (same one) and I hope I dont run into mechanical issues, if I do.. this is why I thank you, you are a good honest source, great video

[@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic]

I wouldnt worry, they are very proper as a company

[@NawImNate]

@@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic Starting to have discussions with others that are saying that their experiences align with your opinion. But ofc youve got some downers out there too.

[@howlinwaters]

a $35 credit is very good; you can buy a Gotoh gold bridge for around that price 😄

[@garcdonald]

It's really impressive how you correctly diagnosed and repaired that HB when their `expert' was stumped. Careful!! Your Dr's office may receive requests to 'treat' from the lab: The Murphy Lab!

[@krisvind1715]

it's strange how customer service differ from people who have a youtube channel and people that don't

[@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic]

youtube channels are FREE!!!

[@krisvind1715]

@@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic sure, but i am no good at making videos

[@peterschmidt9942]

The only time I bought from them was a few years back when they had their good shipping rates of $50 for 30Kg. A speaker box got slightly damaged in transit and Thomann were great. As you said, offered up a discount to keep it. It was only cosmetic and didn't affect the use of the speaker box. Can't complain about that.

[@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic]

I find that to send to NYC, I can get 3 guitars in one shipping of 68 bucks

[@peterschmidt9942]

@@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic Yeah it used to be similar here to Australia. Apparently the way they do shipping to Oz now has changed and they're charging per item now instead

[@maddadrants]

I was hoping for a greater response, but if you're happy that's all good

[@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic]

What would be your idea of an ideal response?

[@maddadrants]

@@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic a replacement part within one week, even if they had to order and direct ship it to you.

[@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic]

wow… i would not expect that level of service for a 139 hb… … I could imagine that for may be a bulk purchase of maybe 25 of these and they all need replacement bridges…

[@ThunderingCreation]

I had the EXACT same problem with my HB-35 plus VB ,There were NO springs on my ToM and the machining was really terrible i was left with rocking saddles and loose screw mounts on the D&G strings. They offered me to either wait upto 6 weeks for a replacement or £11 refunded back to my account or credited to my customer account. Since it takes £10 delivery for anything upto £150 that would've left me £1 to spend anything, Bit of an insult imo. Their answer was for me to spend additional money for a setup (£80+ in UK) !. They also told me not to use anything less than 10 gauge strings as this would not have the correct tension for the bridge. Left wondering if any of their so called experts actually play guitar. Going to replace the bridge myself with a much better quality one. Dont get me wrong it is a nice base guitar for a project for replacement/upgrades, but out of the factory it lacks any sort of finesse or decent parts. Buyer beware.

[@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic]

yes...

[@ctcards2636]

I mentioned in the first part. If you have this happen to your bridge. You can get low level locktight in a little tube. Put 1-2 drops infront and in back of the saddle onto the screw. Let it dry. The buzzing will stop. Itll keep the screw tight. And you can loosen it. Its not high grade level locktight you want to use. Get the weak stuff. I use this to solve this issue on many guitars. Its cheap and easy to do.

[@ctcards2636]

Also by shortening that screw like you did in the video allows the saddle to move up and down vertically. This may not be a problem for some people, but depending on how hard you are a strummer, thisll cause you issues. Its a quick fix for sure. But even in the video when you show it doesnt wobble it does pop back up when you moved your finger off the saddle. Or at least thats the way it looks to my eye. That screw has to be in that other hole to keep it from going up or down. Its almost like a lock. Cant file it like that. You dont want ANY movement with your saddles up or down, left or right unless your adjusting for intonation. Just something to keep in mind. If someone did this to a bridge on a guitar with a Bigsby for example this would be a tuning nightmare. haha. So these really are a Temp QUICK fix. I love videos like this, so many people with so many experiences chiming in on things. Get so many different points of view on one thing. Gotta love the internet at times and at others i hate it haha. Thanks again for the video. I wasnt trying to be a dick with my comments. Im just commenting on what i saw and throwing my 2 cents out there for what its worth. :-)

[@ctcards2636]

Also they should have just shipped you a bridge after your first message. Fire Fly was really good to me when i had an issue with one of their guitars. This happened to be my first lower tier guitar id bought. I normally buy expensive guitars and in the past decade ive found you dont need to spend a fortune to find great guitars. But ive heard a few people complain about Thomann and their customer service and how they go about doing returns etc. Wasnt good. I still think they are a great deal. Just not too impressed with their customer service. But in your case, $35. That works

[@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic]

that wont work. even if i welded the saddle to the screw it wont work.

[@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic]

that wont happen because break angle generate more force downward than a strum...

[@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic]

once tuned up, that saddle is like a rock, it does not budge.

[@richardcautorina5190]

Danny I’d like to see you review an Eastman Lp style Guitar They are hand crafted in China by a company who build Violins

[@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic]

if it dont have durable finish, I wont even bother!

[@richardcautorina5190]

They have both , you should look into them they always have rave reviews, especially from people who critique instruments such as yourself. I’m not a spokesperson for them I am a bass player who appreciates Les Pauls and theirs are too notch

[@harbonip]

Wow, I had the same problem with the harley benton sc450 . The only difference is I live in Germany, and the guitar was under warranty, and I just got a total refund 12 days later to put it back into my account .

[@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic]

yeah lucky you! I wish thomann was close by!

[@harbonip]

@rocksmithhobby yeah that's a double-edged sword. Shouldn't take 12 days to put money back in the account . I wanted to change the tuners because I played it for a couple of hours, and it would go out of tune. There tech told me he could match up the tuners with kustons and do a setup, but the warranty would be voided out .

[@gabedestellano]

So what TOM bridge did you go with or did you just keep it with the temporary fix?

[@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic]

i just left it like that for now

[@swordofhonor2]

very nice. you got a guitar for $100... not that bad. would you buy again?

[@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic]

no…. i got a guitar for $139… and a $35 credit for a bridge

[@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic]

and yes i will buy again…

[@NawImNate]

@@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic $139 OTD? or you had to pay about $70 shipping? I live in FL USA and it was about $206 all in OTD

[@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic]

shipping was additional, I buy multiple at once, spreads out the shipping

[@travthedad305]

They’ll offer you $35 even if the guitar is destroyed

[@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic]

nahhh thats not what a company does….

[@travthedad305]

@@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic Thomann did it to me on a sc450 p90 gt

[@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic]

🫣

[@kojo_143east]

u knooww

[@2bikemikesguitartopics145]

Danny, I've just gone through this process with thoman also for the first time after buying 8 prion guitars. It also took similar time as yours as I'm in Canada. After about 2 weeks since my awful SC400 SGT arriving with way more issues than yours , I got a shipping confirmation today of a replacement guitar. See here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/paDVnYljbNaXp7M

[@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic]

in my how to buy hb video, i said to start with hbs at 2x the price of their cheapest one, thats where they are great value for the money

[@2bikemikesguitartopics145]

@@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic Yeah unfortunately they don't have a gold top in that range

[@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic]

true…

[@NawImNate]

@@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic However QC problems, & buying a $250-$280 version a step higher from the 450 and 500 etc... you probably would get better warranty and efficiency through epiphone, espically being in the US. You can get nice Epi's for $379 on sale now. Sub $400 and if any defects they will make it right, with probably truly no hassle. I just bought a guitar from Fender, QC/QA sticker on it... and it failed my test, everything played pretty well until I moved up the fretboard to 14th fret and 20/21 of the frets were fine, that one fret buzzed all 6 strings... what is the fix there? (thanks for reply if you do) and btw they gave me online credit, I bought a nice strap, then they said they will send the replacement guitar to mgr to inspect it and assure that im getting the proper guitar. New one will be inspected and mailed to me.

[@guitarhobbywithdannythemedic]

there is no "fix" from what you are writing, it could be so many different reasons.. one need to have it in hand to see what the problem is, which will mean luthier costs.. returning it is the proper way to go, because fenders cost enough to not have issues like this upon purchase.. Also epiphones are overpriced, just like gibson is overpriced. yes a local business presense makes CS easier, but for me, HB is the best option because I do my own work and the prices cant be beat for what you get once you shop in the range of 2x the cost of the lowest examples