PP
Sorry I Bought 2 Of These Turkeys! (UPDATED) They fixed a lot!
UPDATE!
I bought 2 more of these recently on the hopes that corrections had been made to the model. All of the issues that I'd complained about previously (except for the bridge) have been corrected on these last two. The nut is carved well and the width at the nut is appropriately wider. The necks, although slightly different on each, are definitely better as far as thickness and taper. They really do feel reminiscent of the vintage classic this model is based on. The woods are even better than before and the matching of the two-piece bodies is better than Gibson is doing these days. If they would change the bridge (I've sent them the info) and set the neck to accommodate it height-wise, the strings would be correctly aligned over the pickup and this guitar would be hands down the best DC Junior guitar available anywhere. It's that good now! In retrospect, I suspect that when I bought my first two, the builder got behind in production of this model and simply rewired some of the "regular" model to meet demand. These are made right, except for the bridge setup. If Harley Benton ever changes that, I will definitely buy a couple more of these. In the meantime, they are not perfect YET, but I love these last two and I feel most players looking for that "classic" feel will be happy with them too!
OLD Review:
I bought 2 of these based on the advanced announcement of how great the necks and overall feel were. What a joke!
Both of mine had nut widths of a little over 42mm instead of the advertised 43mm (big difference in feel). The so-called "Fat 59" necks are smaller than a Gibson Slim taper and even Ibanez AS & AM models. Those are known for being slim. The nuts on both were very poorly cut and will have to be replaced.
The bridge feels awful on the hand (sharp edges) and the saddles sit way too high, causing the builders to have to pitch the neck back too much. The off neck pitch causes the strings to be really far from the pickup, so it sounds anemic, even when the bridge is lowered all the way down. That's a shame because the pickup is pretty good if you shim it up closer to the strings by several millimeters. Thomann should supply spacer brackets to anyone who has bought these, just to get the pickups within acceptable distance from the strings. Actually, they should get the bridge height and neck angle right – then the pickup height would be okay!
The tuners on one of mine were installed with no attempt to align them in a straight line - the back of each tuner is going a different direction. I guess they don't have rulers or anything with a straight edge in the factory where these are made.
The finish is not the advertised "thinly applied open pore" type - it's the the usual poly glop in a drab satin finish like the regular DC Jr. model. In fact, both of mine seem identical to the regular model in every way except for the lame push/pull pickup (and the higher price). The fingerboard even looks the same as the regular models in other videos!
As far as being a tribute to the inspirations from the past, these unfortunately FAIL miserably! All in all, Thomann has unfortunately missed the boat with these and is sadly misleading customers into buying a shoddily thrown together mess that looks like a `59 LP Jr. I've owned 3 of the original `59 Jrs and these don't remind me of those originals at all other than the general appearance.
It's a real shame that Thomann cannot spend a little more effort and offer a really awesome simple DC Jr. guitar. All they would have to do to straighten out this model is insist to the builders that all parts be correctly aligned, reject any with necks with a nut width of less than 43mm.. Make the necks thicker - like >22.6mm at the 1st fret and > 25.4mm at the 12th fret just like the real `59s were. Spend a dollar more and change the bridge to a Musiclily Pro Badass Style. It sits lower, has wider intonation, and is much more comfortable on the hand. That would also allow the builders to lower the neck angle so that it lines up correctly over the pickup.
Insisting on the aforementioned minor changes would cost practically nothing, but would elevate this guitar to what it should be. The builders are definitely capable of making an outstanding guitar if only Thomann gave them a little more guidance and upped their expectation level and quality control. I guess these are okay if you have tiny hands and no concern for sound or play-ability.
I bought 2 more of these recently on the hopes that corrections had been made to the model. All of the issues that I'd complained about previously (except for the bridge) have been corrected on these last two. The nut is carved well and the width at the nut is appropriately wider. The necks, although slightly different on each, are definitely better as far as thickness and taper. They really do feel reminiscent of the vintage classic this model is based on. The woods are even better than before and the matching of the two-piece bodies is better than Gibson is doing these days. If they would change the bridge (I've sent them the info) and set the neck to accommodate it height-wise, the strings would be correctly aligned over the pickup and this guitar would be hands down the best DC Junior guitar available anywhere. It's that good now! In retrospect, I suspect that when I bought my first two, the builder got behind in production of this model and simply rewired some of the "regular" model to meet demand. These are made right, except for the bridge setup. If Harley Benton ever changes that, I will definitely buy a couple more of these. In the meantime, they are not perfect YET, but I love these last two and I feel most players looking for that "classic" feel will be happy with them too!
OLD Review:
I bought 2 of these based on the advanced announcement of how great the necks and overall feel were. What a joke!
Both of mine had nut widths of a little over 42mm instead of the advertised 43mm (big difference in feel). The so-called "Fat 59" necks are smaller than a Gibson Slim taper and even Ibanez AS & AM models. Those are known for being slim. The nuts on both were very poorly cut and will have to be replaced.
The bridge feels awful on the hand (sharp edges) and the saddles sit way too high, causing the builders to have to pitch the neck back too much. The off neck pitch causes the strings to be really far from the pickup, so it sounds anemic, even when the bridge is lowered all the way down. That's a shame because the pickup is pretty good if you shim it up closer to the strings by several millimeters. Thomann should supply spacer brackets to anyone who has bought these, just to get the pickups within acceptable distance from the strings. Actually, they should get the bridge height and neck angle right – then the pickup height would be okay!
The tuners on one of mine were installed with no attempt to align them in a straight line - the back of each tuner is going a different direction. I guess they don't have rulers or anything with a straight edge in the factory where these are made.
The finish is not the advertised "thinly applied open pore" type - it's the the usual poly glop in a drab satin finish like the regular DC Jr. model. In fact, both of mine seem identical to the regular model in every way except for the lame push/pull pickup (and the higher price). The fingerboard even looks the same as the regular models in other videos!
As far as being a tribute to the inspirations from the past, these unfortunately FAIL miserably! All in all, Thomann has unfortunately missed the boat with these and is sadly misleading customers into buying a shoddily thrown together mess that looks like a `59 LP Jr. I've owned 3 of the original `59 Jrs and these don't remind me of those originals at all other than the general appearance.
It's a real shame that Thomann cannot spend a little more effort and offer a really awesome simple DC Jr. guitar. All they would have to do to straighten out this model is insist to the builders that all parts be correctly aligned, reject any with necks with a nut width of less than 43mm.. Make the necks thicker - like >22.6mm at the 1st fret and > 25.4mm at the 12th fret just like the real `59s were. Spend a dollar more and change the bridge to a Musiclily Pro Badass Style. It sits lower, has wider intonation, and is much more comfortable on the hand. That would also allow the builders to lower the neck angle so that it lines up correctly over the pickup.
Insisting on the aforementioned minor changes would cost practically nothing, but would elevate this guitar to what it should be. The builders are definitely capable of making an outstanding guitar if only Thomann gave them a little more guidance and upped their expectation level and quality control. I guess these are okay if you have tiny hands and no concern for sound or play-ability.
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JC
Move Over Gibson
I can't see how any other style of this guitar, even excluding price range (well, up to $400 LOL) can out perform this beast. Well done once again, Harley Benton!!!
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R
Unbeatable value!
I wanted to own a Doublecut Junior style guitar for a long time. I was really happy to see Harley Benton make junior models. It was a no brainer for me.
So here it goes
Pros:
Good looking finish with a satin feel.
Nice neck feel - also satin feel.
Good fretwork.
Coil tap is a plus.
Great playability.
Cons
Wasn't able to get a perfect setup on it. The action has to be set a bit high to avoid fret buzz. Maybe it could use some fret leveling.
Hardware is understandably cheap feeling. I would consider swapping the nut, bridge and pickup at some point. Maybe the tuners too.
Pickup sounds nice for this kinda price range. Worth considering an upgrade in the future.
All in all I love this guitar because it seems like most of the cost of it has gone into things that can't be easily changed, such as the fit and finish, the feel of the neck etc. And while the hardware is cheap it can easily be replaced.
So here it goes
Pros:
Good looking finish with a satin feel.
Nice neck feel - also satin feel.
Good fretwork.
Coil tap is a plus.
Great playability.
Cons
Wasn't able to get a perfect setup on it. The action has to be set a bit high to avoid fret buzz. Maybe it could use some fret leveling.
Hardware is understandably cheap feeling. I would consider swapping the nut, bridge and pickup at some point. Maybe the tuners too.
Pickup sounds nice for this kinda price range. Worth considering an upgrade in the future.
All in all I love this guitar because it seems like most of the cost of it has gone into things that can't be easily changed, such as the fit and finish, the feel of the neck etc. And while the hardware is cheap it can easily be replaced.
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G
Good value, but needed some work
Had this on backorder for a while and was thrilled when it was delivered.
First impression is good. Fretwork is spot on.
The stacked P90 sounds good and reacts nicely to tone and volume changes.
Finish of the guitar feels great and looks good. Neck is nice, but not as thick as a 50's style Gibson.
Some minor flaws:
The nut wasnt cut properly. The slot for the D-string was not cut in the center so the string spaces were not evenly matched. I fixed this by mounting a Graph Tech Nut. No need to change the tuners now either. Something i doubted in the beginning.
The P90 wasnt mounted straight. It was slightly crooked. Fixed this myself. I drilled a new hole and put it straight.
The intonation was OK, except for the G-string. Could not get it right. But after changing the string with a new one, it was OK.
I will change the bridge for an aluminum version in the future,
The volume and tone knobs are the tophat type. Not very easy to use the use pull with these knobs. Changed them for speedknobs: problem solved.
Maybe i will change the pots for CTS pots, but for the time being they will do.
A good guitar, but it needed some tweaks to meet my demands.
2 small quality control issues: the nut and crooked pickup mounting.
First impression is good. Fretwork is spot on.
The stacked P90 sounds good and reacts nicely to tone and volume changes.
Finish of the guitar feels great and looks good. Neck is nice, but not as thick as a 50's style Gibson.
Some minor flaws:
The nut wasnt cut properly. The slot for the D-string was not cut in the center so the string spaces were not evenly matched. I fixed this by mounting a Graph Tech Nut. No need to change the tuners now either. Something i doubted in the beginning.
The P90 wasnt mounted straight. It was slightly crooked. Fixed this myself. I drilled a new hole and put it straight.
The intonation was OK, except for the G-string. Could not get it right. But after changing the string with a new one, it was OK.
I will change the bridge for an aluminum version in the future,
The volume and tone knobs are the tophat type. Not very easy to use the use pull with these knobs. Changed them for speedknobs: problem solved.
Maybe i will change the pots for CTS pots, but for the time being they will do.
A good guitar, but it needed some tweaks to meet my demands.
2 small quality control issues: the nut and crooked pickup mounting.
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CM
Nice guitar but "fat neck"?
I'd wanted to try an HB junior type guitar and had been waiting for this one to arrive in stock for quite a while because I really prefer guitars with big necks (which to me means at least 22/23mm at first fret).
Ordered it and got it in incredibly quick time (thank you Thomann). My thoughts:
Overall, a lot of guitar for the money. Quality of construction quite high, fretwork very clean. Nice finish, as others have mentioned much more satin than open pore, but nicely done.
Hardware seems solid - sturdy bridge, relatively easy to set intonation. Not sure about tuners though; a couple seem to be slipping but haven't restrung yet. Nut seems pretty well cut, no pinging.
The stacked coil pickup thing doesn't do much for me. The humbucking mode is not at all notable. The single coil P90 tone is much better. The push pull pot isn't very user friendly but since I will only use it in single coil mode, not a big deal.
Unforunately though, this guitar does not have a "fat neck" as I would define it. I would describe it as medium/large, but YMMV. I should have asked for the measurements and avoided this disappointing aspect.
I am probably keeping it (given the hassles of returning it from outside EU). It has some nice features and is reasonable value for the money. I do have alternatives I will probably reach for first though.
But if you are not looking for a true chunky neck, you may be very pleased.
Ordered it and got it in incredibly quick time (thank you Thomann). My thoughts:
Overall, a lot of guitar for the money. Quality of construction quite high, fretwork very clean. Nice finish, as others have mentioned much more satin than open pore, but nicely done.
Hardware seems solid - sturdy bridge, relatively easy to set intonation. Not sure about tuners though; a couple seem to be slipping but haven't restrung yet. Nut seems pretty well cut, no pinging.
The stacked coil pickup thing doesn't do much for me. The humbucking mode is not at all notable. The single coil P90 tone is much better. The push pull pot isn't very user friendly but since I will only use it in single coil mode, not a big deal.
Unforunately though, this guitar does not have a "fat neck" as I would define it. I would describe it as medium/large, but YMMV. I should have asked for the measurements and avoided this disappointing aspect.
I am probably keeping it (given the hassles of returning it from outside EU). It has some nice features and is reasonable value for the money. I do have alternatives I will probably reach for first though.
But if you are not looking for a true chunky neck, you may be very pleased.
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C
Needs a different Bridge
Bridge saddles are sharp, definitely needs a different bridge. Sound great and plays well.
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U
DC Junior FAT
Guitar arrived when it was supposed to but with a very large split in the outer box. fortunately the inner box was unharmed.
Pro's
Nicely made body and a very good neck finish with no sharp frets, tuners are good and the neck profile is fatter than my HB SC I have.
Where these guitars win is with the Rosewell pickups, they are very responsive and the tone/volume pots have a good ramp which allows lot's of variation tonally, the comfortable neck makes the instrument very playable and the light weight won't break your back.
Cons
The control knobs are useless on the push/pull pot as you cant grip them.
On arrival I found the action a little high so had to use a lot of force on the bridge adjusting screws to lower it, additionally the adjustment is now at it's lowest setting which is a little worrying for any future neck movement.
Think there is a production fault on HBs routing as one of the retaining screws on the control cavity plate is breaking into the side of the control cavity. (same fault on my HB SC)
A terrific guitar that could be made perfect with a couple of improvements by HB (especially the bridge height issue)
Pro's
Nicely made body and a very good neck finish with no sharp frets, tuners are good and the neck profile is fatter than my HB SC I have.
Where these guitars win is with the Rosewell pickups, they are very responsive and the tone/volume pots have a good ramp which allows lot's of variation tonally, the comfortable neck makes the instrument very playable and the light weight won't break your back.
Cons
The control knobs are useless on the push/pull pot as you cant grip them.
On arrival I found the action a little high so had to use a lot of force on the bridge adjusting screws to lower it, additionally the adjustment is now at it's lowest setting which is a little worrying for any future neck movement.
Think there is a production fault on HBs routing as one of the retaining screws on the control cavity plate is breaking into the side of the control cavity. (same fault on my HB SC)
A terrific guitar that could be made perfect with a couple of improvements by HB (especially the bridge height issue)
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