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Gear4Music

Epiphone LP or Vintage V100?

Started by Mick, July 14, 2013, 09:44:32 AM

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Hinfrance

Evening Mick. The Prophesy comes with Epiphone straplocks in the accessory pack. But I haven't fitted them, I use the Dunlop plastic ones.

Hinfrance


Mick

Quote from: Hinfrance on September 05, 2014, 06:56:10 AM
Has it turned up yet Mick?

Howard, yes it did, but first one had to go back due to a broken selector switch lever.  Also Harley Benton L-450Plus Honey Burst arrived from Thomann this morning. Guess what, it's got a broken selector switch.  I'll post back later when I've got some more info on this one.
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Hinfrance

Gut wrenching for you Mick. Makes you wonder what the heck the carriers do to these packages - the Prophesy has its own hard case too . .

Mick

Quote from: Hinfrance on September 05, 2014, 09:08:48 AM
Gut wrenching for you Mick. Makes you wonder what the heck the carriers do to these packages - the Prophesy has its own hard case too . .

To be fair, the first epi came in a box within a box which didn't show any signs of damage, other than a slight crumple in each corner.  There was no packing between the boxes at all. but like you said it has a nice hard case, so not sure how it was damaged.  I have a gut feeling there's more to it than just courier damage, but that's another story.   The packaging for my replacement epi was no worse, and it arrived in one peice. By the way I got them to send me a Heritage Cherry Sunburst one this time, and must say I like it a lot, looks much better than it does in the photos imo.  8)

The Harley Benton L-450Plus Honey Burst arrived with absolutely no damage to the boxes, and was stuffed tight with giant bubble packing between edges of the two boxes.  Unfortunately this doesn't offer much protection if for example the box is laid flat, and other stuff chucked on top of it, then the first thing that's going to get crushed is the switch.  When I first looked at the switch I could just see what looks like a short internally threaded toggle, with nothing screw into it.  (Aha, I thought), I just need to find the knob and screw it on. 

Hunted around and found it rolling around in the box inside a piece of round polystyrene packing, but there was a plastic knob with a bit of brass in the end of it, but not enough thread to screw in.  And on taking a closer look at the switch, it's been pushed inwards, and the toggle all slopping about all over the place.  :'(  TBH, would be nice if they could just send me the switch, then I'd be quite happy to fit it myself, I doubt they'll let me do this though.

Thomann emailed me back today, and are requesting photos of the packaging, and the damage to the guitar, so in their words  "We will then be able to have this situation checked for you".  Is this normal procedure for them?

That all said, and after having a good look over the L-450Plus, I must say I'm really impressed with the build quality and finish of this guitar, it's a gorgeous looking beast.
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Hinfrance

Morning Mick,

Firstly, really sorry to hear about your problems.

As for Thomann's normal return procedure - yes they do ask for photos of the packaging and the damage before authorising a refund or replacement order. They will then email you a pdf with the prepaid return label and packing instructions.

Next up, in answer to the question would they just send you another switch to solder in? The answer might very well be yes. My 450L arrived with some broken connections on the three way switch and I spoke the service department who agreed to allow me to fix it without invalidating the warranty. So it would be worth giving them a call to see if they can do something similar for you.

Glad to hear that the replacement Epi is OK, and I'm sure it does look wonderful - it seems to be the case that they look a lot better in the flesh.

Mick

Quote from: Hinfrance on September 06, 2014, 07:46:33 AM

Next up, in answer to the question would they just send you another switch to solder in? The answer might very well be yes. My 450L arrived with some broken connections on the three way switch and I spoke the service department who agreed to allow me to fix it without invalidating the warranty. So it would be worth giving them a call to see if they can do something similar for you.


Got another email from them yesterday, giving me several options to resolve this. One being them sending me a switch and me fitting it.  Or send replacement / or refund.  I have opted for them sending a switch in the post.  Thought that would be the safer bet as the rest of the guitar is, good, and if they send me another one it could turn up in bits after the journey via courier.

Hope there's enough wire in the switch cavity to make the repair easily, I haven't looked in there yet.  ;)
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Hinfrance

I had no problems resoldering mine Mick, so I reckon you'll be OK.

How's the Prophesy working out? Have you decided on an amp yet?

Mick

Quote from: Hinfrance on September 07, 2014, 12:41:53 PM
I had no problems resoldering mine Mick, so I reckon you'll be OK.

How's the Prophesy working out? Have you decided on an amp yet?

Thanks H. ;) 

Not had much time to play yet, just checked it over, and plugged in to make sure it works is about all I've been able to do atm.  Have got it out of the case to admire it a few times though, lol..  8)

The amp, well I went down the same road as you again, and got myself a Mustang 3 v2, for when the neighbours are out. Or if they P me off, when they're in.  :D   And a THR10 for playing about without annoying anyone too much.

Actually, might need to rack your brains over the PC connection stuff.  Now I'm aware I can download and install the Fender Fuse software, but do I need to install any drivers?  Manual is a bit sparse on this side of things.  I already have ASIO drivers installed for other things, but I see there's "Fender_Universal_ASIO_2_10_F_Win7" on their downloads page.
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Hinfrance

Hi Mick.

I've sent you a PM about the Fender stuff. You don't need any drivers - the Fuse software is the whole package.

So you got the little Yamaha too - are you going to give us a review?

Hope you find some time soon to get mean with the Mustang.

BTW, I sold my Roland - helped a bit towards the cost of the V2. So now I have two Mustangs.  :tup:

Mick

Quote from: Hinfrance on September 09, 2014, 07:33:02 AM
Hi Mick.

I've sent you a PM about the Fender stuff. You don't need any drivers - the Fuse software is the whole package.

So you got the little Yamaha too - are you going to give us a review?

Hope you find some time soon to get mean with the Mustang.

BTW, I sold my Roland - helped a bit towards the cost of the V2. So now I have two Mustangs.  :tup:

Thanks Howard, just read your PM.  Cheers for the info.  :tup:  Yep, got the THR for a bit of quiet practice, and for the purpose of recording tbh.  It sounds really nice, and is quite loud for a tiny amp.  I'll hopefully get to play with the Mustang some time over the weekend. 

So you now have both Mustangs v1 and v2.  I'd be interested in the differences you encounter whilst comparing them.  Perhaps a update to your Mustang review at some point.  ;)
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shannonrichards

Quote from: Hinfrance on July 14, 2013, 05:02:53 PMDon't know about the Vintage, other than what I have read (I did consider one), but I do have a recently acquired Epiphone Prophecy Les Paul Custom GX in Black Cherry (following a visit from the birthday fairy and saving up for the best part of a year). Oddly it was 20% less expensive here than in the UK (less in Euros than in £s), otherwise I would have gone for the Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Pro.

The finish on the Prophecy is beautiful for the price. There are a couple of tiny, and I mean tiny, details that are not quite right, but I had to look really hard to find them.  Obviously I spent some time setting it up to the way I wanted it, but it was fine out of the box even if the strings were not quite up to it. I have changed them for 010 Ernie Balls, but I will change them again to d'Addarios because my Harley Benton LP copy has those and I prefer them.

Which brings me to a Les Paul recommendation. My Prophecy is quite wonderful in my eyes, I'm a sucker for good looks and it plays beautifully and as the adverts say it has a fast neck. But, and it is a big but, I also really like my Harley Benton 450 despite the dodgy finish in places and the bit of resoldering I had to do when I first got it. It too has Wilkinson pickups, looks a million dollars (if you don't look too closely), plays well, has a big fat sound and the longest sustain of all of the guitars I have. It has a set neck, solid mahogany body and neck with a rosewood fingerboard. All in all it bats well above its price bracket. Until I got the Prophecy it was the guitar I played most often. It's so cheap that you'll have loads left over for a decent amplifier too!

Have you looked at a Chapman from Andertons? Possibly a bit metal?

The upshot is that lower priced guitars these days are generally extremely well made and even if the QC is a bit lacking from time to time the underlying products are better than ever. So I'm sure whichever one you go for you'll be more than chuffed with it.

The Prophecy definitely has a great reputation, and those fast necks are a dream to play.

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