Harley Benton 549487 Electric Guitar Kit TL T-Style User Manual

Harley Benton 549487 Electric Guitar Kit TL T-Style

Specifications

• Product: Electric Guitar Kit TL T Style
• Date: 06.10.2023
• ID: 549487

Table of Contents

1. General Information
2. Safety Instructions
3. Scope of Delivery
4. Assembly Instructions

General Information

• This document contains important instructions for the safe operation of the Electric Guitar Kit TL T Style. It is crucial to read and follow all safety instructions and other guidelines provided in this document. Please keep this document for future reference and ensure that it is accessible to all users of the product. If you sell the product to another user, make sure to pass on this document as well.
• Our products and documentation undergo continuous development and may be subject to change. Please refer to the latest version of the documentation available for download at www.thomann.de.

Symbols and Signal Words

immediate dangerous situation that will result in death or serious
injury if not avoided.
CAUTION!| This combination of symbol and signal word indicates a possible
dangerous situation that can result in minor injury if not
avoided.

Safety Instructions

CAUTION! There is a risk of cuts to the hands from sharp edges during assembly. Tools, screws, and components may have sharp edges that can cause cuts. Pay attention to sharp edges while assembling and screwing the individual parts. Wear protective gloves if necessary.

Scope of Delivery
Thank you for purchasing the Electric Guitar Kit TL T Style. The package includes all wooden parts, hardware, and electrical components required for assembly. Refer to the following figure for an overview of the individual components included in the delivery.

Assembly Instructions

Useful Tools and Materials

• Phillips screwdriver
• Rubber mallet
• Ring wrench
• Pliers
• Varnish and accessories
• Needle files
• Sandpaper

Before assembly, it is essential to paint the body and neck. Wear a dust mask when applying spray lacquer or paint.

FAQ

• Q: Can I use any type of varnish for painting the body and neck?
  A: It is recommended to use varnish specifically designed for musical instruments to achieve the best results.

• Q: Do I need any additional tools not mentioned in the assembly instructions?
  A: The provided list of tools is sufficient for the assembly process. However, you may find it helpful to have a ruler, masking tape, and a workbench for better accuracy and convenience.

Thomann GmbH
Hans-Thomann-Straße 1 96138 Burgebrach
Germany
Telephone: +49 (0) 9546 9223-0 Internet: www.thomann.de
06.10.2023, ID: 549487

General information

• This document contains important instructions for the safe operation of the product. Read and follow the safety instructions and all other instructions. Keep the document for future reference. Make sure that it is available to all those using the product. If you sell the product to another user, be sure that they also receive this document.
• Our products and documentation are subject to a process of continuous development. They are therefore subject to change. Please refer to the latest version of the documentation, which is ready for download under www.thomann.de.

Symbols and signal words
In this section you will find an overview of the meaning of symbols and signal words that are used in this document.

immediate dangerous situation that will result in death or serious injury if it is not avoided.
CAUTION!| This combination of symbol and signal word indicates a possible dangerous situation that can result in minor injury if it is not avoided.
|
Warning signs| Type of danger
| Warning – danger zone.

Safety instructions

DANGER!

• Risk of injury and choking hazard for children!
• Children can suffocate on packaging material and small parts. Children can injure themselves when handling the product.
• Never allow children to play with the packaging material and the product.
• Always store packaging material out of the reach of babies and small children. Always dispose of packaging material properly when it is not in use.
• Never allow children to use the product without supervision.
• Keep small parts away from children and make sure that the product does not shed any small parts that children could play with.

CAUTION!

• Risk of cuts to the hands from sharp edges during assembly!
• Tools, screws and components can have sharp edges that can cause cuts during assembly.
• Pay attention to sharp edges when assembling and screwing the individual parts. Wear protective gloves if necessary.

Scope of delivery

• Thank you for buying this electric guitar kit. All wooden parts, hardware and electrical components are contained in this package.
• The following figure shows the individual components of the delivery.
• The assembly is described in detail in the following sections.

Assembly instructions

Useful tools and materials
Provide the following tools and materials for the assembly of the guitar:

• Phillips screwdriver
• Rubber mallet
• Ring wrench
• Pliers
• Varnish and accessories
• Needle files
• Sandpaper

It is essential that the body and neck are painted before assembly. You must wear a dust mask when applying spray lacquer or paint.

Cutting out headstock

• Design the headstock with a suitable saw to your desired shape. Make sure there is sufficient clearance between the cutting edge and the peg holes for stability. As a reference here serve the retaining rings of the tuner mechanics.
• Finally, deburr the cut edge with sandpaper or a suitable file.

Painting body and neck
Painting the body

• The solid wood of the guitar body is sealed and prepared for various types of lacquer coating. A wide variety of finishes can be procured from DIY, timber and automotive outlets in aerosol cans making finishing straightforward without requiring specialist skills.
• The first step is to check the fit of the body to neck joint. These parts are machined from high-grade tone woods to ensure optimum alignment. However, wood is a natural material that changes its shape slightly over time. If the neck is too tight in the cutout on the body, you can rework the fit with a sharp chisel or sandpaper. Please keep in mind that the coating of lacquer will make the neck fit a little more tightly into the cutout.
• Before coating the body, ensure that all surfaces are clean and free of dirt and dust. Carry out all painting operations in a well-ventilated, dust-free environment. Considered and careful working is a key factor for a qualitatively satisfactory result. It is highly recommended that you first try out the colour and technique on another piece of wood.
• Paint the body edges first and let them dry. If the edges are dry, go on with front and back side. By layered, successive application you can achieve a uniform coating structure. If you notice surface irregularities, wait until the paint has dried completely and correct them with fine sandpaper (e.g. 800+) before proceeding to paint. For full cov‐erage apply three or more layers.
• Hang the painted body to dry in a dry, dust-free and preferably sunlight-protected area using a wire or hook in the recess for the guitar neck.
• Wait another two to three days until the paint is fully cured. Polish or burnish the body until it meets your expectations. Take care not to buff too vigorously as this may remove the finish.

Neck finish

• The guitar neck is sealed with a thin layer of matt lacquer before delivery and is ready to use. If you still want to treat the neck with coloured or clear lacquer, proceed as follows.
• Carefully mask off the fingerboard and all frets before painting. Make sure that all sur‐faces are free of dust and dirt. Carry out all painting operations in a well-ventilated, dust-free environment.
• For the neck, use a clear or slightly tinted wood paint of good quality. Start on the front and at the edges of the headstock. Apply a thin layer evenly, let it dry and repeat the process two or three times. If you notice surface irregularities, wait until the paint has dried completely and correct them with fine sandpaper (e.g. 800+) before proceeding to paint.
• Once the headstock has dried, place the neck on the fingerboard and paint the back of the neck as described.
• Wait another two to three days until the paint is fully cured. Polish or burnish the neck until it meets your expectations. Take care not to buff too vigorously as this may remove the finish.

Mounting the machine head

• Insert the four machine heads from the rear side of the headstock into the bores. Align the machine heads so that the tuning pegs are perpendicular to the top of the headstock.
• Fix the machine heads as shown in the figure in this position hand-tight with the sup‐plied screws.
• Turn the neck over and fix all machine heads hand-tight with the supplied washers and nuts on the front of the headstock.
• Tighten the nuts on the front with a suitable wrench, and then tighten the screws to secure the machine heads on the rear side.

Mounting the string retainer

• Screw the two string retainers to the front of the head plate in the holes provided next to the tuners. The string retainer with the thicker spacer must be inserted into the hole that is closer to the saddle.
• Make sure that the string retainers can still move freely. These are only fixed by the tension of the strings.

Wiring pots, pick-ups and switch

• The pickups and control plate are connected via connectors.
• As illustrated, run the cable connector for the bridge pickup through the recess into the cable channel as far as the recess for the potentiometer plate.
• Run the cable for earthing the strings (stripped, without connectors) through the channel in the recess for the control plate and into the recess for the bridge pickup.
• Next, pull the cable out of the hole far enough to ensure sufficient contact with the metallic surface when the bridge is installed. Earthing the strings reduces noise inter‐ference.
• Place the body on a suitable work surface. Use a soft pad in order to avoid damage to the surface. Insert the bridge with the pickup into the cutout on the body as illus‐trated.
• Ensure the pickup sits in the centre of the hole and is aligned with the pre-drilled screw holes. Attach the bridge using the supplied screws. If necessary, adjust the position of the earthing wire so that the bridge can be mounted flat on the guitar body using the fastening screws.

Mounting the guitar neck, pickguard, output jack and control plate

• First, adjust the width of the recess for the guitar neck on the pickguard with a needle file and/or sandpaper. Note the positions of the mounting holes for the pick‐guard!
• Run the cable from the neck pickup into the recess for the control plate.
• Connect the pickup connector to the connectors for the control plate. Insert the output jack into the hole provided on the edge of the guitar body.
• Place the body on a suitable work surface. Use a soft pad in order to avoid damage to the surface. Fit the neck into the neck cutout. If necessary, use a sharp chisel or sand‐paper for reworking. Be very careful when removing material. The neck should be tight and never have too much clearance in the cutout!
• Turn the guitar over and position the neck plate over the four bolt holes at the rear of the body, then screw the four wood screws provided through the neck plate, body and pilot holes in the neck until everything fits tightly.
• Position the pickguard over the front of the body so that the neck pickup is seated in the correct recess. Screw the pickguard onto the body using the screws provided.
• Insert the holder for the output socket and check the projection of the socket. This must protrude so far over the bracket to the outside that it can be sufficiently tight‐ened with the supplied nut and then only slightly protrudes. If necessary, correct the protrusion by turning the counter nut inside accordingly.
• Then screw the output jack holder onto the body.

Mounting the strap pins

• Screw the strap pins into the pre-drilled holes in the body as shown.

Strings, neck relief, string action and pick-ups

Stringing

• The strings are threaded from the bridge towards the neck over the corresponding saddle. Wrap the end of the string a few times around the peg and first hand-tighten each string. Make sure that the individual strings are in the correct saddle position as well as in the corresponding string retainer.
• Then tune all the strings in sequence to the correct pitch. You can use a tuner or a pitch pipe as a reference. Note that the string tension will drop a little and the guitar needs to be retuned several times until the strings stay in tune.

Adjusting neck relief

• The neck is equipped with a steel truss rod, with which the neck relief can be adjusted individually to the playing habits.
• After tuning the strings, check the neck relief by pressing the low E string on the first and twelfth fret. The closer the string is to the fingerboard at the sixth fret, the more noise (buzzing) will be heard when playing the guitar.
• Adjust the neck relief with a suitable Allen key as follows:
  • Turn the truss rod clockwise to increase the tension. The neck becomes straighter, in extreme cases convex. The string is closer to the fingerboard, easier to grip but causes more background noise when playing.
  • Turn the truss rod counter-clockwise to decrease the tension. The neck yields more to the string tension and accordingly curves concave. The string moves away from the fingerboard, is a bit harder to grip, but causes less to no back‐ground noise when playing.
• Adjust the truss rod by about a quarter turn per setting, tune all strings to the correct pitch after each adjustment, and check the neck relief again after some time. Repeat the process until the desired neck relief is achieved.

Adjusting string action

• Once the neck has the desired relief, you can use the screws for each saddle to adjust the string position to suit your taste. Again, the lower the string action, the easier the strings are to grip, but cause slight background noise when playing the guitar.
• After setting the string action, you can check the octave intonation of the guitar and readjust if necessary. Tune all strings to the correct pitch, touch the first string just above the twelfth fret, and hit it. The resulting overtone (harmonic in the 12th fret) must have the same pitch as the string in the 12th fret. If the pitch of the two notes is different, move the bridge piece forward for this string (tone too low) or back (tone too high). Listen to the pitch of the two notes and make incremental changes until the two notes match.
• Alternatively, you can also adjust the octave clarity with an instrument tuner. The pitch of the note in the 12th fret must be the same as the open string, but one octave higher.

Adjusting the pickups
The pickups should be set so that all the strings sound equally loud when played. Adjust the height of the pickups by using the lateral adjustment screws and listening to the sound. The minimum distance between each string and its pickup is two millimetres. The greater the distance between the string and pickup, the quieter the string will sound.

Protecting the environment

• Disposal of the packaging material
  • For the transport and protective packaging, environmentally friendly materials have been chosen that can be supplied to normal recycling.
  • Ensure that plastic bags, packaging, etc. are properly disposed of.
  • Do not just dispose of these materials with your normal household waste, but make sure that they are collected for recycling. Please follow the notes and markings on the packaging.
• Disposal of your old device
  • This product is subject to the European Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) in its currently valid version. Do not dispose with your normal household waste.
  • Dispose of this device through an approved waste disposal firm or through your local waste facility. When discarding the device, comply with the rules and regulations that apply in your country. If in doubt, consult your local waste disposal facility.

References

• Buy musical instruments online from the market leader – Thomann United States

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