Harley Benton 185163 Electric Guitar Kit ST-Style ST-LH Instruction Manual
- June 15, 2024
- Harley Benton
Table of Contents
Instruction Manual Electric Guitar Kit ST Style
electric guitar kit
Safety instructions
DANGER!
Danger for children
Ensure that plastic bags, packaging, etc. are properly disposed of and are not
in the reach of babies and young children. Choking hazard!
Ensure that children do not detach any small parts (e.g. knobs or the like)
from the product. They could swallow the pieces and choke!
Never let children play unattended with the product.
CAUTION!
Danger of cuts on the hands
While assembling and joining individual parts together with screws pay
attention to sharp edges on tools, screws and components.
Scope of delivery
Thank you for buying this guitar kit. All the wood, hardware and electrical
compo‐nents of the guitar are contained in this package.
The picture below shows the individual items included in 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 spanner
- Pliers
- Paint and accessories
- Sandpaper
It is important to paint the body and neck before assembly.
Always wear a dust mask when applying spray paint.
3.1 Cut the headstock to size
Cut the headstock to your desired shape using a suitable saw. Ensure you leave
suffi‐cient space between the cutting edge and the holes for the tuners to
maintain sta‐bility. The tuners’ retaining rings should be used as a reference
here.
After cutting, smooth the cutting edge with sandpaper or a suitable file.
3.2 Painting the body and neck
Painting the body
The solid wood body of the guitar 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 the neck joint. These
components are machined from high-grade tonewoods to ensure optimum alignment.
Since wood is a natural material, however, its shape changes slightly over
time. If the fit is too tight, you can adjust it using a sharp chisel or
sandpaper. Please remember that the addi‐tional lacquer coat 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.
Consid‐ered and careful working are key factors for a qualitatively
satisfactory result. We explicitly recommend 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 struc‐ture. 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.
Insert a wire or hook into the cutout for the guitar neck and hang the painted
guitar body to dry in a dry, dust-free area away from direct sunlight.
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 neck of the guitar is sealed at the factory with a thin layer of matt
lacquer and is already ready to use. However, if you would still like to treat
the neck with paint or clear lacquer, follow the instructions below.
Carefully mask off the fingerboard and all frets before you start painting.
Make sure that all surfaces are free of dust and dirt. Carry out all painting
operations in a wellventilated, dust-free environment.
Use a clear or lightly coloured wood lacquer of high quality for the neck.
Start on the front and the edges of the headstock. Apply a thin layer evenly,
allow it to dry and repeat this 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 pro‐ceeding 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.
3.3 Mounting the tuners
From the rear side of the headstock, insert the tuners into the holes
provided. Align the tuners so that the tuning pins are vertical to the upper
edge of the headstock.
Fasten the tuners in this position as shown in the picture, initially
fastening them only finger-tight with the screws provided.
Turn the neck and fasten all the machine heads finger-tight to
the front of the head‐stock with the washers and nuts provided.
Tighten the nuts on the front with an appropriate
spanner, then tighten the screws on the back firmly to fasten the
tuners.
3.4 Mounting the string
retainers
Affix the two string retainers to the front of the head plate in the holes
provided next to the tuners. The string retainer with the larger spacer must
be inserted into the hole that is closer to the saddle.
Ensure the string retainers can still move freely. They will be secured by the
tension of the strings.
3.5
Mounting the bridge
Place the body on a suitable working surface. Use a soft pad in order to avoid
damage to the surface. Place the bridge in the cutout on the body as shown,
and guide the sustain block into the hole through the body.
Ensure the bridge sits in the centre of the hole and is aligned with the pre-
drilled screw holes. Attach the bridge using the supplied screws.
Next, turn the body around
and screw the spring claw by hand into the pre-drilled screw holes in the
cutout on the body’s back.
Attach the
loops of the three springs to the spring claw and guide the other ends into
the small holes in the sustain block. Continue to tighten the spring claw
towards the neck until some tension is applied to the bridge.
3.6 Wiring the potentiometers, pickups and switches
The potentiometers, pickups and switches are pre-assembled on the pickguard
and simply need to be connected to the output jack socket and earth. The
pickups, potentiometer and jack socket are wired to the output jack socket by
means of con‐nectors.
As illustrated, run the cable connector into the cable channel via the recess
as far as the recess for the output jack socket.
Thread the cable for the string earthing (after stripping
the insulation, and without the connector) to the spring claw through the
recess in the opening on the back.
Hook
the grounding cable onto the spring claw. Ensure there is sufficient contact
between the stripped end of the earthing wire and the spring claw.
3.7 Mounting the
pickguard and output jack socket
Position the pickguard over the front of the body so that the pickups and all
the wires are seated in the correct recesses. Screw the pickguard onto the
body using the screws provided as shown in the picture below.
Now connect the connector for the output jack socket to the
connector for the pickup and the potentiometers. Insert the output jack socket
into the hole provided on the body’s front side and screw it in place using
the screws provided.Then screw the plastic plate which covers the recess for the sustain block into place by inserting the screws provided into the pre-drilled holes on the back of the body.
3.8 Mounting the neck of
the guitar
Place the body on a suitable working surface. Use a soft pad in order to avoid damage to the surface. Insert the neck into the neck cutout. If necessary, use a sharp chisel or sandpaper to adjust it. Be very careful when removing material. The neck should be firmly seated and under no circumstances should there be too much play 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.
3.9 Mounting the strap buttons
Screw the strap buttons into the pre-drilled holes in the body as shown.
3.10 Strings, neck relief,
string height and pickups
Stringing the guitar
Fitting strings to the guitar is achieved by threading them through the sustain block from the rear to the front via the corresponding saddle. Wrap the string end around the tuner several times and pull each string hand-tight at first. Be sure that each string is in the correct position on the saddle and in the correct string retainer.
Then tune each string in turn
to the correct pitch. You can using a tuner or a pitch pipe as a reference.
Please note that the string tension will still drift and the guitar will need
to be retuned a few times before the strings are played in.
Adjusting the neck relief
The neck is equipped with a steel truss rod that can be used to adjust the relief to your preferences.
After tuning the strings, check the relief by pressing on the low E string at the first and twelfth fret. The closer the string is to the fingerboard at the sixth fret, the more noise (buzz) will be audible when the guitar is played.
Adjust the neck relief using an appropriate Allen key as follows:- Turn the truss bar clockwise to increase tension. The neck will become straighter, even convex in extreme cases. The string will be closer to the fingerboard, is easier to fret, but will buzz more during playing.
- Turn the truss bar counterclockwise to decrease tension. The neck will respond more to the string tension and become correspondingly more concave. The string will be farther from the fingerboard, be somewhat harder to fret, but will cause less or no noise during playing.
Adjust the truss bar only by about a quarter turn per setting, then retune all
the strings to the correct pitch and check the neck relief again after a short
time. Repeat this process until the desired neck relief is reached.
Adjusting the position of
the strings
Once the neck has the desired relief, you can use the screws for each saddle
to adjust the string position to suit your taste. Here, too, the lower the
strings, the easier they are to fret, but they will buzz more easily when the
guitar is played.
After adjusting string
position, you can check the octaves of the guitar and readjust if necessary.
Tune all the strings to the correct pitch, gently touch the first string right
above the twelfth fret and then pick the string. The harmonic you hear (at the
12th fret) must be the same pitch as the picked string at the 12th fret). If
the pitch of the two notes differs, adjust the saddle for this string back
(tone too high) or forth (tone too low) on the bridge. Listen carefully and
adjust gently until the two notes match.
Alternatively, you can also adjust the octaves with a tuner. In this case, the
pitch of the tone at the 12th fret must be the same as the unfretted string,
but one octave higher.
Attaching
the whammy bar
Once all strings have been tuned to the correct pitch, screw the whammy bar
into its screw hole on the bridge. Ensure the whammy bar can still move
freely.
Adjust the initial tension of the whammy bar via the springs in the recess on
the back of the body. The initial tension is dependent on the positioning of
the springs; the shorter the distance between the two fastening points of each
spring, the lower the tension and thus the force required to operate the
whammy bar.
Adjusting the pickups
The pickups should be set so that all the strings sound equally loud when
played.
Adjust the height of each pickup by using the two lateral adjustment screws
and lis‐tening 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.
Musikhaus Thomann
Hans-Thomann-Straße 1
96138 Burgebrach Germany
www.thomann.de