Harley Benton ST Style User manual

Harley Benton E-Guitar Kit ST-Style
Owner‘sManual
e-Guitar Kit st-style

Harley Benton E-Guitar Kit ST-Style
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Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................. 3
Body finish ................................................................................................................... 4
Neck finish ................................................................................................................... 4
Assembling of tuners ................................................................................................... 5
Neck............................................................................................................................. 6
Bridge assembly ........................................................................................................... 6
Wiring........................................................................................................................... 7
Strap buttons............................................................................................................... 9
Setting up .................................................................................................................. 10

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Harley Benton E-Guitar Kit ST-Style
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Introduction
Thank you for buying this guitar kit. All the wood, hardware and electrical components of the guitar are
containedinthispackage.Pleasereadthefollowinginstructionsforassemblyandnishing.

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Body finish
Therstconsiderationtobemadebeforeassemblingistochoosethepreferrednishoftheguitarbody.
The basswood body of the guitar is sealed and prepared for various types of lacquer coating. A wide variety of
nishescanbeprocuredfromDIY,timberandautomotiveoutletsinaerosolcansmakingnishingstraightfor-
ward without requiring specialist skills. The use of a dust mask is essential when spraying.
Therststepistocheckthetofthebodytotheneckjoint.Theguitarismachinedfromhigh-gradetone-
woods to ensure optimum alignment. But all woods have a natural propensity to change the shape very slightly
overtime.Ifthetistootight,agentleadjustmentusingasharpchiselorsandpapermayberequired.Please
rememberthatthecoatingoflacquerwillmakethenecktalittlemoretightlyintothecutout.
Before coating the body, ensure that all surfaces are clean and free of dirt and dust. Conduct all coating proc-
esses in a well-aired, dust-free environment. Slow and patient progress is the key to a good quality of the body
nishanditisrecommendedtotestthecolourandtechniqueonasparepieceofwoodrst.
A hole is drilled in the neck cutout so that it can be suspended by a hook for spraying and drying or alterna-
tively, a spare length of wood can be screwed in place of the neck in the cutout as a handle.
Sprayontheedgesofthebodyrstandallowthecoattobecometouchdry.Oncetheedgesaredry,continue
ontherearandthenonthefrontofthebody.Gradualandsmoothpasseswillensureanevencoat.Ifthereare
anyimperfections,allowfortobecomefullydryandthensandoutwithnegrade(e.g.800+grit)beforere-
spraying. Apply three or more coats for full coverage.
Finally,afterallowingtwotothreedaysofdryingtofullycurethenish,bufforpolishthebodyasrequiredto
givethedesiredlevelofgloss.Takecarenottobufftoovigorouslyasthismayremovethenish.
Neck finish
Theneckoftheguitarissuppliedsealedwithalightcoatofmattelacquerandisreadytouse.Ifpreferred,the
neckcanbenishedwithacolourorglosslacquer.Ifso,dothefollowing.
Therosewoodngerboarddoesnotneedcoatingwithlacquer,soitisimportanttomaskofftheexposedrose-
wood and frets prior to spraying. Ensure all parts to be sprayed are free from dirt and dust and that the envi-
ronment is dust-free and well-aired. The use of a dust mask is essential when spraying.
Choose a good quality, clear or lightly tinted wood lacquer aerosol for the neck and begin at the front and sides
oftheheadstock.Startwithagradual,evenpasstoapplyathincoat,allowdrying(tobetouchable)andrepeat
thistwoorthreetimes.Takecarenottoapplytoomuch,whichmaycauseruns.Ifthishappens,sanddown
the area and re-apply evenly.
Aftertheheadstockhasbecomedry,turntheneckoverandlayitdownonitsngerboard.Repeattheabove
processfortherestoftheexposedmaple.
Allow two to three days for the lacquer to fully harden and then, if desired, polish the lacquered surfaces to get
a suitable shine.

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Assembling of tuners
Beforeattachingthenecktothebody,tthetuningmachine-headstotheheadstockbyinsertingthethread
through the pre-drilled holes and setting a washer and bush over it. Screw down the bush onto the thread until
ittstightlytothetouchandthenadjusttherearofthemachine-headsothatthetuningbuttonsitsvertically
above the top edge of the headstock.
Fixtheretainingscrewthroughtheloopontherearofthegearhousingintothepilotholetoholdthetuner
inposition.Thentightenthenutonthefrontfaceofthetuneruntilitisrmbyusingaspannerofthecorrect
size.Repeatthisfortheremainingvetunersandthentthetwostringtreeswiththeonewiththetaller
spacers nearer to the top nut.

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Neck
With the body placed face up on a protective surface, position the neck into the neck cutout until it is fully
inserted.
Turntheassemblyoverandpositiontheneckplate(withitsblackprotectiveseal)overthefourboltholesat
the rear of the body and drive in the four long screws through the neck plate, body and pilot holes in the neck
untilalltstightly.
Bridge assembly
Position the body face-up on a soft surface. Take the bridge and set it into the right section toward the rear of
thebody,allowingthesustainblock(themetalblockunderneaththebridge)tohangintotheholethroughthe
body.
Ensurethatthesustainblockispositionedinthecentreoftheholeandlinesupthesixscrewholesthathave
beenpre-drilledandsecureitwiththesixscrewsprovided–nottootightly–allowingthebridgetorockback
and forth.
Turn the guitar over and screw the spring claw part-way into the pre-drilled holes at the forward edge of the
rear body cavity
Attach the loops of the three springs provided to the claw and the straight hook ends to the small holes in the
sustain block. Continue to tighten the claw towards the neck until some tension is applied to the bridge.

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Wiring
The pickups and controls are pre-assembled on the pickguard and simply need to be connected to the output
jacksocketandearth.Wiringisimplementedasplug-inmodules,solderingisnotrequired.
Therearetwoloosecablesinthewiringassembly.Onecablehasaconnectorandtheotheronehasnocon-
nector.Threadthecablewithoutconnector(thestringgroundingcable)throughtheholeleadingtothespring
claw.Hookitontheclaw,putthespringsontheclawandproperlyxthebarecableend.Stringgrounding
reducesnoise(hum).Gentlythreadthetwinconnectorleadthroughtheholebehindthetonecontrolcavityto
theseparateroutingforthejacksocketplate.

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Wiring
Now position the pickguard over the front of the body in a way that the pickups and all the wiring sit neatly in
the routed cavities. Ensure that the edge of the pickguard sits snugly at the end of the neck and straight to
the bridge assembly. Secure the pickguard with the small dome-head screws provided into the pre-drilled pilot
holes.
Connecttheconnectorwiretotheconnectoronthejacksocket(theyonlytonewayround),thentthejack
socket plate and secure it with dome-head screws.
Theplasticrearbodyplatecannowbettedtocoverthespringcavity.Securetheplatewithdome-head
screws into the pre-drilled holes.

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Strap buttons
Screw the strap buttons into the pre-drilled holes at the bottom edge of the body and at the tip of the upper
horn of the body.

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Setting up
Fitting strings to the guitar is achieved by threading from the rear, through the sustain block to the front, emerg-
ing through the relevant saddle on the bridge. Start with the thickest string bottom E in the uppermost position
on the bridge.
Ensure that the string sits smoothly on its saddle and keep taut whilst winding a couple of turns on the relevant
tuner. Thread through the string post and bend the string back on itself to anchor it in place. Apply a little ten-
sionfromthetunerandmoveontothenextstring.Repeattheaboveprocessforallsixstrings.
Bringing all the strings up to pitch gradually is better achieved with a digital guitar tuner or pitch pipes as a ref-
erence. Please be aware that the tension of the strings may take some time to settle and re-tuning a few times
might be necessary. Stretching each string gently after reaching the pitch will help to take up slack.

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Setting up
Theneckisttedwithatrussrodwhichmayneedadjusting.Whenthestringsaretunedup,theywilltrytopull
awayfromtheneck,whichmaymeanthattheactionbecomestoohigh.Ifthishappens,usethelargerofthe
twohexkeysprovidedtograduallytightenthetrussrod–ahalfturnisusuallyenoughandmaynottakeef-
fectimmediately–allowtheadjustmentstosettleeachtime–donotbetemptedtoover-tightenthetrussrod.
Sighting along the neck should show a very slight concave tendency which is called “relief” and too straight a
neck may lead to “fret buzzing”. Some strings may need to be raised or lowered individually to give the correct
actionandthiscanbeadjustedusingthesmallerofthetwohexkeysprovided.
Oncethedesiredactionisachieved,allthatremains
is to set the vibrato tension and intonation. After tuning
up all the strings, the spring claw may need tightening
(orslackening)intherearcavitytomakethevibrato
system“oat”(note:someplayerspreferthatthebridge
liescompletelyatagainstthebody).
Tosetupintonationyoujusthavetogentlytoucha
string, right above the twelfth fret and then pick the
string. The resulting chime-like sound is a harmonic
(12thfretharmonic).Thisharmonicshouldhavethe
same pitch as when the string is pressed at the twelfth
fret.Ifthepitchofthetwonotesdiffers,adjustthe
saddle for this string back or forth on the bridge. Listen
carefullyandadjustgentlyuntilthetwonotesmatch,to
achievecorrectintonation.Repeatthisprocedureonall
strings until the harmonics and the fretted notes sound the same.
Pleasealsorememberthatovertime,slightadjustmentsmayneedtobemadeanddifferentgaugesofstrings
will need compensating for in the setup.
Thepickupheightcannowbeadjustedforbestperformanceandcanbebalancedbyadjustingthescrewsat
thetopandbottomofeachpickup.Asageneralrule,holddownthestringsatthe22ndfretandadjustsothat
thestringsareatleast2mmclearofthepickup.Anypickupsthatarenoticeablylouderthanotherscanbe
madequieterbyadjustingthemfurtherawayfromthestrings.
Forfutureadjustments,keeptheseinstructionsasareferenceandenjoyyourcustommadeguitar.

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