I ordered the Amarok-BT BKNT Flame Burst (based on this review} from Thomann and I cant believe the poor quality of this guitar. I'm no pro but the list of thigs wrong with the guitar included loose nut at the Jack Socket, frets that weren't filed down, some of the exposed metal was rusted and worst of all the pickup was in so badly it was crooked and had destroyed the wood underneath when drilling. Not to mention I have never had a guitar go out of tune as often or badly as this guitar. And doing returns back through Thomann is where it sucks. Now when I took it in to get professionally set up it'll cost almost as much as the guitar, and this guitar is not worth anywhere near $800+ I'm sure the one they got to you was perfect and I don't think you deliberately promoted a bad product but I felt it necessary to warn anyone taking the time to read this.
I remember Thomann talking about these to various youtubers and musicians and how they planned to really step up the quality as much as they could while keeping prices as low as possible. It really looks like they nailed it. The Pro series from HB all seem to offer phenomenal value for money and very high quality construction from reviews I have seen so far. I love seeing fantastic instruments at reasonable prices for once. The "big" brands are so over rated these days and really don't offer anywhere near the value they should at their respective price points, particularly with so many other options available now that are as good or even better for (sometimes a LOT) less. My next guitar order will likely all be HB guitars, for the price of a decent PRS or Gibson I can pick up an LP style, Strat style, SG style and a pro series with a 2x12 tube amp thrown in for giggles. 4 guitars and a decent amp for the price of a single PRS (USA) or a Gibson LP Standard. I love a good LP or PRS but damn, not that much, hell, might even just sell my LP Studio and make that order as soon as it's sold.
Hey 👋 Another big time Hb fan here. I started with the jumbo line king and omg what an amazing instrument. Straight out the box 📦 I was like a excited kid no hold on. I was an excited kid ha ha. The playability and sound straight away struck me. Amazing and for only £225 £300 with a beautiful brown hard hardcase with red velvet interior and a humidity gauge. Yum 😋 yum. I was so impressed I then went on to buy the hb version of the Martin d41 and omg another out of body experience 😳 ha ha. You so right I about the big money brands. I think they will find it hard to keep there prices with hb making such headway in the quality for price department. Happy strumming 😊👌😀😎🇮🇪
@@suddenswarm5944 if they produce at the same factories as the solar guys do (which is not too unlikely) they probably have much larger orders. I'd assume that and the fact that they only sell them over their own distribution network drops the price a ton.
@@EpitaphNoeeki I’ve watched a video on it and they use a few of the same places as other manufacturers so they aren’t breaking any new ground there I’d guess that you’re right it’s probably just from you ordering in bulk I bought two of them like a year ago, still holding up well, haven’t even had to get one of them set up yet.
@@suddenswarm5944 There is no middleman with Harley Benton. They get their instruments in bulk and sell them directly to you. By cutting out the middleman, they cut down the price and guitars with set necks and cavity covers under $150 become readily available to people like you and me.
Years ago I worked summers in a national park in the middle of nowhere Alaska, and bought a cheap Harley Benton strat to take with me since you can unbolt the neck and chuck it right in a suitcase. That bad boy endured severe beatings and exposure to temperatures and humidities that few guitars ever have to face, and took it all like a champ. I stopped going to Alaska several years ago and ended up leaving it up there for future park employees to enjoy, and every summer since then someone has made a point of sending me an update on The Guitar That Wouldn't Die, and to my knowledge it is still fully able to rock today. Absolutely spectacular bang-for-your-buck on Harley Bentons; if I ever needed another quick and cheap travel guitar they'd absolutely be the first place I looked.
I’m glad you mentioned balance. Every SG I’ve played, Gibson and Epiphone, have a tendency to tilt in the direction of the headstock, and you don’t know this is a huge problem until you’ve experienced it for yourself.
He’s no shredder, he knows it, he’s admitted it before, doesn’t mean he can’t recognize and properly review gear though. Just like a great mechanic may not be a great NASCAR driver and vice versa.
I've been eyeballing the amarok 7 strings for a while. 800 USD or whatever it is exchanging for today is a great deal for through body construction. It's basically a Kiesel without the markup lol
@@russellzauner It's $588, you can set your country to US (or Canada) and change the currency to USD USA has an insane discount for some reason, 500 euros for 7 string, 420 for 6 string while it's 584/488 shipped to germany
Error989 the price difference are normally the local VAT changes. Occasionele with some some rounding off to "marketing prices". We tend to see 549 as a better price than 536... (random example)
I got the Harley Benton 8 string you checked out with Henning Pauly a few years ago (R-458). The complaint you two had about the tuning is solved with thicker strings. It comes with like 9 - 65 on it. Changing that to a standard 6 string set 9 - 42, a 54 - 65 on the B, and a 75 - 80 on the F# is lovely
I own 2 HB guitars and they both played great out of the box, I don't know how they do it but I thank the non-existent gods for Thomann and them creating really great options for the semi pro/ working man musician. Their Fndr style basses play and sound great as well. I have to control myself every time I go on their site because it's all so affordable.
So my dad taught me my first guitar riff.(i'm sure everybody can guess which one) He played bass back in the day but his old ibanez has seen better days and due to a history of injuries it can be hard for him to play. For his birthday this year I bought him an $80 b-stock harley benton short scale p bass copy. That thing is probably 4 or 5 times the guitar i paid for. But the most valuable thing of all is my dad has been in the living room every night after work ripping black sabbath riffs. Glenn thanks for making me aware of this awesome brand and helping me say thanks to my dad.
I remember when I was first introduced to Harley Benton guitars back in late 90's - they were mostly horrible. Now owning 3 and I must say the quality is surprisingly good for the price. After pickup swipe those sound killer.
Still in year 2009 when I started they were crap, playable but crap. But sometime after that they upped their game. I remember first good one being rebranded epiphone hollowbody, and from there they just got better
@@TheHumppaidiootti Yes! Usually when I purchase gear from Thomann I pick up one HB guitar just to try it out. If I like it I keep it, if not I set it up and sell forward. I just ordered new 19" EQ unit to my studio and surprise, there's also one HB coming along too. I presume that Covid-19 is slowing germany down currently as I placed my order on 15th Dec. and haven't heard much of it since then.. Gotta keep on waiting.
Glenn, I have to thank you for turning me onto Harley Benton guitars. I'm disabled and my grip is pretty bloody awful nowadays, so I was never going to justify buying another guitar as my playing is getting limited. But when you said how good they were for bugger all money, I plumped for a Les Paul copy. Holy crap, I didn't expect how MUCH better it was than I thought. It's just so easy and nice to play. And lovely sustain too. Can't fault it. Next time I get something from Thomann (and I do order a few synthesizers) I'll make sure to go through your affiliate link. Big thank you - you've given me fun with guitars again, which I thought I'd never have once again.
The Dullahan was was designed with help from Hunter from Agufish, he reviews a lot of bang for your buck gear. No 7 string version as of yet, but maybe in the future.
I got a Benton LP a few years back. Came out of the box with an amazing setup and felt like one of the higher-end Epiphones, but the pickups were extremely dark and I just couldn't get a good sound out of them with any of my amps. I had a set of GM Hot Rod pickups (SD JB & Jazz clones) sitting around, so I installed those. Now my Benton keeps up with my Gibsons. It has become my go-to practice and gig guitar. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a high-quality beater to bring to a gig and not worry too much about it getting broken or stolen.
Yeah the Roswell PUs are the weakpoint but they kinda know that and expect players to swap them out anyways - at least they did untill they got this sweet bulk deal with the EMGs in the last few editions. Basically I bought my first few HBs to test aftermarket PUs with them. Given how many options for brilliant but inexpensive PUs you got nowadays (Guitarfetish, Tonerider, etc) or just a second hand SD or EMG you can get really nice stuff for the price of a midpriced epi. I got a SC custom active, put EMGs in for overall less than 300 bucks and got myself an eclipse on a Budget. Came with a stellar setup right out of the box.
I am glad I came across this. I never picked up and Gibsons when I was younger but now really would like to have one of those. The pickups you mentioned got my attention.
Bought my first Harley Benton just recently (RB-414 bass) because of all the recent TH-cam reviews and can tell you from my experience they have definitely stepped up their quality.
We've always loved Harley Benton because they deliver fantastic quality without completely robbing you blind. Their solid top acoustics are phenomenal value and if we knew about them before we wouldn't have bought the overpriced gear we have now.
I just bought a Harley Benton. I started playing around with guitar about 2 or 3 months ago. The reason I got a Harley Benton is because, unlike a Squire or Epiphone(neither of which are bad guitars), I found that seeing my Harley Benton SC Custom (ESP Eclipse clone) just made me want to pick up the guitar and play more. And I think that is the most important thing for beginners like myself. Surround yourself with stuff that makes you want to play.
Thank you for many interesting videos. Even though I am not a metal-player myself I have learned a lot from your channel and I really appreciate your work. I bought a Harley Benton telecaster a while back, most out of curiosity really, and I have found that I absolutely love it. I have upgraded the electronics and pickups on it, but other than that I am thrilled with the quality to price ratio.
Harley Bernton is amazing. I got a 1x12 cab to use with my Marshall DSL20HR and for 130 euros you get a super good looking cab in plywood, and with a Celestion vintage 30 speaker in it. That's unreal. Great video Glenn!
Just bought my first (of what will be many)Harley Benton Guitar early this morning. Picked up the R-458BK FanFret cause I've been wanting a multiscale for ages now and plus a 8-String fan fret for $175 is a steal. I always change out the pickups (to EMGs)and the tuning pegs to Ninja Pro Locking Tuners. With almost 23 yrs of playing under my belt, never have seen so many great things (and prices) on a company like Harley Benton. Thanks for doing vids like Glen! Definitely shows a lot players don't drop all your money on a name brand. Especially if you're gonna change a bunch of things on it anyway lol
hahaha, i used to work for DHL in the states here, and we decided DHL stood for Delivered Hours Late. but we used to be a subcontractor for DHL proper and we rtook good care of the packages we delivered, but when i visited a larger hub, it was nuts what they did to those parcels, lol
Harley Benton's a AWESOME value. If you ever have wanted to experiment with a 7 string, baritone, or a fan fret guitar you can get them all from those folks for pennies. I bought a 7 string and a 6 string fan fret from them a few years ago and its a great way to see if you like them or not. I bought an LP copy preparing to swap out the pups but to my amazement, I really didn't need to.
this video is the final thing that makes Glenn remind me of the strictest teacher in my class, they both get pissed at people who get it wrong because they really care about the subject my teacher cares about baking and Glenn cares about music, but when they're dealing with things that are done well, they show that their glad that it's not butchered
i used to play electric as a side instrument in school and then i left it. six months after i’m going back to electric and ive ordered a harley benton and they seem so fucking cool
I recently got a 5 string Jazz bass from Glarry and they didn’t put any springs in the bridge pickup . Which collapsed them breaking the pickup . They mounted the bridge so far right of the neck the G sting misses the fretboard at the 13th fret. One of the screws was broken off in the A string tuning peg and still somehow managed to stick out and cut me . The neck pickup was mounted so far left of the strings the B was over E string magnets and the G sting missed it completely. The lower tone knob was missing . The action was set so I could fit my entire hand under the strings and still have room to spare and this is the nicest bass from them I’ve seen so far .
2 yrs ago I got myself a $140 HB (Floyd Rose and all!) put on some old DiMarzios - recorded on top of a track of one of my Fav guitar players that has his own signature guitar. The people I showed the track to sometimes couldn't even tell there were 2 guitars hahaha I absolutely love HB!! Thanks Glenn!
I haven't really tried any HB guitar. But I have bought different products like pedalboards, accessories and most of them were really good for the price. However, I managed to get a bass MB4 SB Deluxe Series (a Sterling style) for recording at home which happened to be absolutely amazing. Not only was the finish superb but the sound, very good. I can imagine replacing the pickup for a Duncan can enhance the sound and performance. I'm very happy with Thomann in general. I don't know how they work in other countries but here in Germany, the service is amazing and very friendly, not to mention how fast it can be if DHL doesn't interfere in the process. Even though I could see most musicians using expensive equipment in Proberaum or gigs (before the covid19), the accessories or power supplies or this kind of stuff from HB is a common thing to come across among musicians. Hey Glen, thank you very much for all you're doing for the musicians community. I have learned a lot and I am still learning from your videos. It's priceless. And I'm really happy how much you're taking care of yourself.
Glenn, I was really impressed with your professional unboxing and presentation, then you started to play the guitar and everything went down hill from there :-) Thank You as Always.
I just love Harley Benton for "bang for the buck" . I bought the cheap SG iteration in cherry and was pleasantly surprised at just over 120 GBP . Then I got the DC custom in cherry at 215 GBP, that 100 quid (GBP) more was such an increase on the bang for buck scale! I love it. I'll be returning to Thomann for something else a little later but I just used my last pennies on a Gretsch G5222 double jet, which I also love. I'm a born again beginner so these cheaper instruments are mind blowing for the money. The Gretsch was only 450! Crazy good value! 20 years ago you'd have to spend a grand or more for something moderately good. Great video buddy, big thumbs up 👍👍👍☮☮☮🤘🤘🤘
These are looking real nice. They definitely stepped up their game, and this could really make them one of the go-to brands for affordable instruments with respectable quality. Seen their new explorers with EMGs? Really sweet.
Cheers Glenn - Got a Rik-o-Benton bass the day before the first lockdown here. A new set of strings on and while its me first bass, it's been a saviour for the head. And, while I know its your job and all, the sight of you getting 4 guitars in one day kinda makes up my mind whether I should get a new one ... or practice instead ;-) Gonna put you on the spot here, but best midrange price guitars in you opinion (€500-1500 ... dunno wheres that in $) And take care lad. Strange times ... even headless guitars with extra strings are about!!!
I'm kind of beginner intermediate guy (played a while didnt take it serious, trying to get back into it) getting a harley benton bass and guitar. Great way of getting the sounds I want without blowing like 3 grand.
Great review. This is important because many like me have watched the quality of Harley Bentons a lot on TH-cam, and we wonder what they're pumping out these days. Great to see that Amarok really impress you, and also the $400 Strandberg spirited guitar seems like a HELL of a bargain to get in the headless game! Thanks for this one Mr Glenn
@7:40 on the neck, you can tell someone is paying attention to detail, , look at the string ferrels in relation to the stripes on the neck, very nicely done
Used this brand before while i was living in Victoria, Australia. I highly recommend it because its stupid cheap! i got the strat shape and it was only $250 and it came with an amp as well!!!!
Great video. Just learned about Harley Benton for the first time today and can't stop watching videos about them. BTW, "Hello" from the other side of the river, eh!
My big point to the fine folks at Harley Benton is to add more packing material around their headstocks. The only one I ever purchased arrived with a broken headstock and the support styrofoam was broken like yours was in that one box. I know I know it was probably the shipping company not caring about it, but every little bit helps when it comes to packing guitars. Oh and it was a limited run so it could not be replaced due to being sold out... Great vid! Stoked to see what you do with the Amaroks.
Watched this video when you released it. Half a year later I finally ordered the green Amarok 7 string. Getting it May 4th if certain current events don't intrude. Totally fucking stoked. Thanks for the recommendation.
Man I picked up a Steinberger Spirit 10 years ago for like $200 bucks. The best thing about that guitar is the tuners have a 40:1 tuning ratio, seriously the most precise tuners I've ever used, and I could play for a month without adjusting the tuning, just stupid awesome. It was the best money I've ever spent on a guitar. Sadly I ran that thing into the ground gigging like crazy, and ended up parting out the guitar on Ebay now the same model, GU-7 goes for $1000 US... :/
I'm digging that Green finish. Yeah Indonesia is on point these days. I had one of the early Ibanez RG Premiums from Indonesia and I was impressed with it.
I’ve been looking at Harley Benton guitars for months at this point. They sound so good, and (from player accounts not my own), apparently play very well.
Awesome video Glenn! Harley Benton has really stepped their game up the past few years. I've been wanting the 7 string HB baritone SB7 for some time now. Hopefully I'll have it sooner than later. Killer guitars! 🤘🏼💀🖤
I was never a fan of headless guitars but seeing the compact size of that Dulahan, I wanna try one now. And yes, I need the yellow helmet to complete the look.
Dude HarleyBenton is by far the best cheap guitars. Their QC is better than most big names. By far. Their quality. Playability and everything is solid. You get so much guitar for cheap as shit. Very impressed by their guitars. I really wanna get a headless HB.
I just bought another 1999 Ibanez AX7521 for $224, all in. These sound great (and there's a flood of demos of the HB pro series right now, must be holidays lol), and there are so many more great instruments from HB (congrats to Thomann for what must be relentless quality control), but the big but is that there are also so many great instruments floating around for a couple bills that all you need to do is a little poking around on the net to find out what most of them are made of. There's a wiki with a lot of Ibanez data that led me to check demos online and then ultimately just buy a used one online, unplayed by me. It was kind of crazy, but it turned out to be a crazy payout. If you look at the stats of this Fujigen built example (and I can say they are a dream to play, neck dive is fixable at least 3 different ways, so that's no excuse) it's basically a LP jr double cut with 7 strings and grunty pickups, hard tail and solid as a rock. The Korean built ones you find for under $250 pretty often and every demo of those has been fine - same pickups as the FGN made ones. ibanez.fandom.com/wiki/AX7521 I was very impressed with the Harley Benton Ric style bass they had and someone updated it to legit OEM Rickenbacker electronics and they basically had a $2500 bass for around $500.
The guitarist in my band turned me onto Harley Benton gear about a year ago, since then I've gotten their Celestion Cab, an OD pedal and the double channel DSeed Delay pedal, all super cheap and the quality has been insanely good! i also bought an active Bass to fill out songwriting since finding a good bass player is next to impossible which is no surprise i guess, the thing plays and sounds great, cost me less than 140 Euro. Needless to say i became a fan of HB pretty quick! The only reason i haven't bought one of the 7 strings or any of their 6 strings even is cos I'm not a fan of how any of the guitars look personally, so i guess I'll have to save the pennies for a Solar, although these models are clearly based off the Solar designs 🤘🏼
My girlfriend got me the regular Fusion Pro II in emerald for my birthday this past January and it's one of my favorite guitars; definitely my go-to for whammy bar stuff. Now, I'm intrigued to check out the headless one here!
I love coming on to TH-cam to watch different reviews on Harley Benton for hours, I've been looking for another guitar for myself (that i may or may not need) but a good starter guitar for my sister that isn't $5 and built like shit, loved your thoughts and review Glenn!
Guitarist are super impressionable, no less than any one else. If a big name guitarist began to play HB then all of a sudden, HB would be regarded as pro level. If a Les Paul can be regarded as pro with it's tuning stability issues and other design flaws, then it opens it up to better designed modern guitars.
A few days ago, Andrew Baena unboxed a Harley Benton JA-Baritone BK Jag style guitar. It goes for $166 USD on Thomann. He liked it well enough, and for less than $200 USD--common that's a great starter guitar. Only thing tho...it had plastic tuners. Plastic tuners. Personally, I'd get it and change out the tuners. That's it--sweet deals from Harley Benton.
Liking the headless guitars. Been a a fan and user of Traveler Guitar for years due to being a Trucker due to how easy they store on my Rig. Might have to take a closer look to the Dulahans in the future.
We discuss these guitars quite a bit in this guitar group on Facebook. Lots of guys love em and some hate em. I've heard they require some love when setting them up. Changing the pickups is a must, and the finish is often imperfect but good bang for the buck overall
What a great unboxing. Good honest video. Sweet guitars. I played a newer Harley Benton SG @ Long & McQuaide like your blue one. I'm looking into these models. FU Glenn.
Just fabulous specs, add a setup and some coil taps then you have insanely good value for money. Rather than "no-name" hardware they have EMGs, Hipshot, SS frets... Damn good.
I have to say that whatever they are doing down there in Indonesia, they know what they are doing. Not sure whether it's robotic manufacture and good quality control, or perhaps enlisting an indigenous instrument building tradition. Bought a Squier Vintage Modified Jazz bass about a year after they came out long ago and have found it to be a high quality instrument. It's likely just as good as the Mexican Fender Jazz Glenn owns and has so highly praised. This is not a pale endorsement, the Mexican Fenders are known to be quite good.
I recently bought a Fusion Pro II with stainless frets and roasted neck. Pretty impressed. QC probably consists of making sure the neck is attached and nothing more. Mine arrived with the staggered tuners in the wrong order, missing a screw and screw hole for the trem cover and a few other issues. I’ve since rectified all those but a beginner might be frustrated.
Great guitars for the price! Anything that gets people making music at an affordable price I’m 100% behind! Thanks for the excellent review Glenn!!
Rock on!
I ordered the Amarok-BT BKNT Flame Burst (based on this review} from Thomann and I cant believe the poor quality of this guitar. I'm no pro but the list of thigs wrong with the guitar included loose nut at the Jack Socket, frets that weren't filed down, some of the exposed metal was rusted and worst of all the pickup was in so badly it was crooked and had destroyed the wood underneath when drilling. Not to mention I have never had a guitar go out of tune as often or badly as this guitar. And doing returns back through Thomann is where it sucks.
Now when I took it in to get professionally set up it'll cost almost as much as the guitar, and this guitar is not worth anywhere near $800+
I'm sure the one they got to you was perfect and I don't think you deliberately promoted a bad product but I felt it necessary to warn anyone taking the time to read this.
I remember Thomann talking about these to various youtubers and musicians and how they planned to really step up the quality as much as they could while keeping prices as low as possible. It really looks like they nailed it. The Pro series from HB all seem to offer phenomenal value for money and very high quality construction from reviews I have seen so far. I love seeing fantastic instruments at reasonable prices for once. The "big" brands are so over rated these days and really don't offer anywhere near the value they should at their respective price points, particularly with so many other options available now that are as good or even better for (sometimes a LOT) less.
My next guitar order will likely all be HB guitars, for the price of a decent PRS or Gibson I can pick up an LP style, Strat style, SG style and a pro series with a 2x12 tube amp thrown in for giggles. 4 guitars and a decent amp for the price of a single PRS (USA) or a Gibson LP Standard. I love a good LP or PRS but damn, not that much, hell, might even just sell my LP Studio and make that order as soon as it's sold.
Hey 👋 Another big time Hb fan here. I started with the jumbo line king and omg what an amazing instrument. Straight out the box 📦 I was like a excited kid no hold on. I was an excited kid ha ha. The playability and sound straight away struck me. Amazing and for only £225 £300 with a beautiful brown hard hardcase with red velvet interior and a humidity gauge. Yum 😋 yum. I was so impressed I then went on to buy the hb version of the Martin d41 and omg another out of body experience 😳 ha ha. You so right I about the big money brands. I think they will find it hard to keep there prices with hb making such headway in the quality for price department. Happy strumming 😊👌😀😎🇮🇪
Get in on it Glenn. The public loves a quality deal. These give that.
only thing i question is how they can do it so cheap. on about ethics of manufacturing i mean, but I dont know
@@suddenswarm5944 if they produce at the same factories as the solar guys do (which is not too unlikely) they probably have much larger orders. I'd assume that and the fact that they only sell them over their own distribution network drops the price a ton.
@@EpitaphNoeeki I’ve watched a video on it and they use a few of the same places as other manufacturers so they aren’t breaking any new ground there I’d guess that you’re right it’s probably just from you ordering in bulk I bought two of them like a year ago, still holding up well, haven’t even had to get one of them set up yet.
@@suddenswarm5944 There is no middleman with Harley Benton. They get their instruments in bulk and sell them directly to you. By cutting out the middleman, they cut down the price and guitars with set necks and cavity covers under $150 become readily available to people like you and me.
Last time I was this early Glenn was yelling at bass players
Oh wait...
Years ago I worked summers in a national park in the middle of nowhere Alaska, and bought a cheap Harley Benton strat to take with me since you can unbolt the neck and chuck it right in a suitcase. That bad boy endured severe beatings and exposure to temperatures and humidities that few guitars ever have to face, and took it all like a champ. I stopped going to Alaska several years ago and ended up leaving it up there for future park employees to enjoy, and every summer since then someone has made a point of sending me an update on The Guitar That Wouldn't Die, and to my knowledge it is still fully able to rock today. Absolutely spectacular bang-for-your-buck on Harley Bentons; if I ever needed another quick and cheap travel guitar they'd absolutely be the first place I looked.
I’m glad you mentioned balance. Every SG I’ve played, Gibson and Epiphone, have a tendency to tilt in the direction of the headstock, and you don’t know this is a huge problem until you’ve experienced it for yourself.
"the neck is super fast!"......plays an open chord......
In fairness, he played that chord very fast.
@@AnthonyChhan 🤣 hilarious
Total sell out !😱
He’s no shredder, he knows it, he’s admitted it before, doesn’t mean he can’t recognize and properly review gear though. Just like a great mechanic may not be a great NASCAR driver and vice versa.
@@johnmaynes7142 dont get your knickers in a bunch....it was a joke
The amaroks are awesome. Got one last week. Supper happy with it coming from a PRS
Right on! I'm very impressed with the quality of these things....
I've been eyeballing the amarok 7 strings for a while. 800 USD or whatever it is exchanging for today is a great deal for through body construction. It's basically a Kiesel without the markup lol
@@russellzauner It's $588, you can set your country to US (or Canada) and change the currency to USD
USA has an insane discount for some reason, 500 euros for 7 string, 420 for 6 string while it's 584/488 shipped to germany
Error989 the price difference are normally the local VAT changes. Occasionele with some some rounding off to "marketing prices". We tend to see 549 as a better price than 536... (random example)
I got the Harley Benton 8 string you checked out with Henning Pauly a few years ago (R-458). The complaint you two had about the tuning is solved with thicker strings. It comes with like 9 - 65 on it. Changing that to a standard 6 string set 9 - 42, a 54 - 65 on the B, and a 75 - 80 on the F# is lovely
I own 2 HB guitars and they both played great out of the box, I don't know how they do it but I thank the non-existent gods for Thomann and them creating really great options for the semi pro/ working man musician. Their Fndr style basses play and sound great as well. I have to control myself every time I go on their site because it's all so affordable.
Neck thru looked like really high quality. Yeah , looks like Solars. I’d love one.
So my dad taught me my first guitar riff.(i'm sure everybody can guess which one) He played bass back in the day but his old ibanez has seen better days and due to a history of injuries it can be hard for him to play. For his birthday this year I bought him an $80 b-stock harley benton short scale p bass copy. That thing is probably 4 or 5 times the guitar i paid for. But the most valuable thing of all is my dad has been in the living room every night after work ripping black sabbath riffs. Glenn thanks for making me aware of this awesome brand and helping me say thanks to my dad.
I remember when I was first introduced to Harley Benton guitars back in late 90's - they were mostly horrible. Now owning 3 and I must say the quality is surprisingly good for the price. After pickup swipe those sound killer.
Still in year 2009 when I started they were crap, playable but crap. But sometime after that they upped their game. I remember first good one being rebranded epiphone hollowbody, and from there they just got better
@@TheHumppaidiootti Yes! Usually when I purchase gear from Thomann I pick up one HB guitar just to try it out. If I like it I keep it, if not I set it up and sell forward.
I just ordered new 19" EQ unit to my studio and surprise, there's also one HB coming along too. I presume that Covid-19 is slowing germany down currently as I placed my order on 15th Dec. and haven't heard much of it since then..
Gotta keep on waiting.
Glenn, I have to thank you for turning me onto Harley Benton guitars. I'm disabled and my grip is pretty bloody awful nowadays, so I was never going to justify buying another guitar as my playing is getting limited. But when you said how good they were for bugger all money, I plumped for a Les Paul copy. Holy crap, I didn't expect how MUCH better it was than I thought. It's just so easy and nice to play. And lovely sustain too. Can't fault it. Next time I get something from Thomann (and I do order a few synthesizers) I'll make sure to go through your affiliate link. Big thank you - you've given me fun with guitars again, which I thought I'd never have once again.
The Dullahan was was designed with help from Hunter from Agufish, he reviews a lot of bang for your buck gear. No 7 string version as of yet, but maybe in the future.
I got a Benton LP a few years back. Came out of the box with an amazing setup and felt like one of the higher-end Epiphones, but the pickups were extremely dark and I just couldn't get a good sound out of them with any of my amps. I had a set of GM Hot Rod pickups (SD JB & Jazz clones) sitting around, so I installed those. Now my Benton keeps up with my Gibsons. It has become my go-to practice and gig guitar. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a high-quality beater to bring to a gig and not worry too much about it getting broken or stolen.
Yeah the Roswell PUs are the weakpoint but they kinda know that and expect players to swap them out anyways - at least they did untill they got this sweet bulk deal with the EMGs in the last few editions.
Basically I bought my first few HBs to test aftermarket PUs with them. Given how many options for brilliant but inexpensive PUs you got nowadays (Guitarfetish, Tonerider, etc) or just a second hand SD or EMG you can get really nice stuff for the price of a midpriced epi.
I got a SC custom active, put EMGs in for overall less than 300 bucks and got myself an eclipse on a Budget. Came with a stellar setup right out of the box.
@@ithemba it seems like rosswell has improved their pickups with recent guitars
I am glad I came across this. I never picked up and Gibsons when I was younger but now really would like to have one of those. The pickups you mentioned got my attention.
Bought my first Harley Benton just recently (RB-414 bass) because of all the recent TH-cam reviews and can tell you from my experience they have definitely stepped up their quality.
Glenn, you never manage to disappoint us with some grandad riffage.
@First Church of Shiba Inu re-read the comment. I thought it was nice. Maybe look up the word “disappoint?”
lol at “dhl patented speed hole”
We've always loved Harley Benton because they deliver fantastic quality without completely robbing you blind. Their solid top acoustics are phenomenal value and if we knew about them before we wouldn't have bought the overpriced gear we have now.
I just bought a Harley Benton. I started playing around with guitar about 2 or 3 months ago. The reason I got a Harley Benton is because, unlike a Squire or Epiphone(neither of which are bad guitars), I found that seeing my Harley Benton SC Custom (ESP Eclipse clone) just made me want to pick up the guitar and play more. And I think that is the most important thing for beginners like myself. Surround yourself with stuff that makes you want to play.
Thank you for many interesting videos. Even though I am not a metal-player myself I have learned a lot from your channel and I really appreciate your work. I bought a Harley Benton telecaster a while back, most out of curiosity really, and I have found that I absolutely love it. I have upgraded the electronics and pickups on it, but other than that I am thrilled with the quality to price ratio.
Harley Bernton is amazing. I got a 1x12 cab to use with my Marshall DSL20HR and for 130 euros you get a super good looking cab in plywood, and with a Celestion vintage 30 speaker in it. That's unreal.
Great video Glenn!
"That green headstock yeah that's cu__ yeah that's really nice."
Lmao. Come on Glenn, she is a cutie though.
Just bought my first (of what will be many)Harley Benton Guitar early this morning. Picked up the R-458BK FanFret cause I've been wanting a multiscale for ages now and plus a 8-String fan fret for $175 is a steal. I always change out the pickups (to EMGs)and the tuning pegs to Ninja Pro Locking Tuners. With almost 23 yrs of playing under my belt, never have seen so many great things (and prices) on a company like Harley Benton. Thanks for doing vids like Glen! Definitely shows a lot players don't drop all your money on a name brand. Especially if you're gonna change a bunch of things on it anyway lol
hahaha, i used to work for DHL in the states here, and we decided DHL stood for Delivered Hours Late. but we used to be a subcontractor for DHL proper and we rtook good care of the packages we delivered, but when i visited a larger hub, it was nuts what they did to those parcels, lol
I did too lol we called it DHHELL 🤣.
Harley Benton slowly but surely taking over the 'bang for your buck' market!
Harley Benton's a AWESOME value. If you ever have wanted to experiment with a 7 string, baritone, or a fan fret guitar you can get them all from those folks for pennies. I bought a 7 string and a 6 string fan fret from them a few years ago and its a great way to see if you like them or not. I bought an LP copy preparing to swap out the pups but to my amazement, I really didn't need to.
this video is the final thing that makes Glenn remind me of the strictest teacher in my class, they both get pissed at people who get it wrong because they really care about the subject my teacher cares about baking and Glenn cares about music, but when they're dealing with things that are done well, they show that their glad that it's not butchered
Even when sponsored I appreciate you’re honesty. Beautiful guitars. They look like Ibanez.
i used to play electric as a side instrument in school and then i left it. six months after i’m going back to electric and ive ordered a harley benton and they seem so fucking cool
I’ve never seen Glen so excited, he’s speaking like a thousand words a minute! He’s like a kid opening presents on Christmas.
I recently got a 5 string Jazz bass from Glarry and they didn’t put any springs in the bridge pickup . Which collapsed them breaking the pickup . They mounted the bridge so far right of the neck the G sting misses the fretboard at the 13th fret. One of the screws was broken off in the A string tuning peg and still somehow managed to stick out and cut me . The neck pickup was mounted so far left of the strings the B was over E string magnets and the G sting missed it completely. The lower tone knob was missing . The action was set so I could fit my entire hand under the strings and still have room to spare and this is the nicest bass from them I’ve seen so far .
I'd be PROUD to be associated with Thomann. No worries there, brother.
Got my baritone Amarok about a month ago and I’m loving it! Amazing value for what you are getting.
That black headless one you opened last suits you so friggin well
2 yrs ago I got myself a $140 HB (Floyd Rose and all!) put on some old DiMarzios - recorded on top of a track of one of my Fav guitar players that has his own signature guitar. The people I showed the track to sometimes couldn't even tell there were 2 guitars hahaha I absolutely love HB!! Thanks Glenn!
I haven't really tried any HB guitar. But I have bought different products like pedalboards, accessories and most of them were really good for the price. However, I managed to get a bass MB4 SB Deluxe Series (a Sterling style) for recording at home which happened to be absolutely amazing. Not only was the finish superb but the sound, very good. I can imagine replacing the pickup for a Duncan can enhance the sound and performance. I'm very happy with Thomann in general. I don't know how they work in other countries but here in Germany, the service is amazing and very friendly, not to mention how fast it can be if DHL doesn't interfere in the process. Even though I could see most musicians using expensive equipment in Proberaum or gigs (before the covid19), the accessories or power supplies or this kind of stuff from HB is a common thing to come across among musicians.
Hey Glen, thank you very much for all you're doing for the musicians community. I have learned a lot and I am still learning from your videos. It's priceless. And I'm really happy how much you're taking care of yourself.
Thanks very much, Miguel!
Glenn, I was really impressed with your professional unboxing and presentation, then you started to play the guitar and everything went down hill from there :-) Thank You as Always.
I ordered the Harley Benton 2x12 with v30's after seeing your reviews on them and its absolutely killer!
I just love Harley Benton for "bang for the buck" . I bought the cheap SG iteration in cherry and was pleasantly surprised at just over 120 GBP . Then I got the DC custom in cherry at 215 GBP, that 100 quid (GBP) more was such an increase on the bang for buck scale! I love it. I'll be returning to Thomann for something else a little later but I just used my last pennies on a Gretsch G5222 double jet, which I also love. I'm a born again beginner so these cheaper instruments are mind blowing for the money. The Gretsch was only 450! Crazy good value! 20 years ago you'd have to spend a grand or more for something moderately good. Great video buddy, big thumbs up 👍👍👍☮☮☮🤘🤘🤘
These are looking real nice. They definitely stepped up their game, and this could really make them one of the go-to brands for affordable instruments with respectable quality. Seen their new explorers with EMGs? Really sweet.
Never been into headless but that black last one you showed....think me converting!
Cheers Glenn - Got a Rik-o-Benton bass the day before the first lockdown here. A new set of strings on and while its me first bass, it's been a saviour for the head.
And, while I know its your job and all, the sight of you getting 4 guitars in one day kinda makes up my mind whether I should get a new one ... or practice instead ;-)
Gonna put you on the spot here, but best midrange price guitars in you opinion (€500-1500 ... dunno wheres that in $)
And take care lad. Strange times ... even headless guitars with extra strings are about!!!
Love how nonchalantly you said you're really good friends with Ola Englund..
wow, they look awesome. I would never even have thought to look at Harley Benton unless it was for a cheap Strat lookalike
I'm kind of beginner intermediate guy (played a while didnt take it serious, trying to get back into it) getting a harley benton bass and guitar. Great way of getting the sounds I want without blowing like 3 grand.
Great review. This is important because many like me have watched the quality of Harley Bentons a lot on TH-cam, and we wonder what they're pumping out these days. Great to see that Amarok really impress you, and also the $400 Strandberg spirited guitar seems like a HELL of a bargain to get in the headless game! Thanks for this one Mr Glenn
@7:40 on the neck, you can tell someone is paying attention to detail, , look at the string ferrels in relation to the stripes on the neck, very nicely done
Definitely going to get one when I get a few extra bucks I'll make sure I use your link
I WANT THAT GREEN AMAROCK!!!!!!!!!
Seriously, that is a gorgeous guitar, and in my favourite colour, too.
Used this brand before while i was living in Victoria, Australia. I highly recommend it because its stupid cheap! i got the strat shape and it was only $250 and it came with an amp as well!!!!
Great video. Just learned about Harley Benton for the first time today and can't stop watching videos about them. BTW, "Hello" from the other side of the river, eh!
Wow. Those are gorgeous instruments. The green is smokin in every way.
My big point to the fine folks at Harley Benton is to add more packing material around their headstocks. The only one I ever purchased arrived with a broken headstock and the support styrofoam was broken like yours was in that one box. I know I know it was probably the shipping company not caring about it, but every little bit helps when it comes to packing guitars. Oh and it was a limited run so it could not be replaced due to being sold out...
Great vid! Stoked to see what you do with the Amaroks.
I'll pass that along!
Love the double-cut juniors! That blue one would go great with my eyes...
Watched this video when you released it. Half a year later I finally ordered the green Amarok 7 string. Getting it May 4th if certain current events don't intrude. Totally fucking stoked. Thanks for the recommendation.
Well did you get your guitar ?
@@SCALE_SLOTCARS Yeah, loving it.
Ive got 4 harley's...im not stopping, they are awesome
Good luck adjusting action on the Dullahan 🙂... frustration is an understatement and try not to loose those tiny parts. You've been warned...
Man I picked up a Steinberger Spirit 10 years ago for like $200 bucks. The best thing about that guitar is the tuners have a 40:1 tuning ratio, seriously the most precise tuners I've ever used, and I could play for a month without adjusting the tuning, just stupid awesome. It was the best money I've ever spent on a guitar. Sadly I ran that thing into the ground gigging like crazy, and ended up parting out the guitar on Ebay now the same model, GU-7 goes for $1000 US... :/
LOL I've never seen him so PLEASANTLY excited.........
Did it again Glenn.Awesome unboxing these guitars are on point my dude!!!!
I'm digging that Green finish. Yeah Indonesia is on point these days. I had one of the early Ibanez RG Premiums from Indonesia and I was impressed with it.
Somebody worked on his guitar skills! Great job, Glen.
It seems Harley Benton is getting better and better !
That green one is killer🤘🏻🤘🏻
I’ve been looking at Harley Benton guitars for months at this point. They sound so good, and (from player accounts not my own), apparently play very well.
Chops are getting strong man! Sounds like the practice is helping!
"That's really tiny."
"That's what she said" lmao glenn
Can't wait to hear these babies play 😃😃😃!!
Awesome video Glenn! Harley Benton has really stepped their game up the past few years. I've been wanting the 7 string HB baritone SB7 for some time now. Hopefully I'll have it sooner than later. Killer guitars! 🤘🏼💀🖤
I was never a fan of headless guitars but seeing the compact size of that Dulahan, I wanna try one now. And yes, I need the yellow helmet to complete the look.
Can't wait to hear these! They look amazing! Just wish they were easier to get in Canada.
Now that Agile is gone, I’ve been scrambling to look for a source of similar guitars, the HB amarok series looks cool
I'm very impressed... espeically with the 7 string!
HB and GOC seem to be great alternatives. Legator also,they have a model that comes stock with Lundgren M series pickup now.
so ridiculously excited for this video
Dude HarleyBenton is by far the best cheap guitars. Their QC is better than most big names. By far. Their quality. Playability and everything is solid. You get so much guitar for cheap as shit. Very impressed by their guitars.
I really wanna get a headless HB.
Woah. That 7 string sounds fucking killer. I think I found my backup guitar for when we're allowed to play live again
I just bought another 1999 Ibanez AX7521 for $224, all in.
These sound great (and there's a flood of demos of the HB pro series right now, must be holidays lol), and there are so many more great instruments from HB (congrats to Thomann for what must be relentless quality control), but the big but is that there are also so many great instruments floating around for a couple bills that all you need to do is a little poking around on the net to find out what most of them are made of.
There's a wiki with a lot of Ibanez data that led me to check demos online and then ultimately just buy a used one online, unplayed by me. It was kind of crazy, but it turned out to be a crazy payout. If you look at the stats of this Fujigen built example (and I can say they are a dream to play, neck dive is fixable at least 3 different ways, so that's no excuse) it's basically a LP jr double cut with 7 strings and grunty pickups, hard tail and solid as a rock. The Korean built ones you find for under $250 pretty often and every demo of those has been fine - same pickups as the FGN made ones. ibanez.fandom.com/wiki/AX7521
I was very impressed with the Harley Benton Ric style bass they had and someone updated it to legit OEM Rickenbacker electronics and they basically had a $2500 bass for around $500.
The guitarist in my band turned me onto Harley Benton gear about a year ago, since then I've gotten their Celestion Cab, an OD pedal and the double channel DSeed Delay pedal, all super cheap and the quality has been insanely good! i also bought an active Bass to fill out songwriting since finding a good bass player is next to impossible which is no surprise i guess, the thing plays and sounds great, cost me less than 140 Euro. Needless to say i became a fan of HB pretty quick! The only reason i haven't bought one of the 7 strings or any of their 6 strings even is cos I'm not a fan of how any of the guitars look personally, so i guess I'll have to save the pennies for a Solar, although these models are clearly based off the Solar designs 🤘🏼
Never seen Glenn this excited and jovial. I need therapy
Thanks, Glenn! I'm very interested and intrigued!
Had no idea you lived in Windsor Ontario , live like not even 30 mintues ish away from there . Hellzz yeah 🤟🤟 Canadian metal heads uniteeee
Sparkle Fusion II Prototype is the Best Harley Benton Guitar for me. 🤟🤟🤟 for the Price and Quality is 100% great!
wow that green 6 string is so badass. definetly going to look into one 🤘
My girlfriend got me the regular Fusion Pro II in emerald for my birthday this past January and it's one of my favorite guitars; definitely my go-to for whammy bar stuff. Now, I'm intrigued to check out the headless one here!
I love coming on to TH-cam to watch different reviews on Harley Benton for hours, I've been looking for another guitar for myself (that i may or may not need) but a good starter guitar for my sister that isn't $5 and built like shit, loved your thoughts and review Glenn!
Guitarist are super impressionable, no less than any one else. If a big name guitarist began to play HB then all of a sudden, HB would be regarded as pro level. If a Les Paul can be regarded as pro with it's tuning stability issues and other design flaws, then it opens it up to better designed modern guitars.
Got me one of thems WH progressive series. Best guitar I've ever played.
A few days ago, Andrew Baena unboxed a Harley Benton JA-Baritone BK Jag style guitar. It goes for $166 USD on Thomann. He liked it well enough, and for less than $200 USD--common that's a great starter guitar. Only thing tho...it had plastic tuners. Plastic tuners. Personally, I'd get it and change out the tuners. That's it--sweet deals from Harley Benton.
Liking the headless guitars. Been a a fan and user of Traveler Guitar for years due to being a Trucker due to how easy they store on my Rig. Might have to take a closer look to the Dulahans in the future.
We discuss these guitars quite a bit in this guitar group on Facebook. Lots of guys love em and some hate em. I've heard they require some love when setting them up. Changing the pickups is a must, and the finish is often imperfect but good bang for the buck overall
These have EMGs. No pickup charge needed
Wow all the guitars are looking killer 🤘
What a great unboxing. Good honest video. Sweet guitars. I played a newer Harley Benton SG @ Long & McQuaide like your blue one. I'm looking into these models. FU Glenn.
That 7 string is killer! Might get one myself. Also, GLENN your playing has been improving so much! Keep it up, dude! 🤘🤘
Just fabulous specs, add a setup and some coil taps then you have insanely good value for money. Rather than "no-name" hardware they have EMGs, Hipshot, SS frets...
Damn good.
Love the matt black finish on the 2nd headless guitar.
i'm not a metal head but your videos are wonderful when i'm searching for some "truth". thank you
I have to say that whatever they are doing down there in Indonesia, they know what they are doing. Not sure whether it's robotic manufacture and good quality control, or perhaps enlisting an indigenous instrument building tradition. Bought a Squier Vintage Modified Jazz bass about a year after they came out long ago and have found it to be a high quality instrument. It's likely just as good as the Mexican Fender Jazz Glenn owns and has so highly praised. This is not a pale endorsement, the Mexican Fenders are known to be quite good.
I recently bought a Fusion Pro II with stainless frets and roasted neck. Pretty impressed. QC probably consists of making sure the neck is attached and nothing more. Mine arrived with the staggered tuners in the wrong order, missing a screw and screw hole for the trem cover and a few other issues. I’ve since rectified all those but a beginner might be frustrated.