I own American, Mexican, all over the world strats. My Vintage and Harley Benton guitars don't do anything less or more than the Fenders. Here is a story about my HB ST-90SA. I bought it 2nd hand for €100 and brought it to my guitar repair man. Another customer compared it with his Haar custom shop €2000 plus and couldn't justify the 20 times more expensive exclusive guitar. 😱 I still love my Fenders, and would not sell them, but love my HBs too.
As a lefty, finding quality at an affordable price is tough. Thanks to TH-cam channels like this, I found many reviews of Harley Benton guitars. I had alsways wanted a 335 style, so the HB35plus in Cherry suited and I jumped in, buying a TE-20HH SBK at the same time. A little while later, I bought the DC-580CH. All 3 have had fret polishing and fretboard oiling done and strings changed. After some tweaking, the TE-20HH is a fine little rocker. The DC-580 is, too. The 35plus punches way above its price point.
Bought a HB Fusion T recently - absolutely no reason to mod it - locking tuners, stainless steel frets, twin humbuckers + coil split, amazing fingerboard, set up beautifully out of the box...fantastic!
My Fusion III rocks the house! "Tigger" the brown & red Bengal-striped shred monster punches waaaaay above its weight and it's drop dead gorgeous to boot! Thing sings!!
No other brand comes close to Harley Benton in value for money. Especially the guitars around the £250 - £350 price. The specs are so good. The SC DLX Gotoh you show in this video are a great example. The Fusion guitars are amazing too. I’m a fan 🤘
Agreed John. Have some HBs in my collection. The tuners and some hardware are only ok in some of the less expensive ones, but as you say, they have good bones, i.e. the neck and body, the rest can be changed. Spend a bit more, and with HB that's still only £200 - 350, and you have a premium guitar.
Thanks for this John. You're right, the HBs are great for learning how to set up a guitar. Both my HBs needed fret polishing and set up on arrival. I've owned lots of guitars over the years but for the first time in my life I was actually brave enough to adjust the truss rod on a guitar and am subsequently confident about doing this on my more expensive guitars now.
I love my HB ST-57 DG, replaced all the chrome hardware and white plastic with all Matt black parts, also used all black screws, even swapped out the white string nut with black Tusk XL.... The instrument plays like a dream.....
I bought two HB guitars, a candy apple Strat , and the HB35 in Cherry, both set up lovely, only thing i did was put on my preferred strings, they are well made, and priced for ordinary people, they are fine instruments, i am looking to get a HB bass next
if it wasn`t for this channel I possibly wouldn`t have have even heard of Harley Benton .I own two and everything you said i agree with John. I have a go at setting them up and have learned a lot , even though I get a bit nervous taking a file to a high fret my Telecaster cost £80 and when I show people they are amazed at the quality.
I’ve just recently purchased two new Harley Bentons and I’m very impressed, I’ve got the TE-62 CC and the JA-60. The TE is a great Telecaster for the money, the neck is gorgeous and the JA-60 is very nice indeed. Jazzmaster style with Gibson style inlays and hardware, a bound neck and P90s. 😍
It depends on what you're looking for. For instance: I'm obsessed with PRS. I love them, I have a PRS SE and I know that's about it, in a sense: I know I'm not going to be able to afford a Made in USA Prs Core Costum 24. I already have a mortgage on my shoulders LOL. But a HB? Well...I could buy a CTS24 and upgrade the hell out of it without spending a fortune, in fact I'd spend less money buying and upgrading a CTS than buying a new PRS SE with stock things in it. Maybe i'd try a hardtail CTS...and the newer ones have stainless steel frets... So what are the odds of ending up having an almost pro guitar with lesser money? Pretty high I'd say.
You're 100% right John, I've been trying to advise people for years that you don't have to spend a fortune on your guitar to be successful. I'm 77 now I've had Fender, Gibson and Gretsch etc all my working life , I've been pro since '66 so I know what I'm on about, believe me. I have a few Vintage guitars which match the 'real ones' and recently bought a couple of Harley Benton TE-62 DB models because I couldn't find a bound Telecaster from Vintage in the V-72 range, they kept sending me guitars with no binding, which is not what I wanted. Anyway I found these instead and I'm pleased to say that your offerings here on TH-cam helped me do that, thanks .🤓👍
Own and recording with a HB SC Custom. Sure I made some changes but it had not just good bones, but a neck I prefer you can’t seem to get on Epiphones.Great show!
From Leo: I very much appreciate your work. Good solid common sense is a rare thing these days. I bought 3 Harley Benton's when you could ship three for $30. I purchased the middle priced models and all were good playing guitars. Today's shipping arrangements add a big percentage to the cost for USA customers.
I have a fair few HB's. Broadly speaking they are brilliant guitars and that's not just down to value for money. I do get a little irritated by occasional poor set-ups, but the overall quality has come on leaps and bounds over the past few years and as you yourself has often commentated upon, the quality of budget guitars compared to say 30-years ago is now light years ahead.
I think you're right about them being the same factories that produce recognised brand guitars John. There's an 'Interview with the Harley Benton Mastermind' by Cory Mura. It's a couple of years since I watched it, but I think he says or implies that. He also talks about how cutting out the middle man keeps the costs down. Interesting interview if you haven't already seen it.
Dear Mr Robson. I do hope you are well :-). You are 100% right on your five points. I have two HB, and i love them, and i will not stop buing them. I just got a Squier affenity strat secon hand, and its allso a great guitar. Keep on the great work, love your videos. Kind regards Jens
i finally got my first harley benton guitar on saturday after wanting one for a long time (but not being able to order online until now). it's a hb fusion iii pro hss in daphne blue and i have to say i am blown away by it. the neck is bloody lovely both in look and especially to play and the whole guitar feels weighty and well made. the only issue i have with it is a loose feeling tone pot compared to the volume but i understand that the cheaper push/pull pots have this issue (everything is tight i checked both the knob bolt and the nut holding the pot in the body). it all works though. everything else feels great to use. not a big problem though i can get it sorted out one day if i need to. this guitar has def gone straight to my fav guitars ever (that i have owned) and i've only had it since saturday. am over the moon with the guitar i have to say. ps i am not sponsored by them i must add (i bought the guitar myself cost me £344 inc gig bag and delivery to uk) and only play at home badly as not a good guitarist.
I am a huge Harley Benton fan. I have bought several of their guitars and never disappointed. As always, your reviews are always outstanding. Now I can't wait to hear the negative side to the HB guitars next week. Thank you for all the work you do.
I find that apart from the Fusion models they all need upgrading and a full setup. The Fusion models realy need better pickups, but the spec is excellent for the price. Sadly i have returned a few of them with dings and finish issues.
@@genelaskowski3679 You must have been luckier than i was, John has said in the past that the quality control starts with the customers. If the guitar just needs upgrading and a setup i can live with that, but not damaged finishes, and i have may have been unlucky, but there are pleny of TH-camrs showing what can go wrong.
I have sent one back TE90 bad fret sprout lifted frets and a wishy washy finish. CST-24HB TOL had a couple of frets needed knocking in. Aeolus just the action, the rest is perfect
Love your videos. If anyone disses your opinion just pick up your guitar and ask if them if they can make their guitar sound like this. Play, rinse later repeat. Someone told Chet Atkins, "Man, that guitar sure sounds good!" Chet set the guitar down on a chair and asked him, "Ok, how does it sound now?" Chet Atkins Keep videos coming. They’re great.
I have had Mexican tele , sold it due to arthritis in the hands . I got HB kit strat to mess about with absolutely fantastic. Not only did I have fun building the thing but it sounds great, £ 75 brilliant
Agree wholeheartedly John. Remember the Marlins and Encores that passed for budget guitars in the late eighties? Firewood sir. Got my green CST 24t, added Vanson alnico 2 pickups, black Vanson tuners ( I took advice from yourself), and I have a wonderful guitar. £220 + £50 upgrades. Easily lives in the company of my grand plus guitars 🍺🇺🇦
All good points, John. Sadly, when I used to play live there was no HB, but I used to buy Yamaha gear (basses) for pretty much the same reasons. They weren't fashionable but they were stable, very well made and cheap enough that I could own a spare in case something befell one. Still have a couple to this day.
Great video! I bought a Harley Benton SC-450 P90 GT because I wanted a gold top LP with P-90 pickups. $153 USD before shipping. That guitar was great and flawless. The neck is a bit thick for my preference and the weak P-90's were easily replaced. I rate it now as an "A" easily. Next up was a Harley Benton CST-24T in Ocean Flame $244 USD before shipping. It too was flawless, but the neck and I never became friends, so it went on to another player. It did not fit ME, but it was still an "A" grade guitar. Harley Benton #3 is an SC-400 SGT Classic for the mighty sum of $132 USD (before shipping). It too, made it to the States in flawless condition and is an A PLUS. Yep, one of their cheapest is one of their best. More on that to follow..... Harley Benton #4, for anyone keep track, is the DC Junior in Pelham Blue for $166 USD before shipping. ANOTHER flawlessly finished guitar with the neck slightly thick, but that's not a flaw. I just prefer slim taper necks. Nonetheless, the DC Junior is a keeper, with another "A" grade. Now for the good part of the story that I am sure everyone has been waiting on. A couple of weeks ago I bought a used (but PRISTINE) GIBSON Les Paul Tribute 2017 for $900 USD (and much less expensive shipping stateside). Now this is a REAL Gibson, not a funky Epiphone, and it of course is beautifully well finished. It is basically identical in features to the $132 HB Les Paul, so I A and B'ed them. So as expected, the Gibson blew the Harley out of the water, right? WRONG!!! They play almost identically, feel almost identical, although the Gibson gets the edge in pickup quality. BUT .............. many of the fret ends on the Gibson were sharp and protruded, and needed a bit of dressing down, just like the QC inspectors at Gibson. Now I also own TOP OF THE LINE Gibsons, so I know what they CAN do. Moral of the story is that if you want to buy a great quality Gibson Les Paul clone at a fantastic price, I highly recommend probably the least expensive HB LP ----- the SC-400 --- as your first venture into Les Paul territory. Yes, I give that SC-400 an A PLUS. Best of all HB's I have tried so far, so go ahead and get yourself one for that $132, or whatever the current price is. It's worth every penny! FTR, I am not affiliated with Thomann or Harley Benton, and I own Gibsons, Epiphones, Fenders, Ibanez, and others. When I find a guitar that I like, and that likes me in return, I don't care what it says on the head stock. My guitar is for ME, not to impress someone with a fancy name. And when it comes to a 335 style guitar, FORGET Harley Benton. I bought a FIREFLY FF-338 with a beautiful brown spalted maple top for $168 new, I think, and it is the ONLY guitar in my life that EVER made me go "OMG" when I took it out of the box. Yes, it was that beautiful, and its quality matches it. My brand new Gibson Les Paul 56 VOS RI Goldtop didn't even have that effect on me, and that was a $3000 USD guitar! Sorry for the rant, Master John, but you asked for honest opinions, and as a guitarist for over 50 years, I thought someone might pay attention to my ramblings.
💪😎👍 I've several beautiful Fireflies, Hard Luck Kings and (of course!) Harley Bentons. All of them are of superlative quality & none cost more than $350 (most were $2-250 usd)
Big fan of HB and Thomann. I recently bought a HB-35Plus Lemon Drop, partly because I loved the look, and partly because I wanted a guitar of that style. As you stated, at this price range, you can take some chances, and I have 5 or 6 other HB, all great guitars. Anyway, I couldn't get the intonation to settle down, and I finally realized that the bridge was cracked. I sent a photo of it to Thomann, and they responded the very next day. Then they sent me out a new bridge right away, which I installed in a few minutes. FYI, I live in southern Oregon, USA. They said I did not need to return the damaged one, but requested me to hold on to it for 6 months, in case there turned out to be a QC issue, which I am happy to do. So... great guitars, and great customer service!
Thanks for your video... I own 6 Harley Bentons and am always amazed by the quality of their products. Easily worth 2 to 4 times what we are paying for them and if you knew the truth, you would agree. Same factory as many of the other top name brands. I would love a love and hate series on Behringer pedals.
Harley Benton makes insanely good guitars for the money, not because they're built by people who barely get paid, but because they're made in a factory with exceptionally precise CNC-machines, which means they don't have to spend lots of time on actually making the guitars, and then they're sent directly to Thomann as the sole distributor. I currently own 4 Harley Bentons (well, 3 Harley Benton guitars and a bass), and they're all wonderful instruments. I'll probably end up buying more Harley Bentons in the future, just because of how good they are and how amazing they look. Honestly, the only thing I dislike about Harley Benton is that they don't make any Star-shaped guitars like the ones Gus G, Akira Takasaki and Syu are known to play. It's one of my favorite designs, so it's a bit of a shame that Harley Benton doesn't make those yet... Everything else they make is awesome, though.
I bought a Fusion 3 on Black Friday cos I am working from home and was bombarded with Black Friday adverts; I caved in with the offer. Fact is,it beats my Fender 66 for less than half the cost. It is now my #1 guitar.✌️🤳
I agree about the value. I purchased the new Jim Root style strat with active pickups for £115. No issues with it other than having to tune it. If only the Gibson Custom Shop could be that good.
I have a Fender Telecaster HH that was made in Indonesia. Its an amber colour and its a great instrument. Its as dear to me as your very own blondie is to you John.
I wholeheartedly agree with you John.. on all the points you make ... I've got Fender & Gibson from the classic era 60s.. & I wanted to expand my collection but couldn't justify the expense ..low & behold my desires have been met with a brilliant collection of 5 Harley Benton guitars and counting ..& such a superb service from Thomann.. look forward to your dislikes .. Best Baz
I’ve a PRS tribute courtesy of Harley Benton beautiful flame maple finish and it plays really well. I always fancied a Gibson LP double cut junior but ouch the price, now I’ve got one thanks again to Harley Benton swopped the bridge for a Ghoto wraparound with individual intonation adjustment. What can I say it’s a cracking guitar and the P90’s sound great. I’ve around 20 guitars at present Including Japanese strats USA telecasters. I’m now shifting some of the expensive guitars and keeping any cheaper priced ones “ that play as good as the expensive ones”
I have fond memories if my 'Satellite Cheese Slicer' but it can't compare to Harley Benton out of the box and after a few choice upgrades a Harley can go a few rounds with some big named Brands - I like to modify and the price of a HB makes it a Guilt free experience - Can't fault em'!
I bought a Harley Benton Aeolus frost flame a while back (they are currently out of stock). Beautiful guitar. Semi hollow, single cut, roasted maple neck with satin finish, flamed maple (veneer) top, stainless steel frets, Tesla pickups and for me the icing on the cake, only one volume and tone pot. For £330 what’s not to like. It gets played as much if not more than the Gibson, Epiphone, Fender and PRS guitars I am fortunate enough to have accumulated over the years. Extraordinary value.
Agreed have the flame model, that and a home built strat that stays in tune better than my US are my go to's. The rest are in cases, if the kids knock them off the stand oh well.
@@andrewfrancis3591 Mine fell over after I foolishly left it propped against a chair, mainly because I was playing it so much. Result was one string out of tune where the tuner hit the ground first. If it had been a Gibson….
@@britishpatriot812 Was at a pub gig a few years ago. Someone knocked my mates 2 week old Custom shop black beauty £6500 broken head stock. Fair play to the guy just said "I can get an invisible repair done" I'd have been having kittens.
Just got a Harley Benton TE 62 cc. It is great. I will probably end up smoothing the frets and doing some tinkering but wow it is a nice guitar already.
Great video John , One thing you overlooked though ,Ive had dealings with Thomman (harley benton ) over the years their after sales sevice is second to none Ive bought and sent back a couple of things due to me being a tick excited etc freindly,fast, response to e-mails and returns I do have a rather long story of which i wont bore you with now but surfice to say they were they`ve ever let me down cheers from Austria
Thomann told me to send my Harley Benton to a local luthier to fix the issues like fret buzz and tuning posts popping out, which I clearly demonstrated to them in a video that they requested from me, despite the 3 year warranty. Thomann is a joke of a company.
Trying out differnt cheap guitars is exactly what I did, didn't own a guitar over £150, despite my love pf the te52 I found a strat to be the do it all guitar and am now a happy usa fender owner
Hi John, its ok for experienced guitarists to "tinker" with a reasonably priced guitar, bought on line, but I try to put myself in the shoes of a (non playing) parent of a keen 13 year old who wants to play the guitar. Guitar turns up, not set up and difficult to play. Junior loses interest and gives up. For guitar to have a future we need youngsters to enjoy the guitar out of the box and they may stick at it. This is not a dig at any brand but guitars need to be playable on receipt, even if it means more compromises on the hardware to fund a basic set up. Down the line if the newbie sticks at playing they can upgrade but the basics need to be there to get them to that point.
As a postscript.. the Indonesian build guitars are a definite another level the 550 sc emg I bought was faultless .. I've just recently acquired the dc custom white which I had to wait until it came back into stock ..however I'm ever so glad because they switched production of that model to Indonesia .. its beauty is breathtaking.. love it .. I want to compliment that with the red version..but u know what ..I'm gonna wait ... for the Indonesian product
Thanks John your hard work and opinions are always Appreciated. Your 5 points, Are some of the reasons I quit drinking the "High End" KoolAid, I sold my 2 Gibsons and Epiphone and a Fender. Selling those 4 guitars Financed a collection of 20+ outstanding Budget Friendly, guitars' Many styled Strat Tele LP 335 dobro and many more and yes i adjust them, I tweak them and mod them, Sometimes sell them. I now have 0 interest in "High End Guitars. I am jot out to impress Just have fun playing (My playing would never impress anyway)
Cort Indonesia builds most EVERYTHING nowdays... Squier, H.B, Schecter, Ibanez...the list goes on and on. Theres only about half a dozen decent factories in the far-east anyway...Samick, Cort, World Music, Grand Reward, and Yako. All of whom make guitars for known "brands". Which sort of makes all the "guitar gossip" about comparisons between brands etc...a bit spurious. By the way... I love H.B's....had about a dozen so far. My favourite so far was the "jazzmaster" type. Fantastic guitar. 😎
I've purchased 3 Harley Benton guitars...and each one did need a little work, BUT.... every one of them were great after a little setup and new strings. Example... my Harley Benton CST-24T in Paradise Flame sounds great (Sorry John, I love the pickups in this just fine. LOL!), looks great and records beautifully. I keep looking at the PRS SE CU24 guitars...and I can't justify paying more for the maple top that is between the mahogany body and the veneer vs the lack of that on the H.B. (that is the biggest difference between them that I can see..). The trem system "might" be slightly better, but my H.B. stays in tune very well even using its trem fairly agressively. The CST-24HB (Hollowbody) is an amazing instrument! I also got the RB612 CS to compare to another 12 string that I had found used (when the H.B. had been out-of-stock for so long... I grabbed the used one) and they compared extremely well (both were made in Chine...quite probably from the same factory. The pickups looked identical!) and the used one won out only because the H.B. was easier for me to sell. I would have been "Happy as a Clam" owning either one! They truly are a fantastic value in a working musician's tool kit.
I love a reviews that have a little joke and tongue in cheek humour but the "i dont have the time or the crayons to explain it to ya" comment made me spit out my coffee, very funny indeed.
The HB's I've seen are really good looking, high quaiity feelng instruments, and nearly everyone seems to agree. Stop praising them and saying they're cheap (....I mean good value) as Thomann will put their prices up...!
Harley Benton Aeolus Bengal Flame. Just the action adjusting. Parts and build fantastic. Harley Benton CST-24HB TOL Some frets needed knocking in action adjust. tuners okish
@@johnmac8084 Nearest would be the ES137. Feedback is quite controllable, the reason for that is it's Gibson heavy. Locking tuners are perfect, pick it up after 24hrs just the G string. Stainless frets on mine did not need touching (thank goodness) nicely rolled. Neck is fairly chunky but satin slick. I haven't been Googling new PU's, so I guess I'm happy with the tone. Does a great clean and on the point of break up. Great jazz or blues box I haven't tried it with distortion. Value It's a £600-700 guitar with an made in Indonesia branded label.
Love my Harleys. Sometimes there are issues, but nothing I would call a deal breaker. The Dullahan for example have a badly grounded bridge, so I had to remove the bridge and scrub off some of the paint on the back of the bridge (I know headless guitars are controversial, I myself never thought I could like a headless, but it gets a lot of playing time and it's by far the best looking body for a headless on the market ... can't stand the scrotum shaped body's of the others). The CSTs are great guitars! The SCs, the Progressive Line, ... I need another 5 guitars stand ... ^^
All good points as ever John, but I do have to disagree with you on the last one. Losing an 'affordable' guitar through accident or theft may not be the end of the world if you can also afford £2,000 guitars, but what if that £200 Harley was the best you could afford? It depends on the depth of your resources (i.e. pocket). I'm not rich by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm lucky enough to have acquired over many years several very nice instruments along wih a stable of 'cheapies'. If I lost one of my hand-made basses I'd be totally gutted, but I also have a battered Korean-made Squier strat that I paid 60 quid for that plays like a dream. Altough mass-produced, every guitar is effectively unique, and when you find one that clicks with you, losing it still hurts a lot. If you can't find, or afford, a replacement that has the same 'feel', it's a loss that will rankle for a long time. Bottom line I suppose is, look after your gear guys. There's too many scrotes out there so always be cautious. PS: where can I get one of those guitars made out of plywood, bubble-gum and snot? Sounds intriguing!
Spot on John i fancied trying Bass and being Left Handed i did not want to spend to much in case i could not get away with them so i bought a HB JB-20 SB at the time it was £69 and realized that it is not for me, but i still use it now and again so no big deal but i would have been more upset if i had payed £700 for a Fender Jazz Bass just to have it collect dust i almost forgot to say that i absolutely love my CST-24T in Paradise Flame i always wanted a PRS now i have one just as good for a Quarter of the price and it looks and plays fantastic
My Harley Benton experience wasn’t as good; but not bad either I ordered a £200 HB acoustic , all the reviews said it played and sounded like a £500-£600 + guitar It was alright, no major problem , but definitely not as good as a £500 one I’d tried in a shop Sent it back and spent more money to get something I really loved I’m thinking of giving them another go though, got my eye on the hb35
Got a cst 24 t which is a class guitar just bought cld 41s acoustic off fleebay.. trusted seller .. for new venture .. great reviews so looking forward to getting it this Friday 18th .. Want an ex76 explorer natural but not available any more .. copyright?? Hope they come back in .. cheers all 🍻
I appreciate Harley Benton producing quality guitars that most people can afford but I don't appreciate them ripping off other companies designs to do it. The Strat, Tele, and LP shapes are not that big a deal since they've been the standard for so long and almost every company has their versions but they even copy brand new designs from higher end companies and that isn't cool at all.
Harely Benton tend to be on the heavy side because they don't dry the woods properly. HB might be fun for the first six months, but would those woods hold up over 5-6 years of playing?
Yes, mine has held up. But, even if it didn't I wouldn't care too much as it cost me 165 quid. At that price I would simply buy another one and get another enjoyable 5 or 6 years out of it. Still miles cheaper than the expensive brands. Last year my son had a pair of trendy basketball trainers priced nearly £100 - they lasted 6 months. A fillet steak with a red wine jus might cost you 30 quid in a restaurant - you shit it out next day. I could continue...
When people talk crap about guitars and others like Wolf and Firefly. What’s the difference between them and lower end Jackson’s and Kramers. All of those name brands have fret spurs.
I know, there's people out there, that, spend a substantial amount of money on guitars, and, the first thing they do is, change the pickups. I don't get that, at all.
I recently got a rant comment on my unboxing video of the Harley Benton DC Deluxe Gotoh Pelham Blue (the "SG" version of that lovely single cut you have been loaned to review John), where the person claims he bought one and returned it immediately because he opened the pot cavity and determined that it only had 2mm of nyatoh on the surface and that the rest was plywood, instead of all Nyatoh, and that was the reason it was so cheap. And that it was acoustically non resonant therefore as well. Double checked mine and unfortunately none of that nonesense he claims seems to be the case with mine. I do wonder though if the factory in Indonesia may have tried to pull a fast one on the people at Thomann and therefore this person got a specimen from a bad batch, as he seemed truely convinced, though I have a hard time believeing it. I have 7 Harley Bentons in almost as many different styles, and do not regret a single one of them. Keen on trying out an "Explorer" with EMGs for the next one. Thanks to your reviews and experience with them I put my trust in them and am quite happy, cheers John!
The main goal of any guitar is tone. So in other words, the wood (as well as the brand) has no bearing on tone in any electric guitar. Scale length, pickup placement and pickup height determines tone. Pickups operate through something called "Electromagnetic Induction" they pick up the sound made by the vibrating metallic strings. They "ignore" the wood altogether because wood is not a conductive material, it is just there to hold the important pieces together. So, are the big name brands any better than Harley Benton when it comes to sound quality? If set up properly NO, a $3000 dollar Les Paul does not have better quality of sound than a 2X4 plank, if the main veriables of scale length, pick up placement, height and proper set up are met. So in conclusion kids you can buy a $200 dollar Harley Benton or a $3000 dollar Gibson, the brand will not affect your skill level. If you suck at guitar, you will still suck just as much for $3000 dollars as you will for $200 dollars. On the other hand if you are a proficient player, you can sound just as good for $100 bucks as you can if you sell your house and spend your life savings on a name brand. Put your effort into learning your craft, not into buying a brand, proper set up and skill is all that matters at the end of the day.
So tell me my friend, just from your video here, out of your whole guitar collection, how many Harley Bentons do you own compared to your whole guitar collection??? Myself, My guitar collection is only 1/2 of what it used to be, I used to own about 30 guitars in total count, now I only own 16 guitars total ,7 Ibanezes, 3 Epiphones, 1 Squire Classic Vibe, 60's Stratocaster, 3 Schecters, 1 Dean Barrort Zylynski Strat with a floyde on it, 1 Jackson SL3X, Thats it, I do not own any Harley Bentons! Maybe from now on I will only order and buy those cheap well made guitars from Germany, Cheersssssssssssssss.............to Harley Benton!
high John !!!! love your video and the passion you put into ; my question is : are gotho or tonepro bridges fit whith harleybenton s guitars cause i want to upgrade the stock one because when i replace the strings , i noticed a little movement the adjustment is not good ! sorry for my writting i m french ! oh my guitar is flying v victory black and gold and the pickups are realy great ! thanks alot John good evening !
I think you covered Harley Benton guitars a few years ago John. But an update is always interesting, i have bought and rejected a few of them i know from experience that they are not the bargain they were a few years ago, but at least the Indonesian made models have been upgraded. I had a bad time with Thomann trying to get a blemish free CST24 two years ago, it took 3 samples before i had one without issues with the finish, then it took a lot of upgrading and a full setup to make it a desirable guitar. The entry level models are as you would expect, cheap and best avoided, the Fusion range are in another league and only need better pickups. It will be interesting to see what you don't like about them.
As someone once said to me, 98% of your audience won't be able to tell if you're playing a Harley Benton or a custom shop Les Paul. A fair chunk won't even be able to tell if you're in tune come to that!
The rise of budget guitars is a prime example of the dynamic described in the innovator's dilemma ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Innovator%27s_Dilemma ): In the beginning they are not very good and nobody takes them serious. But as they get better, they start taking more and more of the market and eventually the American made Fenders, Gibsons and other PRS'es will be confined to some niche markets ( dentists, lawyers and Swedish metal guitarists). Also, on the reason why the value is so attractive, I think you have to consider the inefficiency of the traditional business model: if a local guitar shop buys a guitar from Fender, has it for 3-6 months in their store, with money tied up, the risk of someone damaging or stealing it, it is not unreasonable that they get mark it up 30-50 %. But that money is not going to the factory to have it build a better guitar,...
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I own American, Mexican, all over the world strats. My Vintage and Harley Benton guitars don't do anything less or more than the Fenders.
Here is a story about my HB ST-90SA. I bought it 2nd hand for €100 and brought it to my guitar repair man. Another customer compared it with his Haar custom shop €2000 plus and couldn't justify the 20 times more expensive exclusive guitar. 😱
I still love my Fenders, and would not sell them, but love my HBs too.
As a lefty, finding quality at an affordable price is tough. Thanks to TH-cam channels like this, I found many reviews of Harley Benton guitars. I had alsways wanted a 335 style, so the HB35plus in Cherry suited and I jumped in, buying a TE-20HH SBK at the same time. A little while later, I bought the DC-580CH. All 3 have had fret polishing and fretboard oiling done and strings changed. After some tweaking, the TE-20HH is a fine little rocker. The DC-580 is, too. The 35plus punches way above its price point.
Bought a HB Fusion T recently - absolutely no reason to mod it - locking tuners, stainless steel frets, twin humbuckers + coil split, amazing fingerboard, set up beautifully out of the box...fantastic!
My Fusion III rocks the house! "Tigger" the
brown & red Bengal-striped shred monster
punches waaaaay above its weight and it's
drop dead gorgeous to boot! Thing sings!!
No other brand comes close to Harley Benton in value for money. Especially the guitars around the £250 - £350 price. The specs are so good. The SC DLX Gotoh you show in this video are a great example. The Fusion guitars are amazing too. I’m a fan 🤘
Made in Indonesia with a branded label £250-£350 goes £500-£700
"Plywood, bubblegum and snot". I can see the tonewood equivalent discussion on snot quality starting any time now.
Sounds like a great name for an album 😂
Do you think the snot if stringy enough would add more of a country and western twang to the tone?
@@paulwebb5853 Weyall, that's some maaahty faaaahn soundin' snot y'all git there
Agreed John. Have some HBs in my collection. The tuners and some hardware are only ok in some of the less expensive ones, but as you say, they have good bones, i.e. the neck and body, the rest can be changed. Spend a bit more, and with HB that's still only £200 - 350, and you have a premium guitar.
Thanks for this John. You're right, the HBs are great for learning how to set up a guitar. Both my HBs needed fret polishing and set up on arrival. I've owned lots of guitars over the years but for the first time in my life I was actually brave enough to adjust the truss rod on a guitar and am subsequently confident about doing this on my more expensive guitars now.
I love my HB ST-57 DG, replaced all the chrome hardware and white plastic with all Matt black parts, also used all black screws, even swapped out the white string nut with black Tusk XL.... The instrument plays like a dream.....
I bought two HB guitars, a candy apple Strat , and the HB35 in Cherry, both set up lovely, only thing i did was put on my preferred strings, they are well made, and priced for ordinary people, they are fine instruments, i am looking to get a HB bass next
if it wasn`t for this channel I possibly wouldn`t have have even heard of Harley Benton .I own two and everything you said i agree with John. I have a go at setting them up and have learned a lot , even though I get a bit nervous taking a file to a high fret my Telecaster cost £80 and when I show people they are amazed at the quality.
I’ve just recently purchased two new Harley Bentons and I’m very impressed, I’ve got the TE-62 CC and the JA-60. The TE is a great Telecaster for the money, the neck is gorgeous and the JA-60 is very nice indeed. Jazzmaster style with Gibson style inlays and hardware, a bound neck and P90s. 😍
Are they p90s or flat singles?
I have the te 20 and I love the neck
@@pads-zr9ln On the description it says P90s but they look like flat single jazzmaster type single coils.
I just looked and I see that the old model has P90s and the newer models do have jazzmaster pickups !
The only big problem with HBs is the vast range of models making it difficult to choose
It depends on what you're looking for. For instance: I'm obsessed with PRS. I love them, I have a PRS SE and I know that's about it, in a sense: I know I'm not going to be able to afford a Made in USA Prs Core Costum 24. I already have a mortgage on my shoulders LOL.
But a HB? Well...I could buy a CTS24 and upgrade the hell out of it without spending a fortune, in fact I'd spend less money buying and upgrading a CTS than buying a new PRS SE with stock things in it. Maybe i'd try a hardtail CTS...and the newer ones have stainless steel frets...
So what are the odds of ending up having an almost pro guitar with lesser money? Pretty high I'd say.
@@mattiagaleone7726 I think you'd be okay even without modding
@@mrplitsum maybe. I just want it to be 100% MINE.
Both guitars you showed are beautiful. I would buy a Harley Benton in a second. Very handsome models!
You're 100% right John, I've been trying to advise people for years that you don't have to spend a fortune on your guitar to be successful. I'm 77 now I've had Fender, Gibson and Gretsch etc all my working life , I've been pro since '66 so I know what I'm on about, believe me. I have a few Vintage guitars which match the 'real ones' and recently bought a couple of Harley Benton TE-62 DB models because I couldn't find a bound Telecaster from Vintage in the V-72 range, they kept sending me guitars with no binding, which is not what I wanted. Anyway I found these instead and I'm pleased to say that your offerings here on TH-cam helped me do that, thanks .🤓👍
Cheers mate 👍
"I don't have the time or the crayons to explain it to you" 🤣🤣 sorry John I'm nicking that!
Own and recording with a HB SC Custom. Sure I made some changes but it had not just good bones, but a neck I prefer you can’t seem to get on Epiphones.Great show!
From Leo: I very much appreciate your work. Good solid common sense is a rare thing these days. I bought 3 Harley Benton's when you could ship three for $30. I purchased the middle priced models and all were good playing guitars. Today's shipping arrangements add a big percentage to the cost for USA customers.
I have a fair few HB's. Broadly speaking they are brilliant guitars and that's not just down to value for money. I do get a little irritated by occasional poor set-ups, but the overall quality has come on leaps and bounds over the past few years and as you yourself has often commentated upon, the quality of budget guitars compared to say 30-years ago is now light years ahead.
My first HB is arriving today and I can’t wait to get it in hand.
I think you're right about them being the same factories that produce recognised brand guitars John. There's an 'Interview with the Harley Benton Mastermind' by Cory Mura. It's a couple of years since I watched it, but I think he says or implies that. He also talks about how cutting out the middle man keeps the costs down. Interesting interview if you haven't already seen it.
Waiting for this brand to hit New Zealand , Love the channel , awesome stuff , cheers John
Dear Mr Robson. I do hope you are well :-). You are 100% right on your five points. I have two HB, and i love them, and i will not stop buing them. I just got a Squier affenity strat secon hand, and its allso a great guitar. Keep on the great work, love your videos. Kind regards Jens
i finally got my first harley benton guitar on saturday after wanting one for a long time (but not being able to order online until now).
it's a hb fusion iii pro hss in daphne blue and i have to say i am blown away by it.
the neck is bloody lovely both in look and especially to play and the whole guitar feels weighty and well made.
the only issue i have with it is a loose feeling tone pot compared to the volume but i understand that the cheaper push/pull pots have this issue (everything is tight i checked both the knob bolt and the nut holding the pot in the body). it all works though. everything else feels great to use. not a big problem though i can get it sorted out one day if i need to.
this guitar has def gone straight to my fav guitars ever (that i have owned) and i've only had it since saturday.
am over the moon with the guitar i have to say.
ps i am not sponsored by them i must add (i bought the guitar myself cost me £344 inc gig bag and delivery to uk) and only play at home badly as not a good guitarist.
Plywood, bubblegum, and snot … fabulous
That blue HB is a stunner.
I am a huge Harley Benton fan. I have bought several of their guitars and never disappointed. As always, your reviews are always outstanding. Now I can't wait to hear the negative side to the HB guitars next week. Thank you for all the work you do.
I find that apart from the Fusion models they all need upgrading and a full setup.
The Fusion models realy need better pickups, but the spec is excellent for the price.
Sadly i have returned a few of them with dings and finish issues.
I've never had a problem. I've been playing since the seventies and except for upgrading pickups on one, never had a problem.
@@genelaskowski3679 You must have been luckier than i was, John has said in the past that the quality control
starts with the customers.
If the guitar just needs upgrading and a setup i can live with that, but not damaged finishes, and i have may have
been unlucky, but there are pleny of TH-camrs showing what can go wrong.
I have sent one back TE90 bad fret sprout lifted frets and a wishy washy finish.
CST-24HB TOL had a couple of frets needed knocking in. Aeolus just the action, the rest is perfect
@@andrewfrancis3591 Like most brands these days, it just down to your luck, they don't have time to check every sample.
Love your videos. If anyone disses your opinion just pick up your guitar and ask if them if they can make their guitar sound like this.
Play, rinse later repeat.
Someone told Chet Atkins, "Man, that guitar sure sounds good!"
Chet set the guitar down on a chair and asked him, "Ok, how does it sound now?"
Chet Atkins
Keep videos coming. They’re great.
I have had Mexican tele , sold it due to arthritis in the hands . I got HB kit strat to mess about with absolutely fantastic. Not only did I have fun building the thing but it sounds great, £ 75 brilliant
Agree wholeheartedly John. Remember the Marlins and Encores that passed for budget guitars in the late eighties? Firewood sir. Got my green CST 24t, added Vanson alnico 2 pickups, black Vanson tuners ( I took advice from yourself), and I have a wonderful guitar. £220 + £50 upgrades. Easily lives in the company of my grand plus guitars 🍺🇺🇦
All good points, John. Sadly, when I used to play live there was no HB, but I used to buy Yamaha gear (basses) for pretty much the same reasons. They weren't fashionable but they were stable, very well made and cheap enough that I could own a spare in case something befell one. Still have a couple to this day.
Great video!
I bought a Harley Benton SC-450 P90 GT because I wanted a gold top LP with P-90 pickups. $153 USD before shipping. That guitar was great and flawless. The neck is a bit thick for my preference and the weak P-90's were easily replaced. I rate it now as an "A" easily.
Next up was a Harley Benton CST-24T in Ocean Flame $244 USD before shipping. It too was flawless, but the neck and I never became friends, so it went on to another player. It did not fit ME, but it was still an "A" grade guitar.
Harley Benton #3 is an SC-400 SGT Classic for the mighty sum of $132 USD (before shipping). It too, made it to the States in flawless condition and is an A PLUS. Yep, one of their cheapest is one of their best. More on that to follow.....
Harley Benton #4, for anyone keep track, is the DC Junior in Pelham Blue for $166 USD before shipping. ANOTHER flawlessly finished guitar with the neck slightly thick, but that's not a flaw. I just prefer slim taper necks. Nonetheless, the DC Junior is a keeper, with another "A" grade.
Now for the good part of the story that I am sure everyone has been waiting on.
A couple of weeks ago I bought a used (but PRISTINE) GIBSON Les Paul Tribute 2017 for $900 USD (and much less expensive shipping stateside). Now this is a REAL Gibson, not a funky Epiphone, and it of course is beautifully well finished.
It is basically identical in features to the $132 HB Les Paul, so I A and B'ed them. So as expected, the Gibson blew the Harley out of the water, right?
WRONG!!! They play almost identically, feel almost identical, although the Gibson gets the edge in pickup quality.
BUT .............. many of the fret ends on the Gibson were sharp and protruded, and needed a bit of dressing down, just like the QC inspectors at Gibson.
Now I also own TOP OF THE LINE Gibsons, so I know what they CAN do.
Moral of the story is that if you want to buy a great quality Gibson Les Paul clone at a fantastic price, I highly recommend probably the least expensive HB LP ----- the SC-400 --- as your first venture into Les Paul territory. Yes, I give that SC-400 an A PLUS. Best of all HB's I have tried so far, so go ahead and get yourself one for that $132, or whatever the current price is. It's worth every penny!
FTR, I am not affiliated with Thomann or Harley Benton, and I own Gibsons, Epiphones, Fenders, Ibanez, and others. When I find a guitar that I like, and that likes me in return, I don't care what it says on the head stock. My guitar is for ME, not to impress someone with a fancy name. And when it comes to a 335 style guitar, FORGET Harley Benton. I bought a FIREFLY FF-338 with a beautiful brown spalted maple top for $168 new, I think, and it is the ONLY guitar in my life that EVER made me go "OMG" when I took it out of the box. Yes, it was that beautiful, and its quality matches it.
My brand new Gibson Les Paul 56 VOS RI Goldtop didn't even have that effect on me, and that was a $3000 USD guitar!
Sorry for the rant, Master John, but you asked for honest opinions, and as a guitarist for over 50 years, I thought someone might pay attention to my ramblings.
💪😎👍 I've several beautiful Fireflies, Hard
Luck Kings and (of course!) Harley Bentons.
All of them are of superlative quality & none
cost more than $350 (most were $2-250 usd)
Big fan of HB and Thomann. I recently bought a HB-35Plus Lemon Drop, partly because I loved the look, and partly because I wanted a guitar of that style. As you stated, at this price range, you can take some chances, and I have 5 or 6 other HB, all great guitars. Anyway, I couldn't get the intonation to settle down, and I finally realized that the bridge was cracked. I sent a photo of it to Thomann, and they responded the very next day. Then they sent me out a new bridge right away, which I installed in a few minutes. FYI, I live in southern Oregon, USA. They said I did not need to return the damaged one, but requested me to hold on to it for 6 months, in case there turned out to be a QC issue, which I am happy to do. So... great guitars, and great customer service!
Thanks for your video... I own 6 Harley Bentons and am always amazed by the quality of their products. Easily worth 2 to 4 times what we are paying for them and if you knew the truth, you would agree. Same factory as many of the other top name brands. I would love a love and hate series on Behringer pedals.
Harley Benton makes insanely good guitars for the money, not because they're built by people who barely get paid, but because they're made in a factory with exceptionally precise CNC-machines, which means they don't have to spend lots of time on actually making the guitars, and then they're sent directly to Thomann as the sole distributor.
I currently own 4 Harley Bentons (well, 3 Harley Benton guitars and a bass), and they're all wonderful instruments. I'll probably end up buying more Harley Bentons in the future, just because of how good they are and how amazing they look. Honestly, the only thing I dislike about Harley Benton is that they don't make any Star-shaped guitars like the ones Gus G, Akira Takasaki and Syu are known to play. It's one of my favorite designs, so it's a bit of a shame that Harley Benton doesn't make those yet... Everything else they make is awesome, though.
Thanks Big Buddy, love your videos always, Robert from western Canada!
I bought a Fusion 3 on Black Friday cos I am working from home and was bombarded with Black Friday adverts; I caved in with the offer. Fact is,it beats my Fender 66 for less than half the cost. It is now my #1 guitar.✌️🤳
💪😎👍 Fusion III is the one for me! 🎸
I agree about the value. I purchased the new Jim Root style strat with active pickups for £115. No issues with it other than having to tune it. If only the Gibson Custom Shop could be that good.
I have a CTS 24 hardtail and I love it, recommended by yours truly.
I have a Fender Telecaster HH that was made in Indonesia. Its an amber colour and its a great instrument. Its as dear to me as your very own blondie is to you John.
I wholeheartedly agree with you John.. on all the points you make ... I've got Fender & Gibson from the classic era 60s.. & I wanted to expand my collection but couldn't justify the expense ..low & behold my desires have been met with a brilliant collection of 5 Harley Benton guitars and counting ..& such a superb service from Thomann.. look forward to your dislikes .. Best Baz
SIRE has it's own factory in Indonesia... anyway, Harley Benton it's a fantastic Brand
PRS SE, Ibanez, Chapman.
Love it, thanks very much.
I’ve a PRS tribute courtesy of Harley Benton beautiful flame maple finish and it plays really well. I always fancied a Gibson LP double cut junior but ouch the price, now I’ve got one thanks again to Harley Benton swopped the bridge for a Ghoto wraparound with individual intonation adjustment. What can I say it’s a cracking guitar and the P90’s sound great. I’ve around 20 guitars at present Including Japanese strats USA telecasters. I’m now shifting some of the expensive guitars and keeping any cheaper priced ones “ that play as good as the expensive ones”
I have fond memories if my 'Satellite Cheese Slicer' but it can't compare to Harley Benton out of the box and after a few choice upgrades a Harley can go a few rounds with some big named Brands - I like to modify and the price of a HB makes it a Guilt free experience - Can't fault em'!
Yo Ozzy. How you doing bud?
@@Chip_57 Hi Mate, I'm OK thanks, how are you?
@@OzzyMandias Yeah good thnx.
I bought a Harley Benton Aeolus frost flame a while back (they are currently out of stock). Beautiful guitar. Semi hollow, single cut, roasted maple neck with satin finish, flamed maple (veneer) top, stainless steel frets, Tesla pickups and for me the icing on the cake, only one volume and tone pot. For £330 what’s not to like. It gets played as much if not more than the Gibson, Epiphone, Fender and PRS guitars I am fortunate enough to have accumulated over the years. Extraordinary value.
Agreed have the flame model, that and a home built strat that stays in tune better than my US are my go to's. The rest are in cases, if the kids knock them off the stand oh well.
@@andrewfrancis3591 Mine fell over after I foolishly left it propped against a chair, mainly because I was playing it so much. Result was one string out of tune where the tuner hit the ground first. If it had been a Gibson….
@@britishpatriot812 Was at a pub gig a few years ago. Someone knocked my mates 2 week old Custom shop black beauty £6500 broken head stock. Fair play to the guy just said "I can get an invisible repair done"
I'd have been having kittens.
Harley Benton are just perfect. Love em. I have fender telecaster’s. I have squire telecaster’s. But the new Te -62’s are really up there with them.
Just got a Harley Benton TE 62 cc. It is great. I will probably end up smoothing the frets and doing some tinkering but wow it is a nice guitar already.
Total agree John
Great video John , One thing you overlooked though ,Ive had dealings with Thomman (harley benton ) over the years their after sales sevice is second to none Ive bought and sent back a couple of things due to me being a tick excited etc freindly,fast, response to e-mails and returns I do have a rather long story of which i wont bore you with now but surfice to say they were they`ve ever let me down cheers from Austria
Thomann told me to send my Harley Benton to a local luthier to fix the issues like fret buzz and tuning posts popping out, which I clearly demonstrated to them in a video that they requested from me, despite the 3 year warranty. Thomann is a joke of a company.
I got whole bunch of cool Japanese guitars and a few Harley Bentons and the HBs hold their own.
Wish I knew about these years ago
Trying out differnt cheap guitars is exactly what I did, didn't own a guitar over £150, despite my love pf the te52 I found a strat to be the do it all guitar and am now a happy usa fender owner
Hi John, its ok for experienced guitarists to "tinker" with a reasonably priced guitar, bought on line, but I try to put myself in the shoes of a (non playing) parent of a keen 13 year old who wants to play the guitar. Guitar turns up, not set up and difficult to play. Junior loses interest and gives up.
For guitar to have a future we need youngsters to enjoy the guitar out of the box and they may stick at it. This is not a dig at any brand but guitars need to be playable on receipt, even if it means more compromises on the hardware to fund a basic set up. Down the line if the newbie sticks at playing they can upgrade but the basics need to be there to get them to that point.
As a postscript.. the Indonesian build guitars are a definite another level the 550 sc emg I bought was faultless .. I've just recently acquired the dc custom white which I had to wait until it came back into stock ..however I'm ever so glad because they switched production of that model to Indonesia .. its beauty is breathtaking.. love it .. I want to compliment that with the red version..but u know what ..I'm gonna wait ... for the Indonesian product
Things you’re not in love with HB? Should be a short video??? 🤔😉😂 I love your little quips! They are very Canadian in their delivery! 👍
Plywood, bubble gum and snot lol-that made me chuckle...
Thanks John your hard work and opinions are always Appreciated.
Your 5 points, Are some of the reasons I quit drinking the "High End" KoolAid,
I sold my 2 Gibsons and Epiphone and a Fender. Selling those 4 guitars Financed a collection of 20+ outstanding Budget Friendly, guitars' Many styled Strat Tele LP 335 dobro and many more and yes i adjust them, I tweak them and mod them, Sometimes sell them. I now have 0 interest in "High End Guitars. I am jot out to impress Just have fun playing
(My playing would never impress anyway)
Cort Indonesia builds most EVERYTHING nowdays...
Squier, H.B, Schecter, Ibanez...the list goes on and on.
Theres only about half a dozen decent factories in the far-east anyway...Samick, Cort, World Music, Grand Reward, and Yako.
All of whom make guitars for known "brands".
Which sort of makes all the "guitar gossip" about comparisons between brands etc...a bit spurious.
By the way...
I love H.B's....had about a dozen so far.
My favourite so far was the "jazzmaster" type.
Fantastic guitar. 😎
I've purchased 3 Harley Benton guitars...and each one did need a little work, BUT.... every one of them were great after a little setup and new strings. Example... my Harley Benton CST-24T in Paradise Flame sounds great (Sorry John, I love the pickups in this just fine. LOL!), looks great and records beautifully. I keep looking at the PRS SE CU24 guitars...and I can't justify paying more for the maple top that is between the mahogany body and the veneer vs the lack of that on the H.B. (that is the biggest difference between them that I can see..). The trem system "might" be slightly better, but my H.B. stays in tune very well even using its trem fairly agressively. The CST-24HB (Hollowbody) is an amazing instrument! I also got the RB612 CS to compare to another 12 string that I had found used (when the H.B. had been out-of-stock for so long... I grabbed the used one) and they compared extremely well (both were made in Chine...quite probably from the same factory. The pickups looked identical!) and the used one won out only because the H.B. was easier for me to sell. I would have been "Happy as a Clam" owning either one! They truly are a fantastic value in a working musician's tool kit.
Thanks for one more great video John. 6 of my 8 electrics are Harley Bentons and they are great, especially for an amateur like me. :)
I have Harley Benton st-62. Fret buzz and tuning posts popping out are two reasons why I don't like Harley Benton.
Got a te 20 for £80 and its fantastic
I love a reviews that have a little joke and tongue in cheek humour but the "i dont have the time or the crayons to explain it to ya" comment made me spit out my coffee, very funny indeed.
The HB's I've seen are really good looking, high quaiity feelng instruments, and nearly everyone seems to agree. Stop praising them and saying they're cheap (....I mean good value) as Thomann will put their prices up...!
Harley Benton Aeolus Bengal Flame. Just the action adjusting. Parts and build fantastic.
Harley Benton CST-24HB TOL Some frets needed knocking in action adjust. tuners okish
Just had a look at the Aeolus Bengal Flame, that beautiful. What guitar is that inspired by? I don't recognise it.
@@johnmac8084 Nearest would be the ES137.
Feedback is quite controllable, the reason for that is it's Gibson heavy.
Locking tuners are perfect, pick it up after 24hrs just the G string.
Stainless frets on mine did not need touching (thank goodness) nicely rolled.
Neck is fairly chunky but satin slick.
I haven't been Googling new PU's, so I guess I'm happy with the tone.
Does a great clean and on the point of break up.
Great jazz or blues box I haven't tried it with distortion.
Value It's a £600-700 guitar with an made in Indonesia branded label.
Fully agree, John. Great value!
Great video marah love your craigh always makes absolute sense to me
Well I shan't be buying any until your next video, John.
Love my Harleys. Sometimes there are issues, but nothing I would call a deal breaker. The Dullahan for example have a badly grounded bridge, so I had to remove the bridge and scrub off some of the paint on the back of the bridge (I know headless guitars are controversial, I myself never thought I could like a headless, but it gets a lot of playing time and it's by far the best looking body for a headless on the market ... can't stand the scrotum shaped body's of the others).
The CSTs are great guitars! The SCs, the Progressive Line, ... I need another 5 guitars stand ... ^^
All good points as ever John, but I do have to disagree with you on the last one. Losing an 'affordable' guitar through accident or theft may not be the end of the world if you can also afford £2,000 guitars, but what if that £200 Harley was the best you could afford? It depends on the depth of your resources (i.e. pocket). I'm not rich by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm lucky enough to have acquired over many years several very nice instruments along wih a stable of 'cheapies'. If I lost one of my hand-made basses I'd be totally gutted, but I also have a battered Korean-made Squier strat that I paid 60 quid for that plays like a dream. Altough mass-produced, every guitar is effectively unique, and when you find one that clicks with you, losing it still hurts a lot. If you can't find, or afford, a replacement that has the same 'feel', it's a loss that will rankle for a long time.
Bottom line I suppose is, look after your gear guys. There's too many scrotes out there so always be cautious.
PS: where can I get one of those guitars made out of plywood, bubble-gum and snot? Sounds intriguing!
Hope you like the SC DLX Gotoh HB! My main guitar now, it feels great to play! 🎸🤘🎸
Spot on John i fancied trying Bass and being Left Handed i did not want to spend to much in case i could not get away with them so i bought a HB JB-20 SB at the time it was £69 and realized that it is not for me, but i still use it now and again so no big deal but i would have been more upset if i had payed £700 for a Fender Jazz Bass just to have it collect dust
i almost forgot to say that i absolutely love my CST-24T in Paradise Flame i always wanted a PRS now i have one just as good for a Quarter of the price and it looks and plays fantastic
My Harley Benton experience wasn’t as good; but not bad either
I ordered a £200 HB acoustic , all the reviews said it played and sounded like a £500-£600 + guitar
It was alright, no major problem , but definitely not as good as a £500 one I’d tried in a shop
Sent it back and spent more money to get something I really loved
I’m thinking of giving them another go though, got my eye on the hb35
Got a cst 24 t which is a class guitar just bought cld 41s acoustic off fleebay.. trusted seller .. for new venture .. great reviews so looking forward to getting it this Friday 18th ..
Want an ex76 explorer natural but not available any more .. copyright?? Hope they come back in .. cheers all 🍻
to paraphrase Monty Python "Yes, we are all individuals".
I appreciate Harley Benton producing quality guitars that most people can afford but I don't appreciate them ripping off other companies designs to do it. The Strat, Tele, and LP shapes are not that big a deal since they've been the standard for so long and almost every company has their versions but they even copy brand new designs from higher end companies and that isn't cool at all.
Harely Benton tend to be on the heavy side because they don't dry the woods properly. HB might be fun for the first six months, but would those woods hold up over 5-6 years of playing?
Yes, mine has held up. But, even if it didn't I wouldn't care too much as it cost me 165 quid. At that price I would simply buy another one and get another enjoyable 5 or 6 years out of it. Still miles cheaper than the expensive brands.
Last year my son had a pair of trendy basketball trainers priced nearly £100 - they lasted 6 months.
A fillet steak with a red wine jus might cost you 30 quid in a restaurant - you shit it out next day.
I could continue...
When people talk crap about guitars and others like Wolf and Firefly. What’s the difference between them and lower end Jackson’s and Kramers. All of those name brands have fret spurs.
I know, there's people out there, that, spend a substantial amount of money on guitars, and, the first thing they do is, change the pickups. I don't get that, at all.
I recently got a rant comment on my unboxing video of the Harley Benton DC Deluxe Gotoh Pelham Blue (the "SG" version of that lovely single cut you have been loaned to review John), where the person claims he bought one and returned it immediately because he opened the pot cavity and determined that it only had 2mm of nyatoh on the surface and that the rest was plywood, instead of all Nyatoh, and that was the reason it was so cheap. And that it was acoustically non resonant therefore as well. Double checked mine and unfortunately none of that nonesense he claims seems to be the case with mine. I do wonder though if the factory in Indonesia may have tried to pull a fast one on the people at Thomann and therefore this person got a specimen from a bad batch, as he seemed truely convinced, though I have a hard time believeing it.
I have 7 Harley Bentons in almost as many different styles, and do not regret a single one of them. Keen on trying out an "Explorer" with EMGs for the next one. Thanks to your reviews and experience with them I put my trust in them and am quite happy, cheers John!
The main goal of any guitar is tone. So in other words, the wood (as well as the brand) has no bearing on tone in any electric guitar. Scale length, pickup placement and pickup height determines tone. Pickups operate through something called "Electromagnetic Induction" they pick up the sound made by the vibrating metallic strings. They "ignore" the wood altogether because wood is not a conductive material, it is just there to hold the important pieces together. So, are the big name brands any better than Harley Benton when it comes to sound quality? If set up properly NO, a $3000 dollar Les Paul does not have better quality of sound than a 2X4 plank, if the main veriables of scale length, pick up placement, height and proper set up are met. So in conclusion kids you can buy a $200 dollar Harley Benton or a $3000 dollar Gibson, the brand will not affect your skill level. If you suck at guitar, you will still suck just as much for $3000 dollars as you will for $200 dollars. On the other hand if you are a proficient player, you can sound just as good for $100 bucks as you can if you sell your house and spend your life savings on a name brand. Put your effort into learning your craft, not into buying a brand, proper set up and skill is all that matters at the end of the day.
Hi John, how do you rate them, compared to "Vintage" brand guitars, side by side?
Pretty much the same overall. Some things Vintage do better & vice versa.
dont have the time or the crayons 😀love it.
So tell me my friend, just from your video here, out of your whole guitar collection, how many Harley Bentons do you own compared to your whole guitar collection???
Myself, My guitar collection is only 1/2 of what it used to be, I used to own about 30 guitars in total count, now I only own 16 guitars total ,7 Ibanezes, 3 Epiphones, 1 Squire Classic Vibe, 60's Stratocaster, 3 Schecters, 1 Dean Barrort Zylynski Strat with a floyde on it,
1 Jackson SL3X, Thats it, I do not own any Harley Bentons! Maybe from now on I will only order and buy those cheap well made guitars from Germany, Cheersssssssssssssss.............to Harley Benton!
I'd give all my Gibson's away for some Harley Bentons !!
high John !!!! love your video and the passion you put into ; my question is : are gotho or tonepro bridges fit whith harleybenton s guitars cause i want to upgrade the stock one because when i replace the strings , i noticed a little movement the adjustment is not good ! sorry for my writting i m french ! oh my guitar is flying v victory black and gold and the pickups are realy great ! thanks alot John good evening !
Most of them will accept standard sized parts. Just make sure you get the parts sized for "import" guitars as US spec'd parts probably will not fit.
@@JRobsonGuitar thank you John !!
FELL OF MY CHAIR..PLYWOOD BUBBLEGUM AND SNOT HA HA
I think you covered Harley Benton guitars a few years ago John.
But an update is always interesting, i have bought and rejected a few of them i know from experience that
they are not the bargain they were a few years ago, but at least the Indonesian made models have been upgraded.
I had a bad time with Thomann trying to get a blemish free CST24 two years ago, it took 3 samples before i had one
without issues with the finish, then it took a lot of upgrading and a full setup to make it a desirable guitar.
The entry level models are as you would expect, cheap and best avoided, the Fusion range are in another league
and only need better pickups.
It will be interesting to see what you don't like about them.
As someone once said to me, 98% of your audience won't be able to tell if you're playing a Harley Benton or a custom shop Les Paul. A fair chunk won't even be able to tell if you're in tune come to that!
Harley Benton? Luxury! Fazley’s are £50 a go 😂
Indonesia produces more excellent guitars. I have 2 Fenders (not Squiers) which are "crafted in Indonesia".
Gateway drug 😂😂😂
Your points don't address the playability. Maybe your other videos do. These are not reasons to avoid the guitars
The rise of budget guitars is a prime example of the dynamic described in the innovator's dilemma ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Innovator%27s_Dilemma ): In the beginning they are not very good and nobody takes them serious. But as they get better, they start taking more and more of the market and eventually the American made Fenders, Gibsons and other PRS'es will be confined to some niche markets ( dentists, lawyers and Swedish metal guitarists). Also, on the reason why the value is so attractive, I think you have to consider the inefficiency of the traditional business model: if a local guitar shop buys a guitar from Fender, has it for 3-6 months in their store, with money tied up, the risk of someone damaging or stealing it, it is not unreasonable that they get mark it up 30-50 %. But that money is not going to the factory to have it build a better guitar,...