Harley Benton guitars

dazzer22

Do Harley Benton  favour 24 fret Guitars?  It seems the best guitar they have  is Amarok 6 which is - you guessed it !
 24 fret,  and all other guitars that have 24 frets have  slightly  better specs compared to the 22  fret guitars ,  i was looking at the range  when noticing that nearly all 24 fret have ss frets compared to the 22 fret guitars   , and  most of the 24 fret guitars have the better tops,   so to me they seem clearly  biased .

darthed1981

They make basically one of everything I think!

Their high end guitars seem to be targeting the market for people who like good guitars for not too much money with no brand snobbery...

I'm a fan

Funkfingers

H-B favours whatever they believe will sell this quarter. 

Define "better top". Attractive grain has no bearing whatsoever on tone. 

If a top consists of a 1.5mm veneer over plain looking solid wood, that is another layer of glue in the construction that the instrument might function better without. If glue sounded as good as wood, they'd make the whole guitar out of it.

darthed1981 said:

Their high end guitars seem to be targeting the market for people who like good guitars for not too much money with no brand snobbery.

H-B/Thomann manage to deliver at lower price points by cutting out the middle men. 

CE1

Funkfingers said:

If glue sounded as good as wood, they'd make the whole guitar out of it.

That assumes that buyers ONLY buy based on tone. Makers have tried guitars made from carbon, resin and other materials but us guitar players are not particularly adventurous in our buying habits it seems. If you look on here how many guitars are strats, Teles, LPs, SGs compared to a thousand other shapes it shows just how conservative we all are. As for whether a tiny extra layer of glue could make a difference, I highly doubt it. How many people go for unpainted guitars? That is just another layer of unnecessary gloop but you never hear anyone saying it affects tone. Many (most?) guitar bodies are made from more than one piece of wood so glue is a fact of life anyway.
The reality is that quality of construction and components are the key elements. 

idiotwindow

CE1 said:

Funkfingers said:

If glue sounded as good as wood, they'd make the whole guitar out of it.

How many people go for unpainted guitars? That is just another layer of unnecessary gloop but you never hear anyone saying it affects tone. 

People complain about paint thickness (nitro over lacquer, blah blah) affecting tone all the time.

SlopeSoarer

CE1 said:

Funkfingers said:

If glue sounded as good as wood, they'd make the whole guitar out of it.

That assumes that buyers ONLY buy based on tone. Makers have tried guitars made from carbon, resin and other materials but us guitar players are not particularly adventurous in our buying habits it seems. If you look on here how many guitars are strats, Teles, LPs, SGs compared to a thousand other shapes it shows just how conservative we all are. As for whether a tiny extra layer of glue could make a difference, I highly doubt it. How many people go for unpainted guitars? That is just another layer of unnecessary gloop but you never hear anyone saying it affects tone. Many (most?) guitar bodies are made from more than one piece of wood so glue is a fact of life anyway.
The reality is that quality of construction and components are the key elements. 

Billy Corgan does:-)

meltedbuzzbox

SlopeSoarer said:

CE1 said:

Funkfingers said:

If glue sounded as good as wood, they'd make the whole guitar out of it.

That assumes that buyers ONLY buy based on tone. Makers have tried guitars made from carbon, resin and other materials but us guitar players are not particularly adventurous in our buying habits it seems. If you look on here how many guitars are strats, Teles, LPs, SGs compared to a thousand other shapes it shows just how conservative we all are. As for whether a tiny extra layer of glue could make a difference, I highly doubt it. How many people go for unpainted guitars? That is just another layer of unnecessary gloop but you never hear anyone saying it affects tone. Many (most?) guitar bodies are made from more than one piece of wood so glue is a fact of life anyway.
The reality is that quality of construction and components are the key elements. 

Billy Corgan does:-)

As much as I like Mellon collie and the infinite sadness it has to be said that Billy Corgan is a bit of a bellend

jdgm

Yesterday I had a quick go on someone's new Harley Benton HB35+.  This is a 335-style guitar and it was literally AMAZING considering the price of £205 (inc shipping and VAT) from Thomann.  It strongly reminded me of an Ibanez and the build quality was just as good; set neck, push-pulls etc.  I have too many guitars to by another thinline f-hole now, but I'm very tempted just because the price is so low. 

CE1

idiotwindow said:

CE1 said:

Funkfingers said:

If glue sounded as good as wood, they'd make the whole guitar out of it.

How many people go for unpainted guitars? That is just another layer of unnecessary gloop but you never hear anyone saying it affects tone. 

People complain about paint thickness (nitro over lacquer, blah blah) affecting tone all the time.

Really? Never seen any personally. Any examples on here? I could do with a laugh

Bigsby

SlopeSoarer said:

CE1 said:

Funkfingers said:

If glue sounded as good as wood, they'd make the whole guitar out of it.

That assumes that buyers ONLY buy based on tone. Makers have tried guitars made from carbon, resin and other materials but us guitar players are not particularly adventurous in our buying habits it seems. If you look on here how many guitars are strats, Teles, LPs, SGs compared to a thousand other shapes it shows just how conservative we all are. As for whether a tiny extra layer of glue could make a difference, I highly doubt it. How many people go for unpainted guitars? That is just another layer of unnecessary gloop but you never hear anyone saying it affects tone. Many (most?) guitar bodies are made from more than one piece of wood so glue is a fact of life anyway.
The reality is that quality of construction and components are the key elements. 

Billy Corgan does:-)

IIRC, he's talking about paint colour, not the paint itself. Staining the wood would produce the same results. And he's not entirely wrong either. Lots of things influence what you hear [the perception of 'tone'] including what you're seeing, what expectations you have, your mood, prior experiences, but glue in the guitars construction? Not so much, unless it impacts your beliefs and expectations...  Then the effect may be pronounced.

If you wish to perceive something independently of other factors, you have to eliminate the other factors as much as possible (e.g. blind testing), but there are limits to that.

PLOP

Has anyone tried the Hb Jazzmaster with the P90s in it? For £130 I think I might get one after selling some other gear but at that price I wonder if it would actually be good or just “good for the price”. 

fosk

Reminds me of Agile from years ago, they were the darlings of the guitar forums on the internet!

Adamski

By all accounts great guitars for the money. I’d probably take a punt on one if it wasn’t for the fact that Harley Benton for some reason makes me think of Fray Bentos, the makers of pies in a can…..

bertie

Adamski said:

By all accounts great guitars for the money.

this, and nothing more. 

Bigsby said:

SlopeSoarer said:

CE1 said:

Funkfingers said:

If glue sounded as good as wood, they'd make the whole guitar out of it.

That assumes that buyers ONLY buy based on tone. Makers have tried guitars made from carbon, resin and other materials but us guitar players are not particularly adventurous in our buying habits it seems. If you look on here how many guitars are strats, Teles, LPs, SGs compared to a thousand other shapes it shows just how conservative we all are. As for whether a tiny extra layer of glue could make a difference, I highly doubt it. How many people go for unpainted guitars? That is just another layer of unnecessary gloop but you never hear anyone saying it affects tone. Many (most?) guitar bodies are made from more than one piece of wood so glue is a fact of life anyway.
The reality is that quality of construction and components are the key elements. 

Billy Corgan does:-)

IIRC, he's talking about paint colour, not the paint itself. Staining the wood would produce the same results. And he's not entirely wrong either. Lots of things influence what you hear [the perception of 'tone'] including what you're seeing, what expectations you have, your mood, prior experiences, but glue in the guitars construction? Not so much, unless it impacts your beliefs and expectations...  Then the effect may be pronounced.

If you wish to perceive something independently of other factors, you have to eliminate the other factors as much as possible (e.g. blind testing), but there are limits to that.

none of that matters,  its just the pickups............................................   

SlopeSoarer

meltedbuzzbox said:

SlopeSoarer said:

CE1 said:

Funkfingers said:

If glue sounded as good as wood, they'd make the whole guitar out of it.

That assumes that buyers ONLY buy based on tone. Makers have tried guitars made from carbon, resin and other materials but us guitar players are not particularly adventurous in our buying habits it seems. If you look on here how many guitars are strats, Teles, LPs, SGs compared to a thousand other shapes it shows just how conservative we all are. As for whether a tiny extra layer of glue could make a difference, I highly doubt it. How many people go for unpainted guitars? That is just another layer of unnecessary gloop but you never hear anyone saying it affects tone. Many (most?) guitar bodies are made from more than one piece of wood so glue is a fact of life anyway.
The reality is that quality of construction and components are the key elements. 

Billy Corgan does:-)

As much as I like Mellon collie and the infinite sadness it has to be said that Billy Corgan is a bit of a bellend

Wise words

BillDL

Missing out the middle man and being large enough to have enough "buying power" to source hardware in bulk are the keys to Thomann's success with the Harley Benton brand.  They haven't gone as far as Behringer in building their own Chinese factory, but they are large enough to closely oversee and control the production processes.

HerbieTheRadDorklift

fosk said:

Reminds me of Agile from years ago, they were the darlings of the guitar forums on the internet!

I still want an Agile les paul copy.

Sporky

Bigsby said:

IIRC, he's talking about paint colour, not the paint itself. 

And - from the text, I didn't watch the video - he actually says that his white Reverend is the best sounding one he's got. I'm not sure I'd draw the conclusion that therefore white guitars sound best from that.

HerbieTheRadDorklift

Sporky said:

Bigsby said:

IIRC, he's talking about paint colour, not the paint itself. 

And - from the text, I didn't watch the video - he actually says that his white Reverend is the best sounding one he's got. I'm not sure I'd draw the conclusion that therefore white guitars sound best from that.

Hmm, I don't know. My white Gibson Les Paul Custom sounds better than my red Encore.

darthed1981

Funkfingers said:

darthed1981 said:

Their high end guitars seem to be targeting the market for people who like good guitars for not too much money with no brand snobbery.

H-B/Thomann manage to deliver at lower price points by cutting out the middle men. 

...that's ONE reason why they are cheaper yes.

There are others...

Nobody pays for the name "Harley Benton" on a headstock, people are willing to pay for the Gibson/Fender name and so on, which particularly those two companies make much hay out of.

bertie

darthed1981 said:

Funkfingers said:

darthed1981 said:

Their high end guitars seem to be targeting the market for people who like good guitars for not too much money with no brand snobbery.

H-B/Thomann manage to deliver at lower price points by cutting out the middle men. 

...that's ONE reason why they are cheaper yes.

There are others...

Nobody pays for the name "Harley Benton" on a headstock, people are willing to pay for the Gibson/Fender name and so on, which particularly those two companies make much hay out of.

are you really telling me that an HB is equally as good as a USA Gibson/Fender, and its only the name on the headstock that is the difference ? 

Ive had 1 HB,  it was good, yes  -  for the money - but reality check,  its not as good as a "Fender/Gibson/insert name of choice"

Ive had Tokais that were fantastic,  "better" than an Epi, sure but as good as my  GIbbo LP ?   no. 

Their "low end" is remarkably good value  -but so are a lot of other "buy it in from the far east and put our name on it" brands  simply because the QC has improved  100 fold in recent years.    20 or even 30 years ago, no one would mention MIK/MIC Squiers with any reverence, but reality they have become great VFM guitars.  

I also direct you to the pic of the broken Epi neck/headstock what was posted recently.   I would imagine there might be some similarity