Harley Benton guitars

bertie · April 2022

dazzer22 said:

I often think an Epip with Gibson Humbucker pickups in is close to a Real Gibson .

having owned both, its not

darthed1981 · April 2022

bertie said:

be "interesting" to see where/how they're made - factory / worker conditions etc etc

Some of them are made in countries with employment at will, lack of universal healthcare, lack of respect for some basic human rights, religious fundamentalism and wealth concentrated ludicrously in the top 1%, with drugs and firearms issues and a massive problem with race.

Thats the US made ones anyhow.

roberty · April 2022

darthed1981 said:

bertie said:

be "interesting" to see where/how they're made - factory / worker conditions etc etc

Some of them are made in countries with employment at will, lack of universal healthcare, lack of respect for some basic human rights, religious fundamentalism and wealth concentrated ludicrously in the top 1%, with drugs and firearms issues and a massive problem with race.

Thats the US made ones anyhow.

HE'LL YEA BORTHER AMEN!!!11

munckee · April 2022

darthed1981 said:

bertie said:

be "interesting" to see where/how they're made - factory / worker conditions etc etc

Some of them are made in countries with employment at will, lack of universal healthcare, lack of respect for some basic human rights, religious fundamentalism and wealth concentrated ludicrously in the top 1%, with drugs and firearms issues and a massive problem with race.

Thats the US made ones anyhow.

Just to be clear, you are on the list….

DrCornelius · April 2022

Literally just had a Bass VI a like delivered an hour ago from them . It was £200 and I’m gobsmacked - it’s upstairs with my bass playing son right now and it sounds glorious

darthed1981 · April 2022

munckee said:

darthed1981 said:

bertie said:

be "interesting" to see where/how they're made - factory / worker conditions etc etc

Some of them are made in countries with employment at will, lack of universal healthcare, lack of respect for some basic human rights, religious fundamentalism and wealth concentrated ludicrously in the top 1%, with drugs and firearms issues and a massive problem with race.

Thats the US made ones anyhow.

Just to be clear, you are on the list….

The list?

racefaceec90 · April 2022

i have ordered a harley benton fusion 3 guitar (my first harley benton and order from thomann also).

have heard good things about the guitars (hence why i ordered one) so will report back when it turns up.

i was going to get the hsh fusion 3 in bengal finish but i've changed the model to the hss fusion 3 in satin blue instead as partly it was in stock and the bengal one was going to be 8-10 weeks. i also had a change of mind and wanted to go hss instead was the other reason tbh.

i cannot wait to get the guitar i have to admit.

bluecat · April 2022

Let us know what you think of it when it arrives.

carlos · April 2022

Funkfingers said:

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.

There's definitely something there, plus little advertising. I notice in guitar mags when they do round-ups of instruments in categories, e.g. cheap strats, then HB hardly or never gets featured. Something tells me they don't buy enough ads.

PFAllen2 · April 2022

PLOP said:

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”.

I'd like to know the answer to that question as well and am resisting the temptation to find out.

I did buy a HB FLT-90, their cabronita tele, and I really like it. It isn't perfect, the pickup screws sit up a bit, but nothing that hinders the palying experience. I was thinking about a Reverend Flatroc and this scrtached that itch for 1/5 th of the price.

theimageofall · April 2022

I’ve had (and have got) a few, which sit alongside my better known (and significantly more expensive) brands and they are really good guitars for the money. I tend to use them for alternate tunings and leave them in that tuning. I often find that when I return to them, they are still in tune.

At this price point, they cheaply open the door into all the variety of types of guitar. I have this morning ordered a semi-hollow 335 equivalent and the price delivered was unbelievable to be honest. I’ve never had a guitar of that type and I doubt I would have taken a punt on an Epiphone or other brand due to the higher price.

darthed1981 · April 2022

theimageofall said:
At this price point, they cheaply open the door into all the variety of types of guitar. I have this morning ordered a semi-hollow 335 equivalent and the price delivered was unbelievable to be honest. I’ve never had a guitar of that type and I doubt I would have taken a punt on an Epiphone or other brand due to the higher price.

Excellent point.

That's exactly how I feel about HB as well. They let you try out all different sizes, types sounds etc. of guitar without breaking the bank.

Squier Affinity are also great but nowhere near the range, Epiphone are approaching the prices of entry-level Gibbons a few years ago, I don't think they even do entry-level Gibsons any more!

I've got an HB Flying V and a pink tele, but could easily buy ten others, they do a three-pickup SG for £180!!

BillDL · April 2022

theimageofall said:

At this price point, they cheaply open the door into all the variety of types of guitar. I have this morning ordered a semi-hollow 335 equivalent and the price delivered was unbelievable to be honest. I’ve never had a guitar of that type and I doubt I would have taken a punt on an Epiphone or other brand due to the higher price.

Well said. That is EXACTLY how and why the brand has become so popular. I doubt that Harley Benton sales are ever going to make a dent in Gibson or Fender sales because for many people those are the brands they must have. I used to be like that. I have never owned a Martin or a real Gibson quite simply because I wasn't really into acoustic playing or Gibsons back when I was "brand conscious", I could never have justified the cost, and I would have been scared to take it to a gig in case it got stolen or damaged. I did have a Sonnex by Gibson in the early 80s but that's really just like what Epiphone is now to Gibson and what Squier is to Fender, so it didn't count. I had my real Fender Strats that were my pride and joy and it was nice not to have Squier on the headstock, but after lean times forced me to part with them I realised that I could buy Squiers and other guitars that sounded very much like the real thing for a fraction of the cost of the real thing.

I would probably never have owned and been able to keep a "335" type guitar had it not been for much lower priced but good quality versions by Washburn, Ibanez and Harley Benton, and I'm happy enough with the 335-ish sound and feel of those three where I no longer yearn for the real thing. When I decided it would be nice to try out a Telecaster shaped guitar again for a different feel and sound to the Strat copies I had been using exclusively I bought Harley Benton, Artists Guitars and Fazely and I am quite happy with the Telecasterish sounds they make. When I decided I would like to try out Gibson scale in a Les Paul format I bought Artist Guitars and Harley Benton versions and I have been enjoying some Gibsonish sounds with a different feel. I've only ever owned one "SG" guitar (a Yamaha SG years ago) and that wasn't a thin-bodied lightweight Gibson SG style, so I bought Harley Benton and Artists Guitars versions of the proper SG format and I love the completely different feel and sound from them both.

Dave_Mc · April 2022

theimageofall said:

I’ve had (and have got) a few, which sit alongside my better known (and significantly more expensive) brands and they are really good guitars for the money. I tend to use them for alternate tunings and leave them in that tuning. I often find that when I return to them, they are still in tune.

At this price point, they cheaply open the door into all the variety of types of guitar. I have this morning ordered a semi-hollow 335 equivalent and the price delivered was unbelievable to be honest. I’ve never had a guitar of that type and I doubt I would have taken a punt on an Epiphone or other brand due to the higher price.

That's what I would think (I've never tried them). Just playing devil's advocate, though- I would be worried that they might not be "good enough" and might put you off a guitar design or style unnecessarily. I need another guitar like I need a hole in the head, but HB do have quite a few pretty tempting bass designs, I have to admit (for the same reasons you outlined about the guitars). But that worry about "too good to be true" is putting me off. Well, that and they seem to be on the heavy side (which is maybe a bigger concern).

ToneControl · April 2022

A diversion
I read this story today: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61077756

I noticed the Florist/restaurant/bar owner is called Haylee Benton

Image: https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/AEF0/production/_124148744_haylee_hanako-3of4.jpg

I think she should branch out into guitar gear too

bertie · April 2022

cue "bernard manning-esque" jokes

Kebabkid · April 2022

I've just taken delivery of a HB TE-62 CC (Custom Colour in Lake Placid Blue) from this parish*.

First impressions is it sounds like a Tele with all 3 distinct sounds being present and decent
The finish is wonderful and it has a roasted maple neck (caramelised as Thomann call it) and parchment scratchplate
Keeps its tuning and controls all work well and there's a smooth taper on the volume pot allowing for clean up from it

If I didn't know the price, I'd probably think this was over £200 and similarly priced to a Squier Classic Vibe.

Very very early days but at under a £100 (used)* or even new at £135, this is great and with a little fettle here and there to suit, I'm sure it'll be fine

guitargeek62 · April 2022

@kebabkid aye, I tried a ‘Charcoal Frost’ one of those and it was really good indeed - not much, if any, need to change anything to be honest! I’ll likely end up getting one soon enough, though I’m tempted by the surf green option

theimageofall · April 2022

As I have previously mentioned, I do think these are excellent guitars for the money, but I have experienced some “wolf tones” on a couple that needed a bit of a tinker with to sort (usually adding some mass via a new/different bridge). It is some sort of overtone that either hampers the sustain on a particular note or sends it almost immediately into a feedback sound (I play with a fair bit of gain). Haven’t really come across those with other guitars for some reason.

I still think they are great for the money and enjoy playing them.

racefaceec90 · April 2022

well my fusion iii hss just turned up about an hour ago.

if this is a mark of the harley benton guitars i can assure you i will definitely be buying more of them at some point :-)

it's bloody awesome i have to say :-D

yes there are a couple of issues with it but nothing major at all and easily fixed by a guitar tech (i am not a guitar tech lol).

man the neck on it is lovely both to look at and the feel. also the whole guitar looks lovely to me and feels great (nothing feels cheap on it i have to say.

this is both my first harley benton guitar and order from thomann and i have to say am very happy with it (also bought a gig bag too that feels very nice quality for the money).

all in all i am a very happy chappy i have to say.

i will try and upload some pics and playing report (am not a good player though so will be a crap player report lol).

now i'm off to play it again.

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