A full #review of the #HarleyBenton ST57-DG #guitar. A £160 copy of famous David Gilmour black strat. Courses & tuition: www.johnrobsonm... T Shirts & other tat: teespring.com/...
I didn't know this young man could play! He can play! Loved the intro, John. Your demo/presentation is so informing compared to virtually all the other demo's on this guitar that I have found. I will order mine in a few weeks. Thank you John.
You have done amazing work for Zoey's Place, nearly $3,000.00 pounds is truley great. Thank you and to everyone who has donated and purchased a guitar. And what a great guitar to close out the Charity with! I liked all of the sounds, especially the third position on the clean setting! Plus, I love the looks of this guitar, the white pick ups and knobs really set it off, as well as the maple neck. I'll be watching for the auction, I think it's time to bid and win!! Great premiere, John, great job as always!
Great show on the charity John.. What a wonderful thing for such a noble place.. I hate to even entertain the thought of kids that young, or any kid for that matter, facing their destiny in that manner... God Bless their souls... Thanks for the video, my Friend...
hi John.Frey Bentos and Woodbines on a guitar - sounds like a real working man's guitar for sweating away at tough gigs.i'm sure that guitar would sound amazing through the spuds and butter of a good Sunday afternoon jam.
Nah dude, you're incredible who started all this! It's so awesome that you started that guitars for good causes and donated the money, and it's so nice to see that it's still going on :)
Pretty great guitar. Nice charity work, too. In '81 i moved to a place. New neighbor bought a Strat same time i had, '76, his blk with a blk guard, me a ht sunburst. DG aside, i'd take the sb. I miss it all the time.
Thanks for another great video John. Been kicking around getting a st style guitar lately and this video pushed me over the edge. Can’t beat the value for money and it’s upgradable. Hearing you chime your way through some of my favorite band’s sounds clinched it. Hope I get a good one . 🤞
01:43 Yep, she caught you, now you'll have to answer for those few million quid missing from the bank account :D I just wanted to say that about a year ago I started to take interest in guitar and to look around the internet doing research on the subject. One of the first places on youtube I started to watch videos about this was your channel John, mainly because I wanted to get the truth about Harley Benton guitars. Although it took me long enough, as of yesterday I am the proud owner of one, I dare say in large degree thanks to you and your wonderful videos, from which I have learned so much about, if not yet how to actually play one, atleast about a ton of guitar related stuff. For which I extend you a very big thanks John!!! Yes, I'm blaming you!!! :D And Eytschpi42 as well among others. The one I got was an SC-Custom VB, B-stock, but in this case B must stand for brilliant since it only has some slight defects on the finish around the volute edges (superficial cracks). Over the moon with it. Not a youtuber nor do I intend to be one, but if you'd like to see it I put together a little 3 minute unboxing video: ua-cam.com/video/Imfl9YApk28/v-deo.html And yeah, Dave Simpson is a wonderful guitarrist and guy, I enjoy his channel very much, saw that video where he just had to shave down the neck so he could get it to his liking. Apparently he got the "Fat Strat" but without any humbuckers. Thank you once again and all the best John!
John, awesome job as always. I will NEVER understand why these makers of Strat and Tele copies put these I-been-had shredder type 12-16” radius necks on their guitars. Do they not realize how many more units they would move with proper 7 1/4 or 9.5 radius necks?
I agree (aside from the fact that I prefer a flatter board). It just seems confusing to put a "modern" radius board on a "vintage" spec instrument. I suppose it comes down to tooling costs & they have to pick a compromise... They'd lose more sales putting a 7.25" radius on an Ibanez clone than putting a 14" radius on a Fender clone. So if they're only paying for one set of tooling to make all the necks, you can understand the thinking... I suppose 😀
@@JRobsonGuitar Hi John sorry I'm 2 years late. First off thanks for the very informative video. After watching this I was wondering if I was to buy this guitar at such an affordable price could I modify it by fitting a new neck to a classic neck radius. Realistically I'd much rather buy a Squier classic vibe 50s black Strat but since I'm on a budget would this option be possible.
Nice review. I saw Dave's review of his Harley Benton and i was surprised that he had issue with the neck in terms of being very uncomfortable as well. I have 4 HB's and the necks are different on each model i have. The CST-24T is the thinnest, the TE90-FLT is a slightly thin neck but fatter than the CST-24T. Then the SC-Custom and TE-70 Black paisley both have about the same thickness, full but not fat. I think that HB's necks are very good. I really enjoy your productions and playing. TY.
Thanks Mr. Robson for being such a class act in every way! Well done with your charity work and with another great video. Have learned a lot from you. Cheers!
I' ve ordered the Guitar and today arrived (10.05.21). First Thing: It's 100% not a Gotoh Bridge, It's a no Name. 2. Vintage stagged Polepieces and a 350mm fretboard Radius 😂...sorry totaly sensless...you can't set the Pickup height, because 3.and 4. Polepiece are too close to the String or the orhers are way too far away from the Strings... this Pickups work for 7,5 Radius Necks but do not work with a 15 Radius...that fact. It's s like putting a stagged Vintage Singlecoils on a Ibanez RG...350 mm Neck 😂 🙈
So, with a whammy upgrade and some locking tuners, does this compare favourably to the cst 24t in terms of overall quality for the price? Does yours have the one ply or three ply scratchplate? Other reviews have noted the pick guard they got was different from the single ply in the specs. For me that's kind of a big deal. Dave Simpson made that Bullet sound phenomenal. In your opinion would a squire affinity make a modding platform equal this dg Harley? Thanks John I try to support your efforts as much as I can, keep up the good work
Yes this does have the single ply scratch plate. The Squier Affinity is a good guitar too, but you get more for your money with the HB due to the ceramic pups in the Squier vs alnico in this guitar. Also the Tusq nut is a nice touch. The CST24T & this guitar are about neck & neck in terms of value for money, I'd say.
Mine plays well, the fret ends are nice and smooth. It needed a very minor neck adjustment and it's very playable. One thing though... it really needs 1 more fret. At least one more to be able to play the solo in another brick how the wall part 2 solo and the 2nd solo in comfortably numb. It's just not there. For $166 us that's my only complaint about this guitar.
I am totally sold on Harley Benton instruments. I have had enough of these 3k guitars that should cost 500 quid. I have some expensive signature guitars, but I am done and over with that. I don't know how the guitar manufacturers can justify such high price tags on guitars which are made by machine, and assembled by mostly unskilled staff. I don't include the custom shop or master builds, because there are also some creative design going on behind the scene. But for the gigging musician, with what we get paid a night, I can't afford it any more. Thank god for Harley Benton!
Estou pensando seriamente em adquiri-la!! Aqui em Lisboa ela custa cerca de 166€! pelo que ela custa e pelo som que ela tem, creio que seja uma otima opção!!
Guitars for good causes was a master stroke despite the initial "this might be a daft idea", however how about gear for good causes , is line 6 as good or as bad as they say, is Thomans range good value,is mix and match a good thing, valve or not valve whats a good rig for newbies what do I buy to get a sound close to my hero and other great guitarists like, em, John Robson for example I'd chip in few quid
I tried doing some gear reviews. I did a Blackstar amp which didn't sell (I ended up buying it myself & giving it away as a competition prize), and a couple of pedals which I struggled to shift. It seems that it was the guitars that got people bidding rather than the other gear so that's what I pursued. When even the guitars started to hang around unsold, I decided it was time to draw things to a close. I ended up using the last £60 in the GoFundMe (along with £100 from my own pocket) to buy this guitar 😀
@@JRobsonGuitar Cheers john Yeah I saw that and at the end of the day it has to be feasible all round but thanks for the response always great to hear back
Sorry to hear you have wound down your charity John but I do know that the bottom has fallen out of the used market due to the great cheap guitars available, which is great for beginners and pro's alike but no good when you have a guitar collection to fund your pension lol. Keep up the good work you are appreciated John.
Hi John, don't you sometimes notice the limitiations of the Harley Benton guitars? I own three and i love them, but I think I can tell a quality difference compared to my Fender telecaster which cost me approx. 700 pound back in the day. The Fender's pickups seem a little more nuanced and defined - not a huge difference, but noticable. The big plus is that I have gotten three guitars and a wealth of sound options which is very inspirational. Greetings from Denmark :-)
On the really cheap ones, yes.. . The TE20 springs to mind, but once you get up towards the £200 mark the differences are negligible - no more than you'd expect between two similarly priced guitars really.
@@JRobsonGuitar - Ok, I will try another comparison. You're probably right :-). I've got the SC Custom p90 in glossy black, and it is absolutely gorgeous. I highly recommend it.
Great relaxed review this, really great 👍. I'd be tempted by a HB guitar if they'd just pop on a more vintage radius neck for us stick in the muds who refuse to change!😊 HB must have got a huge job lot of flat necks stockpiled as they don't seem to do a single guitar with anything more rounded!
Great review John. Pity about Guitars for good causes as it's probably helped the charity a lot. Guess it's hard to sell a guitar for more than you can buy new even with your expert setup skills. Hope you will continue to review guitars when they pass through your hands. Cheers
hey John you're a really great guy. My people have a name for it it's called a mensch. And you are a mensch with a capital m! Love you videos subscribe and will keep on doing so. please excuse any typos misspelled words definitely lack of punctuation I'm not illiterate I'm not even the bad typo I'm just legally blind I use speech to text doesn't says that it wants to sincerely yours, Bob the blind bedroom guitarist I
It's quite controversial: most people like satin feeling and like a maple fretboard to age visibly. A poly finished maple neck is a bit odd - but you could always buy a squier CV for that.
Well spotted. In fairness, I never claimed to be doing a David GILMOUR impersonation. It's a strat copy which aims to look a bit like Mr G's guitar. I was judging it purely on those grounds & thought it would be a bit of a hoot if I jammed a little over a Floyd-esque jam track from my stash.
Thanks for watching the premiere everyone 👍😀🎸
I didn't know this young man could play! He can play! Loved the intro, John. Your demo/presentation is so informing compared to virtually all the other demo's on this guitar that I have found. I will order mine in a few weeks. Thank you John.
You have done amazing work for Zoey's Place, nearly $3,000.00 pounds is truley great.
Thank you and to everyone who has donated and purchased a guitar.
And what a great guitar to close out the Charity with!
I liked all of the sounds, especially the third position on the clean setting!
Plus, I love the looks of this guitar, the white pick ups and knobs really set it off, as well as the maple neck.
I'll be watching for the auction, I think it's time to bid and win!!
Great premiere, John, great job as always!
I was looking for reviews for this guitar. I loved the Pink Floyd songs you played!
No guilt John. Your effort has helped big time. Nuff said.
I like how John calls the ST57-DG, She :).Thanks! for the review John
Great show on the charity John.. What a wonderful thing for such a noble place.. I hate to even entertain the thought of kids that young, or any kid for that matter, facing their destiny in that manner... God Bless their souls... Thanks for the video, my Friend...
Nice review John. Congratulations on all you have achieved with the campaign.
hi John.Frey Bentos and Woodbines on a guitar - sounds like a real working man's guitar for sweating away at tough gigs.i'm sure that guitar would sound amazing through the spuds and butter of a good Sunday afternoon jam.
You REALLY know how to deliver a very clear and concise instrument review.
I regret being so “late to your party”.
Carry on, mate. 😎👍👍
Nah dude, you're incredible who started all this!
It's so awesome that you started that guitars for good causes and donated the money, and it's so nice to see that it's still going on :)
Allthough it's sad that it's shutting down :/
Pretty great guitar. Nice charity work, too.
In '81 i moved to a place.
New neighbor bought a Strat same time i had, '76, his blk with a blk guard, me a ht sunburst. DG aside, i'd take the sb. I miss it all the time.
Thanks for another great video John. Been kicking around getting a st style guitar lately and this video pushed me over the edge. Can’t beat the value for money and it’s upgradable. Hearing you chime your way through some of my favorite band’s sounds clinched it. Hope I get a good one . 🤞
Even if you factor in the cost of paying to have it set up, they're still ridiculous good value 😀
great vid john i could listen to you play all day
01:43 Yep, she caught you, now you'll have to answer for those few million quid missing from the bank account :D
I just wanted to say that about a year ago I started to take interest in guitar and to look around the internet doing research on the subject. One of the first places on youtube I started to watch videos about this was your channel John, mainly because I wanted to get the truth about Harley Benton guitars. Although it took me long enough, as of yesterday I am the proud owner of one, I dare say in large degree thanks to you and your wonderful videos, from which I have learned so much about, if not yet how to actually play one, atleast about a ton of guitar related stuff. For which I extend you a very big thanks John!!! Yes, I'm blaming you!!! :D And Eytschpi42 as well among others.
The one I got was an SC-Custom VB, B-stock, but in this case B must stand for brilliant since it only has some slight defects on the finish around the volute edges (superficial cracks). Over the moon with it. Not a youtuber nor do I intend to be one, but if you'd like to see it I put together a little 3 minute unboxing video: ua-cam.com/video/Imfl9YApk28/v-deo.html
And yeah, Dave Simpson is a wonderful guitarrist and guy, I enjoy his channel very much, saw that video where he just had to shave down the neck so he could get it to his liking. Apparently he got the "Fat Strat" but without any humbuckers.
Thank you once again and all the best John!
Good stuff. Looks a lot better with the non-treated fingerboard.
Good review with some fine playing.
Thanks for posting.
I agree, I found the neck profile comfortably numb, mate
All set and ready when you are John
Been looking at one of these for a bit. Nice review John.
Cheers 👍
Terrific review John
Dude! I enjoyed this!
John, awesome job as always. I will NEVER understand why these makers of Strat and Tele copies put these I-been-had shredder type 12-16” radius necks on their guitars. Do they not realize how many more units they would move with proper 7 1/4 or 9.5 radius necks?
I agree (aside from the fact that I prefer a flatter board). It just seems confusing to put a "modern" radius board on a "vintage" spec instrument. I suppose it comes down to tooling costs & they have to pick a compromise... They'd lose more sales putting a 7.25" radius on an Ibanez clone than putting a 14" radius on a Fender clone. So if they're only paying for one set of tooling to make all the necks, you can understand the thinking... I suppose 😀
@@JRobsonGuitar Hi John sorry I'm 2 years late. First off thanks for the very informative video. After watching this I was wondering if I was to buy this guitar at such an affordable price could I modify it by fitting a new neck to a classic neck radius. Realistically I'd much rather buy a Squier classic vibe 50s black Strat but since I'm on a budget would this option be possible.
Nice review. I saw Dave's review of his Harley Benton and i was surprised that he had issue with the neck in terms of being very uncomfortable as well. I have 4 HB's and the necks are different on each model i have. The CST-24T is the thinnest, the TE90-FLT is a slightly thin neck but fatter than the CST-24T. Then the SC-Custom and TE-70 Black paisley both have about the same thickness, full but not fat. I think that HB's necks are very good. I really enjoy your productions and playing. TY.
Cheers mate 👍
Thanks Mr. Robson for being such a class act in every way! Well done with your charity work and with another great video. Have learned a lot from you. Cheers!
I' ve ordered the Guitar and today arrived (10.05.21). First Thing: It's 100% not a Gotoh Bridge, It's a no Name.
2. Vintage stagged Polepieces and a 350mm fretboard Radius 😂...sorry totaly sensless...you can't set the Pickup height, because 3.and 4. Polepiece are too close to the String or the orhers are way too far away from the Strings... this Pickups work for 7,5 Radius Necks but do not work with a 15 Radius...that fact. It's s like putting a stagged Vintage Singlecoils on a Ibanez RG...350 mm Neck 😂 🙈
You made me want a Frey Bentos pie! not had one for over 20 years ;)
Delicious 😀
So, with a whammy upgrade and some locking tuners, does this compare favourably to the cst 24t in terms of overall quality for the price? Does yours have the one ply or three ply scratchplate? Other reviews have noted the pick guard they got was different from the single ply in the specs. For me that's kind of a big deal. Dave Simpson made that Bullet sound phenomenal. In your opinion would a squire affinity make a modding platform equal this dg Harley? Thanks John I try to support your efforts as much as I can, keep up the good work
Yes this does have the single ply scratch plate. The Squier Affinity is a good guitar too, but you get more for your money with the HB due to the ceramic pups in the Squier vs alnico in this guitar. Also the Tusq nut is a nice touch.
The CST24T & this guitar are about neck & neck in terms of value for money, I'd say.
Harley benton st 57 and st 59 are the same?
A great charity John.👍
Mine plays well, the fret ends are nice and smooth. It needed a very minor neck adjustment and it's very playable. One thing though... it really needs 1 more fret. At least one more to be able to play the solo in another brick how the wall part 2 solo and the 2nd solo in comfortably numb. It's just not there. For $166 us that's my only complaint about this guitar.
are there any affordable strats (especially harley benton) that have a 7,25 or 9,5 inch fretboard radius? they all seem to be between 12 and 16 inch
Most squires have the 9.5
There are no Harley Benton at 9.5". You'll get that from a Squier, except the Contemporary series which comes with 12".
@@Leo_ofRedKeep yep that's true.
I am totally sold on Harley Benton instruments. I have had enough of these 3k guitars that should cost 500 quid. I have some expensive signature guitars, but I am done and over with that.
I don't know how the guitar manufacturers can justify such high price tags on guitars which are made by machine, and assembled by mostly unskilled staff.
I don't include the custom shop or master builds, because there are also some creative design going on behind the scene.
But for the gigging musician, with what we get paid a night, I can't afford it any more.
Thank god for Harley Benton!
This guitar doesn't have tone control for the bridge pickup, right? If so, is that a red flag? Thank you!!
Easy enough mod to carry out, so not really a red flag
thx for your review
Hello there! I bought this guitar, it needs new tuners: could you give me a link to buy new ones that would fit well?
Best budget tuners are Vanson & you can find them on eBay 👍
Im drawn between this and the 59HM
Estou pensando seriamente em adquiri-la!! Aqui em Lisboa ela custa cerca de 166€! pelo que ela custa e pelo som que ela tem, creio que seja uma otima opção!!
Wonderful playing!
Very Gilmore-esque.
John, can you tell me how, if at all, this guitar differs from my ST62MN VW.
From memory, the ST62 is quite similar. This has slightly better tuners & a chunkier trem block though.
thanks
Bridge pickups sounded kinda nice. Overall though good enough for what you pay.
Can you make a video like "Best Strat for the price in 2023"?
Guitars for good causes was a master stroke despite the initial "this might be a daft idea", however how about gear for good causes , is line 6 as good or as bad as they say, is Thomans range good value,is mix and match a good thing, valve or not valve whats a good rig for newbies what do I buy to get a sound close to my hero and other great guitarists like, em, John Robson for example I'd chip in few quid
I tried doing some gear reviews. I did a Blackstar amp which didn't sell (I ended up buying it myself & giving it away as a competition prize), and a couple of pedals which I struggled to shift. It seems that it was the guitars that got people bidding rather than the other gear so that's what I pursued. When even the guitars started to hang around unsold, I decided it was time to draw things to a close. I ended up using the last £60 in the GoFundMe (along with £100 from my own pocket) to buy this guitar 😀
@@JRobsonGuitar Cheers john Yeah I saw that and at the end of the day it has to be feasible all round but thanks for the response always great to hear back
Respect! you can certainly play well my friend.👍
Sorry to hear you have wound down your charity John but I do know that the bottom has fallen out of the used market due to the great cheap guitars available, which is great for beginners and pro's alike but no good when you have a guitar collection to fund your pension lol. Keep up the good work you are appreciated John.
Well the gibsons can go in the trash now.
You should've had DG's guitar available to do a proper comparison! LOL!
That there paisley tele with the p90. Have you reviewed that yet ?
Yes mate. Here you go: ua-cam.com/video/hGGlL2_A0_o/v-deo.html
Hi John, don't you sometimes notice the limitiations of the Harley Benton guitars?
I own three and i love them, but I think I can tell a quality difference compared to my Fender telecaster which cost me approx. 700 pound back in the day.
The Fender's pickups seem a little more nuanced and defined - not a huge difference, but noticable.
The big plus is that I have gotten three guitars and a wealth of sound options which is very inspirational.
Greetings from Denmark :-)
On the really cheap ones, yes.. . The TE20 springs to mind, but once you get up towards the £200 mark the differences are negligible - no more than you'd expect between two similarly priced guitars really.
@@JRobsonGuitar - Ok, I will try another comparison. You're probably right :-).
I've got the SC Custom p90 in glossy black, and it is absolutely gorgeous. I highly recommend it.
sounds good to me
Frey Bentos with meat in? Haven't seen one like that for a while.
I have to wait til the wife goes out to indulge my Fray Bentos habit 😀
What does your wife think about all those guitars all over the wall ? Gotta be better than wallpaper ☺
Is it a heavy guitar?
No 😀
Yorkshire?
Aye 😄
No "neck blend" switch then? I thought Gilmour was famous for it
Pretty easy mod to do though 😀
Aye, it is, but that and the radius seem a bit odd for a tribute to Davey's guitar
I agree, it seems odd to give it such a flat board.
Imagine if your postcode was the guitar model number.
I would be all over this if it didn't have that damn lacquered maple fretboard.
Great relaxed review this, really great 👍. I'd be tempted by a HB guitar if they'd just pop on a more vintage radius neck for us stick in the muds who refuse to change!😊 HB must have got a huge job lot of flat necks stockpiled as they don't seem to do a single guitar with anything more rounded!
suena muy bien, nomas que pa shine on you le falto el phaser y como 10 pesos menos de GAIN jajaja
Great review John. Pity about Guitars for good causes as it's probably helped the charity a lot. Guess it's hard to sell a guitar for more than you can buy new even with your expert setup skills. Hope you will continue to review guitars when they pass through your hands. Cheers
Cheers. Got a Danelectro coming soon 😀
hey John you're a really great guy. My people have a name for it it's called a mensch. And you are a mensch with a capital m! Love you videos subscribe and will keep on doing so. please excuse any typos misspelled words definitely lack of punctuation I'm not illiterate I'm not even the bad typo I'm just legally blind I use speech to text doesn't says that it wants to sincerely yours, Bob the blind bedroom guitarist
I
I'm first to comment. But to be fair I'm on the premiere. Can't wait to see you tomorrow.
The fretboard should be yellow as the Chinese previous model.
It's quite controversial: most people like satin feeling and like a maple fretboard to age visibly. A poly finished maple neck is a bit odd - but you could always buy a squier CV for that.
The neck looks like they forgot to finish it, looks bad.
Aside from a bit of fret sprout, the neck is a peach.
As always : nice, Great Britain at its Best.
Designed in Germany and built in China, you mean?
Werner Brösel Geordie lad !
Geordie? I'm a smoggy, mate 😀
oh .... shit.... i corrected the "r" and the heart ist gone with the wind.......
This tone is not even REMOTELY close to Gilmore .
Well spotted. In fairness, I never claimed to be doing a David GILMOUR impersonation. It's a strat copy which aims to look a bit like Mr G's guitar. I was judging it purely on those grounds & thought it would be a bit of a hoot if I jammed a little over a Floyd-esque jam track from my stash.
Sounds like turd on ice...
Never heard one of those.
So what was the unfinished business mate ? A wank or a poo?....Thanks for raising money for charity.Respect.