The only way to know is play and hear them, Jam sessions are good for that, in Surrey, got lots of retired blokes with very expensive guitars, aspirational thing, most of them can't play very well, but it's something they wanted, I never take my expensive guitars to Jams personally, but people are often surprised by how my cheap guitars sound, that's because I have them setup by a Tech who knows what they are doing and I change pups, hardware and wiring where required, I can afford expensive antique instruments, but rarely do, never been a better time to buy new guitars.
I agree the problem is at 400-600 dollars you can pretty much guarantee the quality of what you are getting. With things like Harley Benson unless you can physically test it out you’re taking a risk
Yeah you’re right. As far as propaganda.. back in the day off brand guitar manufacturers did make an inferior product. Just remember with every stereo type there is a hint of truth. Back in the 80’s and even the 90’s there were a lot of sh!tty guitars put out and sold to people that thought they were getting a good deal. It really wasn’t until the early to mid 2000’s when cheap guitars were actually decent
@@goalscorer20I agree 100% Luckily if you don’t like the guitar or it has problems you can always send it back (Thomann). I’ve had problems with Harley Bentons and although they are unbelievable for the price they always need a bit of work. But imho, once they are properly set up they can be excellent instruments
That's the thing exactly. I'll be 50 next year, I don't play out these days, and I'm realistically never going to be even a semi-pro, I was just never that good. I have US and Japanese Fenders (I never fancied a Gibson enough to pay Gibson prices), but I don't think I could ever justify spending that kind of money again. I have three HBs now: A JA25th, which I adore, a DC Junior, and an MR Classic. The additional wrinkle is I'm left handed. Gibson don't do a Junior option left handed at any price I'd be prepared to pay for such a utilitarian design, Fender is very limited in left handed options (some models you have to go well up the tree on the US line to get a left hander at all, even if the range is exponentially better for lefties than it was ten years ago. Squier is still limited to two black Strats and two blond Teles for left handers). I've been hunting for a left handed Mosrite style for over 30 years, and the MR Classic is the first production line option (as opposed to a completely custom built guitar that's out of what I can justify spending) I've found available left handed in that time/ I wish HB had given other finish options in the lefty than the burst (sunburst being the default only option for left handers so much over the years has really killed it for me), but at the price I couldn't turn it down... I've handled enough instruments over the years that I can quickly see the difference between the high end stuff and these - but in the last decade or so, that gap has narrowed significantly. An awful lot of the time now with the big brands it's the right headstock shape and the name on it that are doing an awful lot of the heavy lifting in justifying the price to the market. Of course, Thomann's model helps - they're effectively selling these at wholesale prices direct to the customer rather than via retailers. I suspect they'd be double the price or so via the traditional sales model. What's so great about HB is it can put a playable guitar in the hands of almost anyone affordably. The setups and finish on my three as they arrived was hugely impressive. I was braced for sharp fret ends and all sorts, but no.... lovely. The bridge on the DC and the MR feels a bit cheap, but I'm letting it break in as it were. If needsbe down the track I'll replace it with something better, but I do think there's a lot to be said for living with a guitar as is for a period of time - often you discover that the received wisdom of "part X is inferior, and must be replaced as standard" isn't really the case. Being "better" on paper is one thing - if the ear and the hand don't need it, though, why pay it? I'm excited to see what they come up with in the future. The spec on their Fusion Series and the 25th Aniversary models is superb. My JA25th - for less than the price of a nice Squier CV offset (which isn't available left handed anyhow) has a roasted maple neck,. alder body, and stainless steel frets in the laurel board. The locking tuners aren't a dealbreaker for me, but a nice bonus nonetheless. I'd love to try one of the Big Tone G-style models, though no lefties there just yet. I think that if HB keep working with their top end stuff (hopefully more of the classic / vintage style lines that are my preference, I'll never be a superstrat guy), they could be hitting hard into the middle-market where JHS's Vintage brand are now starting to rival Fender MIM in some quarters. There will, after all, always be a place for good, honest, workingman's instruments. Observing many workingmusicians over the years, I've probably seen many more Mexican Fenders and the likes on stage than I have top-end US built.
@@GroundScore710 You could probably replace all of the electronics and hardware with the ones that Gibson use and still not even come close to the price that they charge
This video is what finally sold me on the 450 - I'm a middle aged man, and learning guitar is my apparent midlife crisis. I'm shocked by how well it plays straight out of the box. I keep looking for things that might be wrong with it, and can't find any real flaws. The quality for the price is kind of unbelievable.
Im always happy to read positive comments on budget instruments and years ago they would make me excited to try the product but nowadays I always consider the source writing it. Anyone can write anything online but not everyone is an expert or should be taken serious . Not to be a d**k but reviews like yours I tend to ignore and I feel others should too. Main reason being : you’re a new player . You don’t really know what makes a good guitar or not . As someone who’s been playing for years and years a guitar to be thoroughly inspected has to be put through multiple tests . Checking the frets , fret out , how well the nuts are cut , how well it stays in tune etc . As a beginner you are new to everything and you don’t quite know how to judge what makes a great guitar.
@@jayz6008 Been playing 18 years, I have an SC550+ (admittedly twice the cost). It's flawless. I have Gibsons, Epiphones, LTDs, Ibanez and Squire. It's better than the Epis and the neck is done as nicely as the Gibson and Ibanez and LTD. Its from the same factory as the LTD. Cost less than half. Came with EMG Fat 55 pickups that are now my best sounding PAFs. Now I want to try one if these cheap ones. Of course it won't be as good but if they can hold their own against my Epiphones (and I suspect they can) it will still be an incredible deal and with some better hardware and a few Tonerider PAFs and maybe a bit of fretwork it should easily sound as good as a Gibson. On my SC550+ I'm not changing a thing. Except buying a second one as backup because it's my favourite guitsr now. I like the Gibson as much in theory but I constantly stress about damaging it, my sweat has already eaten the gorgeous nitro finish. So I just play it at home now and always wipe it down and keep the room temp controlled. They Harley Benton i can have fun with. And yet I treat it the same as the Gibson because... well it feels like money. As well made as the 1000€ LTD Les Paul but sounds better because the pickups are nicer (PAF vs 59+JB, I don't like the JB as much, gonna replace it).
Surprisingly the Harley sounded tighter on high gain 😳 Didn't expect that! Gibson sounded like Gibson should sound, the Harley sounded BIG beyond my expectations. Thanks for your excellent video mate, it really cleared up a few things in my mind and helped me to decide. Keep it up! 💪
@@ignaciorodriguezmelgarejo9526 the only difference I could hear is the output of the pick-ups. It sounds like the Gibson has higher output pick-ups. That's why WeeFreeMan78 said the HB sounds cleaner with high gain. It's either the pickups, or the way the guitars are set-up. The pick-ups on the Gibson could be set a bit higher than on the HB.
For about $100, buy a cheap equalizer and compressor, and you can mimic the Les Paul, and with the coil split of the HB, do a whole lot more. If you add a good multiFX and good amp combo, you get years worth of different sounds to play with. That is what I did. The HB I bought needed a setup with new strings. The equalizer and compressor shape the sound so that if the HB pickups sound muddy with more gain, or even more bass response, you can clean up the sound, but still have that nice full sound in the low end that the LP has. With a compressor and a little practice, you can switch to that single coil sound in the middle of a song, and not have too much of a volume drop to control. You can also buy great Boss equipment, and multiFX of choice, with the HB and still have some money left over, if you want to spend £2000.
I've had a Harley Benton SC450 for about an hour and I'm very pleased thus far. It looks amazing, it feels amazing, and - most importantly - it sounds amazing.
Just ordered one, I’ve had a Gibson LP traditional in 2016 it was terrible had to go back to Gibson, for a fret job ,there was also a chunk out of the rosewood fretboard.
@@TheYjmfan That's the crap that pisses me the hell off about Gibson in general. Charge the paying customer an astronomical price for a severely flawed product. I own a 1999 Les Paul Standard with a 60's profile neck; it remains my favorite guitar but it is also by no means perfect. The original wiring was crap, the nut was cut all wrong, and of course the damn thing refuses to stay in tune. ( Had to buy a String Butler which is bullshit in the first place) I completely understand people looking for cost effective alternatives; if Gibson would care enough to pay more attention to quality control rather than taking the approach of selling their products as a status symbol for the wealthy, they never would of had to file for bankruptcy in the first place.
The only diference is in the name of the headstock. They both sound the same and also look good. For the same price as that Gibson, I would have enough money to buy 8 or 12 other Harley Benton guitars in many design styles and pickup configurations. A very nice guitar collection !
You nailed the point perfectly. I own 4 different HB guitars. And i would never DREAM to compare them to a 2000+ dollars/pounds/eu guitar and expect the same manifacture. That's just not realistic. BUT, thanks to HB, i can have 4 different guitars for half that 2000 mark, and have them in 4 different tunings, which if you're a recording artist like myself, it is a GODSEND not to have to tune every time. Just plug the guitar you need and you're good to go. Not to mention, you can easily swap the hardware and pickups off if you don't like them and you'd still be under that 2000 dollars/pounds/eu/whatever mark. The only upgrade i did on my 3 hb (the 4th had it from the get go) are locking tuners. That's in my opinion the only essential upgrade these cheap guitars need.
The Gibby does sound better, in almost (almost) every test , but not to the tune of a couple of grands worth. That Harley B sounds amazing in comparison, for the money. Awesome video mate, thumbs skyward! 👍👍👍☮☮☮
Yes a very good comparison video. I have the HB with P90's which I bought a couple of years ago. This is slightly cheaper as it has a basswood body {£125} There were a couple of construction issues, the main one was the bridge posts weren't flush with the body which looked like it could be a problem in the future but it turns out not to be so as the bridge is stable and so is the tuning. 6 months ago I "splashed out" {£250} on the 550 II which is an upgrade by incorporating stainless steel frets and a beautiful veneer in a cherry flame. Unfortunately it's not a patch on the £125 jobbie! I've never had the good fortune to play a Gibson but your video does prove one thing; The Law of Diminishing Returns certainly applies re: guitars. Why pay thousands for an instrument that sounds remarkably similar to something that is more than 10 times cheaper? My experience with HB is very good. They have improved their QC and l like dealing with Thomann. Hope this helps your viewers and the p90's on that cheap LP are very nice.
I've seen and played several Les Paul Standards and HB 450's. The Harley Bentons hold up quite nicely for a fraction of the price. Plus, I have to say that quality control is WAY better at Harley Benton.
i OWN the SC-450PLUSE LH-LD And its beautiful. It play's great! I use it with the VOX 20x. And man it comes alive! I may be bias but I thought the SC450 Blew your guitar away. lol! Oh by the way. Thoman really blew the shipping on the first try! The guitar came with a broken neck. And parts falling off. After I called them. They told me to keep the broken 1 and sent me a new 1. That was perfect in every way! Thanks for taking care of business THOMAN!!!!!!
I have the exact same HB as you. Had it for 2 years never played it I bought some Fender ultras. Love them. Then got bored pulled out that HB and learned what all the dials did and was impressed. I figured now I must have a Gibson the real thing there must be a total different sound or experience. Cost $2800 and a day later I had to pull out that HB again. Lowered the action it’s spot on. Gibson is worth the money if you have it. It’s status I sound terrible on both. It’s all in the player. Not the equipment. It’s a hobby for me. I love all my guitars. Just have to learn how to play. You play incredible. Great video.
I love my Harley Benton. Bought this model in this finish years ago when its design was more closely to a real Les Paul (the upper curve has changed on the new HB models) and the only difference was the colour and headstock. That was in my G'n'R/Slash phase hahaha I've since then put a set of EMG 81/60 and currently a set of 57/66 in. Great guitar for the money for sure!
I think I'd just I'd just buy 4 or 5 of the Harley Bentons and swap the pickups, IF I were concerned about the tiny difference, and then enjoy all the money I still had left over, instead of buying the Gibson. 😉👍 Nice video man. I hope this opens some eyes.
They both sounded great except that gain was like a fuzzbox sound one I'm not fond of. The clean sounds both great though the Gibson warmer and slightly wider sounding. Having said that the HB kept up very well! Great comparison Jake!
DAAAAAAMNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!! That Harley Benton sounded AWESOME!!!!!!! $158 compared to $2000.00?!!!!! I have 2 Strat Style Harleys myself that I LOVE!!! I rounded out my guitar purchases last year. 2 years ago I bought a Epiphone GoldTop Les Paul Standard (My only Les Paul, so I wanted to get as close to a Gibson as I could, Epiphone being under Gibson's auspices👍😁) but had I been in the market for another one I would DEFINITELY buy the Harley Benton Too!!!!! WOW!!!! 😲 Great Job with the comparison, my good fellow!!! 👍👍
I got a SC-550SL and I’m blown away by how good it plays and sounds. The hardware could use some upgrading, but wow for the price.! Amazing! I’M looking to buy another one soon.
Awesome, HB is putting other companies to shame. I just ordered the 550 Plus with EMD's and Maple top, pretty excited to get it this week.
Рік тому+2
I'm coming back to this Video every two weeks, you do a great job in playing, I think you can sell any guitar the way you play, the cheaper brands should send you guitars and a buying link and I bet many would buy, that is at least the feeling I have whenever I watch this video :) So now it only needs to be answered whether to go for the 450 P90, the 550 EMG or the SC Custom EMG Ocean Flame :) Greetings from Germany, DIrksón!
Nice to finally find a video on this which shows them side by side. The body shape is clearly slightly varied in an attempt to placate Gibson's lawyers (you'd like to hope they'd learned their lesson after that ridiculous case against PRS, but....). The HB is actually much closer in body shape than I'd expected - not to mention that, amusingly enough, it has a more pleasing variation from the original on the headstock shape than most any Epiphone design....
Love my Standard, but also love my HB. Had it over a year now, it holds up keeps tune and still looks sweet. PLUS.... I don't worry about the HB getting bumped banged or swiped. pretty nice.
Bought mine 3 yrs ago with the intent to change out pick ups. No need to though. Sounds great Once u tweek ur amp to accommodate the microphonic pick ups. The feel of the guitar is also amazing
I just learned about Harley Benton and went to the reviews. And WOW. The HB sounds tighter and a little brighter that the Gibson. There were instances where it just seemed like the Gibson was just louder sometimes too loud, the low end was really booming especially in the neck position. While the HB sounded balanced in every pickup position. Thanks for the review! It helps a ton!
For me as a hobby guitar player, the HB 450 plus Is more than enough, surprisingly a very good guitar that remains everytime in tune. I sold my Epiphone Dot because it was out of tune every five minutes and the bridge pickup hadn't enough Power as the HB It has.
Long time Maverick and Ibanez player and grabbed the Harley Benton PRS style for a cheap fixed bridge. Definitely not disappointed, sounds great, plays lovely and holds its tuning fine
Great review! Great playing. The gibson picks sound hotter.thsn the HB ones. I have the HB 450 Plus and it's a great guitar. Had to do a setup to change action height. Tuners stay in tune. The nut will be the next mini upgrade and and overall fretboard and fret clean and condition.
The HBs are very good quality at their price points. I've been a guitar tech and luthier now since 1985 and I build guitars that are on the same level of fit and finish as the best that comes out of the PRS factory, no lie. I've also been a guitar tech for all this time. I've found HBs to be very impressive at their price points and recommend them for up to mid level players. They are a reliably good choice. They typically are very well set up but will need additional tweaking if you are really looking for a perfect setup. They do have their limitations.
@@wyattsdad8561 Materials quality, hardware quality, electronics quality, finish quality....they're just not premium in ANY respect. Doesn't mean they're junk. But you won't find Lollar pickups and Schaller hardware on them, or a hand polished nitro finish, or AAA grade one piece mahogany backs and 5A grade flamed maple tops on them.
@@wyattsdad8561l don't see any. Don't know why anyone would say these are not stage or recording worthy just because they don't have a big name on them.
@@nvjohansson9741 yeah I’m not a luthier or guitar tech so I’m just curious what a professional sees. But I do know of stories from the classic rock days in recording studios where they used off brand guitars to record some of our most favorite songs. Like cheap instruments of the time and they sounded great in the recordings.
I have the SC450 with P90s and it is tremendous. I went a little nutty during covid and I bought several HBs and going into it not expecting a Gibson or a PRS was good because I was not disappointed at all. There were minor issues here and there, but the thing for me with Harley Benton is that if you are comfortable doing setups and upgrades, these are a no brainer. They are good period, but especially good given the cost. Very tasty playing BTW!
@@antreb15 That's awesome! Have you seen IYV guitars? Very well made. The company is Korean, but they make them in Vietnamese factories. I grabbed a hollow single cut and a Mustang copy from them. Great all around and super cheap.
@@antreb15 I don't have the Gibson, I sold mine and spent some of the £1800 on more Harley Bentons, Seymour Duncan pups, pots, and hardwear. It you get a well made HB, up-grade.
I've had my Harley Benton SC-Custom for about a year now and I find it to be a solid instrument. The model I bought is a bit pricier than the 450, but it's holding up well and the EMG active pickups sound great.
I would go for the Harley Benton (always….🥰) Drive a Marshall and a Fender together and your world of sound opens up wider then ever before This setup will compare with tonecontrol, gain and sweetspot to give
thank you for this review. in a lot of ways i think you can just rely on a good amp to really be the thing. the HB sounds good enough, love the color, and love the $ vs $$$$$$$. lets more players have access to guitar styles they like. thumbs up!
Definitely not £2700 improvement with the Gibson. I had the very same Gibson Les Paul. When I did this comparison myself, I put Seymour Duncans on the Harley Benton, CTS pots, threw away the coil tap. Re-wired with vintage cable, leveled and polished the frets, changed the hardwear. Then sold the Gibson and bought some more Harley Bentons and did the same upgrades. Now I have 3 guitars that play and sound just as good as any £3,000 guitar. For me good sense took over the, It's a Gibson so it has to be better. The fact is that the Gibson had smaller frets and when bending strings I could feel my finger on the fretboard, it never bothered me till I played the Harley with larger frets, it just felt better. I really do not miss the Gibson. The best Harley for me is their PRS copy. With a set of Seymour pups it blew the Les Paul out the water. Mind You I have been building, repairing guitars for a long time so I understand not everyone can do what I do. What I have discovered is that Harley Benton is hit and miss, but they do sometimes use very good woods. When you get one that has good solid woods then it's well worth upgrading. My upgraded CST is an absolute amazing guitar. It cost me a £180 and looked stunning.
The difference in sound is small, but it is there. The Gibson sounded to me to have more bass in the mix. The cleans sounded more buttery if that’s a thing. And the dirty sounded a bit heavier, but the HB is a good guitar. When you buy a Gibson your just looking to have that build quality, material selection, and peace of mind knowing you got the real deal. As a beginner I would have cherished my HB les Paul. Love the new Korean, Chinese, Japanese, guitars. But, I will be buried with my Gibson. US fuknA!
Great comparison vid mate! The sound difference is night and day compared to a Gibson but the Harley sounds tremendous for the price. Ive owned a few Harley Benton guitars over the years and never had a bad one or any issue with one. Harley's get amazing reviews for good reason.
To date, I've had about a dozen HB's go through my hands... Been playing 50 years, owned and played EVERYTHING. The HB's are great guitars. Made in Vietnam at the same factory that Vintage uses. I currently have the HB Les Paul P90s gold top. Once a bit of overdrive is added..it sounds pure late 40's/early 50's swing guitar heaven.
I received the SC-450 today. The action was pretty high in the middle, so I ended up cranking the truss rod a quarter turn counter-clockwise and lowered the bridge. I'm not really a luthier, but I got it so that it's decent. I don't know whether I just don't have the expertise to get it perfect. It's got a pinch of buzz now. Maybe one more quarter turn? I wouldn't call the color "lemon drop." In person, it looks more like it's made out of cheddar cheese or mustard. I'm not unhappy with it. I like it enough that I sat down and played it for a few hours straight and then came back later and played it for a few hours more. It's a nice guitar to drag around to bars without having to worry about someone beating me up and stealing my Gibson.
Great video comparison, your right the Gibson pickups, they're alittle more hotter but for the amount spent, you could do all the mods on that Harley Benton and make that Harley Benton sound amazing and play amazing. Have a great day
On some of the settings, the HB actually sounded a tiny bit better. The Gibson was warmer but in some cases a little muddier and individual note clarity was lost. On other settings the Gibson was quite a bit better, where it had nicer overtones that the HB just lacked. It sounded fine on its own but you could hear a difference when you played the Gibson. The fact that you can buy a pair of Burstbuckers for between £240 and £320 depending on the version means you could probably get the exact sound for a hell of a lot less money.
@@grumpy8413 different pickup placement affects the tone. HB is different, but with something a bit closer to the gib placement it would work for sure. hb just lacks in the looks department lol
The kids growing up now have such quality instruments to start with. I'm a pickup builder, and test all my pickups in my sc harley benton. It's just a great guitar for that money. It even has some features the standard doesn't have like the neck relief at the back and the coil splitting... If you're advancing, put some seymour duncans in it and you have a great player!
I have a HB SC450. What a great guitar for the money! Not mentioned here is the perfect fretwork on at least my SC450. I would put it up against any high priced guitar. Absolutely no sharp edges or fret sprout. It feels superb. Mine came with cheap dime pots so I replaced them and also the toggle switch. Still a hell of a deal!
I really wished the SC450 would include stainless steel frets. Probably would go with the SC550 for that reason. Refretting is expensive, disruptive, and includes some risk from damage during the procedure.
Great comparison video mate. Love that lemon burst on the Harley Benton. And the tones are amazing for the price. I'll probably pull the trigger on that anytime soon haha. Great video. You got my sub.
Go for it!I have the 450plus,in Honey Burst;-personal preference, colourwise, I like it better than the lemon drop,but,hey,whatever floats your boat. No quality issues whatsoever.Beautiful instrument,arrived from Thomann in three days to U .K. via UPS. Other than changing the strings to Slinky’s,(personal preference again😀),I have had to make no changes/adjustments whatsoever. Almost in tune when it arrived,set up well before delivery. Only thing to bear in mind;- it’s quite a heavy little beast!
Thanks so much for the comment and sub!! Yeah they’re really great. I’m hoping to get another SC on my channel very soon. Will be good to compare the two 😊
@@JakeLeighGuitar I have the SC-550 Plus EMG and i haven't really played my Custom or my Epi 60s standard, its amazing.. and the retroactive fat 55s are amazing pups.
I had a very expensive Gibo LP, it was always always a worry gigging it, never took it to a Jam, incase it got dinged or nicked, sold it, now have an old Tokai LP black beauty, not a cheap Guitar, sounds better than the Gibson did, thinking of buying a lefty HB for my son, the pups sound good in that test, but if not happy, could always swap with some Iron Gear, they transformed his Epiphone SG, some cheap guitars are amazing nowadays, I have a Jet HSS Strat copy, 150 quid, changed pups, now gigging it, it's that good!
Yeah the IronGear stuff is great, I highly recommend their pickups, especially for cheaper guitars. A lot of my friends have done the same as you, started using more affordable gear live and for jams, I think it's definitely a sensible option! Thanks for the comment!
@@JakeLeighGuitar Expensive Guitar and woman are wasted on me, inexpensive is good, as long as they play nice, and you can have more without feeling guilty.
I bought this exact model in the Harley Benton, I changed two of the tone and volume knobs and removed the scratch plate, trying to get that Gary Moore look, for the price really good guitar.
I had been directed toward the 550 sc 2 , however, this helps me because I am more drawn to the 450 because of the finish on one of them. The 550 is also a possibility.
I've had my HB for about 4/5 years now, only did set up the action to my liking, but still everything, hardware wise, is original, and with a good amp (usually I use Marshalls at the studio/stage) and some good pedals, you can make it sound amazing and it's very versatile ! I don't really play that much anymore, but this guitar held it's own doing studio sessions and going on the road for shows (Blues, rock and Metal) for about 2 years. Never had heard of HB before I saw the one that a friend bought it from thomann, and he didn't like how it felt, I loved the look of it (sort of dark/mellow Honey burst), the sound, but it really was not set up properly out of the box. Traded a pedal for it, took it home, messed with it, and from that moment on, I can say I won't trade it for a Gibson except for the fact that it's a Gibson and it's worth more.
I got myself a SC-450Plus LD Vintage Series and am 100% amazed with sound. Along with it I took the HB Strat, the ST-90SA Swamp Ash DLX Series and that one is also 100% awesome. Together total under 300 EUR... unbelievable! I have you to thank for it mate! So, thanx :) p.s. Some months later I added the HB-35Plus Lemon and boy does all that sounds good :) Note - all three under 500 eur total :) :) :)
Look, all I can say is that I have 3 HB's and 2 Gibsons (among others) and I gig the HB's because I don't have to worry about a thing. I did however change the Tesla pups in my SC-550 II BCF because they were a bit muddy. I put in Classic 57's and it is a whole new guitar with a set of Elixers on it. They play well and look great and like I said. If I so desire to do my Pete Townsend impression, it's not a great loss! 😃
Off Topic a bit.. but i just bought my first Gibson!, Always had ephiphone Paul's but really couldn't wait for a legitiment gibson Les paul lol ,its the delux would you say the standard would of been better or naw?, all i really noticed is that the humbuckers are smaller🤔
I got a SC-450 on HB finish, the guitar is beautiful, fit and finish, setup attention to detail top notch, it could easier cost a lot more and you will be happy to pay for it, However I was tempted to compare it with current Gibson offerings, I had a Gibson Les Paul Custom and a Special, that I sold long ago ( some 10 years ) and settled on a Stratocaster.., so I wanted to see what was with the new Standards that are lauded as being as good as vintage ones. So I went to a shop and compared my Harley Benton, with several Gibsons and Sires, including the Studio, Standard 60s, Standard 50s a Gibson Custom Shop and a Sire L7. Acoustically the SC-450 is on par with all of them but the Custom Shop, that was noticiably louder acoustically, that can be because of the selection of wood and the thin lacquer finish, also about weight, the Standard 50 was 4.6Kg, Standard 60 4.8Kg the Custom Shop 4 Kg, the Sire 3,8 and the HB 3.6Kg. So the HB wins on that category, holding 1Kg more for some extended time on your shoulders is significant, or you could go for the Custom Shop but then that will cost you more than 5000. About feel, the Nitro Lacquer sure feels different but the finish on the HB doesn't feel bad per se, I liked more the satin finish neck of the Sire, and other Harley Benton offerings like the basses have also same nicer feeling satin finish, maybe in future versions this SC-450 could get satin finish necks, but actually after some minutes playing I am not paying attention much to it, Nitro or Satin finish is nice to have but not a deal breaker, and also you could sand the neck back and refinish it. Also about feel, the Standards feel great no argument about it, the Sire is lighter and feels also good, however the headstock binding looks weird to me is quite different as the Gibson headstock bindings and was somewhat annoying to see, and also has a noticeably thiner body, that could explain the lower weight, interestingly the Custom Shop didn't feel right to me, is lighter, and more resonant acoustically but the feel was somewhat off, like some old guitars I remember that didn't feel right, maybe was made with "old guitar specs" I guess you have to get used to it, in that sense, the Standards and the Harley Benton feel better. Finally the most important, the sound, the Custom Shop and the Standards have more clear highs, that is quite noticeable, with tone controls maxed out they have better high frequency definition than the Harley Benton, I also compared a ES-345 with a Sire H7 they had in the shop, same thing, the Gibsons are more bright in a pleasant way. I am talking about pure clean sound, through a full tube Fender. because when you introduce overdrive or distortion the sound is not noticiably different, and actually with distortion you need to lower the treble anyway. That was very clear, acoustically the Harley Benton sounds right and very close to the Gibsons but clean electric the Gibson are better, you can also hear that in this Demo..... And more if you lower the Volume to 7 for example, is more noticeable. So it has to do probably with the Pickups, something you could try out, for example buy a set of Burstbuckers and put them on the Harley Benton, and probably you would get the same bright sparkling treble. As the Burstbuckers cost more than the Harley Benton, what I did first was to mod the Harley Benton wiring, I did 50s wiring on it and now the highs sound better at lower volume for sure, but I would need to go back and compare it now with a Standard 50s. before deciding on new Pickups. But is clear that at this price, you could buy the pickups and have a superb guitar for less as 400, that is great.
The Gibson sounded much warmer, but if someone wanted that Harley Benton to sound exactly like that Gibson all they would need to do is just change out the Pickups. Those are probably Burst Buckers in that Gibson. They sounded amazing, But I believe that Harley Benton was amazing sounding. Just not quite as warm as the Gibson. Very close though. Great sounding budget guitar. Did that Harley Benton require a setup? or was it playable out of the box?"
Outstanding video! I have the 450 Lemon Drop and it's a very well built guitar that to me, sounds great. My only con is that it is very heavy! So much so that I'm probably going to throw it up on reverb. As for the sound comparison, yeah, the Gibson does sound better. I just don't see the need for someone who is watching their budget, to blow it on one. The Harley Benton Roswell pickups do what they're supposed to and would certainly work for anyone looking for an inexpensive LP style guitar.
I also have a SC 450 + Lemon drop and it is the lightest Les Paul I never played . Maybe I was lucky but it’s not heavy at all … I used to have an Epiphone Les Paul Tribute plus which was a lot more heavy …
The Gibson sounds better I agree. However the Harley Benton comes in at £150 whereas the Gibson is over £2000. I could do £1000 of mods to that HB and make it better than the Gibson and it would still be half the price
@@NOCHAA build quality of the Hb is absolutely fine, easy to upgrade tuners, bridge, pickups, switches, frets, nut…. Can do that for under £1800 easily
Just got the same in lefty. It was a b-stock. I looked really hard for signs of use or flaws, did not find any. Spent an hour sanding the fretboard, polishing frets and oiling the board. Lowered the bridge and a 1/4 turn on the truss rod and it’s pretty good. Gonna leave it as is until I get some time with it. Rewiring it with full size pots and 50’s wiring will definitely happen, pickups we will see, maybe a magnet swap instead. It’s a damn decent guitar out of the box. For the price, excellent.
Got a 5os and 60s and that sounds like a lp no doubt . Thought the epiphone inspired by Gibson were good but they are around 600 quid . If you want a good homage at lager money that is the ticket
The other thing to consider is gigging... I used to gig with my beloved 1970s gibson, and i was SO paranoid about it getting stolen or wrecked, because I knew there was no way I could afford to replace it. But a £150 guitar... I'd still keep it safe, obviously, but I wouldn't lose my mind if someone threw a beer over it, and I'd almost (almost) be willing to trust a friend with it if i had to go for a piss, whereas my gibson was such a cause of constant worry.
Different body woods, mahogany Vs basswood, better pickups on the plus. The Plus has coil split function too. That’s from memory anyway, hope that helps!
You have great skills bro, I would like to know the name of the songs you played. The HB is insane competition for the LP. I going to buy a HB because of your vid. THANKS
As soon as I can get the ducats assembled, I'm buying a HB SC ll FR. There's too many replica LP style guitars to be paying premium dollar for equal sound. Gibson® & Fender® are becoming art museum pieces anymore...
The only edge that Gibson has over the Harley Benton is being part of history in music and heavily involved in guitar development. The rest are preferences, I'm heavily leaned towards the Harley Benton any day just because of the price point and I also have more confidence that it will stay in tune better than the Gibson (too bad the Jake didn't test this)
Ever since i saw that guy get amazing tone out of a cinderblock, i just care about playability, can change PU and settings and get sweet tone. Unless he had a rare tone cement mix, not sure, I want a Harley =)
It's the D'Daddario with the built in plastic straplocks. They've recently brought out a newer, more slimline version though with a metal straplock clip that I've started using that is much better
i have a 4 thousand dollar Gibson es345 that is junk next to this 300 dollar Ibanez 335 copy i have , that guitar is a freak of nature , best playing guitar i have had in 60 years , all this name brand and price of a guitar is all BS , i have 6 Gibson Les Pauls and 3 Epiphone Les Pauls and the Epi is my go to LP , i think i am going to buy one of the HB LP's , i just bought a HB tele that blew my mind
Not all budget brands are bad some are very poo but some are really good. Forget this basis of the most expensive is best. As some of these budgest brands just cant geg on the market like the bigger brands
![[UA] NAVI vs MOUZ | BO5 | IEM Rio 2024](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/CMBYk0cbGoA/mqdefault.jpg)
We've been sold the idea that these big brands are the only ones who can sell quality instruments. Just propaganda. Those days are coming to an end
The only way to know is play and hear them, Jam sessions are good for that, in Surrey, got lots of retired blokes with very expensive guitars, aspirational thing, most of them can't play very well, but it's something they wanted, I never take my expensive guitars to Jams personally, but people are often surprised by how my cheap guitars sound, that's because I have them setup by a Tech who knows what they are doing and I change pups, hardware and wiring where required, I can afford expensive antique instruments, but rarely do, never been a better time to buy new guitars.
😂There's zero difference
I agree the problem is at 400-600 dollars you can pretty much guarantee the quality of what you are getting. With things like Harley Benson unless you can physically test it out you’re taking a risk
Yeah you’re right. As far as propaganda.. back in the day off brand guitar manufacturers did make an inferior product. Just remember with every stereo type there is a hint of truth. Back in the 80’s and even the 90’s there were a lot of sh!tty guitars put out and sold to people that thought they were getting a good deal. It really wasn’t until the early to mid 2000’s when cheap guitars were actually decent
@@goalscorer20I agree 100%
Luckily if you don’t like the guitar or it has problems you can always send it back (Thomann). I’ve had problems with Harley Bentons and although they are unbelievable for the price they always need a bit of work. But imho, once they are properly set up they can be excellent instruments
No question the Gibson has the edge... but .. by that much?! No way in hell. They sound scarily similar. We're talking pennies
Yeah and the nowadays HB with the new Gotoh PU's and hardware makes it even better...
That's the thing exactly. I'll be 50 next year, I don't play out these days, and I'm realistically never going to be even a semi-pro, I was just never that good. I have US and Japanese Fenders (I never fancied a Gibson enough to pay Gibson prices), but I don't think I could ever justify spending that kind of money again. I have three HBs now: A JA25th, which I adore, a DC Junior, and an MR Classic. The additional wrinkle is I'm left handed. Gibson don't do a Junior option left handed at any price I'd be prepared to pay for such a utilitarian design, Fender is very limited in left handed options (some models you have to go well up the tree on the US line to get a left hander at all, even if the range is exponentially better for lefties than it was ten years ago. Squier is still limited to two black Strats and two blond Teles for left handers). I've been hunting for a left handed Mosrite style for over 30 years, and the MR Classic is the first production line option (as opposed to a completely custom built guitar that's out of what I can justify spending) I've found available left handed in that time/ I wish HB had given other finish options in the lefty than the burst (sunburst being the default only option for left handers so much over the years has really killed it for me), but at the price I couldn't turn it down...
I've handled enough instruments over the years that I can quickly see the difference between the high end stuff and these - but in the last decade or so, that gap has narrowed significantly. An awful lot of the time now with the big brands it's the right headstock shape and the name on it that are doing an awful lot of the heavy lifting in justifying the price to the market.
Of course, Thomann's model helps - they're effectively selling these at wholesale prices direct to the customer rather than via retailers. I suspect they'd be double the price or so via the traditional sales model.
What's so great about HB is it can put a playable guitar in the hands of almost anyone affordably. The setups and finish on my three as they arrived was hugely impressive. I was braced for sharp fret ends and all sorts, but no.... lovely. The bridge on the DC and the MR feels a bit cheap, but I'm letting it break in as it were. If needsbe down the track I'll replace it with something better, but I do think there's a lot to be said for living with a guitar as is for a period of time - often you discover that the received wisdom of "part X is inferior, and must be replaced as standard" isn't really the case. Being "better" on paper is one thing - if the ear and the hand don't need it, though, why pay it?
I'm excited to see what they come up with in the future. The spec on their Fusion Series and the 25th Aniversary models is superb. My JA25th - for less than the price of a nice Squier CV offset (which isn't available left handed anyhow) has a roasted maple neck,. alder body, and stainless steel frets in the laurel board. The locking tuners aren't a dealbreaker for me, but a nice bonus nonetheless. I'd love to try one of the Big Tone G-style models, though no lefties there just yet. I think that if HB keep working with their top end stuff (hopefully more of the classic / vintage style lines that are my preference, I'll never be a superstrat guy), they could be hitting hard into the middle-market where JHS's Vintage brand are now starting to rival Fender MIM in some quarters. There will, after all, always be a place for good, honest, workingman's instruments. Observing many workingmusicians over the years, I've probably seen many more Mexican Fenders and the likes on stage than I have top-end US built.
Right you could put some really hot pickups in the HB to fix that issue and still be at a fraction of the cost of the Gibson
@@GroundScore710 You could probably replace all of the electronics and hardware with the ones that Gibson use and still not even come close to the price that they charge
This video is what finally sold me on the 450 - I'm a middle aged man, and learning guitar is my apparent midlife crisis. I'm shocked by how well it plays straight out of the box. I keep looking for things that might be wrong with it, and can't find any real flaws. The quality for the price is kind of unbelievable.
You should buy PRS Core, not this crxp.
@@wonderingsoapjoseph212 thanks so much for your opinion. Good luck.
Im always happy to read positive comments on budget instruments and years ago they would make me excited to try the product but nowadays I always consider the source writing it. Anyone can write anything online but not everyone is an expert or should be taken serious . Not to be a d**k but reviews like yours I tend to ignore and I feel others should too. Main reason being : you’re a new player . You don’t really know what makes a good guitar or not . As someone who’s been playing for years and years a guitar to be thoroughly inspected has to be put through multiple tests . Checking the frets , fret out , how well the nuts are cut , how well it stays in tune etc . As a beginner you are new to everything and you don’t quite know how to judge what makes a great guitar.
Forget those guys, just keep learning and keep jammin!
@@jayz6008 Been playing 18 years, I have an SC550+ (admittedly twice the cost). It's flawless. I have Gibsons, Epiphones, LTDs, Ibanez and Squire. It's better than the Epis and the neck is done as nicely as the Gibson and Ibanez and LTD. Its from the same factory as the LTD. Cost less than half. Came with EMG Fat 55 pickups that are now my best sounding PAFs.
Now I want to try one if these cheap ones. Of course it won't be as good but if they can hold their own against my Epiphones (and I suspect they can) it will still be an incredible deal and with some better hardware and a few Tonerider PAFs and maybe a bit of fretwork it should easily sound as good as a Gibson. On my SC550+ I'm not changing a thing. Except buying a second one as backup because it's my favourite guitsr now. I like the Gibson as much in theory but I constantly stress about damaging it, my sweat has already eaten the gorgeous nitro finish. So I just play it at home now and always wipe it down and keep the room temp controlled. They Harley Benton i can have fun with. And yet I treat it the same as the Gibson because... well it feels like money. As well made as the 1000€ LTD Les Paul but sounds better because the pickups are nicer (PAF vs 59+JB, I don't like the JB as much, gonna replace it).
Surprisingly the Harley sounded tighter on high gain 😳
Didn't expect that! Gibson sounded like Gibson should sound, the Harley sounded BIG beyond my expectations. Thanks for your excellent video mate, it really cleared up a few things in my mind and helped me to decide. Keep it up! 💪
definitely sounded more like an ibanez than a Gibson on the high gain! kinda didnt expect it
@@ignaciorodriguezmelgarejo9526 the only difference I could hear is the output of the pick-ups. It sounds like the Gibson has higher output pick-ups. That's why WeeFreeMan78 said the HB sounds cleaner with high gain. It's either the pickups, or the way the guitars are set-up. The pick-ups on the Gibson could be set a bit higher than on the HB.
@@catapl93 Gee.. It's almost like the pickups are different on the Harley Benton than the Gibson..
It is
Why are you surprised? He is trying to sell the HB, not the Gibson. Do you think he would let the Gibson sound better?
For about $100, buy a cheap equalizer and compressor, and you can mimic the Les Paul, and with the coil split of the HB, do a whole lot more. If you add a good multiFX and good amp combo, you get years worth of different sounds to play with. That is what I did. The HB I bought needed a setup with new strings. The equalizer and compressor shape the sound so that if the HB pickups sound muddy with more gain, or even more bass response, you can clean up the sound, but still have that nice full sound in the low end that the LP has. With a compressor and a little practice, you can switch to that single coil sound in the middle of a song, and not have too much of a volume drop to control. You can also buy great Boss equipment, and multiFX of choice, with the HB and still have some money left over, if you want to spend £2000.
I've had a Harley Benton SC450 for about an hour and I'm very pleased thus far.
It looks amazing, it feels amazing, and - most importantly - it sounds amazing.
Great to hear! Good luck with it :)
Just ordered one, I’ve had a Gibson LP traditional in 2016 it was terrible had to go back to Gibson, for a fret job ,there was also a chunk out of the rosewood fretboard.
@@TheYjmfan
That's the crap that pisses me the hell off about Gibson in general.
Charge the paying customer an astronomical price for a severely flawed product.
I own a 1999 Les Paul Standard with a 60's profile neck; it remains my favorite guitar but it is also by no means perfect.
The original wiring was crap, the nut was cut all wrong, and of course the damn thing refuses to stay in tune. ( Had to buy a String Butler which is bullshit in the first place)
I completely understand people looking for cost effective alternatives; if Gibson would care enough to pay more attention to quality control rather than taking the approach of selling their products as a status symbol for the wealthy, they never would of had to file for bankruptcy in the first place.
The only diference is in the name of the headstock. They both sound the same and also look good. For the same price as that Gibson, I would
have enough money to buy 8 or 12 other Harley Benton guitars in many design styles and pickup configurations. A very nice guitar collection !
You nailed the point perfectly. I own 4 different HB guitars. And i would never DREAM to compare them to a 2000+ dollars/pounds/eu guitar and expect the same manifacture. That's just not realistic. BUT, thanks to HB, i can have 4 different guitars for half that 2000 mark, and have them in 4 different tunings, which if you're a recording artist like myself, it is a GODSEND not to have to tune every time. Just plug the guitar you need and you're good to go. Not to mention, you can easily swap the hardware and pickups off if you don't like them and you'd still be under that 2000 dollars/pounds/eu/whatever mark. The only upgrade i did on my 3 hb (the 4th had it from the get go) are locking tuners. That's in my opinion the only essential upgrade these cheap guitars need.
Awesome. So many locking tuner options at different prices...
@@bushcry1 i usually end up with gotoh. Price performance they're imo the best.
The Gibby does sound better, in almost (almost) every test , but not to the tune of a couple of grands worth. That Harley B sounds amazing in comparison, for the money. Awesome video mate, thumbs skyward! 👍👍👍☮☮☮
Yes a very good comparison video. I have the HB with P90's which I bought a couple of years ago. This is slightly cheaper as it has a basswood body {£125} There were a couple of construction issues, the main one was the bridge posts weren't flush with the body which looked like it could be a problem in the future but it turns out not to be so as the bridge is stable and so is the tuning. 6 months ago I "splashed out" {£250} on the 550 II which is an upgrade by incorporating stainless steel frets and a beautiful veneer in a cherry flame. Unfortunately it's not a patch on the £125 jobbie! I've never had the good fortune to play a Gibson but your video does prove one thing; The Law of Diminishing Returns certainly applies re: guitars. Why pay thousands for an instrument that sounds remarkably similar to something that is more than 10 times cheaper? My experience with HB is very good. They have improved their QC and l like dealing with Thomann. Hope this helps your viewers and the p90's on that cheap LP are very nice.
I've seen and played several Les Paul Standards and HB 450's. The Harley Bentons hold up quite nicely for a fraction of the price. Plus, I have to say that quality control is WAY better at Harley Benton.
To my ears the sound difference is negligible, the price however is not.
i OWN the SC-450PLUSE LH-LD And its beautiful. It play's great! I use it with the VOX 20x. And man it comes alive! I may be bias but I thought the SC450 Blew your guitar away. lol! Oh by the way. Thoman really blew the shipping on the first try! The guitar came with a broken neck. And parts falling off. After I called them. They told me to keep the broken 1 and sent me a new 1. That was perfect in every way! Thanks for taking care of business THOMAN!!!!!!
I recently ordered the Harley Benton SC 450 PLUS. I love it! Plays great and feels like a Les Paul. Very pleased!
Beautiful straightforward demo,the Harley Benton sounds unbelievably good,and it looks nice too.With all respect to its mother :-)
I have the exact same HB as you. Had it for 2 years never played it I bought some Fender ultras. Love them. Then got bored pulled out that HB and learned what all the dials did and was impressed. I figured now I must have a Gibson the real thing there must be a total different sound or experience. Cost $2800 and a day later I had to pull out that HB again. Lowered the action it’s spot on. Gibson is worth the money if you have it. It’s status I sound terrible on both. It’s all in the player. Not the equipment. It’s a hobby for me. I love all my guitars. Just have to learn how to play. You play incredible. Great video.
Yeah! Great playing and good review, and I'm liking your "What are you looking at" attitude! Off to Thomann soon to do some shopping.
Great comparison and huge extra points for the Thin Lizzy t-shirt!
I love my Harley Benton. Bought this model in this finish years ago when its design was more closely to a real Les Paul (the upper curve has changed on the new HB models) and the only difference was the colour and headstock. That was in my G'n'R/Slash phase hahaha I've since then put a set of EMG 81/60 and currently a set of 57/66 in. Great guitar for the money for sure!
I think I'd just I'd just buy 4 or 5 of the Harley Bentons and swap the pickups, IF I were concerned about the tiny difference, and then enjoy all the money I still had left over, instead of buying the Gibson. 😉👍 Nice video man. I hope this opens some eyes.
They both sounded great except that gain was like a fuzzbox sound one I'm not fond of. The clean sounds both great though the Gibson warmer and slightly wider sounding. Having said that the HB kept up very well! Great comparison Jake!
I agree. That distortion is NOISE POLLUTION, both of them. Do you actually think that racket should good?
DAAAAAAMNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!
That Harley Benton sounded AWESOME!!!!!!! $158 compared to $2000.00?!!!!! I have 2 Strat Style Harleys myself that I LOVE!!! I rounded out my guitar purchases last year. 2 years ago I bought a Epiphone GoldTop Les Paul Standard (My only Les Paul, so I wanted to get as close to a Gibson as I could, Epiphone being under Gibson's auspices👍😁) but had I been in the market for another one I would DEFINITELY buy the Harley Benton Too!!!!! WOW!!!! 😲 Great Job with the comparison, my good fellow!!! 👍👍
I got a SC-550SL and I’m blown away by how good it plays and sounds. The hardware could use some upgrading, but wow for the price.! Amazing! I’M looking to buy another one soon.
Awesome, HB is putting other companies to shame. I just ordered the 550 Plus with EMD's and Maple top, pretty excited to get it this week.
I'm coming back to this Video every two weeks, you do a great job in playing, I think you can sell any guitar the way you play, the cheaper brands should send you guitars and a buying link and I bet many would buy, that is at least the feeling I have whenever I watch this video :) So now it only needs to be answered whether to go for the 450 P90, the 550 EMG or the SC Custom EMG Ocean Flame :) Greetings from Germany, DIrksón!
Nice to finally find a video on this which shows them side by side. The body shape is clearly slightly varied in an attempt to placate Gibson's lawyers (you'd like to hope they'd learned their lesson after that ridiculous case against PRS, but....). The HB is actually much closer in body shape than I'd expected - not to mention that, amusingly enough, it has a more pleasing variation from the original on the headstock shape than most any Epiphone design....
Love my Standard, but also love my HB. Had it over a year now, it holds up keeps tune and still looks sweet. PLUS.... I don't worry about the HB getting bumped banged or swiped. pretty nice.
Bought mine 3 yrs ago with the intent to change out pick ups. No need to though. Sounds great Once u tweek ur amp to accommodate the microphonic pick ups. The feel of the guitar is also amazing
I just learned about Harley Benton and went to the reviews.
And WOW. The HB sounds tighter and a little brighter that the Gibson. There were instances where it just seemed like the Gibson was just louder sometimes too loud, the low end was really booming especially in the neck position. While the HB sounded balanced in every pickup position.
Thanks for the review! It helps a ton!
Yes, because they are trying to sell you the HB, not the Gibson.
For me as a hobby guitar player, the HB 450 plus Is more than enough, surprisingly a very good guitar that remains everytime in tune. I sold my Epiphone Dot because it was out of tune every five minutes and the bridge pickup hadn't enough Power as the HB It has.
Long time Maverick and Ibanez player and grabbed the Harley Benton PRS style for a cheap fixed bridge. Definitely not disappointed, sounds great, plays lovely and holds its tuning fine
Thank you for your very informative and unbiased review, most helpful.
Great review! Great playing. The gibson picks sound hotter.thsn the HB ones.
I have the HB 450 Plus and it's a great guitar. Had to do a setup to change action height. Tuners stay in tune. The nut will be the next mini upgrade and and overall fretboard and fret clean and condition.
The HBs are very good quality at their price points. I've been a guitar tech and luthier now since 1985 and I build guitars that are on the same level of fit and finish as the best that comes out of the PRS factory, no lie. I've also been a guitar tech for all this time. I've found HBs to be very impressive at their price points and recommend them for up to mid level players. They are a reliably good choice. They typically are very well set up but will need additional tweaking if you are really looking for a perfect setup. They do have their limitations.
Like what are their limitations?
@@wyattsdad8561 Materials quality, hardware quality, electronics quality, finish quality....they're just not premium in ANY respect. Doesn't mean they're junk. But you won't find Lollar pickups and Schaller hardware on them, or a hand polished nitro finish, or AAA grade one piece mahogany backs and 5A grade flamed maple tops on them.
@@wyattsdad8561l don't see any. Don't know why anyone would say these are not stage or recording worthy just because they don't have a big name on them.
Oh right on. That’s good to hear. What limitations do you see from them?
@@nvjohansson9741 yeah I’m not a luthier or guitar tech so I’m just curious what a professional sees.
But I do know of stories from the classic rock days in recording studios where they used off brand guitars to record some of our most favorite songs. Like cheap instruments of the time and they sounded great in the recordings.
I have the SC450 with P90s and it is tremendous. I went a little nutty during covid and I bought several HBs and going into it not expecting a Gibson or a PRS was good because I was not disappointed at all. There were minor issues here and there, but the thing for me with Harley Benton is that if you are comfortable doing setups and upgrades, these are a no brainer. They are good period, but especially good given the cost.
Very tasty playing BTW!
I did the same as you, bought four diferrent HBs and still have money to spend, I do have a Gibson though.
@@antreb15 That's awesome! Have you seen IYV guitars? Very well made. The company is Korean, but they make them in Vietnamese factories. I grabbed a hollow single cut and a Mustang copy from them. Great all around and super cheap.
But almost impossible to get left handed Thoman guitars!
@@simontemplar3359
@@antreb15 I don't have the Gibson, I sold mine and spent some of the £1800 on more Harley Bentons, Seymour Duncan pups, pots, and hardwear. It you get a well made HB, up-grade.
I've had my Harley Benton SC-Custom for about a year now and I find it to be a solid instrument. The model I bought is a bit pricier than the 450, but it's holding up well and the EMG active pickups sound great.
I would go for the Harley Benton (always….🥰)
Drive a Marshall and a Fender together and your world of sound opens up wider then ever before
This setup will compare with tonecontrol, gain and sweetspot to give
thank you for this review. in a lot of ways i think you can just rely on a good amp to really be the thing. the HB sounds good enough, love the color, and love the $ vs $$$$$$$. lets more players have access to guitar styles they like. thumbs up!
Completely agree! Thanks for the comment 😊
@@JakeLeighGuitar could you tell me what the song is at 5:35 please?
I own a 2007 Gibson Studio. Surprised how great the Harley sounds. Thanks for video.💙
Thanks for the comment! I’m hopefully doing another Gibson/Harley Benton comparison next week. I think it’s gonna be even closer 😊
Definitely not £2700 improvement with the Gibson. I had the very same Gibson Les Paul. When I did this comparison myself, I put Seymour Duncans on the Harley Benton, CTS pots, threw away the coil tap. Re-wired with vintage cable, leveled and polished the frets, changed the hardwear. Then sold the Gibson and bought some more Harley Bentons and did the same upgrades. Now I have 3 guitars that play and sound just as good as any £3,000 guitar. For me good sense took over the, It's a Gibson so it has to be better. The fact is that the Gibson had smaller frets and when bending strings I could feel my finger on the fretboard, it never bothered me till I played the Harley with larger frets, it just felt better. I really do not miss the Gibson. The best Harley for me is their PRS copy. With a set of Seymour pups it blew the Les Paul out the water. Mind You I have been building, repairing guitars for a long time so I understand not everyone can do what I do. What I have discovered is that Harley Benton is hit and miss, but they do sometimes use very good woods. When you get one that has good solid woods then it's well worth upgrading. My upgraded CST is an absolute amazing guitar. It cost me a £180 and looked stunning.
The tops are genuine flame maple caps it's not even a veneer it's the full thickness of the cap .
The difference in sound is small, but it is there. The Gibson sounded to me to have more bass in the mix. The cleans sounded more buttery if that’s a thing. And the dirty sounded a bit heavier, but the HB is a good guitar. When you buy a Gibson your just looking to have that build quality, material selection, and peace of mind knowing you got the real deal. As a beginner I would have cherished my HB les Paul. Love the new Korean, Chinese, Japanese, guitars. But, I will be buried with my Gibson. US fuknA!
Love HB I hope they get to keep the affordable price forever!
Love that high gain tone you used with bridge pickups. Make a rig rundown sometimes!
Thanks so much! Yeah I should definitely do that at some point. That’s a great idea for a video!
Great comparison vid mate! The sound difference is night and day compared to a Gibson but the Harley sounds tremendous for the price. Ive owned a few Harley Benton guitars over the years and never had a bad one or any issue with one. Harley's get amazing reviews for good reason.
To date, I've had about a dozen HB's go through my hands...
Been playing 50 years, owned and played EVERYTHING.
The HB's are great guitars.
Made in Vietnam at the same factory that Vintage uses.
I currently have the HB Les Paul P90s gold top.
Once a bit of overdrive is added..it sounds pure late 40's/early 50's swing guitar heaven.
That gold P90 one is calling me...😀
@@bushcry1 Ive now got TWO! 😨
Ive got a p90s harley benton les paul..same as this but goldtop and p90s..its soooo good...heavy guitar ...sounds and plays awesome..get one.
Got one! Love it!
I received the SC-450 today. The action was pretty high in the middle, so I ended up cranking the truss rod a quarter turn counter-clockwise and lowered the bridge. I'm not really a luthier, but I got it so that it's decent. I don't know whether I just don't have the expertise to get it perfect. It's got a pinch of buzz now. Maybe one more quarter turn? I wouldn't call the color "lemon drop." In person, it looks more like it's made out of cheddar cheese or mustard. I'm not unhappy with it. I like it enough that I sat down and played it for a few hours straight and then came back later and played it for a few hours more. It's a nice guitar to drag around to bars without having to worry about someone beating me up and stealing my Gibson.
check the frets a lot of these guitars don’t have the best fret installations done on them might need to file some high spots down
Great video comparison, your right the Gibson pickups, they're alittle more hotter but for the amount spent, you could do all the mods on that Harley Benton and make that Harley Benton sound amazing and play amazing. Have a great day
On some of the settings, the HB actually sounded a tiny bit better. The Gibson was warmer but in some cases a little muddier and individual note clarity was lost. On other settings the Gibson was quite a bit better, where it had nicer overtones that the HB just lacked. It sounded fine on its own but you could hear a difference when you played the Gibson. The fact that you can buy a pair of Burstbuckers for between £240 and £320 depending on the version means you could probably get the exact sound for a hell of a lot less money.
Absolutely, change the pups, and rewire with quality cable and CTS pots that can be bought for a few hundred £. Then sell ya Gibson. I did.
@@grumpy8413 different pickup placement affects the tone. HB is different, but with something a bit closer to the gib placement it would work for sure. hb just lacks in the looks department lol
The kids growing up now have such quality instruments to start with. I'm a pickup builder, and test all my pickups in my sc harley benton. It's just a great guitar for that money. It even has some features the standard doesn't have like the neck relief at the back and the coil splitting... If you're advancing, put some seymour duncans in it and you have a great player!
Man, superb comparison and review! thanx a ton! you oughtta get Ms of subs! best of luck, buddy!
Glad you liked it and thanks so much for such a great comment 😊😊
I have a HB SC450. What a great guitar for the money! Not mentioned here is the perfect fretwork on at least my SC450. I would put it up against any high priced guitar. Absolutely no sharp edges or fret sprout. It feels superb. Mine came with cheap dime pots so I replaced them and also the toggle switch. Still a hell of a deal!
I'm going to buy this guitar as a second one, do you know what the song is at 5:35?
0:15
The Harley Benton’s on the left. They’re shaped a bit differently so it’s pretty easy to tell but goddamn those Harley Benton’s look nice
I really wished the SC450 would include stainless steel frets. Probably would go with the SC550 for that reason. Refretting is expensive, disruptive, and includes some risk from damage during the procedure.
Great comparison video mate. Love that lemon burst on the Harley Benton. And the tones are amazing for the price. I'll probably pull the trigger on that anytime soon haha. Great video. You got my sub.
Go for it!I have the 450plus,in Honey Burst;-personal preference, colourwise, I like it better than the lemon drop,but,hey,whatever floats your boat. No quality issues whatsoever.Beautiful instrument,arrived from Thomann in three days to U .K. via UPS. Other than changing the strings to Slinky’s,(personal preference again😀),I have had to make no changes/adjustments whatsoever. Almost in tune when it arrived,set up well before delivery. Only thing to bear in mind;- it’s quite a heavy little beast!
Thanks so much for the comment and sub!! Yeah they’re really great. I’m hoping to get another SC on my channel very soon. Will be good to compare the two 😊
@@JakeLeighGuitar I have the SC-550 Plus EMG and i haven't really played my Custom or my Epi 60s standard, its amazing.. and the retroactive fat 55s are amazing pups.
I had a very expensive Gibo LP, it was always always a worry gigging it, never took it to a Jam, incase it got dinged or nicked, sold it, now have an old Tokai LP black beauty, not a cheap Guitar, sounds better than the Gibson did, thinking of buying a lefty HB for my son, the pups sound good in that test, but if not happy, could always swap with some Iron Gear, they transformed his Epiphone SG, some cheap guitars are amazing nowadays, I have a Jet HSS Strat copy, 150 quid, changed pups, now gigging it, it's that good!
Yeah the IronGear stuff is great, I highly recommend their pickups, especially for cheaper guitars. A lot of my friends have done the same as you, started using more affordable gear live and for jams, I think it's definitely a sensible option! Thanks for the comment!
@@JakeLeighGuitar Expensive Guitar and woman are wasted on me, inexpensive is good, as long as they play nice, and you can have more without feeling guilty.
I bought this exact model in the Harley Benton, I changed two of the tone and volume knobs and removed the scratch plate, trying to get that Gary Moore look, for the price really good guitar.
I had been directed toward the 550 sc 2 , however, this helps me because I am more drawn to the 450 because of the finish on one of them. The 550 is also a possibility.
Thanks for this, great playing bro
I've had my HB for about 4/5 years now, only did set up the action to my liking, but still everything, hardware wise, is original, and with a good amp (usually I use Marshalls at the studio/stage) and some good pedals, you can make it sound amazing and it's very versatile ! I don't really play that much anymore, but this guitar held it's own doing studio sessions and going on the road for shows (Blues, rock and Metal) for about 2 years. Never had heard of HB before I saw the one that a friend bought it from thomann, and he didn't like how it felt, I loved the look of it (sort of dark/mellow Honey burst), the sound, but it really was not set up properly out of the box. Traded a pedal for it, took it home, messed with it, and from that moment on, I can say I won't trade it for a Gibson except for the fact that it's a Gibson and it's worth more.
I got myself a SC-450Plus LD Vintage Series and am 100% amazed with sound. Along with it I took the HB Strat, the ST-90SA Swamp Ash DLX Series and that one is also 100% awesome. Together total under 300 EUR... unbelievable! I have you to thank for it mate! So, thanx :) p.s. Some months later I added the HB-35Plus Lemon and boy does all that sounds good :) Note - all three under 500 eur total :) :) :)
Look, all I can say is that I have 3 HB's and 2 Gibsons (among others) and I gig the HB's because I don't have to worry about a thing. I did however change the Tesla pups in my SC-550 II BCF because they were a bit muddy. I put in Classic 57's and it is a whole new guitar with a set of Elixers on it. They play well and look great and like I said. If I so desire to do my Pete Townsend impression, it's not a great loss! 😃
the HB with those gibson pickups.... could be the winner by far...
Your a great guitarist. It's good to see good cheap British guitars on the market.
Well question is does it stay in tune better
The cleans are amazing on both and the high gain especially on the Gibson
To my ears the Gibson sounds slightly warmer, but with your skilful playing you made both of them sound great
Off Topic a bit.. but i just bought my first Gibson!, Always had ephiphone Paul's but really couldn't wait for a legitiment gibson Les paul lol ,its the delux would you say the standard would of been better or naw?, all i really noticed is that the humbuckers are smaller🤔
I got a SC-450 on HB finish, the guitar is beautiful, fit and finish, setup attention to detail top notch, it could easier cost a lot more and you will be happy to pay for it,
However I was tempted to compare it with current Gibson offerings,
I had a Gibson Les Paul Custom and a Special, that I sold long ago ( some 10 years ) and settled on a Stratocaster.., so I wanted to see what was with the new Standards that are lauded as being as good as vintage ones.
So I went to a shop and compared my Harley Benton, with several Gibsons and Sires, including the Studio, Standard 60s, Standard 50s a Gibson Custom Shop and a Sire L7.
Acoustically the SC-450 is on par with all of them but the Custom Shop, that was noticiably louder acoustically, that can be because of the selection of wood and the thin lacquer finish, also about weight, the Standard 50 was 4.6Kg, Standard 60 4.8Kg the Custom Shop 4 Kg, the Sire 3,8 and the HB 3.6Kg. So the HB wins on that category, holding 1Kg more for some extended time on your shoulders is significant, or you could go for the Custom Shop but then that will cost you more than 5000.
About feel, the Nitro Lacquer sure feels different but the finish on the HB doesn't feel bad per se, I liked more the satin finish neck of the Sire, and other Harley Benton offerings like the basses have also same nicer feeling satin finish, maybe in future versions this SC-450 could get satin finish necks, but actually after some minutes playing I am not paying attention much to it, Nitro or Satin finish is nice to have but not a deal breaker, and also you could sand the neck back and refinish it.
Also about feel, the Standards feel great no argument about it, the Sire is lighter and feels also good, however the headstock binding looks weird to me is quite different as the Gibson headstock bindings and was somewhat annoying to see, and also has a noticeably thiner body, that could explain the lower weight, interestingly the Custom Shop didn't feel right to me, is lighter, and more resonant acoustically but the feel was somewhat off, like some old guitars I remember that didn't feel right, maybe was made with "old guitar specs" I guess you have to get used to it, in that sense, the Standards and the Harley Benton feel better.
Finally the most important, the sound, the Custom Shop and the Standards have more clear highs, that is quite noticeable, with tone controls maxed out they have better high frequency definition than the Harley Benton, I also compared a ES-345 with a Sire H7 they had in the shop, same thing, the Gibsons are more bright in a pleasant way. I am talking about pure clean sound, through a full tube Fender. because when you introduce overdrive or distortion the sound is not noticiably different, and actually with distortion you need to lower the treble anyway. That was very clear, acoustically the Harley Benton sounds right and very close to the Gibsons but clean electric the Gibson are better, you can also hear that in this Demo..... And more if you lower the Volume to 7 for example, is more noticeable.
So it has to do probably with the Pickups, something you could try out, for example buy a set of Burstbuckers and put them on the Harley Benton, and probably you would get the same bright sparkling treble.
As the Burstbuckers cost more than the Harley Benton, what I did first was to mod the Harley Benton wiring, I did 50s wiring on it and now the highs sound better at lower volume for sure, but I would need to go back and compare it now with a Standard 50s. before deciding on new Pickups.
But is clear that at this price, you could buy the pickups and have a superb guitar for less as 400, that is great.
The Gibson sounded much warmer, but if someone wanted that Harley Benton to sound exactly like that Gibson all they would need to do is just change out the Pickups. Those are probably Burst Buckers in that Gibson. They sounded amazing, But I believe that Harley Benton was amazing sounding. Just not quite as warm as the Gibson. Very close though. Great sounding budget guitar.
Did that Harley Benton require a setup? or was it playable out of the box?"
pickup swaps do very little especially with gain, watch this video, you'll save money ua-cam.com/video/emwl23RX2is/v-deo.html
Outstanding video! I have the 450 Lemon Drop and it's a very well built guitar that to me, sounds great. My only con is that it is very heavy! So much so that I'm probably going to throw it up on reverb. As for the sound comparison, yeah, the Gibson does sound better. I just don't see the need for someone who is watching their budget, to blow it on one. The Harley Benton Roswell pickups do what they're supposed to and would certainly work for anyone looking for an inexpensive LP style guitar.
Fellow lemon drop user here, can confirm it's really heavy, to counter that, i bought a very wide and comfy strap, helps a lot in weight reduction;)
I also have a SC 450 + Lemon drop and it is the lightest Les Paul I never played . Maybe I was lucky but it’s not heavy at all …
I used to have an Epiphone Les Paul Tribute plus which was a lot more heavy …
The Gibson sounds better I agree. However the Harley Benton comes in at £150 whereas the Gibson is over £2000. I could do £1000 of mods to that HB and make it better than the Gibson and it would still be half the price
You cant really improve the HB to the gibson its just not how it works.
@@NOCHAA build quality of the Hb is absolutely fine, easy to upgrade tuners, bridge, pickups, switches, frets, nut…. Can do that for under £1800 easily
You can spend what ever you like on it its not gonna sound or play as good as the gibson
Throw a pair of SD Seth Lover or Fralin Pure PAF’s and anew wiring harness, pots and switch. For around $500 total you will be 95% there.
Just got the same in lefty. It was a b-stock. I looked really hard for signs of use or flaws, did not find any. Spent an hour sanding the fretboard, polishing frets and oiling the board. Lowered the bridge and a 1/4 turn on the truss rod and it’s pretty good.
Gonna leave it as is until I get some time with it. Rewiring it with full size pots and 50’s wiring will definitely happen, pickups we will see, maybe a magnet swap instead.
It’s a damn decent guitar out of the box. For the price, excellent.
Got a 5os and 60s and that sounds like a lp no doubt . Thought the epiphone inspired by Gibson were good but they are around 600 quid . If you want a good homage at lager money that is the ticket
SC450 PLUS.
The other thing to consider is gigging... I used to gig with my beloved 1970s gibson, and i was SO paranoid about it getting stolen or wrecked, because I knew there was no way I could afford to replace it.
But a £150 guitar... I'd still keep it safe, obviously, but I wouldn't lose my mind if someone threw a beer over it, and I'd almost (almost) be willing to trust a friend with it if i had to go for a piss, whereas my gibson was such a cause of constant worry.
What riffs are you playing during the clean parts? They sound so familiar!
Of course the gibson sounds better, but I'm always blown away by how great harley bentons sound for their price!
Same!!! Not too shabby.
Is the action as low on the HB as it is on the Les Paul?
Hello! is this the SC 450 or SC 450plus? what's the difference betwen these models? Thx a lot
Different body woods, mahogany Vs basswood, better pickups on the plus. The Plus has coil split function too. That’s from memory anyway, hope that helps!
Bought half a dozen harley benton guitars plus a couple of kits great quality for the price.
Thank you for your work.
You have great skills bro, I would like to know the name of the songs you played. The HB is insane competition for the LP. I going to buy a HB because of your vid. THANKS
Hi Jake, I'm an Italian Musician and I love your channel, I signed up.
🇮🇹😁✌🏻😁🇮🇹
Hey Mirko, thanks so much man! Really glad you’re enjoying my channel 😊🤘
@@JakeLeighGuitarThank you🥰🥰😎😎🤘🏻🤘🏻🤙🏻🤙🏻
We hope 3000 cost came with quality product, its mean good sound and long lasting material..i wonder if 150 cost can deliver that??
Maybe, just maybe, the difference in hottness was due to Gibson pickups being closer to the strings?
As soon as I can get the ducats assembled, I'm buying a HB SC ll FR.
There's too many replica LP style guitars to be paying premium dollar for equal sound. Gibson® & Fender® are becoming art museum pieces anymore...
Never be a headstock logo snob.
The only edge that Gibson has over the Harley Benton is being part of history in music and heavily involved in guitar development. The rest are preferences, I'm heavily leaned towards the Harley Benton any day just because of the price point and I also have more confidence that it will stay in tune better than the Gibson (too bad the Jake didn't test this)
You didn't play the Harley Benton with the coil splitting capability. Why not ?
Ever since i saw that guy get amazing tone out of a cinderblock, i just care about playability, can change PU and settings and get sweet tone. Unless he had a rare tone cement mix, not sure, I want a Harley =)
Didn’t hear 2.8k worth of difference, very interesting as thinking of jumping in the Benton pool but maybe higher up.
bridge pickups sound realllllly close
Love the Hb ....snd the shirt
Thank you!
What tipe of guitar strap do you use on the Harley Benton
It's the D'Daddario with the built in plastic straplocks. They've recently brought out a newer, more slimline version though with a metal straplock clip that I've started using that is much better
@@JakeLeighGuitar thanks
Where does this leave the Epiphone. Redundant?
Love that t-shirt . THIN LIZZY RULES!
Haha! I agree! Thank you so much :)
i have a 4 thousand dollar Gibson es345 that is junk next to this 300 dollar Ibanez 335 copy i have , that guitar is a freak of nature , best playing guitar i have had in 60 years , all this name brand and price of a guitar is all BS , i have 6 Gibson Les Pauls and 3 Epiphone Les Pauls and the Epi is my go to LP , i think i am going to buy one of the HB LP's , i just bought a HB tele that blew my mind
Not all budget brands are bad some are very poo but some are really good. Forget this basis of the most expensive is best. As some of these budgest brands just cant geg on the market like the bigger brands
I just owned the HB, what string size you recommend?