Is the neck actually c shape or more speed neck shaped? That's my main concern because I am not the biggest fan of c shaped necks personally. Any feedback is appreciated.
Always like to see guitar upgrade videos, I'm just getting into it myself. Swapped my first pick up recently. I am very bad at soldering XD but I got it done.
Yep. Better pickups, better tuners, and a setup gets you a badass guitar . If you can do the work yourself it's worth it. If not...probably not worth it. I bought the bottom level strat and the upgrades were definitely worth it. About 250 for a hss strat with a coil split.
Once you add in tuners, pickups and a setup to fix the fret work it's not really a good deal anymore to me. I'd personally take that money and buy something better used. Just my opinion.
I've been watching this channel for some time now and never left a comment...but I wanna say, how does Kyle not have more subs...he's so much more likable than most guitar based UA-camrs...keep it up man, I'd prefer to watch your videos than most others
I've heard that the noisy pickups on a lot of these guitars have an issue with the blacked out hardware creating grounding issues that make the pickups sound excessively noisy. I've got a Squier with blacked out hardware and when I looked at reviews for the guitar (I was very impressed with its feel and quality) I always would see the same thing being repeated. Noisy, trash pickups, except it wasn't the pickup it was a grounding issue apparently that they eventually found out about and fixed, which is why my guitar never experienced that poor sound quality/noise. Maybe check to see if reviews state the same thing about this model.
You should review the Fusion iii EMG and or Fusion T EMG models. I had first bought the JA baritone out of curiosity and the 30” scale is not for me but after a new nut and tuners I felt that it was a very decent guitar for the money. So I sold it and bought a Fusion iii EMG and this thing rips dudes. Needs a proper setup right away but mine at a least was playable enough out of box to get rid of some of the anticipation. I like it so much I’m considering buying the Fusion T EMG to match.
Great review and samples! The title made me think I was only going to hear the bad side of the guitar. Which is fine, of course. I've been considering getting a Harley Benton, and I want honest reviews. I'm definitely inching towards getting one. Just need the funds. I can't splurge on guitars, even if they're in the price range that these come in. That goes for mods like better pickups and tuners, as well. So, when I finally get a new guitar, it has to be something where the pros vastly outweigh the cons.
I got a Harley Benton mr modern a few weeks ago. Fret ends were atrocious, although the guy i got it off of claimed he waa a luthier and "already set it up". I spent two hours making it playable. Not bad for 200 bones.
Cool review - I think the guitar sounds great. I recently purchased a Harley Benton 25th Anniversary Fusion III and I love it. It sounds great and plays great. I have much more expensive guitars and the Harley compares favorably to them.
I have the strat version with the same pickups and have found that they are especially dirty if you have the volume at 10. I found that somewhere around 8-8.5 that it cleans up and is less muddy.
I have a couple of my guitar students that play Harley Benton's. Kyle hit the nail on the head when he said if it's got good bones it's worth upgrading one of my students even gigs with his Harley Benton.
I had the Strat type version of this guitar. I felt the same about the guitar as you feel about this one. Pickups and tuners (and nut) sucked. Fret ends were a bit sharp. But overall a pretty nice guitar. Felt good to play. I was surprised. Good mod platform for sure.
How viable is it to upgrade a budget guitar and turn around a break-even deal with it? I would imagine it's hard to sell a $299 guitar for more even if you put in premium hardware into it. However, I've never tried it so would be curious to hear if it's something you just lose a little cash in the love of the game, or if it's something that is possible to break even.
I love cheap guitars... I love expensive guitars... I guess I just love guitars. I have 3 Harley Bentons and 2 were perfect out of the box, one needed some minor fret work.
Roseacre is roasted and dyed maple. “Thermally treated” they state. And I was this many years old when I found out about Roseacre, I want to try it, it looks cool.
I have been eyeing this guitar.. I personally am the kind of person who hates anything but a speed neck/wizard neck.. I saw online that it says modern c and that is disappointing.. especially for most of the people who like the aesthetics. I'm just wondering if it's actually a c shape or if it's closer to a Jackson/Ibanez/ESP neck.
When he asked if people were going to leave it alone and play it "as god intended," I almost lost it. That's one of the funniest things I've heard in a long time.
Most guitars you get off the shelf at GC or another guitar store, they are not new. They are played, scratched, and sometimes not set up very well. This is not an advertisement for Sweetwater, but they seem to set it up, and you actually get a new guitar that isn't all scratched up and pre-played. Another reason why I won't buy anything from GC.
I bought a headless and it was the biggest piece of crap ever . Wonky frets and a weird sitar buzz from the bridge. I bought several tools. Different fret files, to level and clean up. Nut files , and ended up buying this other Chinese bridge too fix the sound . Got a Duncan distortion set used from ebay. Regular pots and switch. I enjoyed getting the tools and learning to work on all the stuff but no telling how much I spent lol. Could have just got something better.
I would sooner use cheap passive pickups like Guitar Fetish, and pair with an active preamp, either from them or Seymour Duncan, or else just use GFS RedActives, Seymour Duncan Blackouts, or EMG Open Core, pick your favorite set of Fishman's, etc. I would do the same thing if I bought one of those Leo Jaymez Tempest guitars, tbh.
I’ve seen a lot of Harley Benton guitars here on UA-cam, but none in “the wild” here in the states. The reviews are mixed, and makes me averse to taking a chance on one. I know they’re cheap, but nothing else is these-days.
But, why would you compare Fishman Fluence pickups that cost what, 200-300 $USD a pair, with a whole guitar that costs half the price if not less? Makes no sense.
Let's see some serious mods. A 400 series Viper or Revstar Element like I did up. Both make great cheap mod platforms. Stock HB guitars aren't for me. Actually, no HB guitars are for me, so far. Peace!
For some reason I hate the name Harley Benton for a guitar. Sounds generic as hell to me. Ill stick with my overpriced and poorly QCd Jacksons 😅 Thanks.
People are hypocrites. No one, I mean no one, can honestly say they only buy american. So much of what we use today is made elsewhere, that it is virtually impossible to only buy american. I don't care where a guitar is made, quality instruments can come from anywhere. I Think I may have found the name of my next band. Poo Poo Doo Doo and the but nuggets.
You gona piss off Glenn with your pickup statement hahaha I have moded all my guitars ... even my strandberg and folking happy about in and I dont regret it. I remember in one of your vids the thing that you said "pickups my make or brake my guitar" and I am so related to this because it is not only the sound. As you said as well is the response and the feel you get while you play. And beside the tone for some the clarity and note definition matters as well... I would enjoy to see mods in cheep guitars.... love your style and content keep up. Greetings from Greece
I have the HB Fusion satin black with EMG Retro 70's. Best $400ish guitar ive ever played. Rossted maple neck, locking tuners, graph-tech nut, EMG's, stainless frets.
Idk how much it cost in the US to import Harley Benton, but in Europe HB is amazing for having cheap gear. I played a few of their guitars, they need a good setup and a few tweaks but are overall great. Tuners on my Fusion T are really great, they stay in tune for weeks, but as you said on lower end model they are trash. On my fusion T and regular telecaster the pickups are really great for cleans and medium gain. I tried some of their pedals and they do the job for 3x less money than the competition. For some stuff it’s better to go the expensive way, but for a lot of things this brand is great. I recently bought a power amp for 4x less money than the Seymour Duncan counterpart to play plugin trough a cab at home and it’s awesome
Have this guitar. The HBZs are terrible. Super high noise floor in those preamps. The tuners were so bad I tossed them in the trash! Put in Jim Root EMGs and hipshot tuners! The bridge hardware and 3-way switch are solid on the guitar. Roseacer is just heat treated maple. They leave it unfinished.
I have 3 guitars from harley benton that i've bought from thomann. They all came played and scratched although i payed the price for the brand new not b-stock
I appreciate this review especially (amps and also the pickup comparison - really suave, not at all poopoo brain nugget at work). I am going to get it, and at least know I will replace the bridge pup; not sure about the neck at this point (total price point). I notice the guitar did not seem to have the shielding issue, or did I miss it? If not, then that's more money for a pickup and not a new bridge.
The Harley Benton pickups sounded better and more clear than all of the others, at least in the way you showed them. I'd suspect that has something to do with the low end just not being there on the Harley Bentons vs not having rolled off any low end on the others.
it's definitely the opposite. The Harley betnons have way more low end and much less note definition than the other two. Crazy how differently people bear things.
He never did. Maybe try to listen next time. He said they are great for the price, which is true, probably won't find anything better in that price range, especially if you live in the EU
Ok Kyle, again I agree with you on everything about that guitar. (For those who don't know, we don't always agree, but we're respectful about that and no caca-poo-poo head doo doo faces about it) Anyway, yeah the tones on that guitar just sound a bit dead-ish. Your chops are there but I think it needs some upgrades. It would be an awesome starting point for a beginner and they could upgrade the guitar as they learn. Also it sounds like a good starting point for a mod project. Good job yo! 🤘🤘
You were probably using lead free solder, Throw that junk in the trash and get some small diameter hyper eutectic 73/27 lead solder and you will see it sticks, melts easier, and freezes quicker, as well as does not have that pasty milky not smooth look to it. a good solder joint will be smooth and shiny.
I'm in a band with a guy that has one of these, it needed a good bit of fret work. After that and a pickup swap it's pretty nice. I got the Rickenbacker style bass and it's really decent but has a high fret. Personally I'd stay away from them and buy something used. 2 of 2 needing fret work isn't a good sign.
Ayyy I bought this guitar off of Kyle and it now has bare knuckles and hipshot hardware. It fucking rips
Is the neck actually c shape or more speed neck shaped? That's my main concern because I am not the biggest fan of c shaped necks personally. Any feedback is appreciated.
@@bigridge717 it’s decently c shaped, but it doesn’t bother me much as a mainly Ibanez player
Lies. I bet it still sucks ass.
a comment for kyle
Always like to see guitar upgrade videos, I'm just getting into it myself. Swapped my first pick up recently. I am very bad at soldering XD but I got it done.
Yep. Better pickups, better tuners, and a setup gets you a badass guitar . If you can do the work yourself it's worth it. If not...probably not worth it. I bought the bottom level strat and the upgrades were definitely worth it. About 250 for a hss strat with a coil split.
Once you add in tuners, pickups and a setup to fix the fret work it's not really a good deal anymore to me. I'd personally take that money and buy something better used. Just my opinion.
It's a spot on opinion
I've been watching this channel for some time now and never left a comment...but I wanna say, how does Kyle not have more subs...he's so much more likable than most guitar based UA-camrs...keep it up man, I'd prefer to watch your videos than most others
Tbf it sounds pretty bangers when you play it Kyle! It's a really good and cheap guitar to slap on some upgrades tho.
Love the looks of this guitar.
The old Active HB guitars with black hardware had huge grounding problems. Has that been solved in this production batch?
I've heard that the noisy pickups on a lot of these guitars have an issue with the blacked out hardware creating grounding issues that make the pickups sound excessively noisy. I've got a Squier with blacked out hardware and when I looked at reviews for the guitar (I was very impressed with its feel and quality) I always would see the same thing being repeated. Noisy, trash pickups, except it wasn't the pickup it was a grounding issue apparently that they eventually found out about and fixed, which is why my guitar never experienced that poor sound quality/noise.
Maybe check to see if reviews state the same thing about this model.
You should review the Fusion iii EMG and or Fusion T EMG models. I had first bought the JA baritone out of curiosity and the 30” scale is not for me but after a new nut and tuners I felt that it was a very decent guitar for the money. So I sold it and bought a Fusion iii EMG and this thing rips dudes. Needs a proper setup right away but mine at a least was playable enough out of box to get rid of some of the anticipation. I like it so much I’m considering buying the Fusion T EMG to match.
Surprised to see you using the 900 Dual Reverb, Kyle! Great amp imo
All my HBs are brilliant
Great review and samples!
The title made me think I was only going to hear the bad side of the guitar. Which is fine, of course. I've been considering getting a Harley Benton, and I want honest reviews.
I'm definitely inching towards getting one. Just need the funds. I can't splurge on guitars, even if they're in the price range that these come in. That goes for mods like better pickups and tuners, as well. So, when I finally get a new guitar, it has to be something where the pros vastly outweigh the cons.
An upgrade vid would be cool!
I got a Harley Benton mr modern a few weeks ago. Fret ends were atrocious, although the guy i got it off of claimed he waa a luthier and "already set it up". I spent two hours making it playable. Not bad for 200 bones.
Cool review - I think the guitar sounds great. I recently purchased a Harley Benton 25th Anniversary Fusion III and I love it. It sounds great and plays great. I have much more expensive guitars and the Harley compares favorably to them.
I have the strat version with the same pickups and have found that they are especially dirty if you have the volume at 10. I found that somewhere around 8-8.5 that it cleans up and is less muddy.
I have a couple of my guitar students that play Harley Benton's. Kyle hit the nail on the head when he said if it's got good bones it's worth upgrading one of my students even gigs with his Harley Benton.
I like black satin
I had the Strat type version of this guitar. I felt the same about the guitar as you feel about this one.
Pickups and tuners (and nut) sucked. Fret ends were a bit sharp. But overall a pretty nice guitar.
Felt good to play. I was surprised.
Good mod platform for sure.
How viable is it to upgrade a budget guitar and turn around a break-even deal with it? I would imagine it's hard to sell a $299 guitar for more even if you put in premium hardware into it. However, I've never tried it so would be curious to hear if it's something you just lose a little cash in the love of the game, or if it's something that is possible to break even.
I love cheap guitars... I love expensive guitars... I guess I just love guitars. I have 3 Harley Bentons and 2 were perfect out of the box, one needed some minor fret work.
Pickups actually didn’t sound that bad. Like he said, it’s all preference.
Roseacre is roasted and dyed maple. “Thermally treated” they state. And I was this many years old when I found out about Roseacre, I want to try it, it looks cool.
Probably picking one up when I get to Germany later this year. Planning on putting a pair of SD Blackouts in it!!!
I’ll be changing the tuners, pickups, bridge and pots as well as the output jack.
I have been eyeing this guitar.. I personally am the kind of person who hates anything but a speed neck/wizard neck.. I saw online that it says modern c and that is disappointing.. especially for most of the people who like the aesthetics. I'm just wondering if it's actually a c shape or if it's closer to a Jackson/Ibanez/ESP neck.
Like fireflies, I bet it's a great mod platform and it's fun to work on and dial in.
This may be, the best video you've ever done believe it or not. Very funny, very entertaining to watch.
When he asked if people were going to leave it alone and play it "as god intended," I almost lost it. That's one of the funniest things I've heard in a long time.
That 900 sounds really good 🔥
The pickups sound good. Just change the volume pot for a brighter range
Nah.
Most guitars you get off the shelf at GC or another guitar store, they are not new. They are played, scratched, and sometimes not set up very well. This is not an advertisement for Sweetwater, but they seem to set it up, and you actually get a new guitar that isn't all scratched up and pre-played. Another reason why I won't buy anything from GC.
So far, everything I’ve bought from Sweetwater and American Musical Supply has come brand new in box unless otherwise stated.
I'd totally love to see mods of inexpensive guitars. I have a Harley Benton that I want to upgrade with better pickups and tuners.
I bought a headless and it was the biggest piece of crap ever . Wonky frets and a weird sitar buzz from the bridge. I bought several tools. Different fret files, to level and clean up. Nut files , and ended up buying this other Chinese bridge too fix the sound . Got a Duncan distortion set used from ebay. Regular pots and switch.
I enjoyed getting the tools and learning to work on all the stuff but no telling how much I spent lol. Could have just got something better.
Upgrade videos are awesome!
i hope maverick is doing a ok. i dont play as heavy but love the sound of it. keep up the goodness.
lefty trampas green custom 24 se. had a bunch of nice guitars stolen some years back. sad how drug addicts need your stuff more than you do. lol.
E-II do the flip out battery packs
I would sooner use cheap passive pickups like Guitar Fetish, and pair with an active preamp, either from them or Seymour Duncan, or else just use GFS RedActives, Seymour Duncan Blackouts, or EMG Open Core, pick your favorite set of Fishman's, etc. I would do the same thing if I bought one of those Leo Jaymez Tempest guitars, tbh.
Jim Root new signature.
Great videos!
Your humor keeps me rolling! 😅
I’ve seen a lot of Harley Benton guitars here on UA-cam, but none in “the wild” here in the states.
The reviews are mixed, and makes me averse to taking a chance on one. I know they’re cheap, but nothing else is these-days.
I'm OCD with things I buy especially guitars. I don't care if it cost $100 or $10,000 if it's new it should be in working order and in good condition.
But, why would you compare Fishman Fluence pickups that cost what, 200-300 $USD a pair, with a whole guitar that costs half the price if not less? Makes no sense.
That Mark of the Squealer riff tho 😁
Harley Bentons make great mod platforms, I think you'd be pretty hard pressed to find a better base for modding for the price of a Harley Benton.
Roseacer is heat treated and tinted maple
"Feel free to unsubscribe" 😂😂😂💀💀💀
Kyle, you are a beautiful diva princess and f*uck the haters.
I actually have restless leg syndrome, I did a sleep study when was 17. Welcome to the club though, smoke a bowl and pass out
Just found my next band name. The PooPoo DooDoo Nugget Brains.
I like seeing mod shit, all day, everyday
POOPOODOODOO NUGGET BRAINS GOT ME
Dude. I've had RLS since high school
I think that jcm 900 is tits!
Let's see some serious mods. A 400 series Viper or Revstar Element like I did up. Both make great cheap mod platforms. Stock HB guitars aren't for me. Actually, no HB guitars are for me, so far. Peace!
hb for kb 🤘
Bit it chugs in your hand.
Sick!
Barely Hinton Bumhucker pickups
Tone (mud) knobs exist to make me sad when I accidentally move them off of 10.
Tom G Warrior and Trevor Peres might want a word with you.
Never listened to Obituary?
@@Eliphas_Elric That's what I'm saying, or Celtic Frost? Like hello?!?!?
@@ilikepotatoes1345 You guy can defend the mud knob all you want but they still suck
@@samizdat113 no u
For some reason I hate the name Harley Benton for a guitar. Sounds generic as hell to me. Ill stick with my overpriced and poorly QCd Jacksons 😅 Thanks.
I think it´s muddy and too fat due to the position of the pickup, too far from the bridge
Don’t mean to be that guy, but the Harley Benton pick up sounded way better than whatever that first Ibanez was
Cheap imports are a crapshoot, but then so are 1k plus guitars.
I like firefly better.
People are hypocrites. No one, I mean no one, can honestly say they only buy american. So much of what we use today is made elsewhere, that it is virtually impossible to only buy american. I don't care where a guitar is made, quality instruments can come from anywhere.
I Think I may have found the name of my next band. Poo Poo Doo Doo and the but nuggets.
When it comes to jokes ... Worse IS better!
:)
Smoke some more Satan 😂
I would give a thumbs up but the fart sounds are disgusting.
how's life all the way up there on that high horse?
Affordable import guitars 😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡
That guitar would be sick with an evertune and some FF
this guitar is sikk!
Poo poo doo doo butt nuggets got me rofl😅
You gona piss off Glenn with your pickup statement hahaha I have moded all my guitars ... even my strandberg and folking happy about in and I dont regret it. I remember in one of your vids the thing that you said "pickups my make or brake my guitar" and I am so related to this because it is not only the sound. As you said as well is the response and the feel you get while you play. And beside the tone for some the clarity and note definition matters as well... I would enjoy to see mods in cheep guitars.... love your style and content keep up. Greetings from Greece
Poo Poo Doo Doo Butt Nugget
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🥲
I have the HB Fusion satin black with EMG Retro 70's. Best $400ish guitar ive ever played. Rossted maple neck, locking tuners, graph-tech nut, EMG's, stainless frets.
Same, awesome instrument 😎
I want some too.!!
For an intro or young player, maybe, as an older person and an experienced player, to me it's a boat paddle
Idk how much it cost in the US to import Harley Benton, but in Europe HB is amazing for having cheap gear. I played a few of their guitars, they need a good setup and a few tweaks but are overall great. Tuners on my Fusion T are really great, they stay in tune for weeks, but as you said on lower end model they are trash. On my fusion T and regular telecaster the pickups are really great for cleans and medium gain. I tried some of their pedals and they do the job for 3x less money than the competition.
For some stuff it’s better to go the expensive way, but for a lot of things this brand is great.
I recently bought a power amp for 4x less money than the Seymour Duncan counterpart to play plugin trough a cab at home and it’s awesome
Have this guitar. The HBZs are terrible. Super high noise floor in those preamps. The tuners were so bad I tossed them in the trash!
Put in Jim Root EMGs and hipshot tuners! The bridge hardware and 3-way switch are solid on the guitar.
Roseacer is just heat treated maple. They leave it unfinished.
after listening to your video: the pickups are pretty much genre-dependent. it sounds like ass for some genres, but fits others quite nicely!
Modz
I have 3 guitars from harley benton that i've bought from thomann. They all came played and scratched although i payed the price for the brand new not b-stock
lot fair to compare barley Benton pick ups to eng or others. Eng pick ups can cost more than the whole HB guitar.
They should call this range the Rim Joot Collection...
Poo poo doo doo nugget brains is my favorite limp bizkit album.
I honestly don’t hear any issues with the stock pickups… but that’s just me
Stealing Dual Rectum fryer lol
So when can we expect the “Poo Poo Doo Doo Butt Nuggets” merch? 🤔
My HB te-62 was easily the worst guitar I have ever bought.
You have to sleep less my dude, the jokes ware good 🤘🤘🤘
I appreciate this review especially (amps and also the pickup comparison - really suave, not at all poopoo brain nugget at work). I am going to get it, and at least know I will replace the bridge pup; not sure about the neck at this point (total price point). I notice the guitar did not seem to have the shielding issue, or did I miss it? If not, then that's more money for a pickup and not a new bridge.
No shielding issue on mine, thankfully (this is June 2024). The volume pot is crap, though. Gonna replace that.
🤘🏽🤘🏽
😊
The Harley Benton pickups sounded better and more clear than all of the others, at least in the way you showed them. I'd suspect that has something to do with the low end just not being there on the Harley Bentons vs not having rolled off any low end on the others.
it's definitely the opposite. The Harley betnons have way more low end and much less note definition than the other two. Crazy how differently people bear things.
But but but but Glenn said that these are perfect guitars
He never did. Maybe try to listen next time. He said they are great for the price, which is true, probably won't find anything better in that price range, especially if you live in the EU
Ok Kyle, again I agree with you on everything about that guitar. (For those who don't know, we don't always agree, but we're respectful about that and no caca-poo-poo head doo doo faces about it)
Anyway, yeah the tones on that guitar just sound a bit dead-ish. Your chops are there but I think it needs some upgrades.
It would be an awesome starting point for a beginner and they could upgrade the guitar as they learn. Also it sounds like a good starting point for a mod project.
Good job yo! 🤘🤘
Let’s just plug a $200 guitar in to a $3000 amp!
let's plug a light into a socket!
You were probably using lead free solder, Throw that junk in the trash and get some small diameter hyper eutectic
73/27 lead solder and you will see it sticks, melts easier, and freezes quicker, as well as does not have that pasty milky
not smooth look to it. a good solder joint will be smooth and shiny.
I'm really confused as to why you're talking about solder. I didn't solder anything or mention solder.
Nice tip, I guess. But there was no soldering involved 😕
I'm in a band with a guy that has one of these, it needed a good bit of fret work. After that and a pickup swap it's pretty nice. I got the Rickenbacker style bass and it's really decent but has a high
fret. Personally I'd stay away from them and buy something used. 2 of 2 needing fret work isn't a good sign.